The state of Greece this minute

In the real world all over, we all live and deal with problems that arise on a daily basis, but we also find workable solutions to them so that we can carry on with our lives. In Greece, the opposite seems to be true. It's a very sorry state of affairs in Greece these days, with multiple crises playing out simultaneously and relentlessly. Barely do we hear of the exacerbation of one disaster than another one strikes, so that no single crisis can be mitigated to relieve the losses before the onset of the next one.

The economic crisis of the last six seven years can be summarised in one event: the closing down yesterday of ΗΛΕΚΤΡΙΚΗ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ, a 66-year-old Greek business dealing in the sale of electronic home goods, locking up 45 branches and putting 450 people out of a job. The company's announcement of the closure stated the following:

"Despite the company's continuous efforts, the state of the economy, the further weakening of the purchasing power of consumers, the capital controls, which among other things strengthened foreign suppliers' suspicions against Greek companies, coupled with the attitude of the lending banks, have made it impossible to continue the operation of the company. The business plan, which was co-decided by the banks, suppliers and shareholders in April 2015, had created reasonable prospects for the recovery of the company. The events, from June 2015 onwards, undermined and then canceled everything. The result was a tight liquidity problem, lost market share and an increase in losses. Thus, ILEKTRONIKI ATHINON, having exhausted all possible options, was led to today's painful decision...  The current development is destroying the largest Greek player in the industry, the only one that directly competed with multinationals, which are the only ones coming out favorably from this situation." http://www.kathimerini.gr/856593/article/oikonomia/epixeirhseis/ptwxeyse-h-hlektronikh-a8hnwn

The company did not even owe their employees any wages: it simply could no longer cope with the highly competitive (and trusted) multinationals, given the uncertainty and instability of the Greek political, social and economic situation. This is basically the reason why many Greek businesses have closed down or moved their business headquarters abroad.

To make matters worse, the government announced a rise in VAT to 24% (up by 1% from its present 23%):

"A «tombstone» has been laid on any hope for tax relief by the proposal to increase the higher VAT rate by one point, from 23% to 24%, a tax levied without exception on all households." http://www.iefimerida.gr/news/262022/fpa-24-tsoynami-anatimiseon-se-trofima-kai-ypiresies-poia-ayxanontai

"If the numbers don't add up, it may be the case that the lower rate of 13% will also be raised to 14%, taking with it the lowest rate of 6.5% up to 7%." http://www.thetoc.gr/oikonomia/article/kuma-anatimisewn-me-fpa-24-se-proionta-upiresies

The present high VAT tax rate includes all processed food, even basic items such as sugar, flour, tea and coffee. It also includes things like a can of tuna, margarine, chewing gum, salami, tomato sauce, 'toast' bread (the stuff used to make toasted sandwiches, but never eaten with a main meals), honey, juice and chocolate and beer - in other words, items that make life more pleasant. Services that will also be affected in the same way are taxis, florists, restaurants, the building sector and transportation. In short, it will kill any hope of trade recovery, and even people like myself will have to reconsider shopping at places that will offer me a discount if I don't ask for a receipt. How much more can we really cope with?

The migration crisis seems to have abated in terms of new arrivals - the media reports that fewer are coming. But what can we do with those desperate - and very demanding - wretches that are already here, have set up camp in public spaces, and refuse to budge from the squalid conditions that they have established for themselves? The police have *kindly* asked them to go to an established migrant reception centre - but they don't want to go! The police have informed them that it's better to go there because there are bathroom and kitchen facilities - but they don't believe the police! And so far, above all, the police have not used any force on the migrants - instead, the police are beating up Greeks who stop the police force from executing their normal course of duty! The migrants do not realise that they are being pig-headed by refusing to be taken to care facilities. They think it's their right to block Greek roads, block the railway tracks, trespass on private land, eat/shit/sleep at the ferry ports, break down barricades put up by less-welcoming governments, and refuse to obey the authorities. They are exacerbating the problems they face and have turned ordinary Greek citizens against them.

