If anybody doubts that Irony is a greek word, Syriza has apparently come out in opposition of the destruction of the refugee squats in Thessaloniki. In case you are not following greek politics very closely, Syriza is the major partner in the Greek coalition government. So Syriza is condemning their own government.
Hypocrisy is another greek word as well…
At least 40 people drowned this morning off Turkey when their boat capsized and sank while they were trying to cross to Greece. At least 244 people have died while trying to make it to Europe so far in 2016…
When you wake up to news like that day after day it is easy (and not entirely illogical) to feel overwhelmed, to want to shut down, to give in to despair. I struggle with these feelings and thoughts all the time. Where I find hope and strength is in the solidarity of ordinary people who faced with this reality day in and day out, in the midst of the worst economic downturn outside of a wartime, choose to work together, to not let the apparent impossibility of the task at hand stop them from doing the little bit that they can. And I find particular inspiration in the fact that these efforts are not guided by feelings of pity or charity, nor are they focused solely on addressing humanitarian needs. Solidarity groups and efforts in Greece, among many many similar efforts throughout the world, stand together with our fellow human beings who are forced to flee their homes and seek a better life somewhere else, not only in providing the basics of food, water, clothing, medical care, housing, but also in opposing the very actions and ideologies that create the conditions from which they need to flee and which profit from their deaths along the way. But most importantly, we stand together so that we can build a better world, one where dignity and freedom are paramount values and realities, where human needs supersede those of the banks and the states, a world where our children, ALL of our children, are safe, happy, well taken care of.
“Another world is not only possible, she’s on the way and, on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully you can hear her breathe.”
I believe solidarity is the heartbeat of this world.
I have been asked in the last few days what I make of the electoral results in Greece and Europe, whether it is Syriza’s victory or the rise of Golden Dawn and fascist parties. There are a lot of celebrations and alarms raised by different sectors of the political and media classes. But the situation is a lot more complex and complicated than what superficial conclusions are being drawn from election results. The reality is that people are pissed, confused, scared, desperate. In Greece a lot of us know that there is a significant number of greek voters who alternate between supporting Golden Dawn and Syriza. In the conventional left-right view of politics this makes no sense whatsoever. In the more personal reality of people who are desperately “shopping” for who might be able to restore their lives and society into something that resembles normalcy and calm this becomes a little more comprehensible. What this shows however is that the political situation is a lot more volatile that even the election results show. There is little reason to believe that things will get better for the majority of ordinary people. Nor is there any reason to think that any of the formerly marginal political forces which are rising to some prominence and power now have the capacity to “make things right.” The Titanic is sinking and no rearranging of the chairs or threats to “jump overboard” (or to “throw others overboard”) will change the fact that the Titanic is still sinking and it is not salvageable. I don’t know how and when it will go under, but the direction is not in doubt. And as long as we are looking for who will “save us” or who has the right “fix” then we are looking in the wrong direction. I understand, I feel the desperate desire for the leader who will lead us into the promised land, the expert who will make everything work again. There are plenty of times when I have wished that they could be found. But they don’t exist (although we have plenty who are vying for the positions). Nobody will save us. We need to (re)learn to take care of ourselves and each other. Nobody will fix this. We need to (re)create our own world, for the benefit of all, human and non-human, current and future generations. In the end, the most frightening aspect of the situation that we find ourselves in is not how bad things are. It is that it is up to us to “make it right.” But, for me at least, this is the aspect which gives me the most hope.
I was going to the local tax office this afternoon in Greece (I needed to pay a fee for the replacement of a lost ID card) and as I was approaching I noticed several police cars, cops cordoning off the sidewalk and after a little bit a fire truck, ambulance and military truck as well as a few unmarked vans pulling up. Apparently an employee noticed a hand grenade at the balcony of the 2nd floor and they called police and evacuated the building. As I was leaving the bomb squad was moving in with their remote robot and police were evacuating all nearby buildings.
