Government bribes its way out of responsibility

Fires are still burning in parts of Greece, but thankfully the government has a plan to stop the fires, its called the Ionian sea. The fires have made their way across the Peloponnese and now only the coast is in its way.

A while ago i mentioned that the New Democracy party is not about fiscal responsibility. Well last week we saw it again in action. The ruling party implemented a financial bail out of those affected by the fires. 3000 euros for those who lost their house, x amount for livestock etc. All well and good but so they can wash their hands of the guilt of not dealing with the fires, no proof was requested when handing out the money. After one day, 24 million euros were handed out, by day two 72 million euros was handed out. By then many local residents were heard complaining because they were seeing non locals receiving money. Since no proof was requested people had come down from all over Greece to receive the money. False Identity cards were being sold for 500 euros and for those who were illiterate, they could purchase the services of someone to write out their application for 250 euros.
New democracy politicians had also set up their own booths and were handing out the money, cementing in the mind of the locals that ND hands out money for nothing.

Of course they could have followed the lead of Germany and allowed the local councils to distrubute the aid, as was done when Germany suffered from the flooding. But they didnt because of two reasons.

1. They wanted to be associated as the guys who hand out money (like a doting grandmother who hands out cash to her grandchildren).
2. And they are against the local councils because it was implemented by the PASOK government, and everything they did cant be allowed to succeed.
   

And that in a nutshell is what the government and party is about. We are the ones who can give you money. Sure its corrupt and many people are benefiting illegally. But its by implicating as many people in this corrupt system that they hope to win, if everyones hands are dirty and is able to benefit somehow, its in their interests to keep these guys in power.
Unfortunately the EU is giving financial aid to Greece, i say unfortunately because without fiscal responsibility this money will be wasted. Maybe tough love would be better, let Greece struggle through this so it can learn from its mistakes. Maybe that way these mistakes won't be repeated.

Protecting the environment - A government Responsibility

This man is the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, nephew of former PM and President Costas Karamanlis. In one of his speeches soon after coming to power three years ago he proclaimed
"We have inherited a government in ashes"
I wonder what he is feeling now, now that he has turned Greece into ashes.

During his three year term this man has been actively trying to change article 24 of the Greek constitution which states that the government has a responsibility to protect the environment and bans the re-zoning of the environment except under certain conditions (click here for article in Greek) He and his government wants to make it easier for construction companies to build in environmentaly protected areas. Just last month in the middle of those fires the government legalised illegal houses built on burnt land. A property developers dream. The BBC interviewed the president of the Hellenic Property Federation, Stratos Paradias who is trying to counter public wisdom that property developers are behind the fires "That's absolutely nonsense, this allegation, because if there is a company which wants to get its hands on some piece of land, to burn this land is the worst way to do it. Once a forest is burnt, according to our constitution, within three months the Forestry Service is obliged to pass a decree according to which this land is reforested."

Yeah right. This government, as proven by the fires, have been absent in the enforcement of these laws, which is not only lax, but non-existent in Greece! The trouble with Karamanlis and Paradias is that they think that they are so smart, everyone else is stupid and no one will know. They are the stupid ones, a WHOLE WORLD is watching this and is expecting Greece to clean up its act.

Nikos Charalambides, director of Greenpeace in Greece placed the blame at the feet of those responsible "the biggest arsonist is the state, which has not clarified the use of land, leaving suburban forests vulnerable to rogue developers. The lack of a national land registry and national zoning laws leave room for doubt about the characterization of land, whether it is forest or not" more elequently than i could ever have, basically because i am angry at these people.

These reports are also repeated on SKY News UK and CNN. For some reason this isn't getting airplay on Greek Media. Do they want to build on this land too? Are their interests at stake? I dont care anymore, the truth however needs to be said.

Why fight fires when you can shift the blame

Today's edition of Eleutheri Ora has as its headlines "Olympic champions of incompetence and irresponsibility" in reference to the Government ineptitude we have been watching these past few days.

Don't worry if your village is on fire, if you're loved one has been burnt to death, after three days of inaction the government has finally leapt into action with a fervor. After hours of brainstorming they have compiled an impressive list of who is to blame for the fires. Instead of organising a comprehensive response to the fires, they are busy trying to cover their own backsides to wash their bloody hands of the guilt they have.