One step in the right direction in the migration crisis was today's arrests of people who describe themselves as 'activists' and members of 'NGOs'. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as far as I'm concerned:

"As tensions flared anew at Greece’s border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Wednesday, police detained five foreign nationals – a German, a Briton and three Norwegians – who are alleged to have committed a string of offenses while acting in purported solidarity with refugees who want to cross the border. The German woman was arrested near the Idomeni refugee camp after officers found a can of pepper spray in her possession. The other four activists were said to be carrying transistor radios that were allegedly tuned into the frequency used by the Greek Police (ELAS)."  http://www.ekathimerini.com/207892/article/ekathimerini/news/greek-police-crack-down-on-activists-along-fyrom-border

These NGO activists have infiltrated the pop-up camps of the migrants under the pretense that they want to help them. But what they are really doing is spreading rumours that the border will open soon, and telling people to stay put, or - worse still - to gather together and break down the barbed wire fences. These fake activists are the ones that have caused the greatest damage to the work of the police in trying to move the migrants in the most humane way out of public spaces; these self-labelled NGOs deliberately disseminate misinformation among a dangerously determined mob who are still mired in conspiracy theories. This situation has culminated in a degrading image of Greece, as disheveled people with aimless angry looks on their faces squat wherever they find. 

It's hard to tell if the migration crisis has had any effect on tourist bookings for the summer. I can tell you the Crete welcomed A LOT OF people over the calendar Easter holidays, with Northern Europeans flocking here. I don't think we've seen so many tourists before so early in the season, ie late March-early April. I mention the tourism sector, because this is what creates the greatest impact on the revenues of the country. Without it, Greece is pretty much stuffed, as tourism cuts across all sectors. I have read sources which say that the tourism sector *only* accounts for something like 15-18% of Greece's revenues, but these sources are completely fooled: a mainland non-tourist village service station's income for instance will not be included in the tourism sector's revenues, because it's not a tourist-related business. But by renting a car through a car hire firm, a tourist who decides to do a road trip through, say, Arta to Karpenisi, and detours to see, say, the wildlife refuge of Viniani which is close to the desolately empty Lake of Kremaston, when suddenly he realises he is running low on petrol, and then searches for a service station in the closest village of, say, Viniani and finds it closed, so he goes to Marathi and finds it open, by buying for his tourist rental car petrol in some off-the-beaten-track place, he has boosted energy revenues indirectly via the tourist sector. So I refute the idea that tourism accounts for a low percentage of the GDP - absolute rubbish. Thus, we need to maintain a positive image of Greece, so the migration crisis needs to be addressed promptly.I t could be other factors (eg the Brussels terrorist attacks) that have slowed down tourist bookings in Greece (see http://www.ekathimerini.com/207901/article/ekathimerini/business/tourism-bookings-dip-into-negative-territory-in-q1), but Spain has seen a rise so there is no reason for Greece not to see a rise too, as it is considered a safe and cheap destination. The migration crisis is not helping. 

There has always been an education crisis in this country, but I have softened my stance since my kids started high school. They attend a village school with very caring teachers, and they love it (their village primary school experiences were not at all so loving). But this time, the rotten core is starting to show in the PRIVATE (not the state) sector. The Association of Private School Owners/Operators recently made this announcement: 

"... the Association of Teachers often operate under heavy pressure from several owners falsifying school procedures, counterfeiting scores and timetables etc. It is known to us that most private schools have been established via an unprecedented system of non-freedom, arbitrariness and lawlessness. This situation primarily harms the public interest, as some private schools issue doubtful titles in legal terms, creating inequality among students of these schools, and the private schools which are operating legally, and the public schools." http://www.oiele.gr/i-thesi-tis-iele-gia-to-dimosio-elegcho-stis-exetasis-ton-idiotikon-scholion/

I've always suspected that the private schools in my area run simply to keep the rich/privileged together and to hand out grades under the table, and now this seems to be proven. The reason why they have made this announcement is because, from now on, private school teachers will not be able to set their final exams in the final year of senior high school - a registered state school teacher will do this, who will also mark the students' papers (see http://www.thetoc.gr/koinwnia/article/me-kathigites-tou-dimosiou-oi-eksetaseis-sta-idiwtika-sxoleia)

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Many people blame the current government for all the ills of society and the chaotic state of the country. OK, let's admit it. SYRIZA has made a lot of mistakes, and they keep making more mistakes. Is that a reason to call an election? It depends on the level of hatred that you feel for the government. If you hate SYRIZA, you will call for new elections. If you acknowledge that Greece's problems are the result of decades of social, political and economic mismanagement, you will realise that no matter who is in charge, even if you do prefer the privately educated ranks of the opposition, nothing will sort itself out quickly. This IDENTITY CRISIS will be with us forever, as long as there's still a debt to pay, and no new ways to repay it. 

