The Fall of Greece? Any Spring Ahead?
During the past month or so, the worldwide
popularity of SYRIZA seems to have dropped, although the government remains
popular here, and many Greeks are still hopeful. If last month was a
rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, this month felt to me like a long ride
down—into what, remains to be seen. More and more Greeks nervously withdrew any
savings they had left in banks, the Greek credit rating fell even further,
rumors proliferated about when the Greek government would run out of money,
whether capital controls would be imposed, and if and how Greece might leave
the Eurozone, default, and/or start using a different currency. Like much of
Europe, I was puzzled by the SYRIZA government’s relative inaction, especially
in relation to the agreement with the institutions on February 20; why were we
waiting so long for the clear proposals discussed way back in February? A
friend who’s sympathetic with SYRIZA plausibly suggests it’s a matter of the
SYRIZA government’s inexperience. On the other hand, many of us are also
puzzled by highly experienced European officials’ refusal to provide the type
of financial help they gave the previous Greek government, even after SYRIZA
agreed to reforms and budgetary restraints. And many of us are frustrated by
foreign leaders’ continuing efforts to control Greece in return for bailouts
that benefited European banks rather than Greek people.
Depending on where you look or whom you ask,
Greece could run out of money April 9 or April 20 if the institutions (the
European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary
Fund) don’t approve dispersal of more aid. Depending on where you look or whom
you ask, Greece could be having constructive discussions with the institutions,
determined to remain on good terms with Europe as part of the Eurozone,
promising to repay all debts; or Greece could be wasting time, on the verge of
a major default and an exit from the Eurozone. Around the middle of the month,
I first noticed the term “Grexident” used in the news instead of “Grexit.”
Whether or not I just missed it before, the new word seems to emphasize that
many were beginning to view the possibility of an accidental Greek exit from
the Eurozone as increasingly likely. At the same time, the Greek and German
governments were engaged in a war of words and economics, with the Greeks
asking for war reparations the Germans claim to have settled long ago, the
Germans claiming the Greeks are not serious about making reforms or working
with the institutions, and both Greeks and Germans claiming the others have insulted
them.
Formerly known as the troika, the institutions
seem intent on putting as much pressure on Greece as possible now that the
country is desperate for money. The Greek Parliament defiantly passed one bill
to help the needy, even though they were told they shouldn’t do that. Mark
Weisbrot argues that “blackmail is actually an understatement of what the
troika is doing to Greece. It has become increasingly clear that it is trying
to harm the Greek economy in order to increase pressure on the new Greek
government to agree to its demands” after the so-called “bailout,” in which
“most Greeks have been not bailed out but thrown overboard, having lost more
than 25 percent of their national income since 2008.” Weisbrot claims that
European officials are doing this “to show who is boss” and states that “by
destabilizing the economy and discouraging investment and consumption” their
actions will “almost certainly slow Greece’s recovery and [probably] undermine
support for the government,” which he says they aim to do. However, “European
officials’ actions could inadvertently force Greece out of the euro — a
dangerous strategy for all concerned. They should stop undermining the economic
recovery that Greece will need if it is to achieve fiscal sustainability” (Destroying the Greek economy in order to save it). I agree.
Greece needs an economic recovery even more
than many realize. Princeton and Harvard trained economist Stelios Markianos
points out that “per capita consumption [in Greece] dropped between 2009 and
2013 … by 31.5% adjusted for
inflation”—not just 25%, which refers to the GDP--on the basis of Eurostat approved published data. And
for Markianos, the solution is not tax collection, since he does not consider
tax evasion the country’s major problem (although many would like to see the
wealthiest tax evaders, especially, make a fair contribution to the Greek state
budget). In a work in progress, Markianos compares state revenues in Greece and
Germany, which were about equal at around 47% of GDP in 2013; in Greece before
2009, they were approximately 38% of GDP, and thus comparable with Spain’s and
Portugal’s. So, Markianos argues, if Greece wasn’t collecting enough taxes
before 2009, neither were Spain and Portugal; if Greece wasn’t collecting
enough in 2013, neither was Germany. Greeks pay more taxes than Spaniards and
Portuguese and as much as Germans, compared to their economies.