The government has not named any groups but are heavily hinting at the opposition parties. Here is a list of the groups they are trying to blame through proxies and innuendo:

Anarchists - Urban firebugs who historically only burn government buildings, surrounding areas, Exarhia and politicians homes
Left Wingers - Since no one believed the Anarchists did it, lets broaden the net
PASOK - These bastards might gain from the governments loss, lets throw mud at them and hope it sticks
Americans - If all else fails, Americans are a popular standby to cast blame on, apparently so the conspiracy theory goes, they started it with a new Laser they are testing, in revenge for Greece signing the oil treaty with Russia. Oops... hang on, they are also tourists here, bugger, quickly on to someone else
Freemasons - Seriously, you want us to believe that an old mens club did this! Electric wheelchairs don't go up goat paths!
Jews - can't forget these guys, since we named everybody else, lets see if this will catch, Whats that? They left after WW2? Bugger... who's next we can think of...
Turkey - Yeah these guys, What's that... you want evidence? umm... and lastly
The Shepards are to blame!

Yes thats right, police are investigating the role of shepards in all these fires. They seriously want us to believe that the Shepards of Greece coordinated themselves into lighting these fires? Shepards of Greece Unite, Long live the sheep!

I am in fact heartened by this list, i am heartened because it shows that no one is believing this rubbish, this pack of lies. They are making up names hoping that one will stick. But none of them are sticking because the average person can see through these lies.

And lets say it is true, that the villanous shepards DID do it, WHY did the government DO NOTHING! Why did the assist with the destruction of Greece by DOING NOTHING!
Notice the pattern here... the government DID NOTHING! and that more than anything has gotten the people angry and made them wary of their lies.

Minister flees as he tries to fool the people

THIS MAN IS A VLAKA (an IDIOT)

The minister of Culture, Mr Voulgarakis proudly called a press conference to announce that the buildings at Ancient Olympia have been saved. Things would have been fine if he ended it there, instead he added "eh and a few little trees were burnt" referring to the ancient trees surrounding the buildings.

He fled the scene chased by a group of enraged citizens.

What is even more tragic is that the local mayor warned the government that the site was in the fire path from Friday 24 August.

Ancient Olympia in Flames

Ancient Olympia is now in flames and are now 200 meters away from the museums and ancient Olympic Stadium, Archaeologists and museum personnel are fighting the fires with buckets and garden hoses. Villages are encircled by flames, police services are still missing and are no where to be seen, leaving villagers in confusion as to which way to escape.

Pictures taken from SKAI TV. A Nation waits with bated breath to see if its culture will be added to the death toll

Greece: Fire Sale, everything must burn!

Greece is in a state of mourning and shock. For the past two days now fires have raged all across Greece, murdering over 50 people and destroying numerous homes and villages. All of the Peloponnese is on fire, threatening ancient Olympia, mystical Arcadia and brave Laconia. Gone are the beautiful beaches of Euboea. Amidst all this death and destruction, the media is trying to put their own rules on place and the government, a positive spin.

That self righteous journalist Terence Kuik on Alter demanded that no politician speak, and shame on any member of the opposition party who uses this tragedy to blame the government, how dare anybody profit from this tragedy, then without skipping a beat, he added We will tell you now which villages are threatened by the fires, but first a commercial, stay tuned. Obviously benefiting on the pain and suffering of others is a monopoly only for journalists like himself.

Another Idiot journalist stated 'A tragedy of this magnitude could not have been foreseen so lets not blame the government' Why did he LIE so blatantly? The media and government are desperately trying not to blame the government.
I am SICK AND TIRED of incompetent journalists refusing to tell the truth for fear of being critical of the government. They are so incompetent, they believe that being balanced means blaming the previous government as well. So you hear on TV the inevitable response to the charge that the response to the fires were uncoordinated 'And the previous government was just as bad'. That is NO answer! That is NO justification for what happened. We need to be mature, not kindergarten children, and Deal with the here and NOW.
FACT: We had a CHANGE of government because the people wanted a CHANGE, if they wanted the same, they would have kept the same.
FACT: A response to just such a tragedy had been planned for in the run up to the 2004 Olympics. Therefore the government and response teams knew EXACTLY what they should be doing!
FACT: The government removed professional emergency response leaders who were familiar with this plan,
Their replacements are OBVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT. (Are they also just political appointees?)
FACT: Professional emergency response leaders who were waiting to be called were ignored by the government, exacerbating the tragedy.
FACT: THIS is EXACTLY what the people were protesting against months ago. They knew that if the government did not charge anybody with arson and banned all building on burnt ground that this would continue.
FACT: The Government ENCOURAGED the continued arson attacks by bringing illegal building into the city planning.
FACT: The Government is removing the protection on forests, further encouraging the arsonists
FACT: PEOPLE HAVE DIED because of somebody's incompetence.
FACT: The minister of the Interior was more concerned with hiring 'Agrofilakes' a do nothing job (see previous postings) than hire fire-fighters.

