WNYC published an extensive report on Greek people leaving their recession-hit country and travelling to NY in search of a better future.
The collapsing economic situation in Greece has led many Greeks to either return to the US or simply make a whole new start in the US and search for new prospects.
According to the WNYC report, NY and especially Astoria are the main poles of attraction for the new wave of incoming Greeks.
Working in cafes, restaurants, stores and travel agencies, Greeks moving to Astoria are optimistic about their future and believe conditions are better in their new country than in Greece.
According to the report, Maria, a waitress at an Astoria café, came to New York from Athens one and a half years ago when the Greek economy started its downward course.
“I want to stay here and maybe bring my family from Greece — my parents and my brother,” she told WNYC.
According to Dean Sirigos, a senior writer at the National Herald, cited in NWYC, the numbers of Greek migrants are expected to increase “as the situation in Greece becomes more difficult under the government’s austerity program”.
The next two years are expected to be the most difficult for the Greek people, who are about to face a new wave of austerity measures.
Greek-Americans are now organizing different initiatives to help their homeland, either by sending money directly to their relatives living there or investing in Greece.
However, the US economy has also been struck by the financial crisis and the Greek community must face its own difficulties, mostly concerning unemployment.
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