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A brave new world - Nea Hora (Νέα Χώρα Χανίων)

On a recent walk through the old town of Hania, I came across a part of the Venetian wall encircling the town which is connected with refugee history. The long black markings on this part of the wall, on the western side near the outskirts the old town, approaching the suburb of Nea Hora, were made by the iron hooks that were nailed into the wall for the makeshift accommodation that housed the refugees from the 1922 population exchange. This is where the refugees set up temporary homes, camping out in this area until they were allotted land where they could build a home and live a semi-subsistence lifestyle by planting gardens.

A new world awaited the Asia Minor refugees in Crete. Most of them had never travelled to Greece before, having lived all their lives in areas of what is now modern-day Turkey. The refugees' first home by the wall must have been very cold, as the wall faces the sea. With the current migration crisis being played out in Europe - paying attention in particular to its suddenness - we begin to understand how refugees are forced to restart their lives literally from ground zero. For the repatriation plan of those new arrivals to be sustainable, the refugees had to be accommodated immediately and without limitations, unlike the case in the present migration crisis.

The suburb of Nea Hora, meaning the 'new town', was named as such since it was the first suburb to be built outside the walls on the western side of the town. It was established some time during the Ottoman period after the mid-1800s, when the Cretan Muslims (Τουρκοκρητικοί - Tourkokritiki) living on the island came here to seek refuge from the insurgencies taking place in various parts of the island after the Greek revolution in 1821. The Tourkokritiki constituted the first wave of refugees to the area. Crete remained under Ottoman rule for the longest period out of all the Greek territories, until the end of the 19th century. After this, it became an independent state and finally joined Greece proper in 1913.

It is not difficult to imagine how Nea Hora must have looked when the Muslims came to live in the area in the mid-1800s: imagine an area completely undeveloped, with sandy soil, cold damp winters and strong winds blowing in from the sea. It must have felt quite desolate. It was also the outpost for the start of the industrial sector of the town. Located near the beach area was the former ABEA soap-making factory, whose chimneys are still standing (a school is now located on the former factory grounds: see http://www.organicallycooked.com/2011/12/soap.html). ABEA was the first industrial unit in the whole of Crete, built beside the Jewish cemetery outside the city boundaries of the time by a French scientist called Jules Deiss in 1889. The beach of Nea Hora was also used by the people known as the 'Halikoutides' in Hania as part of their May Day celebrations: "... a 'lumpen' Muslim community, ... the local African slave and ex-slave population, the so-called Halikoutides... were a specific ethnic group of the Cretan population, living on the margins of society and mainly employed in despised jobs, such as porters, rowers etc." (see: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/381861/1.hasCoversheetVersion/Varouhakis%20PhD%20final%20thesis%20(Sept%202015)%20WITHOUT%20SIGN.pdf ).

But by 1923, nearly all the Muslims had gone*, due to a forced migration process under the terms stipulated by the Treaty of Lausanne, when the population exchange between Turkey and Greece took place. Once the Muslims left, a lot of land was suddenly freed up to be put to use for a new purpose. With the area being emptied out by this turn of events, Nea Hora became a natural settlement area for the Greek refugees from Asia Minor who were distributed in various parts of the country, including Crete. Nea Hora then began to take shape under the planning conditions of the time for the relocation of the Greek refugees.

The architecture of Nea Hora shows the origins of the early residents. The area was built up from refugees. (Click here for more photos)

It was not until the war that coastal urban areas were regarded in a more favourable light in Crete, when tourism overtook the economy of the region. Before tourism, the sandy coastal soils were regarded as inhospitable. But a plot of land - any land - was seen - and in many ways is still seen - as an easy answer to the imminent problem of housing and feeding a family. A plot of land is able to provide a roof over one's head and a sustainable way to keep food costs low since the home owner can grow some fruit and vegetables and keep hens and rabbits.

The architecture of Nea Hora alludes to the refugee origins of its early residents. From its present look, what can be inferred is that small bungalow-type houses were built by the refugees, with small gardens where they could plant vegetables and keep domesticated animals. As the town's residents grew, rooms would be added onto the houses, to provide a private living arrangement for the families of the children of the refugees. And as the town became wealthier, these small houses on the small plots of land were turned into apartment blocks, initially for family use: extended families would own the whole apartment block. Nea Hora is now the most densely populated suburb of Hania. Sustainable housing systems for extended families is still the norm in Greece, although this has meant a loss of land for garden plots with the increase in population.