It should be noted that it took the personal appearance of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Works to the devastated areas, and personally kick start an organised response, before them everyone was running around like headless chickens. But it was a response too late.

While journalists are warning opposition parties away from commenting on the death and destruction around us, they are allowing the government to say how well they are dealing with the crisis, apparently the Foreign Minister appeared on BBC to say how everything is under control.
yeah right... great Tourism slogan, oh hang on, what was this years big tourism push, come and purchase land in Greece, what a coincidence...

Public activism does not equal whining - A protesters response

Driving up to Volos on the weekend i passed a few of the burnt areas, coincidently to be found near the national highway, coincidently on the other side of other cafe's, just the perfect place if you want to start a Highway cafe.

Today i want to respond to a comment made/repeated by Greece's most well know blogger vrypan (Panagiotis Vryonis). His post written in Greek (click here) says "I would like to see at least half of the protesters who gathered days ago outside by the Parliament, to help the northern Greeks in their work efforts. And prove that we are not only for complaining and demonstrations!"

As one of the people who turned up to the demonstration i take offence at his depiction of the people who gathered as a bunch of whining demonstrators. Many politicians and their news lackeys in Greece have chosen to ignore the rally and denegrate it and the people who turned out. I dont know precisely what vrypan has against these people but i do know that it confused the Party Hacks, people who care more for their parties than than the country, because, as i commented before, I believe it was the largest non-politically organised rally since the fall of the dictatorship.

At least 90% of rallies in Greece are organised by the parties who bus people in, door knock and make sure that the bodies turn up. If you ask anyone at these rallies why they are there, most will spout slogans and others who are truthfull will say 'The party needs my support'.
PASOK, to its credit hasn't organised many rallies and instead has let New-Democracy poke their eyes out. When they were in opposition they organised rallies at the drop of a hat and now they have lost control of their faithfull who are still protesting in order to get the government jobs and subsidies which were promised them 'I protested for you, now its time to pay us back'

What exactly does vrypan want?
I guess i could become a fire-fighter- if the government was hiring that is. Instead the Government chose to re-instate Horo Filakes (something like country policy which operated like the Gestapo during the dictatorship, and disbanded by the centre left govt.) with that money.
If i was one of the handful of people hired (currently undermanned by at least 4000 people) i would have been inadequetly trained for 3 months (according to the fire services who have been begging and pleading for better training regimes)
I could have read the training books written in Katherevousa back in 1970 (which the fire services have been pleading to be updated)
I could have been sent with inadequate and outdated equipment to fight the fires and maybe have been killed.
Would that have proved that i am not a whiner?

Again: the rally was a reminder to the Government and every politician to uphold the laws, primeraly Reforestation! Because If one square meter of the burnt areas gets built on, gets sold from the church to private builders, gets turned into a casino, and most horribly gets pardoned by the government and brought into the city planning structure, if any of that happens, no matter what gets done now, they justify the actions of the arsonists and in effect legalise the murder and destruction that the fires have done. Because the ends will have justified the means, especially if there are no consequences for their actions.
Thats what the rally was about.

Don't forget what the protesters knew, the government belongs to the people and the politicians are our servants and have a duty to listen to us, uphold the laws and do what is right!

A bloggers dilema

When i started this blog, i thought it would be a nice medium to practice my writing through my observations about Greece and obviously more particularly what it is like to survive in Athens. Barely had i put my toe in the water when i suddenly get overtaken by current events. That's when i realised that most blogs out here in the blogosphere, the content is erratic as blogs regulary get swept up by current events, current likes and dislikes and sometime narcissm of their owners.

Erratic as my thoughts are at this moment. I wanted to write about food here in Athens today, but as the fires continue to burn their way through Greece, leaving behind them a swathe of burnt trees and dreams. A state of Emergency has been declared in the region of Kefalonia. The villages of Skala, St George, Kapitsa, Xenopoulo, Markopoulo, Kremmidi and Pastra have been evacuated. Fires are still raging in Old Sagiada, Thesprotia, Kotili in Kastoria, Velvento in Kozani, Nikiforo in Drama, Kanalia in Volos, Nigrita Serres, Livadi, Eidomeni in Kilkis, Amarando Konitsa, Psari Megalopolis, Metaxades Messinia, Lagada in Thessaloniki and the islands of Chios, Hydra. Over a hundered houses have been burnt down.