I don’t know how, or when, the grenade ended up there but enough people are angry about all the tax increases and new taxes that it is hard not to jump to conclusions. And, judging from the side conversations I overheard, many of the people milling around didn’t seem at all upset at the prospect of a tax office getting blown up.
Yesterday afternoon I was in the center of Athens with my mother and after we finished some errands and visiting with some friends we decided to stop by a local place that she likes, to get something to eat. Just outside the entrance an older man was pacing around, hand slightly extended, muttering over and over again Πεινάω (I am hungry), a sight and sound that has become quite common in greek cities. We put a few coins in his hand, gave him a smile and went inside. About 20-30 minutes later, while we were eating, I noticed that the same man had also come inside the restaurant. He was immediately and warmly greeted with his name by the owner and his young daughter who were busy serving the remaining customers. After a few minutes they showed him to a table, and the owner brought him a small plate of food and some bread, and after the man had sat down, a rather large glass of red wine. When the folks at the table next to him had finished their meal and left the owner took several slices of unused bread (when you go to a restaurant in greece they will always bring you silverware, bread and water) and handed them over to the eager older man. Several times the owner’s daughter (who is probably in her twenties) stopped by to exchange a few words, a smile and a touch, which always produced a very large grin from the older man. When I passed his table on my way to the bathrooms we also looked at each other with a smile, and he made the classic greek hand gesture that shows satisfaction with one’s meal.
As my mother verified and I have heard from others, there are many places who have such “regulars,” people from the neighborhood who are down on their fortunes and who will be taken in by restaurants towards the end of the busy meal times and be given what is left over. In the USA folks often have to go through the dumpster to get the leftovers. That is happening more and more in Greece too, but it is also nice to see that at least some of those who have no food will be taken to a table and served with a smile, and a large glass of wine.
After reading and hearing about a lot of the news that I have been posting, seeing something like that was food for the soul. Fuck the state, the banks and the troika. My faith is still, and always, with the people and community.
A few days ago a young girl died from poisonous fumes in Greece after she and her mother had been using a homemade brazier to heat their apartment when their electricity was cut off for non-payment. You would think that this is as bad as things could get for the poor mother but no. She was promptly charged with involuntary manslaughter due to negligence for the death of her daughter. Fortunately, the judge invoked a provision in Greek law by which if the victim is a relative of the accused the judge could rule that the accused has suffered enough and no further punishment would be necessary (or just) and promptly dismissed all charges. But the greek state decided that this is not good enough and initiated deportation proceedings against the woman, who is a Serbian national, giving her 30 days to leave the country, proving once again that in the land of austerity “justice” can be swift and heartless, if of course you are weak and powerless (investigations into tax evasion, corruption and other criminal charges against the rich, powerful, and well connected have been notoriously dragging on for years). She had been in the country legally but had fallen behind in paying the necessary resident permit fees since she was unemployed and broke.
There has been enough outrage in Greece over this that the government finally relented under the pressure and has given a 6-month extension to the woman for “humanitarian” reasons. But with temperatures dropping and at least 350,000 people throughout Greece who have had their electricity turned off permanently for non-payment and many more who cannot afford the cost of heating oil (which doubled a couple of years ago when the government significantly raised the taxes on it) I am afraid that stories like this will keep coming. Because we are told that the cost of “rescuing” Greece (see rescuing the banks and politicians) is to relegate a huge part of the population to abject poverty, hunger, ill health, evictions, foreclosures, unemployment, carbon monoxide poisoning, despair, and suicide.
Maybe one day we will have real justice and the politicians, bureaucrats, bankers and troika negotiators who are pushing austerity will be the ones who will be charged with the murders that they are bringing down upon the people. In the meanwhile, every morning I wake up and hope that I will not read any news about another person who didn’t.
#DispatchesFromTheAusterityFronts
Just so that we don’t forget who this is a crisis for and who benefits from the “austerity” measures.
