In the winter of 1922, at the northern boundaries of the Municipality of Piraeus, on the banks of the Kanapitseri stream, an improvised residential enclave was created, which quickly evolved into the settlement of Nea Kokkinia. The initial tents and makeshift shacks were quickly transformed into a whole town, the core of which was the central housing plan prepared by the Refugee Relief Fund and the Refugee Rehabilitation Committee of the period 1924-1928. Today, many of these houses are inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe, Albania and Pakistan, reflecting the changes and continuities in the city.
Refugee movements from the Global South from early 2000 to the present
Arrival and settlement of the refugees of 1922-24
The houses and courtyards of Nikaia have housed the dreams and toil of thousands of people who came from other places and settled there – temporarily or permanently – from 1922 until today.
The refugees and workers, the inhabitants of Nice, were deported to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
The port of Piraeus has always been a place of arrivals and departures, separations and meetings.
The small refugee and migrant shops in the urban area were a way of survival and a meeting place for the newcomers of each era.