Nea Hora, with a view of Lazaretta islet (right) and Thodorou island (centre) (click here for more photos)

Nea Hora is now a very popular place to go for a drink or a meal among locals and tourists, especially in the summertime. The beachfront has all the attractions of a summer resort: a family-friendly beach, plenty of cafes and restaurants, a range of hotels and rooms to let, and a very pretty marina. The streets behind the beach are worth exploring for signs of the history of the area. In the summertime, Nea Hora never fails to please, mixing old world charm with modern comforts. Fish is the most popular item on the menus of the restaurants in the region.

Nea Hora is now an inner city beachside resort visited by locals and tourists.
(Click here for more photos)

Every Thursday, a farmer's market takes place in Nea Hora, together with a street market full of vendors of all sorts. The farmer's market is also a popular meeting place for the locals, giving a community feel to the region. This again aids in the sustainability of the region, making Nea Hora feel like a picturesque urban village.

The purpose of my visit through Nea Hora was to get acquainted with the laiki (street market) of the area.
(Click here for more photos)

The western side of the moat where the Venetian walls are located marks the boundary between Nea Hora and the centre of Hania. This is also where the old Xenia hotel used to be located, sitting on top of the archaeologically and architecturally significant Venetian walls. Its installations lent a very cosmopolitan feel to the area. It was demolished relatively recently (about a decade ago) in order to clear away the historically important area of modern haphazardly erected unlicensed constructions, to allow for the better protection of the town's Venetian walls.

Despite the many apartment blocks lining the coastal area of Nea Hora, its humble origins are still highly visible in the narrow streets of the suburb. Nea Hora remains a very quiet and pleasant part of the town.

Learn more about Nea Hora: "Urban reconstruction of the district of Nea Chora in Chania" in this link:
dias.library.tuc.gr/view/manf/24453 - which leads to a download of a file (in Greek).

*Not all the Muslim population of Crete left the island. The last Muslim from this period to die in Hania was in 1967. Salis, as he was known, was a Sudanese who was loved very much by the local community and well known for his benevolence. To avoid forced emigration, he took on English citizenship, which caused him some problems during the Nazi period. He is buried in Hania in the town's Christian cemetery as a sign of the great respect that he was shown by the citizens. See: http://kritigr.gr/tag/%CF%83%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AE%CF%82/
For more information about the Jewish cemetery, see http://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/the-recent-exhumation-of-fifteen-burials-from-the-former-jewish-cemetery-of-hania/

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
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The Social Kitchen of Hania (Κοινωνική Κουζίνα Χανίων)

This post also appears in Greek (scroll down), as translated for the local and Greek press, and published in websites (eg zarpanews). 

Poverty, homelessness and hunger are all relative in the world today. The Mediterranean island town of Hania is not known for any one of these states of being. But there are always pockets of society that need more help than others, having reached a level close to one of these states of being for various reasons that cannot be easily explained. Many times, other problems that these people face have forced them into difficult circumstances which force them to experience a certain degree of poverty, homelessness and hunger, even though they may have a roof over their head.

Poverty, homelessness and hunger in Hania are all tackled in various ways. A number of state-sponsored schemes help people in need with basic food items and rent subsidisation. About 40 homeless people in the area are given shelter for the night at a children's summer campsite during the winter. And certainly, no one need go hungry in a food-rich society such as Hania, and Crete in general. One of the NGOs that help in this direction is the Κοινωνική Κουζίνα, the 'Social Kitchen" of Hania, which runs a small soup kitchen in the town centre on Tsouderon St.

In the frame of showing solidarity, last Friday, 1st of April, the graduate students of MAICh, in collaboration with the chef of the Institute and the President of the Cretan Gastronomy Network, undertook the preparation and distribution of 150 meals offered to the Social Kitchen of Hania. This is the second year that this event has taken place. As a local Institute with a strong multicultural character, MAICh's interconnection with the local community is a major component of academic and research activities, and welcomes initiatives promoting volunteer activities and community service. MAICh welcomes opportunities that make its multicultural character visible in the town.

Today the students of MAICh spent their afternoon preparing meals for the town's Community Kitchen. In the early evening, they distributed it to those in most need.
Posted by Maria Verivaki on Friday, 1 April 2016

Through this voluntary action, both MAICh and the students wanted to express their effective support for the work done by the Social Kitchen, their sympathy and solidarity with the underprivileged residents of our city. In the undoubtedly difficult times that we are living in, every citizen deserves the necessary support to allow them to live a dignified life. In this way, MAICh participated in and strengthened social structures based on the principles of collective responsibility and self-organization engaged in satisfying inalienable human rights, such as access to good nutrition.

Together with the MAICh chef Mr Yanis Apostolakis, the students organised themselves in small groups to provide help in the preparation of the meal, always in collaboration with the MAICh kitchen staff.

