Just read on facebook that Nico Ago, an Albanian journalist living in Greece for the last twenty years has been served with a deportation order! Mr. Ago, a respected member of his trade, has lived and practiced journalism in Greece for the last twenty years. He was asked today to leave Greece within 30 days because he lacked a number of social security stamps in 2007 and thus was not eligible for a renewal of his residence permit.

During these years he has been employed by various newspapers and radio stations, he has contributed to magazines and his work was always acclaimed as excellent. A couple of years ago Mr. Ago was among the organisers of “a day without us”: a day when immigrants stayed away from all activity to show their contribution to the Greek economic and social life. Last year Mr. Ago was the coordinator of the Athens’ Municipality radio station’s presentation of writers who wrote about immigration, both Greek and foreign.

Niko Ago

His blog has been an inspiration for me and I invite those of you who can read Greek or Albanian to visit it at http://odromos.wordpress.com/

I hope and wish that the Greek Journalists Association (ESIEA) will  do their best against blind bureaucracy that has a smell of racism about it.