Housing Policies for asylum seekers and refugees, social control and social work practice in Greece

Abstract

Since 2015, Greece has been one of the main host countries for many thousand people from Middle East who have been forced to leave their countries by political reasons. This article illustrates the housing policies for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece as part of a policy of power enforcement in micro and macro level, resulting to heir social exclusion. In this context, social workers have been at the forefront in order to respond to refugee and asylum seekers needs, facing limits to their work due to the social policies. The study constitutes an effort to provide an insight on the social work practice and the difficulties professionals face being a part of a social control policy. For this purpose, a qualitative method has been conducted via interviews with social work practitioners from non- governmental organizations serving asylum seeker and refugee population (NGOs) in Greece. Research analysis highlighted work overload along with limited training and support. At the same time, it is found that social workers do not comprehend housing policies for asylum seekers and refugees as policies which encourage integration, but rather contribute to a regime of control and exclusion. Although professionals reported that there have been attempts of resistance at the individual level, collective actions of resist control and repressive practices seem to be absent. Social work practice with asylum seekers and refugees in Greece seems to confront the neoliberal system which reproduces managerialism and, on the other hand the anti-immigrant rhetoric which embraces control policies. Within this context, social work profession is being challenged, raising concerns about the capacities and the restrictions social workers face by developing interventions which promote social change. Political analysis and involvement with service users’ groups, labor groups and collectivities’ groups need to come to the fore in order to address these challenges and to stand against any oppressive practice.