Another person died last night and the fires raging in Achaia in the Pelopennese are burning down irreplacable forests as well as destroying, murdering? wildlife found nowhere else in Europe. What can i do? I can't pretend that nothing is happening, i can't write about food.

I am angry!
Angry at every politician who talks big and does nothing!
Angry at my fellow citizens who will purchase land in these areas!
Angry at the Builders who will build there!
Angry at the ecological catastrophe which is taking place before my eyes!
Angry ... but oh so helpless

At the rally i was glad, so enheartened to realise that there were many others who felt the same way as i do. This blog has also made me realise that there are so many more who were not able to go, who felt just as strongly, if not a whole lot more strongly over what we are witnessing.
And right now that is what i will concentate on... I will keep in mind that there are many of us who wish to see the burnt areas reforested and back the way they were, not for us but for future generations of the whole world.

I will consider where i place my vote carefully these elections.
I will tell others what i think about this situation and convince those around me why it is important that these areas be reforested and the criminal, murderous arsonists be brought to justice.
I know i am not alone.

Greek Media Bored with fires

Fires are still raging all over Greece, but they have become so common, like waking up in the morning that it takes a tragedy to remind them of the fires.

Unfortunately thats what happened yesterday when a Canadair plane which drops water on the fires crashed, killing both pilots. That brings the death toll of firefighters to 5 by my count. People, politicians are looking for someone to blame for these fires...

Here's a radical idea... How about charging someone for these fires. Unfortunately Greece's track record in this is abyssmal. Fellow blogger over at http://grigsgr.blogspot.com/ quotes the newspaper Kathimerini and states...

According to the National Statistics Service, a total of 1,502 people were convicted on arson charges between 1997 and 2004. Two in three (947) of those convicted got suspended jail sentences while nearly a third (464) were given sentences they could buy off. Just 6 percent (90) served jail time.

The penal code provides for jail sentences of up to 10 years, and a fine ranging from 15,000 euros to 150,00 euros for convicted arsonists.

Again my frustration over current events is coming through... i promise to change subject soon

Summer time... Summer foods...

As another heat wave is set to fall across Athens, without the protection offered by the cooling forests, there is nothing more refreshing than eating out in Plaka, Glyfada by the sea... well actually anywhere outside, Athens has many places. Order an Ouzo or Tsipouro with ice, accompany that with some dishes like tomato-keftes, saganaki, fried zucchini, Baked peppers stuffed with rice, raisins and pine nuts, and of course a salad. How can you not order a greek salad?

Well maybe you should. Greek cuisine is actually very diverse and rich. Thessaly- central greece- cook with fruits, Islander cooking is influenced by other islands in the mediterranean and the Island of Astypalia make some delicious food flavoured with saffron which is picked locally from the cliff faces. And this is just a brief glimpse of the food offered, that could be another blog which could go on for ever! Unfortunately Greek food has been stereotyped to the Moussaka and the Greek Salad, so when tourists come here thats all they order, well for the most part if i can over-generalise.

Waiters will see locals as well as a few mainland Europeans who order two-three dishes including a salad. But many tourists will just order a Greek Salad, so its not uncommon to see in Plaka a table of tourists and in front of each of them is a Greek Salad. It is very healthy but it goes against the communal eating style that exists here in Greece where everyone picks of common plates. And as a result, restaraunts are becoming stingy when it comes to putting Feta in the salad, only putting in small pieces, or even worse - Feta which isn't Greek! (Sorry but having been raised on Feta from a small child, Feta from the Northern countries [you know who you are] which is made from cow milk and then coloured white just doesn't taste the same. The same way that Australian Rocquefort tastes different, and Tofu burgers taste different from beef.)

So next time, skip the Greek Salad, be adventourous, look what nearby tables are eating and point to what you want and have one of the many other salads which they serve at Taverna's, restaraunts etc... You will be pleasantly suprised, i assure you. This way you will also avoid the Salata X (the salad chi) which is served to tourists and tastes... well more on that later.

FIRE WATCH ATHENS!
Greek newspaper Eleutheri Ora has as its headline today 'The only thing not burning is the sea'
This comes in light of recently released figures from the Fire Department which shows that from the period 1/07/2006 to 18/07/2006 there were 732 fires, this year for the same period that number has soared to 1567! More than double. The 11th of this month July saw 105 fires rage across Greece, compared to 32 from last year. Each election year see's a massive fire campaign which is deliberately set as builders quickly build on burnt land so that the government can legalise it to gain their support.

