Shameful attacks on immigrants in Herakleion, Crete

[alhoon]

http://www.haniotika-nea.gr/92668-Νύχτα%20βίας%20.html

That is from a local newspaper. Sorry that it's in Greek. Other Greeks could verify what I would say.

More or less this happened:

Immigrants killed a 85 years old woman (Sofia Kornaraki) a few days ago to rob her. Then 2 nights ago, a group of abhorent nationalistic scum in retaliation made a number of attacks in the houses of immigrants, mainly Bulgarians and Albanians living in the village.
A "large group" (no numbers) armed with crowbars, planks and a few firearms attacked the houses of immigrants, breaking down doors and windows and issuing insults and threats. In a couple of cases, they physically attacked, causing just minor injury.
Those #####les gave ultimatum to immigrants to leave the village within 24 hours or "things will get worse".

According to the newspaper, coming morning 8 families of Bulgarians have fled the village in fear, while the Albanians refused to leave since they were living in the area for decades. The Albanian immigrants called the authorities for help citing they were afraid for their lives.
Some of the hotheaded nationalists that shame my country and all Hellenism stands for have been identified but those attacked are afraid to formally accuse them for fear of further reprisals.

Thankfully the police and the political authorities condemned the attack. A high ranking police officer of the area even said that those incidents make looking for those that killed the 85 years old woman harder.
The local community is divided. Some demand that the immigrants would pack and leave (threatening that things will escalate) and others try to diffuse the situation and condemn the attacks.

The police had deployed forces for the time to prevent those hothead rednecks from taking further actions against people that came to my country looking for a better future.

[hellheaven1987]

Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs and Greeks have been on eachother's throat since the good old Middle Age, not a news anymore.

[alhoon]

Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs and Greeks have been on eachother's throat since the good old Middle Age, not a news anymore.

We're not in the middle ages. The people in that village in Herakleion are. And to think, they want to become the capital of the prefecture of Crete. Hate to say it, but such things wouldn't happen in Chania.

As for Serbs, they're close to us for almost a century.

[Axeman]

Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs and Greeks have been on eachother's throat since the good old Middle Age, not a news anymore.

The Ottomans managed pretty well for a while. Just give them back the Balkans and be done with it.

[Magicman2051]

Always two sides to a story.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

Such blind attacks should be condemned because it's the innocent that pay. Of course we all have to accept that Greece is facing serious issues with illegal immigration and all those who entered Greece illegally should be forced to return to their countries asap.

[alhoon]

The Ottomans managed pretty well for a while. Just give them back the Balkans and be done with it.

No, they didn't. Besides facing rebellions all the time, they did so poor a job that they actually handed much of the empire running to us.

Such blind attacks should be condemned because it's the innocent that pay. Of course we all have to accept that Greece is facing serious issues with illegal immigration and all those who entered Greece illegally should be forced to return to their countries asap.

No arguing on that Manuel. But the legal immigrants are as innocent and as afraid for their lives as the Greeks in that vilage. You know, those that killed the old woman to rob her, could as easily kill any one of those Bulgarians or Albanians.
Divisions as the police said, do anything but help.

[Hobbes]

Such blind attacks should be condemned because it's the innocent that pay. Of course we all have to accept that Greece is facing serious issues with illegal immigration and all those who entered Greece illegally should be forced to return to their countries asap.

Well I agree with you on the illegal immigrants thing, but I would hate to see anyone be attacked, legal immigrant or not.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

Well I agree with you on the illegal immigrants thing, but I would hate to see anyone be attacked, legal immigrant or not.

Sure, but then what's happening is not unexpected. You've got the common people living through an economic crisis where the illegal immigrants who find themselves in an even worse economic situation than the Greeks will resort to criminal acts. The local populace generalizes and then labels every foreigner a criminal. Can you blame them? Unfortunately the state is still inactive and that way we've got both crime and its effect, racism on the rise.

