This blog is dedicated to my friend, P., who lives in Germany, and whose manner became noticeably chilly after the so-called help to Greece began. Here, I'll write all those things I couldn't tell her over the phone.

Τετάρτη 1 Ιουλίου 2015

Into the frying pan or into the fire?

After five years of austerity and measures imposed by the Troika (a trio made up of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Comission), the Greeks are finally asked to speak their minds.


The question is not whether they want to rescue the banks or whether they'd rather follow the example of Iceland. It is not whether they want to default or burden the taxpayers with an enormous debt that no sane person sees repaid within the century. It is not even whether the rich should bear the brunt or the common folk. All the above have already been decided upon and signed meekly by governments that acted submissively towards the Troika, in blatant disregard of Greek public opinion.
Then the tide turned and the resentment of ordinary Greeks brought a moderate left party to power in January.
The new government vowed to not rock the boat too much - they promised abide by what had been signed, provided the basic human rights and dignity for Greek citizens were not violated.
The Troika, mostly egged on by Germany, frothed in the mouth and, in order to lend us even more cash that would go directly to the banks, presented terms that would be impossible to agree upon. To most Greeks, it is evident that they want to force the issue and make the government choose between submission (which would discredit it to its electorate) or resignation (which would bring the more malleable previous parties to power again).
So the government did the only thing they could do: declared a referendum.
So, now, five years too late, the people are asked to decide their fate.
Unfortunately, their choices are limited:

YES would mean argeement to even harsher austerity measures, cuts of pensions and salaries, abolition of the most basic working rights, collapse of the Health Care System, rise of taxes and many others that will effectively drive more people into poverty and strangle the economy, making the current depression even worse. After voting YES, the Greeks will be unable to protest, since they will have given their consent to their own pauperisation. However, given that austerity has brought depression, revenue to pay the debts will never be generated, and the Greeks will be forced to take even more loans just to keep from defaulting, pushing the country into debt even more. This debt will haunt Greeks for generations to come.

The flag reads "yes."



NO would mean that Greeks would rather not receive another "dose" of cash to repay loans if that would mean more of the same austerity that has seen poverty rise to levels not seen since the 50's and 40's. Denied of their dues, the banks will of course push (and have proven that they can) for harsh punishments for Greece, in order to deter others from doing the same. Cash will dry up and Greece will not be able to import fuel, medications and many other necessities. It is possible that hard years will follow for all but the richest.

The helmet reads "IMF", the forklift reads "NO."


So what will the Greeks vote?

Innundated by fear-mongering propagated by the majority of the media (affiliated with the older parties and a few rich Greek families) many people will vote YES, for fear of losing what little they have. Recipients of pensions, those who still have some savings in the bank or are still making a living wage are more prone to this fear. Others, belonging to the right and centrist parties will vote YES in the hope to receive some financial security in the form of jobs in the public sector, if they come again into power. To put it simply, yes will be voted by people who will be content to gnaw the bones thrown under the table by their masters, fearing what might happen if they ever crawl from under that table.

Those who have felt the bite of poverty, who have lost their jobs, who have moved in with their parents because they cannot afford their own flat, who have queued for soup kitchens, who have lost their homes or businesses because they were unable to pay their debts, those who are homeless, will vote NO. They will be joined by others, who fear that a YES will forfeit the future of their children and perhaps their grandchildren too. To put it simply, NO will be voted by people who see the current situation as nothing short of slavery and want out.

What will be the result?
This is a lose-lose situation.  The Greeks are squeezed between a rock and a hard place. Whichever way they jump, they'll suffer.



If they vote NO, the government will be in a better position to re-negotiate new terms with teh Troika. They might listen, or not. In the latter case, Greece will default, and Greeks risk immediate collapse of the economy, dire poverty and who knows what else. It's possible that there will be black marketing and deaths due to lack of medical supplies.
If they vote YES, the poverty and dying will be less acute, but will steadily worsen and go on for a longer (possibly much longer) period of time.

