Iraqis in Greece

Iraqis in Greece
Total population
est. 5,000 - 40,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Athens, Thessaloniki, Lavrion, Evros, Patras, Western Thrace
Languages
Mesopotamian Arabic and Greek,
also Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji dialects), Turkish (Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects), and Neo-Aramaic (Assyrian and Mandaic)
Religion
Predominantly Islam (Shia and Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Other Iraqis living in Europe

The number of Iraqis in Greece is unclear since numbers fluctuate greatly over time. as of 2007, Greece hosted 1,400 Iraqi refugees.[2] Proving helpful, Greece offered one million dollars to Iraq for humanitarian purposes,[3] this may be because they do not want to take in any refugees, as it was reported that Iraqis trying to enter Greece from Turkey are most definitely likely to be sent back to Iraq.[4] The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has confirmed that a group of 135 Iraqis were arrested while preparing to cross into Greece have been sent back to Iraq. Greece has the toughest migration policy in Europe, allowing only less than one percent of applications through.[4]

The UNHCR claims there to be 820 Iraqi refugees living in Greece.[5] A further 1,415 have applied for asylum.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference IraqiCommunityinGreece was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Iraqi refugees in Greece". proasyl.de. Archived from the original on 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  3. ^ "Greece Offers Iraq A Million". greekembassy.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  4. ^ a b "Greece: Failing Refugees". ipsnews.net. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  5. ^ ""Global Overview Statistics Report" states that there are 820 ethnic Iraqi Refugees living in Greece". unhcr.org. Retrieved 2007-09-07.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ 1,415 Iraqi Asylum applications for Greece