COUNTRY OF WAR REFUGEES, FINANCIAL CRISIS AND ‘QUIXOTRY’
Greece is flooded with war refugees from Syria and financial emigrants from Asia and Africa that want to enter European Union, while at the same time the country experiences a disastrous recession, is thee a way out?
When I started to express my thoughts and record events in small articles, during the economic crisis, I never expected that we will get to this impasse, we are experiencing today. The financial and political crisis has reached tragic proportions with the addition of the war refugee problem.
Excessive property tax (ENFIA) destroyed the middle class, the income tax has destroyed small businesses, while the third memorandum in sequence, literally leads to impoverishment of the poorer classes. Many interpret this as the first necessary steps towards redistribution of wealth even the abolition of capitalism.
The capstone with the addition of the refugee-immigrant problem substantially affected our national identity and even threatens our sovereignty.
Greece was and continues to be a country of refugees. During the last decades Greece had to deal with refugee absorption of thousands of war refugees and financial emigrants’, both fellow Greeks and non-nationals. The refuge problem hit Greece in two ways, accepting influx of emigrants and surviving the drainage of one third of the Greek population who emigrated all over the world.
This time we experience a setback of decades.
Pensioners, youth, as well as productive forces speak without any optimism for the current situation or the future; we can only observe desperate efforts on the part of the government, which is trying to gain time to remain in power. Each political party, either in power or opposition, is playing the ‘blame game’ trying to transfer responsibility to each other, not recognizing its share of responsibility.
One wonders what to believe and to whom.
At the ideological level, the basic principles of solidarity, humanity and support of victims of war are vanishing, even within the European Union.
The European Union’s ideals are put under pressure due to the reintroduction of introvert Nationalist approach to deal with problems such as terrorism and racism.
Mr Tsipras the Greek Prime minister is trying to associate SYRIZA with European Social Democrats which are also trying to show a new form of political expression to reduce the sharp increase of social reactions to austerity policies.
On the opposite side, Euroscepticism and xenophobic extreme right political forces are dangerously rising up. (The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Angela Merkel was defeated in three states in Germany where local elections were recently held.)
In Greece, we face serious and obvious governance and financial management weaknesses which coupled with the protracted internal political instability leave the country vulnerable to old and new national risks. Unfortunately, the uncompromising austerity terms imposed by Europe and the International Monetary Fund have not proved successful, in spite the effort made.
One of the most obvious and infallible signs that can expose the financial status of the country is the Capital Controls imposed. Members of the Government repeatedly lied about their forecasts, while the governor of the Bank of Greece has been very clear about this issue. «Timing is not right yet,» he said a month ago in parliament and added that the restriction on capital movements will be lifted at the time conditions will be right to launch the economic recovery and long term deposits will return in the banking system. Obviously people and investors will believe the Governor and not the government;
Turkey and our northern neighbors do not offer the safest or more conciliatory environment for compromises and understanding, yet the biggest enemy is the internal instability and anachronistic divisions affecting Greece, over time, as if it is part of the DNA of the Greeks, all these issues together form an explosive mixture pushing the country to insecurity and emporvishment.
Unfortunately, Greece, which was the only country that experienced a civil war after the Second World was unable to live ‘catharsis’ nor got rid of obsessions and dependencies.
I listen to political opponents to confront using terminologies still reminiscent of post-civil war situations.
In Greece, the economic policy still tends to be influenced by sentiment, i.e. whether the general public believes that ‘ELAS’ the Greek partisan Army soldiers, who participated in the National Resistance, during the second world war, were National heroes or not. Of course they were, nobody denies this but this fact does not deprive other resistance fighters, the right to be equally recognized and not be accused as nonexistent or accountable, as traitors, collaborators with the occupiers.
In the same way there are still obsessions as each businessman is a thief. Even other obsession views expressed as “Championship is capitalist residue» and «the concept of excellence has a negative attribute» or «private universities are not needed or advised,» Because all this ‘will have to settle for the principles of equality, especially at the period of high international competitiveness.
I cannot bear to hear these so obsessive and anachronistic views.
But these are minor offenses compared to the problem of lack of realism and adaptability to the real environment of international competition. This lack confers to the characteristic of quixotry.
