Contingents of immigrants from Albania, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Kurdish areas in Turkey, and countries in Africa made up more than two-thirds of the March 21 action, making it the largest mobilization of immigrant workers in several years.

"So many of us have come out now because our frustration has been building up," said Samsideen Iddrisu, in an interview with the Militant. Iddrisu emigrated from Ghana to Greece and is the president of the Greek branch of the European Migrants Forum. "We have gone through two so-called 'legalization processes' and people thought that they would become permanent and legal. Now permits are expiring and we are going through another difficult process," he said.

The march was called by immigrant organizations and anti-racist committees to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It was supported by the civil servant's union, the Civil Servants' Supreme Administration Council, the Union of Public Secondary School Teachers, the Piraeus Labor Center, and several left-wing organizations.

The central demands put forward by the organizers of the action were "Legalize all immigrants now!" "Political asylum for all refugees!" and "Stop the deportations!"

Iddrisu said there are some 1 million immigrants in Greece of whom 350,000 previously gained temporary legal status. "Now even those people are in limbo not knowing the outcome of this new process," he said. "So people thought 'I have nothing to lose' and got off the couch and came to the march."

Immigrants are required to have both a residence and a work permit and to renew them every six months or year. Renewal requires a signed declaration by an employer and proof of their payment into the applicant's social security fund. Most employers are refusing to fill out the needed documents or to pay into the social security fund.

"The government is making this process very difficult," Iddrisu said. "People cannot meet the demands. This is because the forces behind the government are not interested in workers with documents. Companies profit from this situation. They want to keep us undocumented and illegal so that we are scared and can be threatened by police deportation," he said. "That way we work for low wages and without social security and health care. Their bottom line is not humanity but their profit margin."

Demonstrations were also held in Thessaloniki, Trikala, Hania, Zakynthos, and several other regions of the country.  
 
 
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