A decision was made to pack the portions individually, unlike last year when the pots full of food were taken to the Social Kitchen and distributed there. This indivudalisation of the portions added some cost and waste to the meal (in the form of packaging), but it was done with very good reason, in the belief that an individually wrapped meal will give some dignity to the recipients of the meal, so that they can take it away with them to eat in the comfort and privacy of the place they call home.

The Social Kitchen operates daily in Hania on a volunteer basis. Various people in the community prepare and cook meals in their homes, and take them to the Social Kitchen at serving time. Others collect food and ingredients which can be shared out to the recipients or used in the prepared meals. MAICh's contribution was made in the same way. When the time came for the food to be distributed, the students helped to load the food into the vehicles, and then to unload them at the Social Kitchen. It is not the Mediterranean way to provide cans and boxes of processed foods to feed the needy - people are given the same kind of food that people would prepare in their kitchens. Food banks also do not provide processed food to recipients of the scheme - they are more likely to be given the ingredients needed to cook a 'proper' meal (see: http://www.organicallycooked.com/2013/10/food-bank-community-grocery.html).

Recipients of the meals know when the Social Kitchen operates, and the students watched in trepidation as they arrived. Who are the poor of Hania? What do they look like? Why are they poor in such a food-rich society? For some of the meal recipients, the migration dream did not turn out well for them; most of the meal recipients were foreigners. But there were also some older Greeks, people who have ended up alone in their older age, people who do not make enough income to afford the necessities of life, people with a roof over their head but perhaps no power supply, people that lack the skills necessary to be able to look after themselves completely. The descent to personal chaos has many forms, and each case is unique. But the Social Kitchen is not there to question or judge; it simply provides a service that is needed, without any strings attached. It is not affiliated to any religious group.

The students of MAICh were surprised to realise that many of the recipients of the meals were in fact Middle Eastern/North Africans/Eastern Europeans like themselves. Most of this year's intake of MAICh students speak  Arabic. Some come from Lebanon, a country with a refugee population ratio of 1:3 - Lebanon's population is around 4.5 million and it has 1.5 million registered refugees in the country which is roughly a little larger in size than the island of Crete (which has a permanent population of about 600,000). Some come from Palestine - Palestinians make up 600,000 of Lebanon's registered refugees. It is obvious that MAICh's students understand the refugee issue well.

The students regarded this event in a positive light, saying that they learnt a lot of things which they would not have known if they had not seen it for themselves. Poverty, homelessness and hunger are not always immediately visible, but we only need open our eyes to see what is happening and to be looking in the right places. The main thing is that almost everyone is in a position to help alleviate the effects of such situations, in their own personal way.

Κοινωνική Κουζίνα Χανίων – ΜΑΡΙΑ ΒΕΡΙΒΑΚΗ, ΚΑΘΗΓΗΤΡΙΑ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΩΝ, ΜΑΙΧ

Η φτώχεια, η έλλειψη στέγης και η πείνα είναι καταστάσεις οι οποίες εμφανίζονται όλο και  συχνότερα στο σύγχρονο κόσμο, ίσως για να μας θυμίσουν πως η ανάπτυξη της τεχνολογίας δεν αρκεί για την καταπολέμησή τους.

Στα Χανιά, μέχρι σήμερα, τα φαινόμενα αυτά δεν είχαν λάβει μεγάλη έκταση (όπως σε άλλες  μεγαλουπόλεις της Ευρώπης). Ωστόσο,  υπάρχουν πάντα 'τμήματα' μέσα στην κοινωνία μας που χρειάζονται περισσότερη βοήθεια απ’ ότι άλλοι άνθρωποι, έχοντας φτάσει σε οριακό σημείο, για διάφορους λόγους που δεν μπορούν εύκολα να εξηγηθούν. Πολλές φορές,  τα προβλήματα που αυτοί οι άνθρωποι αντιμετωπίζουν, τους αναγκάζουν να ζητήσουν βοήθεια στις δύσκολες περιστάσεις που βιώνουν.

Είναι αυτονόητο, βέβαια ότι δεν χρειάζεται να πεινάσει κανείς σε μια κοινωνία όπως τα Χανιά όπου είναι πλούσια σε τρόφιμα, όπως και στην Κρήτη γενικότερα. Μία από τις εθελοντικές οργανώσεις  που βοηθούν προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση αυτή είναι η Κοινωνική Κουζίνα Χανίων, στην οποία λειτουργεί ένα μικρό συσσίτιο στο κέντρο της πόλης στην οδό Τσουδερών.