The Communist party is actually doing something, now after so many fires they have table 5 new laws. 5 new laws to waste everybodies time. 5 new laws which will never get passed. The problem isn't the laws, laws against arson, against illegal buildings, environment protection already exist here in Greece, and have existed for a long time now. The problem is enforcement, none of these laws are ever enforced. Instead of acting as a Public Watchdog and pointing out corruption and government ineptitude and doing something useful it instead resorts to empty meaningless gestures. My beef with them is that they should do something useful, if they are not part of the solution they are part of the problem.

Some shopping tips for Athens

Soldes, Sales, Εκπτοσεις!!!
Yes its that time of year again, sale time! And sales here in Athens are quite good, ok it may not be Milan sales, but things are so overpriced here anyway that sales are a good time to shop and buy things at a decent price. Yes you heard me right, things are very overpriced here in Athens, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

In an effort to save money, many people travel to nearby Bulgaria or Turkey to do their shopping. There they can buy Greek olive oil a third cheaper than they can here, and thats not taking into account the exchange rate! In an effort to cut back on excessive price gauging the Ministry of Development i believe has set the price of certain goods.

Water is a public right here in Greece, when sitting down at cafe waiters will automatically bring you water. Tap water here in Athens is rated as amongst the cleanest in the world, but if you have to buy a water at a periptero - Do not pay more than 50 cents, if they charge more - they are ripping you off. And bottles sell even cheaper at supermarkets.
As a result many do not stock half a litre bottles and stock the 750ml bottles whose price is not capped and you can pay anything up to 2 euros!
Another scam is the humble ham and cheese toast. Don't ask me why this is so popular here but the price for this has been set at 1.50 euros. As a result ferries - where this is most popularly bought - only stock a small supply, and if you are hungry the only thing left is a ham, cheese AND tomato toasted sandwhich which can cost anything upwards of 3 euros!
A Tiropita - a cheese pie is also capped at 1.50 euros
Kaseropita - or any other cheese pie is not capped and they can charge any exhorbitant price they want!

My advice is buy a loaf of fresh bread from the bakers for 60 cents, some ham and cheese from any market and make your own sandwhich at home at pack it with you if you are REALLY desperate for something so basic, otherwise spend your money on some real food thats really worth the money. Oh and avoid the Greek salad, but more on that tommorow.

FIRE WATCH
the forests of Vrylissia have also been set alight along with the forests of Corinth. I think the count was 30 fires in 24 hours. The Mayor of Vrilissia blamed the fires on arsonists and mentioned the illegal builders his municipality is fighting over land ownership, ownership which is muddled as a result of Ottoman land registry titles, something which has never been cleared up here in Greece, but more on that another time.
More incendiary fires were found at the sites of these forest fires. The latest media craze is looking at the fires in the rest of Europe and Turkey, trying to shift the focus from local events to 'See its not only Greece, it happens elsewhere'.
Sigh...

Sales time in Athens, forests burn to make way for new developments

Yes its sales time in Athens, what everyone has been waiting for, and i had hoped to write a bit about that but as fires pop up i get so angry that i have to write about them. Maybe i should just just the name of this to FIRE WATCH ATHENS. Sure is catchy, but i wish it were not necessary.


First a little background...
For the past two months community groups have been organising in the suburb of Vyronas and Kaisarianni to protest the proposed land development of the forested area which borders these suburbs. The church 'claims' that these areas belong to them. I say 'claim' because this is disputed and there are court actions to clarify this situation. The church has proposed a series of property developments in this forested area, and also claim to offer cheap housing to those with three children or more.
The locals have been protesting on their own against these land developments for two months, no thanks to the local Communist party who have been covering up the community posters with their own. Whole sections of blank wall to deface and they chose to cover up the local community groups home made posters pleading to save the environment. Bunch of....

Anyway three fires started simultaneously yesterday at around three o'clock. The local fire watch patrol saw a car drive to and from the area where one of the fires started. At the other end of the forested area a moterbike without plates was seen leaving the area by firefighters as they approached and the third fire started at the bottom, close to the road.

In other words the fires were strategically placed to burn of a specific square section of forested land, land which coincidently coincides with the area the church and builders want to develop. Land which has most probably already been sold and earmarked for building.
Coincidently the land burnt included the two hills which offered the best views of Athens.
Coincidently the same land burnt was the land claimed by the church, which excercises certain exemptions when it comes to building codes in Greece.