Markianos also compares the size of the
informal economy (the untaxed part of the economy) relative to GDP in several
European countries up to 2009; Greece does come out ahead in this, with Spain’s
informal economy at 22.2% of GDP and Greece’s at 26.5%. However, looking at the
size of the GDP and the population, “the actual per capita annual amount of tax
evasion was in 2012 higher in Germany and France than in Greece at 4,621 euros,
4,057 euros, and 4,001 euros respectively!” On the other hand, Spain, Portugal,
and Germany provide more state services than Greece, so Greece’s problem is not
undercollection of taxes, but inefficient overspending. Markianos argues, then,
that the Greek state needs to cut costs and corruption and introduce reforms that
make it more efficient, rather than focusing on collecting more taxes. And the
proof for that, he argues, is that “the focus on additional revenues
implemented rigorously over the last five years has proved to result in one of
the most profound depressions in history, excluding times of war.”
That’s not to say people shouldn’t pay the
taxes they owe—at least when they can afford them, after paying for food,
clothing, electricity, water, and rent. I’ve understood for some time that new
taxation and austerity measures had not been applied fairly in Greece, but I
was still shocked by the details of a “Study [that] finds Greek crisis policies created huge inequalities.” It shows that “the tax burden on
lower-income Greek households skyrocketed by 337.7 percent compared to just 9
percent for high-income groups” between 2008 and 2012! How could that make
sense? Lower income people who were just getting by were expected to come up
with more than three times as much money to pay increased taxes, while those
who had more than enough just made a slightly larger payment?! Astonishing
stupidity and injustice! As Markianos argues, “this regressive fiscal policy
has further deepened the depression, as low income persons tend to consume more
domestically.”
On top of that, average public sector pay cuts
were just 8%, while private sector pay cuts were 19% from 2009-2013 (not
adjusting further for the 0 wage unemployed), the former part of a mere 7.5%
reduction in government spending. (And even that 7.5% was keenly felt, as
public health care coverage dropped drastically, so it was not the wisest sort
of reduction—and SYRIZA is now trying to restore universal health care, since
Greece spends less on health care than the rest of the EU [Greece scraps hospital visit fee, to hire health workers].) More than 72% of the “fiscal
adjustments” came from increased taxation—mostly of the poor. How could that
make sense, with the Greek bureaucracy world-famous for being bloated? Part of
the problem seems to be that if more public servants were laid off, poverty
would seem likely to increase in this land of more than 25% unemployment. But at
the root of it all is the excessive patronage politics that led to a great deal
of unnecessary hiring in the first place. 
And now the Greek state clearly can’t afford to
pay so many people. But this is no longer just the fault of patronage politics;
it’s also because “Germany and other euro-zone states are effectively bailing
out their own banks, thereby rewarding poor lending decisions and speculation,”
as a very good overview of the recent history of the Greek crisis in the New Yorker puts it, and as many others
have said before. “Close to ninety per cent of the [bailout] money returns
directly to the original creditors, or goes to recapitalize Greek banks; most
of the funds don’t even touch the Greek government’s hands,” let alone help the
Greek people (What Austerity Looks Like Inside Greece).
Last Thursday, there was a severe dust storm
here in northwestern Crete, with strong winds bringing dirt from Africa that
blocked our view of the mountains we generally see clearly, and the horizon
line between the sea and the sky replaced with something like a fuzzy fog bank.
The skies are now clear, but the future of Greece is not.
Four Gestures of
Varying Significance
Meanwhile, a two-year-old video of Greek
finance minister Yanis Varoufakis giving the finger to Germany before he
entered politics surfaced to great fanfare last month, along with a photo
spread for a Paris publication that seems to portray Varoufakis and his wife
living in luxury. The question of whether or not Varoufakis gave Germany the
finger years ago—and what it means if he did or didn’t--has attracted an
astonishing amount of attention. However, the real questions here are whether
everyone can afford enough nutritious food, adequate medical care, and housing,
whether they can earn enough money to pay their bills, and whether the
government will manage to pay civil servants’ salaries and pensions this month.
Eating fresh spinach and fresh turkey eggs from friends—that’s real.
