Xenophobia in Greece

There is an significant awareness historically of the foreign policy held by American and Britain towasds Greece, it is aimed more at governments than at individuals, and is based on both present and past foreign policy on the part of both countries in regard to the Balkans and the Middle East in general since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and World War I up through World War II (American involvement mostly since the latter), and in regard to Cyprus. Over 50,000 Greeks students study in both these countries anually even so.

Germans are general accepted by Greeks, despite the brutal occupation of Hitler's armies during World War II, with the burning of up to 1000 villages and massacres of civilians even on mere suspicion of supporting the resistance guerilla fighters.

Widespread antipathy is, however, expressed by Greeks towards Albanians, who make up the largest percentage of immigrants who have come to Greece for work since the early 1990s, and who are disliked by many Greeks for being the cheap labor force and source of public revenues that has been the basis of their being permitted to stay and apply for work permits.

They are also widely seen as being the cause of the significant rise in crime rates in Greece and are often scapegoated unjustly. Though many Greeks have Albanian employees whom they personally like and treat fairly, Greeks and Albanians generally don't socialize.

Other recent immigrants to Greece include Bulgarians, Ukranians, Moldavians, Philipinos, Africans, Iranians, and, more recently, some Chinese, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi.

Many Greeks, especially in the large cities, resent the large proportion of foreigners both in schools and neighborhoods, often expressing the fear that Greeks will be outnumbered if even more immigrants come. Greece has been criticized both by Amnesty International and by the EU for its treatment of both minorities and foreigners, and in particular for its failure to observe international asylum standard. Only a tiny fraction of those who petition for asylum in Greece are granted asylum.