Coincidently... there are too many coincidences...

Photos taken from http://www.e-tipos.gr/ whose front page headlines "Everything points to Arson"

And in the end what was achieved...

The big question now is What have we achieved by our protest?
I must admit, following the protest many people said Wow Great! Its good that people went, but when i ask if they went the common reply was "Nooo, why should i, nothing will change, all the politicians are corrupt/incompetent and nothing will ever change".

Well in part i agree with them and i truly understand where they are coming from. I am not naive (well maybe a little) and i know how things work here in Greece. But the 5000 at least who turned up - we knew the truth but we did not let that get us down. In my opinion if you do nothing then can you complain if you get ignored? Why should the politicians change their ways?
By at least making our voices heard, by protesting, by engaging in this Sysiphian task at least we are trying to change things. Lets not make things easy for them.

I also believe that the people who turned up were REAL Greeks, people who were really concerned about this land and country than a political party.

Athenians protest to protect the environment

Where will Red Riding Hood walk if there are no forests left?

July 8th saw Athens largest non-politically organised protest since the fall of the dictatorship.
This was truly an amazing occurance, people of all walks of life came, grannies with walking sticks, Death metal heads sporting Metallica shirts, Hippies, Cyclists and Bikers, families came pushing their children in prams, Goths came with piercings in various body parts.
It didn't matter who you were, rich or poor, thousands came to Syntagma square to voice their protest over the fires and to make sure that it would be re-forested. Police estimate that when the area in front of Parliament house fills up with people, that equals 5000 people. Some people like Tsipras who recently ran as a candidate for Athens mayor estimated that as many as 40000 people came.

This rally really opened my eyes. Other rallies are politically backed and feature rent-a-crowds. Political Parties organise buses to ensure that people turn up, speeches are held and people turn up to prove their faith to the political party, real issues that affect people are rarelt raised.

Instead what we saw in Athens on Sunday were real people, people who felt that this time things had gone too far. People who really felt passionately that something had to be done and wanted to let all politicians know how angry they were.
In a symbolic gesture some people placed a plant in front of the tomb of the Unknown soldier. Police quickly swept in to remove the offending plant. This action provoked boo's and contempt from the crowd which started to crowd in closer to the tomb. The police quickly retreated.
A child then stepped forward from the amassed crowd and laid a burnt branch from Parnitha at the foot of the tomb. This was soon followed by others.

WWF was also there, as were many other bloggers who were influential in making the protest a reality.
http://salata.wordpress.com/ organised a unique demonstration. Dressed as businessmen they chanted slogans such as "Trees take up parking spots" "Deers just shit in the woods and dont turn a profit" and "Burn and Build, construction companies elect governments".
Unfortunately their dark satirical humour rang true, too true.

But i cannot stress enough how impressive this protest truly was. Over 5000 Athenians got up off their couches to protest and make their voices heard. They also performed the 'Moutza' (an open palmed insult) towards parliament building. The crowd also cried out 'Eshos' - Shame, disgrace...

I should also point out that the government spin machine is in full force and orchestrated an almost complete media blackout. Government TV stations did not report on it and instead the media is following a four year old scandal which implicates the previous government as being incompetent (and the current one too if you ask me, over 4 years to find out the obvious, they have to be incompetent to miss that). They are also reporting on how well Pendeli is being reforested. Now thats a scandal that they can truly point towards the previous government, because it is not being reforested and the old forest now features villas and highways where once trees and goat tracks existed. The only reason they are not pointing the finger is if they themselves are also implicated. - ESHOS -

Most Newspapers are completly ignoring it too, except for Ta Nea and Eleutherotypia. How the media can be so corrupt and complicent to the government line still amazes me. This is why, in part i write this blog and why i write it in English, so that those who live outside can also realise what is happening here.

But as the people, by their mere turning up to the protest exhibited, this shame will not be tolerated for much longer and we will be watching.

Greeks utilise new media to enact change

The traditional news media has turned to its usual tricks. Government media and right wing stations like Antenna are glossing over the fire and are presenting things in a manner where everything has returned to normal. Center-left media like Mega are trying to place blame on government inaction for the fires. Meanwhile STAR channel is back to showing bums on beaches and an expose on the daily fashion of morning tv presenters!
SKAI tv, though new on the scene and traditionaly politically right leaning, seems to have an enlightened production and editorial team and is actually reporting on the environmental consequences of the fire.