Fingergate? Varoufake? That’s part of a ridiculous media circus.
A more significant gesture was notable at the
Greek Independence Day parade in Chania on March 25, where I was struck by the large
number of traditional Greek dancing groups passing by in ornate, colorful
costumes that contrasted with the dark blue and white of the parading
schoolchildren and with the well-matched, serious precision of the military
marchers. I was pleased to note that the general public was no longer forced to
make a many-block-long detour in order to avoid approaching government
officials who had watched the parade from a place of guarded honor during last
October’s Ohi Day parade. Although finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was among
the dignitaries this time—a newsworthy event, since he doesn’t live in or come
from Crete--the SYRIZA government had decreed that there would be no separation
between the people and the officials, and we were allowed to pass by in a more
civilized manner, aside from some mild pushing on crowded sidewalks.
Some Germans have joined many Greeks in asking
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government to make an even more important
gesture. Discussions about German war reparations for Nazi atrocities during
WWII have gained particular prominence now, inspiring renewed debate about
whether Greece deserves them, or whether past treaties have already settled the
issue. Some argue that Greece was not a party to the agreements that declared
the reparations issue settled and claim that was not something that could be
decided for this country; others assert that Germany won’t re-open the can of
worms of general reparations but might at least consider repaying the forced
loan from Greece to the Nazis—or at the very least make a symbolic payment as a
gesture of goodwill (see, e.g., Pressure mounts on Merkel over Greek war reparations calls).
A German couple recently went to the mayor of
Nafplio, chosen because it was “the first capitol of Greece in the 19th
century,” and paid him what they had calculated to be one German’s share of
what Germany owes Greece in WWII reparations. (With one retired and the other
not working full-time, they couldn’t afford to pay for two.) They were trying
to “make up for their government’s attitude” (German couple pay Greece £630 'war reparations'). While two people can hardly make up
for a government’s attitude, action, or inaction, I find that a moving
individual gesture. If more would make that kind of cross-cultural effort to
atone for great wrongs, and fewer would focus on the media circus around a
single obscene, but essentially harmless, gesture, perhaps compassionate
intercultural relations between individuals would have a greater chance of improving
international relations, lessening the harmful effects of the political posturing
that creates so much trouble.
Unrealistic idealism? Maybe, maybe not. Too
little too late? Perhaps. Politicians need
to get their acts together? Absolutely. But I think such ordinary people’s efforts
are worthwhile. I was also inspired by
an article about Erwin Schrumpf, an Austrian who survived the Norman Atlantic ferry
fire in December. Both before and after that tragedy, he has been collecting
medicines and medical supplies to donate to underfunded Greek hospitals and
medical centers, making a noteworthy difference in many people’s lives (Narrow escape from Norman Atlantic fails to dampen one Austrian's support for Greece; see also their web site, although it's not in English).
If only I could do something like that! But I’ve already exhausted my family,
friends, and friends’ friends with requests to support one fundraiser to help
an uninsured, unemployed father of five who has been ill (Help pay Nikolaos’s hospital bills and support his children). My Greek neighbors and friends can
and do donate food and clothing for the neediest people here, so that seems to
be the most realistic kind of charitable activity for ordinary people within
this country. Elsewhere, I’d encourage more people to be as generous as
possible to those in need. Of course, private charity is not a solution to the
problems facing Greece or any other part of the world, but it can temporarily alleviate
a small fraction of the worst suffering.
A Brutal Attack on an
Anti-Racist Doctor
At a pizza party to celebrate the strong
performance of the children from our school who participated in the Panhellenic
Kung Fu Championship, I walked in on a shocked discussion of the brutal beating
of a doctor who is well known and loved in Chania for his efforts to help
alleviate suffering. In the evening on Greek Independence Day, there was a
performance by Yar Aman, a music group of Greeks and migrants, who sang Turkish
and Greek songs together in the Old Port of Chania. Afterwards, one of the
musicians, a migrant, was verbally attacked by a group of young men. Later, a
calm, kind doctor, Dimitris Makreas, who is respected for
supporting migrants and caring for those in need, was standing next to the man
who had been insulted when some other people shouted at the young men to stop
bothering the migrant and go away.