In addition to internal political conflicts and confrontations with main concern the shifting of responsibilities (blame game) and enforcement of a specific strategy for the way out, I cannot understand the continuing pressure tactics of our lenders for tax onslaught that has so far destroyed every chance to revive the Greek economy.
It is perfectly obvious that the society endurance limits are exceeded.
What hope our lenders retain? All they can get now is some low value fixed assets, family house properties and selectively small businesses, which are unfortunately gradually disappearing under the pressure of unethical over taxation and/or defaults on red and green debts.
What conclusions can one draw under these circumstances?
Currently I can see:
On one hand massive European funding and subsidies in countries and areas that follow the European development directives, and on the other the same Europe is trying to shake off the ‘foreign bodies’ which constitute negative examples, unfortunately Greece is a ‘loud’ negative example due to a slew of actions that include obsessive, bureaucratic, and other arbitrary practices as immobilization of Independent Authority comities, most of such comities remain without elected boards, further more we experience the brutal government interference in the judiciary.
Even recently, Mr. Tsipras, in his attempt to revive vision and hope to his disappointed party associates referred to the struggle conducted to change Europe supported by allies’ so-called progressive forces.
I am wondering to what allies he refers to.
Total lack of development policy is lacking. Unfortunately, neither lenders nor the Greek government dared murmur some development projects, once again I wonder, is it because the characteristics of development can only include aid for private initiative that is not the main choice of left politics? In addition Europe proved inferior to expectations.
History tends to repeat itself. Facts resemble closely to the conflict between, the Austrian Chancellor (Metternich) with John Kapodistrias many decades back in the 19th century.
Who, at that time, would imagine that a Greek politician would put the foundations to the creation of neutral Switzerland and the Union of German states as well as the lowering of Austrian aspirations of Metternich.
But Tsipras is far from the stature of Kapodistrias to face the current anti-Greek and xenophobic Austria which found the way to exploit immature Balkans and to use them to satisfy its own false notion of national interests; they put a wick in the common European foundation.
Turkey grabbed the opportunity to play a Major role taking advantage of the migration crisis, coupled to ‘terrorism’, As such Turkey brought everything on the table, the Aegean, Cyprus, finance, the demilitarization of the Aegean islands and particularly Dodecanese, the positioning of Kastelorizo outside the geographical group of Dodecanese, the FYR of Athens, the condominium at Sea, acceleration of accession negotiations with Europe, the Kurdish issue etc. All this at the time of a weak Greece that offers no geopolitical counterbalance
The tragic developments of the immigrant problem, becomes an enormous humanitarian and national issue. Only shame and unspeakable grief can be caused by the behavior of all players, the European Union on the violation of the principles, Turkey supporting criminal traffickers, (Only the way of selling defective life jackets is enough proof to prove the crime committed under the hypocritical eyes of the Turkish police, 150 € for one hour survival life-jacket, € 300 for survival five hours). My God what tolerance!!
Shame on the UN for not acting.
Shame for those involved in the war who do not measure the full impact on the civilian population.
I’m sorry for the pessimistic note this article conveys, but the facts do not help to express a different view.
The only glimmer of optimism, in my view, comes, once more, the Greeks abroad who also look for the opportunity to offer their support to Greece.
This inexhaustible source that the Greeks still want to provide, but even them ask in return, a homeland of dignity and unity, not the ridicule and division.
ΝΚ
PS
This video was recorded yesterday morning.
A guy which arrived with the same boat, we posted yesterday (with the Turkish coast guard) sang this song from the heart. This song is about the Syrian people and the children of the ocean. This is very beautiful, but sad and true!
// The song:
«Oh you ocean, give us love.
Look what has happened to us.
Do not run the waves against us.
We Syrian, I swear, our cause is sad.
Oh, you would not believe, but our tears can drown you so much we cried.
We accepted all people and were kind and loving towards them, but when we fell, everyone betrayed every one of us. No one was crying for us.
Oh today the whole world failed us.
Oh you ocean, make your waves still, there are children in this boat which are our memories and our lives are in this boat.
I swear, our tears could fill all the worlds seas, and all our children’s childhood is gone in your waves and these waves, killed our children.
Oh you ocean, let your waves have pity on us and be caring like a mother.
Oh us Syrian, our cause is very sad.
Let us have peace… We only want peace.
And now…. We will go and get some peace…..»
Times for Change 