Experts interviewed predict a rise in the temprature in Athens of approx. 2 degrees which suggests that we will be facing a few more heat waves this summer. We should also expect major flooding of suburbs here in Athens as there is now nothing to retain the water as it comes flooding down Parnitha mountain. Air quality is also expected to decrease, with all this bad news maybe i should turn to bums on beaches to forget it all.

Faced with these outcomes Athenians have turned to blogs, emails and SMSs to rally people together to voice their protest over the fires and to demand that these areas are re-forested. While Greeks like to protest, most of them are orchestrated by the different parties. This one is unique as it appears to have come about from the people themselves.
Tired of being managed, lied to with empty promises, honestly scared by what they have seen and realistic of what will become of these burnt areas, they themselves have turned to the only media that they have a voice in, and have utilised it for action. It's amazing the way these emails and messages have spread out, they have spread out like a virus, from network to network, company to competitor, where they have been met with agreement. At the moment the only stumbling block may be laziness, oh, and those bums at the beaches.

Despite that, lets hope it works.

So if you are in Athens, July 8 come and see the protest at 7 o'clock Syntagma Square.

Don't worry - Its the forests fault

Parnitha before


Parnitha now


In a dramatic turn of events, the Minister of Public Order Byron Polydoros announced over the weekend that the fault of the forest fire was a direct result of the forest being there and that it was growing wild, too closely together and it was too green.

Well i for one am glad that its been solved - pesky forests - growing as they please!
Though perhaps, if we give him the benefit of the doubt, what he might have wanted to say is that there was no Forest Management system in place. Well at least i hope so.

The President of Greece said that it was a day of mourning, he asked the nation to consider what legacy will be left to our children if we continue to disregard nature. The Prime Minister in turn promised that Parnitha and all the areas struck by fires will be re-forested and he emphasised "I say it and i mean it" which makes me wonder about the other things he said...

Cynicism blooms as promises are made

A pro-government newspaper Eleutheri Ora had as its headline today 'Parnitha re-forested with
apartment blocks and maissonetes. ' The reason for this cynicism is because its an Election year.
What's this got to do with anything i hear you ask. Well unfortunately elections in Greece are a time when general amnesty's are given.
For example, to help pedestrians - cars parked on footpaths were fined in Athens. When Dora Bakoyianni became Mayor of Athens, the first thing she did was to give a reprieve to all those who had been fined - end result - everyone parks where they want, don't pay the fine and wait for the next reprieve.

The same goes for illegal houses/bars etc. A famous cartoonist (Kyr) showed a house being built on the Acropolis with the caption "No worries, some politician will come along and make it legal"

In another example of blatant transgression of the laws, Greek Media Magnate Kyriakou apparently extended the training ground of his team onto the grounds of a large park in Athens. Opposition media SKAI tv together with the local pensioners association and Boy Scout troup organised a re-planting on Public Property. Angered by this, Kyriakou called in the police who wielded their truncheons on kids and eldery who were planting trees on public property.

But enough cynicism, lets hope for the best.

Meanwhile concern has also been raised over the plight of the last remaining red deer of Greece. People's reaction to this was

"What, we still have deer in Greece!?!?"

Well apparently we do. Again we hope that something gets done.

Politicians point fingers while Greece burns

Picture from leading newspaper Ta Nea- http://www.tanea.gr/

As Athens woke up this morning to the smell of burning fires and witnessed their cars covered in a fine sheet of ash, the reality of events began to settle.

While i was writing yesterdays blog, politicians came out and announced that recent upgrades will ensure no power outages or restrictions and no-one had to fear the fires as everything was ready. Hours later a major power station in the region of Macedonia, overburdened by electricy demand, blew its fuses sending a casquede effect down the lines, plunging the whole of northern Greece into a blackout.

Meanwhile the fires increased in intensity and numbers jumping to over 300 flare-up according to government news media. Of the 22 fire fighting planes, only nine were capable of flying and of those, two returned to base for maintence. Politicians who were previously telling everyone that everything was under control began to realise that we were now facing the most devastating fire in a decade. People whose houses were under threat from the fires appeared on tv to plead for firefighters to make an appearance to save their homes, firefighters in turn blamed understaffing (They claim that there are 4000 positions to be filled in their ranks). The government blamed the opposition for years of lax management. The opposition blamed the current government for not implementing any change, and the Communists... well they blamed the dominant two party system and the imperialist capitalist system and advocated a fundamental change to the political system.

