Approaching the Degree of Social Integration of Refuges Hosted in Hotspots in Greece

Charalampos Kyriakidis, [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]
National Technical University of Athens

Abstract

This paper explores the way of living of refugees reside in refugees’ accommodation structures (hotspots) across Greece, focusing on how they perceive their social status as well as how they develop activities to achieve their integration in local societies. To gain this goal, an empirical research was conducted in a hotspot located in close to a medium-sized city (Larisa). The methodology applied involved semi-structured interviews. The narratives of refugees revealed that achieving integration is not only dependent on functional and social interactions, but also on housing quality. To further conclude our findings, an ordinal regression analysis (ORA) model applied. The narratives were not confirmed by the ORA model, according to which none of the parameters set may be considered as statistical important. Findings were drawn by summarizing the narratives of the participants while it was underlined that they have to be further studied to be confirmed. Discussion is made on how results are affected by the fact that refugees participated in the research live in a hotspot that seems to be a crucial parameter affects their opinion about housing quality.

Presentation