Την Παρασκευή 1η Απριλίου 2016, οι μεταπτυχιακοί φοιτητές του ΜΑΙΧ σε συνεργασία με τον Σεφ του Ινστιτούτου και Πρόεδρο του Δικτύου Κρητικής Γαστρονομίας, ετοίμασαν ένα γεύμα (150 μερίδες), που πρόσφεραν στην Κοινωνική Κουζίνα Χανίων. Το Ινστιτούτο και οι μεταπτυχιακοί φοιτητές του, μέσω της εθελοντικής αυτής δράσης θέλουν να εκφράσουν την έμπρακτη στήριξή τους στο έργο της Κοινωνικής Κουζίνας, τη συμπαράσταση και αλληλεγγύη τους προς τους άπορους κατοίκους της πόλης μας. Είναι η δεύτερη χρονιά που η εκδήλωση αυτή έλαβε χώρα.

Στις αναμφισβήτητα δύσκολες εποχές που ζούμε, αξίζει να υποστηρίζουμε, να συμμετέχουμε και να ενισχύουμε κοινωνικές δομές που βασίζονται στις αρχές της συλλογικότητας της αλληλεγγύης και της αυτό-οργάνωσης που δραστηριοποιούνται στην ικανοποίηση των αναφαίρετων δικαιωμάτων του ανθρώπου, όπως η σίτιση, εργασία, παιδεία, υγεία. Άλλωστε, το ΜΑΙΧ, ένα διεθνές μεταπτυχιακό Ινστιτούτο με έντονο πολυπολιτισμικό χαρακτήρα, αντιμετωπίζει τη διασύνδεση του με την τοπική κοινωνία ως κύριο συστατικό των ακαδημαϊκών και ερευνητικών του δραστηριοτήτων και χαιρετίζει πρωτοβουλίες και δράσεις εθελοντισμού και κοινωνικής προσφοράς. Με τον τρόπο αυτό, το ΜΑΙΧ συμμετέχει και ενισχύει τις κοινωνικές δομές που βασίζονται στις αρχές της συλλογικής ευθύνης που ασχολούνται με την ικανοποίηση των αναφαίρετων δικαιωμάτων του ανθρώπου, όπως είναι η πρόσβαση στην σωστή διατροφή.

Μαζί με τον Σεφ του ΜΑΙΧ, κ Γιάννη Αποστολάκη, οι φοιτητές οργανώθηκαν σε μικρές ομάδες για να παρέχουν βοήθεια στην προετοιμασία του γεύματος, πάντα σε συνεργασία με το προσωπικό της κουζίνας του ΜΑΙΧ. Αποφασίστηκε να συσκευαστεί το γεύμα σε  ξεχωριστές μερίδες,  με την πεποίθηση ότι μια ατομική συσκευασία γεύματος μπορεί να δώσει κάποια αξιοπρέπεια στους αποδέκτες του, με την έννοια ότι  θα μπορέσουν να το πάρουν μαζί τους για να το φάνε σε ένα δικό τους χώρο, όπου θα υπάρχει άνεση και ιδιωτικότητα, ένα οικείο περιβάλλον που για αυτούς αποτελεί το σπίτι τους.

Η Κοινωνική Κουζίνα λειτουργεί καθημερινά στα Χανιά σε εθελοντική βάση. Διάφοροι άνθρωποι  προετοιμάζουν και μαγειρεύουν τα γεύματα στα σπίτια τους, και μετά τα μεταφέρουν στην Κοινωνική Κουζίνα την ώρα που γίνεται η διανομή. Άλλοι συλλέγουν τρόφιμα και συστατικά που μπορεί να διανεμηθούν στους δικαιούχους ή να  χρησιμοποιηθούν στην ετοιμασία γευμάτων. Η συνεισφορά του ΜΑΙΧ έγινε με παρόμοιο τρόπο. Όταν ήρθε η ώρα να διανεμηθεί το φαγητό, οι φοιτητές βοήθησαν να φορτώσουν τα πακέτα στα οχήματα, και στη συνέχεια να τα πάνε στην Κοινωνική Κουζίνα. Δεν είναι στο πνεύμα του Μεσογειακών λαών να παρέχουν κονσέρβες και κουτιά επεξεργασμένων τροφίμων για να ταΐζονται οι άποροι. Είναι πιο ανθρώπινο και σίγουρα συνυφασμένο με την κουλτούρα μας να προσφέρουμε το ίδιο είδος φαγητού που και εμείς θα προετοιμάζαμε στις κουζίνες μας.