If they vote NO, the government will win, but it will shoulder the responsibility for the problems and the social unrest that will follow.
If they vote YES, the government will have to resign, meaning the return of the older parties, who will, as before, meekly say yes to the harsh measures dictated by the Troika.

If they vote NO, the Greeks will be guilty of countless deaths brought on by lack of medical supplies and fuel for heating. This has already been happening ever since the crisis started, but a default will cause acute shortages for a -hopefully-short period of time.
If they vote YES, the Greeks will be guilty of exactly the same, only over a much longer period of time. The IMF itself has admitted that the Greek debt is unpayable, so Greeks will be condemned to bondage for decades to come.
To all this misery and certain deaths, we should add the possibility of social unrest - whichever way the vote is cast.

My vote
Although I have almost made up my mind that it's better to look at the long-term picture and take the plunge, I will still approach the booth with trepidation. I fear my own ignorance and my own fear. Naturally I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle, and I'm seeing only part of the picture. Am I oversimplifying? Am I condemning my children and my family to a quick and brutal death instead of holding out, in the hope that things may get better? How many people is my vote going to condemn to misery or death, whichever way I cast my vote? How many may be saved if I vote otherwise?

One last thought
The only thing that takes me out of my fear (and preemptive guilt) is this thought:
The people who planned this future and put these choices before us seem not to have spared a single thought for the human beings involved in their decisions.

And that drives me mad.


--------------------------------------------

First image from here: http://greece.greekreporter.com/files/Greece_referendum.jpg. Other images variously, via Facebook. Original sources unknown.

My data comes from these sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/07/03/the-next-greece-is-not-a-matter-of-if-but-when/?postshare=2281435956127960
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/former-central-bank-head-karl-otto-poehl-bailout-plan-is-all-about-rescuing-banks-and-rich-greeks-a-695245.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/07/03/how-europe-played-greece
http://jubileedebt.org.uk/reports-briefings/briefing/six-key-points-greek-debt-weeks-election
http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/jul/02/greek-debt-crisis-athens-creditors-referendum-yes-no-live
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-01/europe-wants-to-punish-greece-with-exit







Τετάρτη 10 Δεκεμβρίου 2014

The plight of refugees in Greece


278
There are many aspects to the desperation which has driven the Syrian refugees to this self-organised protest. Many of them are on hunger strike. One common bond is the fear of being trapped in Greece with no money and no support. Without money to pay your way out of Greece clandestinely you face a frightening future.
Many of the Syrians who make it to Greece have some money; some have much. In many respects those in Syntagma square, are more privileged than the millions of Syrians living in the camps in Turkey or Jordan. Of the 11 million Syrians refugees today (including those internally displaced within the country as well as outside the borders) only 4% make it to Europe.
We were told many stories in the Square of people selling homes, cars and businesses to pay for the escape from Syria. But as a consequence of there being no provision for safe travel to the EU, the Syrians as with all refugees without papers, are forced to pay for clandestine routes into Greece. It is very expensive.
We discovered that in many cases the money was focused on one person in the household group. Usually the father/husband, although we also met some mothers who were travelling alone with their children. The plan is for this person to find a safe place in Europe where they would be able to bring the rest of their family and live together again. This appears to be one of the most important criteria for choosing particular destination countries such as Sweden, Norway and Germany. The other was joining relatives and friends already settled in Europe which is particularly the case for Sweden which has a relatively large Syrian population. No one we met wanted to stay in Greece.
155
“They don’t want us in Greece. But they won’t let us leave. We are in a place worse than a prison. We can’t work, we have no housing, no medical care, schools for our kids and we are running out of money.”
(Bassel, 28 years, finance manager)