A short time later, according to quotations from Dimitris in a newspaper article, he and his wife were walking down
Daskalogianni Street, not far from the Old Port, when he saw one of the young
men from the earlier group talking on the phone, looking at Dimitris, and
saying “Yes, yes, he is.” Three men were approaching Dimitris and his wife when
the one who had been talking on the phone came up behind Dimitris and, without
warning—as a video clip from a store’s security camera shows--began to hit him
on the back of the head with a heavy wooden handle. A moment later, Dimitris
said, three others began kicking and punching him, continuing after he fell
down, until an elderly couple began shouting. Even then, when Dimitris managed
to get up, a man punched him in the face, throwing him back down and hitting
his head on the asphalt, leaving him numb and in pain throughout his body. He
was taken to the hospital and treated for a fracture in the front of his skull,
a brain hematoma, and bruises on his head. He has been released from the
hospital and is recovering from his injuries.
I have heard that at least one witness
identified one of the attackers as a member of the fascist group Golden Dawn,
and many believe that Dimitris was the victim of an organized assault by a gang
of about ten men. Dimitris is especially shocked because some of the young men
he identified as his attackers in police photos are residents of Akrotiri,
Chania, where he has worked in a community clinic for years, possibly treating
some of his attackers’ family members. So far, three men have been arrested for
this attack.
Many were surprised that several of the early
news reports focused more on damage done to Golden Dawn offices and a store
after a spontaneous march to protest this attack, rather than on the serious
injury to a human being, while he remained hospitalized. Fortunately,
additional coverage provided more attention to the doctor and the brutal attack
he suffered. Since the attack, many people have gathered in front of the court
house, in a central square in Chania, in the streets of Chania, at various
organizations’ meeting places, and in Kounoupidiana, Akrotiri, in support of
Dimitris and his migrant friend and in protests against racist violence.
Many feel the attack should have been defined as
severe bodily injury or even attempted murder, since several perpetrators
repeatedly struck one unarmed person, sometimes with a weapon, and, according
to a video, without any provocation. Reporter George Konstas wrote (as translated by Google), “the
neurosurgeon Anthony Krasoudakis stressed that apart from the external wounds
(on the face, around the head) the most important [problems] ‘are internal
bleeding, lesions in the brain and a fractured skull. These blows could cause
death. We have seen people killed even with much less severe blows.’”
The timing of the attack shortly after the
racist insults, the apparent organization of a gang of ten attackers and
accomplices by phone, and the availability of a getaway car—or three cars and
one motorbike--have been discussed at length by those who feel that there was a
racist motivation for this attack, but the doctor’s lawyers claim this has not
been adequately investigated by the police or the judiciary. The lawyers,
according to news reports, say witnesses were not pursued, and videos from
nearby shops were not entered as evidence. Many local organizations,
politicians, and individuals have condemned the attack and called for a
complete investigation and full prosecution of everyone involved (Κατακραυγήαπό φορείς και συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας για την απρόκλητη επίθεση σε γιατρό). Now that a good, kind, generous
Greek doctor has been attacked, we really don’t know who will be next.
Yesterday, a verdict was announced in the trial
of three men: one innocent, two guilty of grievous bodily harm, one of the
guilty men also guilty of possession and use of a weapon, with sentences of
four years, in one case, and four years ten months, in the other. Both
sentences have been suspended until trial in the Court of Appeals, with bail
set at 5,000 euros each. All of the attackers are free now, and many of those
alleged to have been involved in organizing the attack were not even tried in
court, although the prosecutor said the participation of others would be
investigated (Χανιά: Ένοχοι οι 2 από τους 3 για τη φασιστική επίθεσηστον Δ. Μακρέα (ενημέρωση) and
Ένοχοι δίχως αναστολή για την επίθεση στο γιατρό Δημήτρη Μακρέα).