Firefighters clock out - Volunteers clock in

Meanwhile the mayor of Parnitha, home to the last vestiges of green forest in the Attica basin, Athens lungs so to speak came out and pleaded for HELP and pointed out that finger pointing can be done later, but that he needed help NOW, before it was to late. Help did come. Apparently as the firefighters shift ended last night they abandoned two water tankers, these were commandeered by some 50 volunteers, some of them army, who went out by themselves to fight the fires.

Already at the sites of two fires evidence of foul play was found. At one a warning flare was found and at another a petrol jerry can with 30 shotgun shells. Some of the morning media have already pointed the finger at building companies who have been eyeing these green areas for building development for a number of years.

Right now Greece is asking for help from its neighbours in fighting these fires, unfortunately when the fires are quenched i fear that the same complacency that existed before will return. Sure much finger wagging will be had, voices raised on the television and a number of good plans raised, but if those who are at fault don't step up and admit fault nothing will change.

And to whom do i point and wag my finger - Well the fault is our own. Sure some can say that the government is corrupt and inneficient, or that many of the firefighters were only chosen according to whom they voted and only wanted a job where they were not expected to do anything. And those poor 'innocent' people who appeared on tv and cried for their houses to be saved, houses which were built not ten meters away from the forest (In Greece it is illegal for houses to be built any closer to 50 meters from the forest) - sure we could blame them, or even cheer at some sort of cosmic karma, but that's too easy.

We are to blame because we do not DEMAND from OUR government accountability, even NGO's such as WWF who have been pointing out the lack of fire breaks and proper forest management seem to be content to just point things out but do not follow up. No one does.
Partly its our own greed. "Atrocious that houses are being built where forests used to be, but if i save up, i too can own a house there..." Another part is our own complacency or lack of fight, the current system has been so ingrained in us that we don't believe we can fight it.

That being said action should be done by the government, they are the only people who can legislate after all. Do what Spain does, ban any building on burnt areas for 20 years, that is a first step. Do what Australia does - educate children on dealing with fires and the law. I never lived near a forest yet i know what i should look out for if i live near a forest.

The forest fires are still burning, while this is tragic i hope that this will be a catalyst for change.

Here are some pictures from local newspapers;

http://www.e-tipos.gr/

Greece burns - Civil servants take the day off

Record Highs

This week has seen record tempratures all over Greece. Last Tuesday the temprature hit a whopping 47C degrees in the centre of Athens! In an effort to fight the heat all the air-conditioners were put on max which contributed to the high tempratures.

Living in a concrete city like Athens only excacerbates the high tempratures. Green gardens in front of apartments have been built over to increase the inside apartment space in many suburbs. A culture of car dependence (car showing off) means that many have bought the latest luxury/sporty car and drive it everywhere, even if its to the local shop for some milk, just so they don't have to walk and to show off. This too increases the temprature highs.

This has also caused a strain on energy supply, the government is informing everyone to shut off all non-essential appliances in an effort to reduce energy use. Greece imports a lot of its energy from near-by countries such as Bulgaria, Italy and Turkey. I should also mention that Greece is far behind in reaching its commitment to renewable energy, such as wind turbines etc.
A recent wind energy park proposal on an island is being faught by nearby residents citing concerns that it would impact tourism. Another dirty coal burning plant scheduled to be shut down is still operating, not because of the energy it produces, but the locals who are dying at the age of 50 because of the pollution the dinosaur of a plant produces, demanded it be kept operational for the jobs it supplied. And since they die earlier because of it, the least the government could do is give them government jobs.

The government has also ordered that public services cease at 12:00 midday. This is so that energy consumption can be reduced. Unfortunately many left and forgot to turn them off, meaning that nothing was achieved. That sort of sums up the public service actually.

Greece has also been struck by at least 75 seperate fires. The government is calling on other governments to help them combat the fires. While many of the fires may be accidental there is a lot of cynicism in the country regarding them. Many blame the excessive smoking which goes on and people just throwing their cigarette butts out the window. A greater majority however blame the citizens and builders. Previous fires have cleared large sections of wooded areas where it is illegal to build. After the fires, no wood/forests, building becomes no problem!
Penteli which still has some forest left was the site of major fires a few years ago. Now it is becoming heavily populated by houses and apartments.

Why haven't the media brought it up you ask and bring it to public attention?

I don't know. Of course what many Athenians cite is that many top rated journalists have bought houses there, so really they should know first hand about whats going on. But there are some very nice houses up there now, wouldn't have been possible without the fires...

...and so it goes.