“I am trying to join my brothers who are now in Germany. They are waiting for me. I don’t want to be here.”
(Halil, 18 years, high school student)
“I have one brother in London and one brother in Manchester and I want to be with them. I have tried to see if the British embassy [in Athens] can help me. But I am always turned away by the security guards. I can’t speak to anyone there.”
(Nizar, 17 years, high school student)
“I am a barber from Aleppo. I am 28 years old. My wife and my 2 daughters are still in Syria. My youngest daughter, Maria, was born last week and I have only seen her in this photo [which he shows]. I left Syria five weeks ago to find a safe country for my family. This is my purpose. This is why I want to go Norway or Sweden because there I can get my family. In Greece, never.
(Fathi, 28 years )
“I don’t think you will find any of us on this protest who wants to stay in Greece. But this is the only way for us to get to Europe. We don’t want asylum here. There is nothing for us here. Nothing. They just want our money.”
(Nour, 23, journalism student)
“It took me three tries to get from Izmir to Chios in October this year. The first 2 times we were caught by the Greek coastguard who took us back and gave us to the Turkish coastguard. It cost 3,000 euros.”
(Suzy, 22 , English Literature student)
“Every attempt I make to leave Greece costs money. Mainly to the smugglers who try to get us across borders [without papers]. But how long will my money last? I am paying 100 euros a month to live in a 2 room studio with 9 others. It is expensive because we can’t rent houses and the government here only provides for a few families with children.”
(Ammar, 19 , first year electronics student)

“I knew from my friends who came before that Greece would be a hard place. But it was only when I was put in the Samos camp [after arriving from Turkey in a small plastic boat] that I saw how much we are hated here. It is not human.”
(Natalia , 36, teacher)

169
“Once we start on this journey, we have to pay for every step of the way. I paid $ (US) 2,000 to come in a rubber boat to Mytilene. There were 35 of us. I was terrified. We travelled at night. The waves were coming in all the time. There were young children with us. I was put in the camp and after 7 days left for Athens. I have been here 4 weeks now.“
(Mohammed, 26, marketing student)
“For me it was a jet ski from Bodrum with 2 friends. It was night time and we were taken to Kos. But as it got light and we walked around we found that we had been left on a small island, completely empty. No houses, no people. After about 5 hours a Greek coastguard boat came and took us to Kos. “
(Nour,23)
“I have been unlucky. I paid 3,000 euros to go on a yacht from Fethiye in Turkey to Italy. The boat was good and there were just 8 of us. But about 20km from the Italian coast we ran out of fuel. We were able to contact the coastguard in Italy but they told us we were too far from the coast and had to come nearer before they would come out to rescue us. But we couldn’t move. Then a ship came but said they wouldn’t take us but they had radioed another ship that would come and pick us up. It was a Russian ship going to Palestine. They took us and were sorry that they couldn’t take us to Italy so we were dropped off in Rhodes. I wanted to keep out of Greece and now here I am. Trapped. In the six weeks I have been here I have tried to get out, 2 times I got into Macedonia but then caught and returned, one time to Albania and the same, and also Igoumenitsa . My money is going.”
(Bassel, 28)

“I paid 1,500 euros to come in a small boat to a Greek island (Samos). We were promised that it would be safe. But they filled the boats with people. I had to leave all my luggage on the beach in Turkey as the smugglers wanted all the space for people. I was very frightened.”
(Zeinah, 25, postgraduate law student)

“I am wearing all the clothes I own now. The Greek coastguards made us throw our bags into the sea. I was warned this could happen so I left all my papers (about his qualifications and education) with my brother in Turkey and he will send them when I am safe. Most are not so lucky and have lost very important documents.”
(Ammar, 26, medical student)
265

