The thematic axis of the present work is the investigation – with a focus on Greece – of a modern social phenomenon of unprecedented dynamics and intensity, of the “illegal” migration of massive populations from Third World countries to Europe, which is a derivative of the “new order of things “In conditions of late modernity and under the catalytic dynamics of globalization, in the sense of the” new “and” inexorable “reality of our days.
Immigration and refugees are internationally recognized theoretically as social phenomena with a history and dynamics, which constitute a natural state of human existence and an integral part of the historical experience and culture of the people of all the lengths and widths of the earth. In this context, the current massive flow of refugees and migrants to the European area is not a deviation and a historical-social anomaly with only negative repercussions for their host countries. This theoretical assumption, confirmed by a multitude of researches of different scientific fields and formally recognized by the European Union itself, is the theoretical axis in which the present work and the guiding principle for exploring the forms it takes in Modern multicultural European societies as well as the policies / practices they employ to manage it.
The point of view of this particular social phenomenon is that of the “illegal” residence regime experienced by the migrant and refugee subjects in the host country and the violation of human rights that exist in the territory of a “state-fortress” -the transformation of the “Welfare state” – with its predominant characteristics increasing social exclusion and social control, suppression and militarization within it. In this context, it is sought and attempted to investigate the key international migration phenomenon from ‘means’ and ‘from below’, a ‘hemispheric’ approach. The ultimate goal of the work is to unveil its “official” appearance unofficial and in the face of the “illegal” immigrants and refugees who embody the radical judgment of the concept of “holy and inalienable”, so-called “human rights “Who, for the benefit of those EU citizens, are leaving them exposed and totally unprotected in the face of any kind of exploitation in their struggle for a fairer life, if not for their own lives.
In this respect, the work is part of the contemporary field of refugee research, which focuses on human rights issues as universal values that permeate civilizations, seasons, ideologies, political and social systems and refer to all people on the earth, without historical or other determinations. Consequently, the instrumental dimension given to them by the modern nation-state with the aim of shaping and legitimizing God’s righteousness of royal sovereignty in order to become self-righteous, to become viable and effective and to perpetuate is critically addressed.
On the basis of this perspective, the major social phenomenon of “exiting” the “waste” of postmodernism towards the West, which calls into question the notion of modern state, based on the “constructions” of territorial sovereignty (citizenship, Nationality, human rights, naturalization) through personal testimonies of “illegal” immigrants / refugees. A small sample, in particular, of the “young paries” of our globalized world, experiencing in the European host countries an objective social situation that combines exclusion or social marginalization with the contempt, rejection or reproach that they entail.
This choice, apart from responding to personal interests, obeys scientific reasons, which have to do with the fact that the personal statements and the subjective “truths” regarding the particular issue, the meanings that the persons involved recruit and attribute to their actions creating realities do not attract particular research interest in the Greek bibliography. This despite the fact that modern theoretical reflection in the field of social sciences has demonstrated the importance of “oral histories” to outline the climate of a given historical-social conjuncture and the holistic representation of a social reality through the multiplicity of personal optics Its engagement by the subjects involved.
In this respect, by giving voice to the immigrant refugees of the research sample to narrate their “stories”, it seeks to make the impersonal masses they represent and the emergence of experiential aspects of their everyday life, as they take it as separate entities on the basis of individuality and uniqueness of each one. Deepening their psychological and socio-political situation and exploring the “microhistoric” events of their lives will allow for the regeneration of the adventures of the collective migrant and refugee subject by redefining the personally “minor” and the individual in the “big” Collectively. This will enable the refugee issue to be represented in the modern Greece of the crisis as a “gateway to illegal immigrants in Europe” – and to outline the “face” that it displays in the waves of “the wars of the planetary tide Of human waste “, both at the level of structures, institutions and practices of managing migration flows and ideas and attitudes.
The ultimate purpose of writing is twofold: on the one hand, to contribute to the questioning of established perceptions and prejudices that, in the context of an ethnocentric or eurocentric approach and under the state of phobic syndrome of “foreign”, treat “illegal” immigrants / refugees as potentially dangerous to eradicate “healthy, safe and secure” Western societies. And to contribute to the development of the problem of dealing with the refugee crisis in the economic crisis in the framework of its political governance, based on the principle of human rights and respect for ethno-cultural diversity.
The thesis is structured in two parts, the theoretical and the research, each of which consists of two chapters. The first chapter of the theoretical part deals generally with the position of “illegal” immigrants and refugees in countries of the European Union under the regime of economic globalization and a globalized economic crisis. The second one is specialized in the refugee crisis that Greece is experiencing in the economic crisis that has plagued it in recent years, focusing, on the one hand, on the policies and practices used by state power – compatible with the more general European ones – for the “management of disorder” Is caused by the sweeping influx of irregular migrants and refugees from Third World countries and, on the other, the consequences they bring to life, the psychological state and the socio-political “existence” of these “waste Of society. ”
The research part of the thesis also extends to two chapters, which illustrate the evolution of the research in stages, the design stage and its implementation. In the first chapter, the formulation of the research problem, the research cases and the objectives, the scope of research, the research project, the methodological approach and the methodological tools and the subjects of the research are defined. The second one is covered by the results of the research, the commentary and the discussion on them, in which the problems and difficulties that have arisen during the research are being addressed, and the conclusion of conclusions, which are open to dialogue, Questioning or confirmation.