Οι παραλήπτες των γευμάτων ξέρουν τις ώρες που λειτουργεί η Κοινωνική Κουζίνα, και οι  φοιτητές τους παρακολούθησαν όπως έφταναν. Ποιοι είναι άραγε οι άποροι των Χανίων; Γιατί δεν έχουν να φάνε σε μια τέτοια κοινωνία πλούσια σε τρόφιμα και υλικά αγαθά; Για μερικούς από τους αποδέκτες τους γεύματος, το όνειρο της μετανάστευσης δεν πήγε καλά. Οι περισσότεροι από τους παραλήπτες ήταν αλλοδαποί. Αλλά υπήρχαν και Έλληνες, άνθρωποι που έχουν καταλήξει μόνοι τους στη ζωή, άνθρωποι που ίσως δεν έχουν αρκετά έσοδα για να ανταποκριθούν στις ανάγκες της καθημερινότητας, άνθρωποι που μένουν σε σπίτια που μοιάζουν σαν τα δικά μας, αλλά ίσως δεν έχουν πια παροχή ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος λόγω χρεών, άνθρωποι που στερούνται τις δεξιότητες που είναι απαραίτητες για να μπορούν να φροντίσουν τον εαυτό τους. Η πορεία του κάθε ανθρώπου στο προσωπικό χάος που ζει έχει πολλές μορφές, και η κάθε περίπτωση είναι μοναδική. Αλλά ο ρόλος της Κοινωνικής Κουζίνας δεν είναι ρόλος δικαστή, δεν κρίνει, δεν αμφισβητεί.  Απλώς παρέχει μια υπηρεσία που είναι απαραίτητη, χωρίς δεσμεύσεις. Δεν είναι συνδεδεμένη με καμιά θρησκευτική ομάδα, εθνότητα, χρώμα και φυλή.

Οι φοιτητές του ΜΑΙΧ έμειναν έκπληκτοι όταν συνειδητοποίησαν ότι, εκτός από Έλληνες, αρκετοί από τους παραλήπτες των γευμάτων ήταν από την Μέση Ανατολή, την Βόρεια Αφρική και την Ανατολική Ευρώπη. Δηλαδή προέρχονταν από τις  ίδιες χώρες με αυτές των φοιτητών! Αρκετοί φοιτητές του ΜΑΙΧ μιλούν αραβικά. Μερικοί έρχονται από το Λίβανο, μια χώρα με αναλογία προσφύγων  1: 3 - ο πληθυσμός του Λιβάνου είναι περίπου 4,5 εκατομμύρια ενώ υπάρχουν 1,5 εκατομμύριο εγγεγραμμένοι πρόσφυγες στη χώρα αυτή που είναι περίπου λίγο μεγαλύτερη σε μέγεθος από την Κρήτη. Μερικοί έρχονται επίσης από την Παλαιστίνη - οι Παλαιστίνιοι συνθέτουν αριθμό 600.000 επί των   εγγεγραμμένων προσφύγων του Λιβάνου. Είναι προφανές ότι οι φοιτητές του ΜΑΙΧ έχουν καλή κατανόηση του προσφυγικού θέματος.

Οι φοιτητές αποκόμισαν πολλά από την προετοιμασία της προσφοράς αυτή. Ήταν γι’ αυτούς μια εμπειρία μοναδική με ιδιαίτερη συναισθηματική φόρτιση.  Η φτώχεια, η έλλειψη στέγης και η πείνα δεν είναι πάντα άμεσα ορατά, αλλά το μόνο που χρειάζεται κανείς για να τα δει είναι να ανοίξει τα μάτια του για να δει τι συμβαίνει και να αναζητήσει τρόπους για να επιλυθούν τα προβλήματα. Το σημαντικότερο είναι ότι σχεδόν όλοι μας είμαστε σε θέση να συμβάλλουμε στην άμβλυνση των επιπτώσεων τέτοιων καταστάσεων, με το δικό μας προσωπικό τρόπο.

Learn more about the Social Kitchen of Hania - Μάθετε περισσότερα για την Κοινωνική Κουζίνα Χανίων:
website/ιστοσελίδα - http://koinonikikoyzina.blogspot.gr/
facebook - http://www.facebook.com/%CE%9A%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%9A%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B6%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CE%A7%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AF%CF%89%CE%BD-386558588039898/

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History repeats (H ιστορία επαναλαμβάνεται)

The sudden closing of the "Balkan Route" took Greece by surprise. It was going to close anyway in a decision made today at a European summit meeting) but Austria closed it two weeks earlier than expected, by asking the many countries bordering Austria (except Germany) to close it. In reality, Austria did Germany a favour by being the bad guy first.

