Salaminio University of Famagusta: Lecture "The immigrants, the refugees and us"

The immigration problem under the title "Immigrants, refugees and us", occupied the fourth lecture in a row of the Salamis Free University of Famagusta, held tonight, Wednesday, January 25, 2023 in Paralimni.

The speaker was Dr. Nikos Peristianis, Sociologist and President of the Universitas Foundation.

In his thorough speech, Dr. Peristianis initially examined issues related to the characteristics of the immigration phenomenon, answering questions such as who are immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, what rights do they have in relation to the citizens of a country, how have these issues been defined and how have they varied over time , with the evolution of modern states. In addition, he developed the reason why the flows of immigrants and refugees have increased in recent decades, making immigration a dominant issue today.

Next, he referred to the case of Cyprus: the initial flows of Cypriots abroad, mainly from the late 1950s and the first years of Independence, as well as the great issue of Greek Cypriot refugees in 1974 and the subsequent migration for survival purposes. From the end of the 1980s, the first large numbers of foreign immigrants appeared in Cyprus and in the mid-2010s, the large flows of foreign refugees. He spoke about the attitude of Greek Cypriots towards immigrants and refugees, about the reasons that there were and still are big disagreements in the handling of these issues and whether Greek Cypriots are racist or xenophobic, or on the contrary they are not so assertive towards foreigners who take advantage of their hospitality . Is Cyprus really at risk from the increased numbers of foreigners?

Concluding his lecture, the speaker conveyed the policies of the European Union, as well as the global trends in these matters, along with the considerations regarding the attitude we should take as a small and weak state, with its peculiar problems.