Four national papers are housed in a downtown Athens pedestrian walkway. Despite their low-key profile the papers affect the lives of close to a million people. This is the combined estimated readership of Polish 'Kurier Attenski', Francophone 'Tribune Hellenique', Albanian 'Gazetta e Athinais' and Russian 'Omonia', according to their publisher Theodoros Benakis.

Having worked as a journalist for some of the country's most prestigious papers for a number of years Benakis bought Greece's only Polish paper in 1996. Within a year he managed not only to significantly increase the paper's circulation but to also be in a position to consider an expansion that would lead to the creation of another three papers and to his becoming one of Greece's lesser-known media forces.

The majority of the readers are immigrants who live and work in Greece. Combined the papers sell 12,000 copies a week and are read by thousands more as groups take it in turn to buy them so a single copy maybe read by up to fifty people. Targeting 950,000 people, close to half of the readers are Albanian while the 130,000 'Omonia' readers include a large group of second generation repatriated Greeks from the former Soviet Union.

How do the papers help the immigrants adapt in the host country?
Firstly we cover a lot of local news in the reader's native language to help them get a better grasp of Greek reality. Secondly we translate important legislation so as to enable them to deal with local bureaucracy and thirdly the adds in all our papers are charge free."

Do they provide a link to home?
All the papers co-operate with their respective national news agencies. They cover serious news from the country of origin as well as regional news. To use a recent example the 'Kursk' submarine incident made the headlines in all our papers. 'Gazetta e Athinais' has three pages of Albanian news and a page of news from Kosovo. We mustn't forget that Kosovo is to Albanians what Cyprus was to Greeks in the 1960s.

Did the papers follow a common editorial line during the Kosovo War?
The views on Kosovo were divided. The Russian paper kept a position closer to the Serbs while the other three supported the ethnic Albanians. As a publisher I have no problem with that. Personally I have no sympathy toward Milosevic or his regime but I believe it is up to each paper to decide on their editorial line. As a publisher I ensure that what goes to print is in line with democracy and human rights.

How was the decision to expand the number of papers catering, mainly, for an immigrant market treated by the Greek authorities?
Some approved of the idea and others treated it with indifference. We have been co-operating with the government and especially with the Work and Public Order Ministries as well as the Employment Office. I think the state has realised that things have changed, that marginalising immigrants is a mistake and that a multiethnic society is the only way forward. They have also realised that the papers are not only read by foreigners but also by second generation Greeks who are not fluent in the language and those in mixed marriages. In February we helped organise a conference on immigrant issues part of which was held at the Foreign Ministry and attended by a number of supportive politicians.

Do you support the government's decision to remove the category of religion from mandatory state ID cards?
I think it was a good decision which will help curb religious discrimination. Religion is not a physical characteristic and it does not define identity. I can think of many cases where Russians or Serbs were treated better than Albanians or Poles because they were Orthodox.

How do you view modern Greek society?
As multiethnic. I believe a modern democracy cannot be defined by majority will. This concept defined democracy in the end of the 19th, possibly the beginning of the 20th century. What defines modern pluralistic democracies is the treatment of all as equals even if they belong to very small minorities. One's rights must be equally respected as the rights of the majority in a progressive democracy. As a result 'Greekness' cannot be defined by religion even if there is only a single Greek id holder who is not orthodox, his or her rights as a citizen cannot be dictated by religion.

Do you consider Greeks to be xenophobic?
Xenophobia in Greece is concentrated in the areas where there are not many foreigners. It is based on fear of others and ignorance. In areas where Greeks and foreigners come into contact all the time the phenomenon is weaker. Therefore as a whole I would not say that Greeks are xenophobic. I can however say that private television is largelly responsible for increasing xenophobia, particularly in the case of Albanians where they are perpetually portrayed as criminals.

Why do you think that although the number of immigrants in Greece is on the rise the percentage of those coming from Eastern Europe is subsiding?
The infrastructure of these countries is improving rapidly. There is renewed trust in the government and more job opportunities. The contrary is the case in many Asian and African countries which is why the influx of immigrants from these countries is rising.

Are the newly emerging immigrant groups facing different problems?
Yes, the problems they face are more complex because their cultural structure and values are fundamentally different and they have no support mechanism in the way Eastern Europeans who arrive in Greece do. Albanians who constitute the largest immigrant community have a developed network helping them find work and accommodation. Asian and Africans till constitute a tiny minority and have developed no safety mechanisms. As a result they run a higher risk of being exploited.