My Brief Escape into a
Wildflower Wonderland
Many do not feel that either the investigation and
prosecution of Dimitris Makreas’s attackers, or the case of Greece as a whole,
has been handled justly. Many worry about the resumption of racist attacks in Chania
after Golden Dawn leaders were released from their pre-trial custody, and many
worry about the persistence of unemployment and economic problems throughout
Greece. My personal consolation is outdoors, where the 45 species of
wildflowers I counted on just one walk in and beyond my neighborhood led me to
lose track of time and exercise as well as politics, economics, and racist
brutality. Of course, that’s only possible because I am privileged enough to
feel fairly confident that my family and I will have enough food, clothing,
safety, health care, and housing, whatever happens—although I am adequately aware
that I could be wrong about this to worry about our future as well as that of
others.
Getting back into walking in the mild, sunny
days of the first week of March after a series of viruses struck me in
February, I was astonished to see how many wildflowers had sprung up while I
wasn’t looking. I’ve seen some since December, but March was the height of
their season, and many different flowers came into bloom over the course of the
month. (The 45 species I counted one day were not all the same as the 42 I
counted another day, and I saw even more different kinds other days.) I am
addicted to wildflowers: taking photos and gathering some of the most plentiful
blossoms, I lose track of the time and fail to attain the aerobic benefits of a
brisk walk. I promise myself not to pick or photograph them some days, since I have
enough photos and bouquets, but then I break down and decide we could use a few
fresh flowers, or another one of the neighbors might like a bouquet….
There is a profusion of yellow, including
Bermuda buttercups, dandelion-like blooms, trees with ball-like yellow blossoms
hanging like miniature ornaments, Jerusalem sage, and sharp bushes of spiny
broom. White and yellow crown daisies are thriving by the roadside, mingled
with upside-down blue violet blossoms with fuzzy stems. A few brilliant red
poppies shiver in the breezes, even when it’s warm; various lavender and purple
flowers are also abundant. Bee orchids or their relatives are still blooming as
various other tiny pink and white orchids appear between pink crepe-paper like
Cretan rock roses, white cistus, wild mignonette, and lacy white tordylium. My
wildflower habit is hardest to kick this time of year, so I just keep pausing
in admiration and hope to get more exercise when the flowers have faded in the
heat of the Greek sun.
My rose-colored glasses were shattered when I
discovered that the prime wildflower
habitat among olive groves nearby was partly destroyed by a bulldozer’s attack
on large patches of ground, probably to gather pruned olive branches, and then
by aggressive mowing. The site is ideal for wildflowers since it is kept free
of the hardier herbs and shrubs, but hazardous for them since the olive farmer
thinks they need to be removed for the sake of his trees—probably, according to
the horticulturalist and agronomist I asked, an erroneous belief. A friend and
I tried to rescue some of the flowers in danger of immediate destruction—or at
least photograph some and save others for temporary enjoyment since they were
about to be pulverized. We hope that since none of us except the bulldozer
pulls up the roots, the flowers’ offspring will return next year—as they did
this year and last—although this is the first year I’ve seen the ground bulldozed
down to bare mud (a bad idea in this region of occasionally very heavy rain). 
We tried to convince the elderly Cretan farmer mowing
around the olive trees to spare some of the possibly rare orchids just starting
to bloom toward the end of last month, pointing out a lovely cluster that
wasn’t too close to the trees and hence, we argued, wouldn’t hurt them. He
nodded, smiled, and took a break from cutting while we were there. But after
we’d left, we saw a bulldozer heading for that olive grove. Returning another
day, I saw that the farmer had not left us any orchids. But at least he didn’t
bulldoze their roots: he just mowed them all down. Nor did cruel thugs destroy
the roots of the anti-racist movement in Chania; in fact, in beating down one
of its strongest supporters, they united much of the community in support of
equality for all. And on the first day of April, schoolchildren in Chania
watched a play in which a Greek father overcomes his mean ethnocentrism so his
family can befriend some immigrants. We may escape from harsh reality
temporarily, but it doesn’t go away while we’re looking at pretty flowers.
There is hope, though, if we can educate our children to be anti-racist,
compassionate, responsible human beings.
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the two friends who commented on drafts of parts of this blog posting. Thanks also to the individuals, including
journalists, who provided me with information and photos related to the attack
on Dr. Dimitris Makreas, and especially to George Konstas and Chaniotika Nea for the photos of the
doctor and of people demonstrating outside the court house. (The other photos--including one of a gathering in front of the Agora in Chania--are mine, as usual.)
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