Because there is no safe passage to Europe, the Mediterranean area, including the Aegean, has become the most dangerous border area in the world “between countries that are not at war with each other. The risks of dying while crossing this border are close to 2%. Crossing the Mediterranean is more lethal than crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico to the USA, the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Australia, or the Gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula”(Philippe Fargues and Sara Bonfanti, Migration Policy Centre, EUI October 2014). Even when you succeed in crossing the sea the dangers to life continue. Tragically, one of the Syrians who had been at the Syntagma protest, Ayman Ghazal, died last week whilst trying to cross the border between Albania and Greece.
A large number of those we spoke with were students of whom around 30% were young women. The majority was at university and a small number were still in high school. Very few of them had finished their studies and were desperate to complete their courses. Some of our conversations were in Arabic but many were in English as so many of the students were fluent speakers. Ranging from marketing, law, medicine, journalism, English literature, IT, electrical engineering, teaching, these students spoke passionately about their education and their need to find somewhere to complete their courses.
Despite their circumstances the students – indeed all those we met – were confident about their abilities to re-build their lives in Europe. They just wanted to be given a chance to move freely with rights to work and study.
But without exception every Syrian we spoke with had suffered pain and fear. In the midst of stories being exchanged we got to hear how many had been in Syrian jails and police stations. There was the final year medical student whose strapped hand and wrist was a legacy to being suspended by his wrists while in a police cell. Many had lost close relatives and friends either killed or wounded. Constant fear was their companion in Syria. So was hurt, as they saw much loved cities and towns pulverized and cleaned of their people. And on top, the daily uncertainty, never knowing when or where the violence would strike next.

“When you come to a country in a crowded rubber boat which has cost you 2,000 euros to make a four hour journey, you know that you are heading for trouble. But I also thought that in Europe which we are told is so advanced and civilized that our wounds and fears we carried with us would mean that we would be helped. But we have been treated worse than animals [in the Detention Centres and Greek police cells]. Nobody asked me why I left Syria, or what I had experienced. Do they think we want to come to Greece for this? I never wanted to leave my home. I love Damascus. Now I may never be able to return.”
(Ranim, 31, accountant)

“Look at this [he plays a video on his phone]. This is Raqqa 2 days ago where bombing by Assad’s planes martyred over 200 people and injured many more. Look at those streets with smashed people. This I lived with. The planes bomb and then return 15 minutes later to bomb the people who go out to save people from the first raid. And now the Americans are  bombing the town.
My father was born in Raqqa so on my ID it says I am from Raqqa although we live in a small village 15kms from the town. But because my ID says Raqqa my life is hell in Syria. Because Raqqa is controlled by ISIS it means that the government sees all people from there as ISIS supporters.”
(Firas 29, mechanic)
“Until this summer I had a good job as a finance manager for a big company. As a third generation Palestinian I grew up in a camp near to the city but that was badly damaged three years ago so we moved nearer to the centre. I drive to work and have to pass through many military checkpoints. At one of the checks, just because I was Palestinian, I was told to get out the car and to walk for fifteen minutes around a square which was known for its snipers. I walked reciting the Koran and thinking of my two young sons; waiting to be shot. This happened to me three times this year. After the last time I and my wife decided that we should leave, me going first with my family to follow. I last saw them 6 weeks ago.”
(Bassel, 28)
“It became impossible for me to stay in Syria. I applied and got a very senior appointment in a hospital based in Qatar, but I couldn’t get permission from the government there to work in the hospital. I am a specialist neurologist. “
(Moussa, 36, doctor)

“For tn years I was a journalist in Damascus and managed to avoid the eye of the government. Then I wrote one article that was mildly critical of Assad and I ended up in police cells for one year. I left immediately I was released. My brother is a journalist for an Arab paper and is in London. I want to join him.”
(Ahmed 43, journalist)

176

Many of the refugees were astonished by their treatment both from the Greek state and its agencies and from the way they were being ripped off as they tried to both survive and escape from Greece. Its neglect, its casual cruelties, the way in which they are left in limbo with no control over their lives as the Greek state processes them is totally devoid of humanity.

It was the hope of many we spoke with that they could succeed in getting the Greek state to either reach a national solution or even better force an EU resolution which would give them refugee status with the right to travel, work and live anywhere within the EU. Given this strategy it is not surprising that many on the protest wanted to know about the government, its power within the EU, and why so many of its refugee policies were focused on repression and exclusion and not on human welfare.