[Genius of the Restoration]

The local populace generalizes and then labels every foreigner a criminal. Can you blame them?

Yes.

[magpie]

My sympathy to the murder victim and her family.
There must be some evil people causing real tensions between the different groups in the region.
I hope the killers are caught and the community calms down.

[nein]

are the local bulgars and romanians known for their criminality? What do the stats say

[alhoon]

are the local bulgars and romanians known for their criminality? What do the stats say

I haven't checked them and I'm not going to. Targeting people in Crete of 2012 because they're immigrants, although some of them live there for like 15 years is unacceptable whatever the stats say.
The Bulgarians and Albanians of the area that are known for their criminality should go to prison. Not have their families attacked.

[Dalarna3]

Why are there immigrants in Herakleion?

[Admiral Piett]

Why are there immigrants in Herakleion?

This. It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe in northern Greece.

[neoptolemos]

This. It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe in northern Greece.

Crete is among the wealthiest areas in Greece due to thriving tourism and agriculture.

anyway i can't divide people in 'locals' "illegal' or "legal", "Cretans" or "Foreigners".
What is wrong is wrong for everyone.

[alhoon]

Crete is among the wealthiest areas in Greece due to thriving tourism and agriculture.

True (and from political games from PASOK to cur favor here).

[alhoon]

Why are there immigrants in Herakleion?

This. It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe in northern Greece.

To find work of course. We have olives here and we usually hire Bulgarians and Albanians to supplement the local workers. My uncle in Chania for example used to hire two specific Bulgarians for 3 months every year till about 10 years ago.
At some point, some of those workers decided to relocate permanently in Crete.
One of our friends in Chania was a Bulgarian barwoman that has been in Greece since she was 12 years old. She left to join her ailing father in Bulgaria recently but her sister and mother are still in Crete. The woman that works in the cafe that I usually buy my breakfast on the way to the University is from Ukraine. A worker we have in the Techical university is Albanian and I know him and his family for 14 years that I am in Crete. All the cleaning ladies we have in the Technical university are Georgians or Romanians.

Why is it puzzling to you?

PS. Most of our immigrants here that I know of are legal. The folk ask for their papers before they hire them.

[Admiral Piett]

To find work of course. We have olives here and we usually hire Bulgarians and Albanians to supplement the local workers. My uncle in Chania for example used to hire two specific Bulgarians for 3 months every year till about 10 years ago.
At some point, some of those workers decided to relocate permanently in Crete.
One of our friends in Chania was a Bulgarian barwoman that has been in Greece since she was 12 years old. She left to join her ailing father in Bulgaria recently but her sister and mother are still in Crete. The woman that works in the cafe that I usually buy my breakfast on the way to the University is from Ukraine. A worker we have in the Techical university is Albanian and I know him and his family for 14 years that I am in Crete. All the cleaning ladies we have in the Technical university are Georgians or Romanians.

Why is it puzzling to you?

PS. Most of our immigrants here that I know of are legal. The folk ask for their papers before they hire them.

Crete just didn't seem like a place where tensions would be high like in the mainland.

[Dalarna3]

To find work of course. We have olives here and we usually hire Bulgarians and Albanians to supplement the local workers. My uncle in Chania for example used to hire two specific Bulgarians for 3 months every year till about 10 years ago.
At some point, some of those workers decided to relocate permanently in Crete.
One of our friends in Chania was a Bulgarian barwoman that has been in Greece since she was 12 years old. She left to join her ailing father in Bulgaria recently but her sister and mother are still in Crete. The woman that works in the cafe that I usually buy my breakfast on the way to the University is from Ukraine. A worker we have in the Techical university is Albanian and I know him and his family for 14 years that I am in Crete. All the cleaning ladies we have in the Technical university are Georgians or Romanians.

Why is it puzzling to you?

PS. Most of our immigrants here that I know of are legal. The folk ask for their papers before they hire them.

And Greeks could not do the work themselves?