Candidates with an immigrant background
They planted new roots in Greece and now they want to give back by running for a seat on municipal councils across the country
In the Netherlands, Elma Baten worked for the police as a communications consultant. In Kastellorizo, a small Dodecanese island in the Eastern Mediterranean, she has taken up various jobs. Since moving to the island in 2006 with her Greek husband – who is from Karditsa in central Greece – until 2020, they had a cafe. When their business closed, 61-year-old Baten went through various jobs – at the supermarket, at one of the island’s hotels, at a bakery. Now, after 17 years of permanent residence in Greece, she is ready for another role – on the municipal council.
“I was never a person who watches from backstage – in the Netherlands I was active in the union, representing my colleagues,” she tells Kathimerini. She felt a little lost in Greece at first. “I didn’t speak the language. It took me time to establish roots,” she says. But she did establish them, and now she is running with Kastellorizo’s first female mayoral candidate, Maria Kokala.
“Ι love this island, it’s my home and I want to help make it better,” she says. According to her, the island needs a recycling facility. It needs a sanitation system, better care for the elderly, and support for mothers. “There’s a lot to be done, so I thought, ‘Elma, it’s not your style to complain about things, it’s time to roll up our sleeves,’” she says. Some of her fellow villagers still see her as an outsider, she believes. “But since I started working at the supermarket, people who I thought didn’t know my name suddenly started greeting me,” she explains. Baten is optimistic about the result of the municipal elections: “People are ready for change.”
Baten does not hold Greek citizenship but as a citizen of the European Union she can run for office in the municipal elections. For those who come from a third country, obtaining Greek citizenship is the only way to officially participate in public affairs.
‘My dream’
Fifty-two-year-old Yirgalem Asgedom, who is also called Monica, came to Greece from Ethiopia in 1988. “It was always my dream,” she tells Kathimerini. She had wanted to visit the country since she was in school. “Since I was little I had Greece in mind, I felt the country was a part of me, it inspired me.” In Greece, she worked in various jobs – first as a domestic helper, then as a babysitter. In 1998 she briefly returned to Ethiopia, but Greece won her back again. She has been working as an interpreter for 10 years, having worked, among others, at the French Embassy and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as she speaks Greek, English, Arabic, Tigrinya and Amharic (both Ethiopian languages).
Now, she has put forward her candidacy for municipal councilor with the “Athina Psila” grouping of incumbent Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis. “I had a dream to be involved in my city – I always said I wanted to get citizenship so I could do things, contribute,” she said. Asgedom is concerned about cleanliness in the city, as well as the acceptance of diversity. “We all fit in, colors don’t matter, I want us to be one and do our best for tomorrow,” she adds.
‘It’s the society that I loved’
Giorgos Ahmeti, aged 33, who was born in Korce, a city in southeastern Albania, is a candidate municipal councillor in the Municipality of Agioi Anargyroi-Kamatero. Although he has lived in Greece since he was 2 years old, he only received Greek citizenship in 2019. For years, the Greek state was not so welcoming, he tells Kathimerini. “It’s the society that I loved,” he says, noting that he is interested in contributing to this society.
He does not deny his origins. “Everyone knows that I’m from Korce, and I love Albania, but I don’t know if I feel Albanian. Maybe more a citizen of the Balkans, of Europe,” he says. At some point, he would like to create an association of Greek Albanians in the municipality. “To get to know each other, not to be ashamed to say, ‘I am Albanian,’” he explains. But now that he is a candidate with the current mayor, Stavros Tsirbas, he wants to be a municipal councillor for everyone, and help continue the mayor’s work. “I’ve liked politics since I was little,” says Ahmeti, who studied international relations at the University of the Aegean. “I have lived in the area of Agioi Anargyroi and Kamatero since 1998. I know it. Now is my chance to help it.”
Inspiring African women
“It’s the first time I saw Greeks and immigrants agree on something: that it is impossible for me to be elected because this is Greece!” Lauretta Macauley says, and bursts into laughter. Macauley, from Sierra Leone, is now a candidate for municipal councillor with Costas Zachariadis’ “Open City.” “I’ll tell you something, I don’t care. I spent many years fighting for immigrants and those who do not have a voice. The fact that I’m running as a candidate for municipal councillor is a victory for me.”
Macauley got Greek citizenship last year after more than three decades in Greece. “I worked for years invisibly, without social security and insurance, like many women today, local and foreign.” This is the main goal of her candidacy: visibility.
“A woman came and told me that three men were systematically raping her. I told her to go to the police and she replied that she would rather be raped by 10 people than go to the police and be deported.” The same applies to victims of domestic violence or labor exploitation. She wants to be a source of inspiration for all women from Africa, which she has been representing since 2005, when she took the initiative to establish the United African Women Organization. “I want immigrants to see me and take courage, to fight, not to see everything as bleak.”
When she traveled to European countries, she was very impressed to see black women everywhere in positions of responsibility: driving buses, being doctors, parliamentarians. She has similar dreams for Greece. When the now-defunct neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn was in Parliament, she was very afraid, she felt threatened. “Are you worried that [jailed former GD official] Ilias Kasidiaris is a candidate for mayor?” I ask her. “I don’t feel good about it at all, although I believe that this is not only problematic for immigrants but also for Greeks. What kind of laws allow him to run for mayor?”
Macauley is a born activist. “When I came to Greece and employers wouldn’t pay us IKA [social security contributions], I would say to the Greeks: Don’t sit on the couch and watch. Because soon this will happen to you too. And that’s how it finally happened, during the [economic] crisis.”
She distributes her leaflets in the district of Exarchia, where she lives. “Exarchia is like my hometown. I don’t understand why they talk badly about the neighborhood. I’m a queen here,” she quips. However, she is concerned about the rise in rents due to short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb.
“Oh, unfortunately we don’t vote in Athens,” some people tell her when she asks for their vote. “You see? We are all immigrants!” she replies. She approaches the policemen who are standing in the square, gives them her card. They curtly say “thank you” but don’t want to take a picture with her. “They’re not in a good mood today,” Loretta tells me in a hushed voice. I ask her if police stop her often to check her residence permit. “No. I have noticed that lately they don’t stop many women.”
While Macauley poses for a photo by Kathimerini photographer Christina Phoebe, a passenger from a passing car throws water at her. “But why did he do that now?” she wonders aloud. A young kid drinking his coffee alone wishes her “good luck.” “Thank you for not being racist!” she replies. “No way!” he exclaims.
The graffiti on the wall behind her reads, “All we have is each other.”
