CULTURE AND MIGRATION

VIII Preface a short or long period. And adaptation to a new cultural space does not mean that they have to forget their own cultural identity. It means richness, since they can have both – or more – cultural identities. Protection of refugees/migrants means, among other things, respect of their cultural identity. Not only people, though, have a cultural identity; cultural objects, monuments too have such an identity, being a representation of certain people at a certain time, being“intrinsic to the identity of a nation”. Thus, one could perhaps see analogies between the refugees and the Parthenon Sculptures and ask for the restitution to the previous situation. Rob people of their past, is a crime, and so is rob a nation of its past. Ancient Hiketeia, protected by Zeus, and Modern Hospitality have sometimes – as in the case of Anogeia, in Creta – achieved the “miracle” of protecting both the cultures of the local communities and of the protection seekers. Cultural heritage determines people’s history and is determined by it. Respect of culture, respect of cultures and of cultural identities, can really do miracles. Athens, April 2020 Elina N. Moustaira Professor of Comparative Law National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Law