“Whereas in 2009 the wealthiest fifth of the population had incomes that were five times higher than the poorer fifth, they now earn 7.5 times more, according to Manos Matsanganis, an associate professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business.”
http://www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.society&id=1629
How does that happen? How do the rich get richer and the poor poorer? Well, this is one way:
A 28-year old greek man was beaten to death when he went with a friend of his to help her collect her accrued, and unpaid, earnings. When they went to the restaurant where she worked and she asked to be paid what she was owed the 43-year old owner called a bouncer and told him to “clean up.” The bouncer, wearing gloves with metal interior, beat up the 28-year old knocking him unconscious and then proceeded to kick him. Police who were notified by witnesses arrested the bouncer immediately and the owner a little bit later. The 28 year old was transported to the hospital where he died from severe head wounds.
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.ellada&id=399798 (in
greek)
27 economic migrants, most likely from Syria, attempted to board a boat in Greece that the traffickers had told them would take them to another boat in Italy. Unfortunately the boat capsized and the people were thrown into the frigid waters. 15 made it to shore but 12 (including four children) did not. The video by a local news station shows the anger towards the traffickers, the shock at the bodies of the children and the anguish of the survivors.
WARNING: The images in the video have been blurred in several parts and some of the greek voices have been cut but the Arabic voices have not.
Here is a brief roundup of the news from Greece this weekend:
George Roupakias, the accused murderer of Pavlos Fyssas appeared in court Saturday morning and is being held in jail while the investigation continues. The investigation at this point is focused on who did Roupakias talk with both immediately before and after the murder. There is a lot of speculation (including reports who claim to have inside information but no actual proof) as to who called on him to go to the site of the murder and what he was told to do. So far the investigator in charge has not lifted the “secrecy” laws that protect the other cell phones Roupakias was in touch with so that they can be analyzed (with a lot of criticism for not having done so in some media sources and a lot of speculation as to why there is such a delay).
Dendias, the minister of public disorder, has announced multiple measures as part of the government’s “crackdown” on Golden Dawn: police protection for the Golden Dawn members of parliament has been withdrawn, parliamentary funding for GD has been cut off and a file with 32 outstanding criminal cases involving GD members has been turned over to the Anti-terrorist division of the police for investigation (some of those cases are over a year old, prompting a lot of criticism of why the government has been sitting on them for so long). The prosecutor of the Supreme Court (the greek legal system is quite different from that of the US) has ordered a speedy investigation on those 32 cases.
There have been multiple reported raids in GD offices, and arrests of 8 GD members for weapons violations.
University professors continue with their strike Monday and Tuesday. School teachers will vote today on joining them. Municipal workers will walk out Monday and Tuesday. Public employees are planning a strike for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Over the past few years I have been posting occasional news, reports and updates about the situation in Greece. Not that Greece is any more (or less) important than any other corner of the world, but it just happens to be the corner of the world I come from. A lot of times I will post about strikes, fascist and racist attacks, unemployment figures, police brutality and torture, but also about community responses to the crisis, examples of resistance and mutual aid, people organizing in the face of hopelessness. And some times I will post about “little stories,” about the lives, and sometimes deaths, of regular people. Because all too often when we get to watch or read the news, they are about the “big news” such as major government crackdowns, plane crashes, submarine explosions, government surveillance, crises, disasters, etc., items that have been deemed by someone in an editorial room to be “newsworthy.” Yet in the midst, or the shadows, of all the “big news” there are always ordinary people, not much different than you and me, who are confronted with limited choices in apparently overwhelming circumstances and who make decisions that might seem the best at the moment but are almost always tragic.
In today’s news from Greece: A 19-year old is caught without a ticket on a trolley bus and in order to escape paying the fine he jumps out of the moving vehicle, hits his head on the fall and dies hours later. A 20-year-old mother and a 44-year-old grandmother are arrested after the body of the two-day-old infant of the mother was found dead in a local landfill. Two men are found dead near Iraklio Crete, one hanged, the other shot, both apparent, and unrelated, suicides.
It isn’t that these stories and lives matter more than the stories and lives out of Egypt, India, Alabama, Los Angeles, etc. It is just that these stories and lives matter. Because we should never forget that behind the “news” are people, most of whom often want nothing more than to live an ordinary, happy, quiet life.