Its All Greek To Me

Before I become a serious hubber (is that a real word?) I thought I would give you a little insight to my life in Greece. I don’t live thank goodness in the capital; it would be far too hot and unhealthy for me. I live by the sea in a beautiful village which is 230 kilometers north of Athens. The village is called Achinos and any treasure hunters out there should visit, as wherever you might dig or build its likely you will unearth some ancient coin, statue, or building wall. So why Greece, why not Pakistan? Well I am half Greek on my mother’s side and half English on my Fathers side. I love the landscape here, the weather, the sea and islands, and the people. What I find very frustrating is the lack of organization, the constant expectancy of a back hander, and the immense bureaucratic malaise. Here are some real live examples of why I throw up my hands and shout ‘its all Greek to me’.

The Mayor of Achinos Village Fthiotida Central Greece (Raches Village too)

I visited the local mayor's office the other morning because the local council has a plan to build a path down one side of the small stream that runs through the village and forms a border with my little piece of land. A few weeks ago a bulldozer had entered my land and had dug a ramp down to the river. No one asked me permission or informed me this was going to happen. Hence the early morning visit to the office of the Mayor of Raches and Achinos. He was nice enough in a sickly obliging way, but denied all knowledge of this intrusion on my premises. But, and this is why I am more than slightly suspicious, he offered to replace the damage and the earth that had been taken away to build the ramp. Why would he spend precious Greek euros as a favour to me? He thinks I'm an interfering half breed foreigner anyway. It's just another Greek cover-up albeit on a minor scale compared to some of the government scandals. When they will come and fix my land? Could be this century, but I somehow doubt it unless I keep badgering them.

Economic Balderdash

The new economic measures that the Greek government has decided to impose look as though they are the act of a government that is clutching at economic straws. To do away with the 13th and 14th salary is a body blow for a people who are already drowning in the economic mire. At least at Christmas and Easter they had extra money to look forward to in these hard times. Now the government is striving to cover a shortfall in taxes of 20 billion Euros due to tax evasion. A public deficit of 5.7% of the GDP and likely to go higher as we get into 2010. Also a 1.2 billion government spending overshoot has the government scrambling to find money. Most pundits reckon that the Greek economy will shrink by 1.3% in 2009 and even more in 2010. Tourism is down by 20% with tourist spending down by 30% so Greece's income streams are shrinking. Of course Greeks themselves (and this is the conundrum) will take advantage of the Greek social security program's where Greeks can take vacations in Greece at a mere 10 Euro per person per day. I can't imagine what the cost is to the Greek government for this scheme. Still what the one hand giveth the other hand taketh.

Asylum in Universities and Schools

The word 'asylum' has become a dirty word in the Greek education system. The ancient Greeks used asylum in their education system to mean 'freedom of thought'. Nowadays it is completely distorted and means that students can make Molotov Cocktails on educational premises with impunity. They can close down classes, wreck school and university property without recourse and essentially not bother to learn. The professors and teachers just look on because the 'asylum law' prevents them doing anything. Even the police are powerless to intervene under this stupid law. The Greeks want to educate their young for the future of the country, however, until the law is changed that is not possible. The teenagers are essentially running the education system into the ground and the governments talk the talk but do nothing about changing the ridiculous 'asylum' law.

Greek Elections

The Greeks love elections (they all think they are Prime Ministers anyway) and on Sunday the 4th of October 2009 they got their wish and the country came to a standstill from Friday to Tuesday. The kids loved it. Schools closed for two days. The police loved it - more cars on the road (because in Greece you have to vote in the place you were born, so around election time 10 million people move from one place to another for a few days) and therefore more fines to hand out. Mr Karamanlis called a snap election because his conservative right wing government was stuck in a mire of scandals and the country is on the verge of bankruptcy except for the politicians who all seem to have acquired huge villas, a summer home, a new car, and a huge bank account. So he went to the people and the people said thank you and voted in the left wing party led by George Papandreou by a huge landslide. Will he do any better, who knows. What we do know however is the the Karamanlis dynasty has been replaced by the Papandreou dynasty. A pair of dynasties which have shared power during the last 60 years.

I have plenty more where these came from but they are for another day. It’s All Greek to Me!