Paper cutting and origins (part of drawing 2007-2008) – Dedicated to an old student, Anna

In brief….

Citizenship is a legal and political bond that links one with the state he/she belongs to. According to Greek law, citizenship is a constitutional right. Citizenship is the result of Greek nationality or origin – through birth or blood ties. The right to citizenship is based on birth from a Greek parent (father or mother). Children born to a Greek father and a foreign mother or vice versa acquire Greek citizenship. Also, if the children of Greek citizens are born in another country, the Consular authorities, for example, do not grant citizenship, but simply help the individual to exercise their right to citizenship, such as the right to ‘vote and be elected’, the right to work in the public sector of the country, etc. Registration in the population register of the country’s municipalities constitutes the recognition of the human right to citizenship of the Greek state. The Greek identity cards or passports, for example, are simply a result of that registration. Finally, ‘municipal certificates’ constitute legal presumption of citizenship.

So based on the information above many questions arise as to why or how it is possible, on the one hand, to have Greek origin, either by birth or by blood ties, at least according to the official documents in my possession, be registered in a population register of the country, and on the other hand, remain an alien with a residence permit for over a decade, despite my failed attempts to obtain a Greek identity card in order to be able to vote and sit examinations for recruitment in the public sector, for instance. The withholding of my Greek identity card and passport practically means and meant deprivation of political and civil rights. ‘The distinction between domestic and foreign matters both in the field of Public International Law, particularly on matters of diplomatic protection of the individual’s judgment, and in the field of domestic law, on matters of political and civil rights and obligations. The status of citizenship has political content/ significance because it provides the right of access to public services and the acquisition of political rights (to vote – to be elected). Also, these people have the right of entry, residence and free movement in the territory of the country, the right to exercise the profession of their choice, the freedom of the press etc. The status of citizenship also has private law content. Thus, only nationals enjoy full civil rights. Several professions are closed or ban foreigners……………….. This interpretation is based on the rule of Private International Law which stipulates legal capacity (A.5 Civil Code) and legal transactions (A.7 AK) and are governed by the law of citizenship ‘ (Douvara Vasiliki and Andreas Dimitropoulos, 2005 Loss of Greek Citizenship). More questions arise in relation to how after all my attempts to obtain a Greek identity card had failed, the coveted identity card was finally issued on 09/03/1984 after marrying a Greek national, and while the law of 1955 had already been amended several times. Specifically, the oldest Greek citizenship law (3370/1955) was based on the principle of unity of the family’s nationality which essentially meant that it was based on the nationality of the husband. As a result, any foreign woman who married a Greek national acquired Greek citizenship automatically unless she made a statement that she did not wish to acquire it. The Code of Greek Citizenship was amended by the 481/68 law, the 1342 / 1983 law and the 1438 / 1984 law, which ratified the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racism against women. It introduced the principle of equal rights of men and women in the law of citizenship and the principle of individuality or independence was applied,, and therefore, marriage no longer resulted in the acquisition or loss of citizenship. If one wished to acquire national citizenship then one had to follow the ordinary naturalization procedure, as any other foreigner residing in Greece. Moreover, as I may have already mentioned elsewhere on this site, one wonders why while I was explicitly denied the right to acquire a Greek identity card, which meant I was denied Greek citizenship and all the rights attached to it, I was obliged to sit university entrance exams with nationals rather than foreigners because the necessary documents were not granted to me. Essentially, remaining in the state of an alien I was deprived of my right to citizenship and then I was deprived of the rights alien candidates had concerning their entrance to Greek universities.

In conclusion, all our experience, including the trauma, the violations and/ or deprivation of rights and injustices that we have endured, takes place within a specific socio-political context. Often this is the same socio-political (historical) framework that not only allows, but also facilitates victimization and multiplies violations. This broader political approach allows deeper understanding of the causes and the dynamics of bullying, racism and discrimination in educational, employment and other contexts. And it can expalin the breadth of these parctices, which can involve bullying and discrimination, but also scarier tactics like being hit by a motorcycle near the university, while walking on the pavement or being stalked in public places. After all, broken bones can become a great reminder both of the message and of fear. I think it is easy to understood that all practices of racism, exclusion and discrimination always occur within specific temporal and spatial contexts and also that there is an inseparable link between private and public life. ‘The public and the private worlds are inseparably connected… the tyrannies and the servilities of one are the tyrannies and the servilities of the other’ (Virginia Woolf).

Tonya Alexandri, September 29th, 2015