Thessaloniki: Profiling of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Third Country Nationals not registered with the Asylum Service Potential and Obstacles to Local Integration Thessaloniki, July 2019 Thessaloniki: Profiling of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Third Country Nationals not registered with the Asylum Service Potential and Obstacles to Local Integration Profiling Coordinator: Knut Mæhlumshagen Report preparation: Stamatia Boskou (Independent consultant) & Margharita Lundkvist-Houndoumadi (JIPS) Research facilitation: Knut Mæhlumshagen (Interagency Profiling Coordinator NORCAP/UNHCR), Kari Fyhn (JIPS), Svend-Jonas Schelhorn (JIPS), Steve Catling (NORCAP/UNHCR), and Meriç Vedia Özgüneş (Municipality of Thessaloniki/UNHCR), Dorothea Kokozidou (Municipality of Thessaloniki/UNHCR), Anna Stamatiadi (NRC), Theodora Gazi (DRC), Marina Sotiroglou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and Vasiliki Bouranta (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). Report editing: Lisa McMunn Report design: BakOS DESIGN Profiling Advisory Committee: Municipality of Thessaloniki, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Alkyone Refugee Day Care Centre, the Arsis Association for the Social Support of Youth, Solidarity Now, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the voluntary association OMNES, the civil society network Help Refugees, INTERSOS, Filoxenia and the Hellenic Red Cross. Report preparation: February 2019. Data collection: April – July 2018. Acknowledgements This profiling exercise was initiated in order to better understand the challenges around local integration of refugees and asylum seekers in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki so as to provide more evidence for the policy development and response planning of the Municipality and the humanitarian and civil society community working in Thessaloniki. Additionally, the profiling results are intended to serve as a baseline for the future monitoring of local integration that is to be led by the Municipality. The completion of this profiling exercise and analysis of the displacement situation in Thessaloniki is a joint achievement of municipal authorities, UN agencies, international and national NGOs as well as civil society organizations. The Municipality of Thessaloniki together with UNHCR provided the important lead in this process. A Profiling Coordinator was identified and Profiling Advisory Committee as well as a Technical Working Group were established comprising: the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Alkyone Refugee Day Care Centre (Alkyone), the Association for the Social Support of Youth (Arsis), Solidarity Now, the Danish Refugees Council (DRC), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the voluntary association OMNES, the civil society network Help Refugees, INTERSOS, Filoxenia and the Hellenic Red Cross. The Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) provided support throughout the course of the profiling. All Profiling Advisory Committee members worked on the profiling through their appointed focal persons, who jointly discussed objectives, methodological approaches, decided on indicators, reviewed the data collection tools, supported with enumerators and qualitative data collection facilitators, reviewed preliminary results and final analysis as well as organized the community consultations. This profiling was supported by in-kind and monetary contributions by UNHCR, NRC, NORCAP, DRC, UNICEF, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, JIPS, Alkyone and Solidarity Now. Hellenic Red Cross Technical support by: Voluntary Association 4 DISPLACEMENT PROFILING IN THESSALONIKI Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................9 The Refugee Context in Northern Greece .............................................................................................................................................................9 Why a Profiling in Thessaloniki? ...............................................................................................................................................................................11 Profiling Objectives and Analysis Structure .........................................................................................................................................................13 2. PROFILING METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................................................................14 Target Groups and Geographic Scope ...................................................................................................................................................................14 Collaborative Process to Shape Analysis Approach and Tools ...................................................................................................................15 Qualitative Data Collection .........................................................................................................................................................................................16 Quantitative Data Collection ......................................................................................................................................................................................18 3. REFUGEES & ASYLUM SEEKERS: EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCAL INTEGRATION .................................................21 Demographic and Displacement Profile .............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Migration History and Length of Stay in Thessaloniki ................................................................................................................................... 26 Access to Employment and Livelihood Means ................................................................................................................................................. 26 Access to Housing and Services .............................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Future Intentions ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 Social Networks in the City ........................................................................................................................................................................................40 4. THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS NOT REGISTERED WITH THE ASYLUM SERVICE: CHALLENGES IN COPING WITHOUT THE ASYLUM STATUS ................................................................................................................. 43 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Demographic and Displacement Profile ..............................................................................................................................................................44 Migration History and Length of Stay in Thessaloniki ................................................................................................................................... 46 Accommodation and Homelessness .................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Access to Employment and Livelihood Means .................................................................................................................................48 Access to Services ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................50 Future Intentions ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................51 Social Networks ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 54 ANNEX 1: INDICATORS AND QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................64 ANNEX 2: ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE REPRESENTATIVITY ............................................................................................................ 76 5 a baseline for future