But even after a few days of the protest there is a growing sense amongst the protesters that the Greek government is not up to much and not prepared to do anything positive for them.

“My first time in a police cell was in Athens. I never thought this would happen to me.”
(Nizar, 17)

 184

“I don’t know who came over from the Parliament yesterday but he told us that we could not achieve our demands. He said that there was little they could do but he hoped that some houses would be given to families with children. We were disappointed but not surprised. They will try and divide us I think, giving some things but only to a small number. But if we don’t keep together we are nothing.”
(Ammar, 26, medical student)

 “I can see now many similarities between the Greek and Syrian systems. It is a common Arab experience. But I think the Greek government is worse. Nothing works, nothing happens that is good for the people.”
(Zeinah, 25, postgraduate law student)


“Is it because most of us are Muslims that we are treated like this? I never thought about this before but I am beginning to think that we are being punished because we are Moslem.”
(Ammar,26)

The reaction of his friend, another university student was amazement:

“This cannot be true. Islam is an open religion and is about living together in peace and within a framework which is not too tight and not too loose. There is nothing to fear from Islam.”
(Mohammed, 26, marketing student)

“I am always thinking as we sit here all day. I look at the people passing on the street. I think that if they are Greek that they will have papers that allow them to travel and to move. What is different about them from me? Why can they have this freedom and not me? I think my life might be better if I was a dog. At least then I can get a passport to travel in Europe. “
(Ammar, 26 years, final year medical student)


It is the character of some protests at least, especially those which give time to the activists to know one another and to talk that there are opportunities to learn and gain greater understanding. This is clearly happening for many in Syntagma. A clear example occurred around 6 days into the protest (26 Nov 2014) when a leaflet from the Ministry of Interior was distributed to the activists. It was in Greek and English with a few lines of incomprehensible Arabic scrawled along the bottom. This was the leaflet’s message set out in bold type:

You have nothing to gain if you remain on
Syntagma square.
You should follow the only way to a life
With dignity.
You should apply for asylum.

“I can’t understand. In this paper the government tells us “The Greek State is not able to offer accommodation to all the people coming from Syria. What is possible is to examine housing for persons granted asylum especially in cases of families with small children who live in the streets”. Then it says:”WORK: Those who have not applied for asylum, do not have the right to work. Even for asylum holders, it is very difficult to find a job. In Greece there are 1,240,000 people unemployed.” We are not crazy. We don’t want asylum in Greece.”
(Bana 26, journalism student)

“I had not realized how bad it was in Greece until the women cleaners stopped during their demonstration. The poverty here is very bad. Even if you get a job the wages are very low. But it is the poor people here who help us the most. The women cleaners felt our pain.”
(Zeinah, 25, postgraduate law student)

“It says that if get asylum we “can also visit other European countries for three months twice a year.” This is no good for me. I want to be with my brothers in Germany. Not here.”
(Halil, 18 years, high school student)

“The more I hear the more I am determined not to apply for asylum in Greece. I have met refugees from Algeria who have waited for 7 years to get a blue passport [asylum]. How can we wait like this? “
(Ranim, 31, accountant)
002
If I get asylum it will be impossible for me to ever return to Syria. I don’t want to do this. I want to get to a country where I can stay but never give up my right to return.”
(Nour,23)


“The parliament members are very sleepy and I am really surprised at the way that they are managing the issues in this country. They are useless and have no power to speak up towards other European countries; it’s really sad to have such an attitude from a European country member.”
(Bassel, 28)

180

There is enormous dignity in this protest. It is well run, the area occupied is regularly cleaned; they have a pile of donated clothes which they manage as well their own valuable skills. So the doctors and medical students amongst them check regularly on those who are suffering as the hunger strike deepens and there are toys and games for the young children. Together the hundreds of Syrians in the square have created a sense of purpose and solidarity. They remain determined. They have so little to lose. They are not being led from the outside but are self organized with a lot jokes and laughter and much talking. It is an easy place to be and the refugees are thirsty to discuss and share their lives and struggles with all those who care to spend time with them.

