Greece is going through some terrible times right now. If one follows the press and the media local or international, one will discover the madness and insanity hiding behind those events. The photo you see on your left is the headline of a morning Greek paper which was in circulation yesterday.And the line reads "Out of control".The unexcused murder of a 15-year-old boy by the name "Alexis" (may he rest in peace) by a policeman fired a series of events which while unfolding turned out to be shocking to all the Greeks worldwide.
Who needs Nero when we have the self-destructing Greeks who offer their cities to the fire and the bombing so willingly?
Let's be fair, it's not everybody's fault but it is our fault for not working together. And the story goes:
One policeman opens fire some say with some say without reason ( I will not be the judge of that) and kills Alexis a 15-year-old boy. The response was immediate other 15-year-old boys protesting and shouting against the policemen to kill them because they are 15 years old,too. Other people and organisations try to protest,as well, in a peaceful way -we will never know- but their protest becomes an excellent excuse for anarchists and terrorists to "mix" with them and express their anger against any kind of government or any form of power.
At once nearly 10 important Greek cities live under the anarchists' regime (it's a huge irony,isn't it?) and the sight of these cities brings back vivid memories of the Greek Civil War. The police could do nothing but stare, frozen by their misfortune and carelessness that started these events. The anarchists/terrorists had the perfect plan!
They hid in the university (if one notices, the events happened only in those cities that have universities) and from there they unleashed a hell Greece had years to experience. Cars bombed, shops burnt and smoke bombs all around. The air had a horrible smell and taste and behind those anarchists/terrorists the plain thieves followed finishing off the half-burnt shops removing any kind of clothes or devices that were in good condition and able to be used or sold in the "black" market. Yes, this is still Greece we are talking about not Chicago or Far West!
I was num....unable to move, think or speak when I heard the news. It can't be true, no it's a bad dream I'll wake up eventually...yes,I will. But I didn't wake up because this isn't a dream, it's the cold and harsh reality. In my mind I tried to go through the streets that are announced as completely destroyed and I think that my heart missed a beat. Nothing's there anymore? NOTHING? However, this proved to be the slightest pain.
Universities in Greece are asylums. Due to the fall of the military regime in 1974 by university students and the courage they showed by locking themselves away inside the universities and resisting to the army that had taken over the country since 1967. If anybody,anybody at all steps onto the university grounds is protected by the police, the army and the law. Only the Dean has the right (and even that with limits) to call the police inside. A fact that our "little" anarchists knew very well and took full advantage of it.
The other citizens couldn't decide, they stayed torn between the death of the boy and the destruction by the anarchists not knowing whom to support. They all shout about democracy and rules but in the end it's been proven that the line between democratic freedom and the break-out of anarchy is very thin and that line is a bullet.
"Democracy died", "The policemen killed democracy" were few of the things one could hear on the streets. Unfortunately democracy did not die, this would mean a strong army intervening and kick their in-need-of-instant-psychiatric-help asses off, democracy was wounded seriously. Democracy suffered a million death wounds under the surveillance of the Parthenon and mount Olympus (ironic enough yet again). The policeman's shooting , according to my opinion, is merely the starting point, not even the cause of all these. Nontheless, I am not quite sure what was the true cause for all of these.
Since 1974 democracy has never been doubted in Greece, since 1974 the country hasn't suffer under an "emergency alert", since 1974 the police has never stepped inside any university campus despite the misuse of the asylum for years.
Today they entered, today the fate of the country will be decided by the Prime Minister and the President, today is the boy's funeral..........
I would like to think that this is cruel joke, a simple trick and when I'll open my eyes it will be gone...
No, the craddle of democracy has wounded democracy and this is real, the country that taught democracy to the others allowed chaos to take over, the country that was proud of its calming state of living lived a terror and cry breezing through the ten suffering cities.
Since I used the word "democracy" so many times I feel obliged to elaborate its meaning: "Democracy is a form of government in which power is held by people under a free electoral system,there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes. The first principle is that all members of the society have equal access to power and the second that all members enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties" (Wikipedia)
All members people...all members, all citizens. Just because a group of people decided to fight for "freedom" or "a better future" doesn't necessary mean that the others will lose their right of private property and the freedom to go around the city and the freedom to decide whether they want or don't want a group of people governing them deciding which building they will plunder and loot and which not. In my Greek blog I talked about respect to your fellow human being but here I would like to point out the importance of obligation to the state. Nobody has the right to make the Greek citizens suffer financialy under tha big economic crisis. These buildings, these streets, these cars were a source of income. Also the taxation was preserving them, the taxation of middle-classed citizens who work,pay their bills and rents and give to the country an income. Now we're going to have to pay double and tripple the damage done.
Today is the day of big decisions and extra safety measures. One could only hope that the government will take the right decision and quickly. Because if it doesn't, we will need to surrender the country to the army temporarily. What a chilling thought! The "Generals" governing again, I cannot bear the thought of it. Greece without democracy...can you imagine it? Isn't there something wrong with that picture?
And for what? For a couple of ill-minded people that found an outburst to escape from a much needed medication, I might think.
I would suggest hanging but it's not "democratic" nor "christianic"......any other ideas?