As we write the protest in Syntagma continues into its 20th day. One of the friends we made sent us the following message this morning; “the weather is getting worse and the children and women still sleeping in the square. It’s a big shame on them. We are still here and we stay in the square since we have no choice. We have to fight for our rights”. (Bassel, 28)

We live in a world where innocent victims of atrocities and violence are caught up in situations well beyond their control and yet when they seek refuge they are further violated and humiliated. Then in order to gain some modest but fundamental rights, they have to fight and struggle. In the name of our common humanity it is intolerable to accept a world which so mercilessly creates millions of refugees and then sets out to punish them further. This is not a struggle which can be carried alone by the refugees.

Are we going to stand back and watch in silence?


275

Source: http://samoschronicles.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/in-syntagma-square-syrian-refugees-fight-back/

Τρίτη 13 Μαΐου 2014

This is not a toy: The Greek Tragedy told with Playmobil figures


Blogger Nikos Papadopoulos repurposes Playmobil's toy figures to create darkly witty tableaux that comment on the reality of modern day Greece. And as with all good satire, not everyone is happy with the outcome, not least the German toy-maker itself that sought to remove his images from the internet.
A ‘happy father, unhappy Greek,’ is how Nikos Papadopoulos describes himself on his blog, now known as ‘Plasticobilism’ (Facebook page here). As a good father he first started purchasing Playmobil toys for his young son. As an unhappy Greek he soon realized that the small plastic men, women and children could be repurposed to create images with a political message, to say the things he wanted to say more playfully and more effectively than with any long-winded political diatribe.



Thus was born ‘Playmobilism’ the first blog and facebook page Mr Papadopoulos, an astrophysicist and professional screenwriter, created in August 2013 to post images of his new found toy-based activism. With its clever and topical posts, the page soon built a significant and devoted following. 

That was until March 25th - ironically Greece’s independence day - when Mr Papadopoulos’s Facebook page was suddenly taken down without warning following a complaint made by Playmobil Germany to the social media site. The company maintained that the page and blog violated its intellectual property rights by using the name ‘Playmobil’. 



That may seem reasonable. But the company did not stop there. When Mr Papadopoulos set up a new blog and Facebook page under the new name ‘Plasticobilism’ (which while less satisfying, carefully avoids trademark issues), the company was still not happy. Writing to Mr Papadopoulos they stated that he was still violating their guidelines which prohibit the ‘modification’ of their figures in order to make ‘political statements’ and ‘aggressive content dealing with war and violence’. They demanded that he either shut down his page or remove all of the photographs with ‘political content’ (a broad term if ever there was one) and not post such images again.

Mr Papadopoulos refused, protesting that he couldn’t be violating any modification guidelines given that he was not modifying the store-bought figures in any way, only posing them. Furthermore, he pointed out, he was far from the only person on the planet who had thought of using Playmobil’s figures in such a way. He says he spoke to similar groups abroad who claimed that they had never been troubled by the company over any of their (equally political) content. The company also received angry emails from a number of Mr Papadopoulos’s followers and the story of censorship of a Greek blogger by a German multinational was picked up by several Greek news sites.


Angela Merkel arrives in Greece


Fortunately, for whatever reason, Playmobil eventually decided to back down and reached a compromise with Plasticobilism, retracting its demand that Mr Papadopoulos remove images and asking only that he publish a disclaimer on his sites clearly stating that he is in no way affiliated with the company, which he did. They even apologised for closing his first site. 

So for now we commend Playmobil for doing the right thing - albeit only after it behaved like an authoritarian behemoth. For given that Playmobil is designed for kids to ‘recreate and experience the world in miniature’, can't adults be trusted to do the same? Especially given that it is efforts like Plasticobilism, with its replacement of impotent rage with potent satire, that make the real world that little bit better.