The closing of the Balkan route basically means the human convoy has stopped moving, right behind Greece's Balkan borders at the village of Idomeni. Greece has now transcended to a new level, from transit to destination country, with 10,000 places per week being created all over the country to accommodate the influx. Already it looks like there's a 13,000-people backlog in a village of 100 permanent residents. So Greece gets angry with Austria and recalls the ambassador, as if that will help solve the mounting problem of movers that are piling up at Greece's entry points, the Aegean islands, with people still continuing to make the perilous journey over the Mediterranean Sea (15 drowned in the last 12 hours, mainly children).

Drone coverage of Eidomeni, published 2/3/2016

A few years ago, Greece did try systematically to stop migrants from crossing into Greek territory by building a wall between Greece's and Turkey's land border. This had the effect of forcing people into taking the more dangerous water route:

"Most of the illegal immigrants are passing the Greek-Turkish borders with the tolerance or even the assistance of the authorities in Turkey regardless the bilateral agreements that have been approved for this matter since 2003. Moreover, the fact that the Turkish authorities are not complying with the terms of the signed agreements is creating several problems during the procedures of surrender of the illegal immigrants in the border areas. Non-cooperation by the Turkish side is also evident, despite the existence of specific proof in several cases (i.e. Turkish smugglers of illegal immigrants arrested by Greek authorities). (wikipedia)

"We do not need to make war with Greece", a former Turkish PM once said. "We just need to send them a few million illegal immigrants from Turkey and finish with them." But it's no time for a blame game. It's just history repeating itself at this moment, due to Greece' geographical location. A very similar migration tsunami has actually happened before in Greece, specifically in 1922, during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. At the time, a much smaller and poorer Greece than the present one found ways to incorporate 1,000,000 people into the country. When the Asia Minor refugees came to Greece nearly 100 years ago, that period in Greek history was known as "The Great Catastrophe". The present humanitarian crisis will probably also be given a name. At the moment, it's called the 'refugee crisis', and I also saw a news headline calling it 'the new catastrophe', but it will probably get renamed eventually, to separate it from the 1922 period (similarly to the way we refer to WW1 and WW2).

Refugees from Asia Minor at the Athens Municipal Theatre in 1922: a family was housed in each gallery. You can see the trunks that the refugees carried from their former homeland sitting on top of the divisions between the galleries.

Someone somewhere had to stop the present madness of a stream of migrants all racing to the same spots. Austria was just as wrong to demand immediate border closure as Germany was to declare no limits for immigrants, as well as Greece was to allow people to pass through the country and become another country's problem. In the meantime, what do we do with approximately 35,000 migrants (with more and more and more coming into the country every day) that are now stuck in various parts of the country where hastily erected camps are being set up to accommodate them?

From where I am in Crete, I see the misery and wretchedness of migration waves from the comfort of my living room while I'm watching the evening news reports on TV. Spring weather is very changeable in Greece, and it often rains in the north. The camps are set up on muddy fields with little sanitation, aiding the spread of illness and disease. The generosity of Greek people means that food is the least of the migrants' problems, although shortages still exist due to the sheer number of people involved and the work required to collect and distribute that food efficiently. A survey has found that 6 out of 10 Greeks have helped in some way in the refugee crisis, Greeks generally don't want our borders to close and they believe some refugees can be incorporated into our population.

Scenes at the Greek border 

Not everyone is generous - we are not all the same. So far, I have heard of farmers ploughing up land so that it cannot be used for setting up tents and arson attacks on supply storage sheds. And there was also that ridiculous photo shoot last week of celebrities 'helping' refugees by providing (inadequate) emergency aid, and creating a stampede at the port of Pireas as they were dishing out their meagre contributions. A volunteer at the port who wishes to remain anonymous explains the "circus of exploitation of the refugees by supposed philanthropists", all done in the name of a pretty photo:

"People are pushed to the boxes of the Mission but no one knows what they contain (I was told what they contain, and I knew where they would end up afterwards). People get themselves hurt just for a couple of biscuits in the van and children are crying because they did not manage to get a Mission bag. What we ask from individuals not to do, but just on a larger scale. The cameras are snapping a beastly sight, they fail to say that what they did created this situation. There is a signal from Gate E1 about an 18-day old that must be urgently taken to hospital. I ask why the ambulance that arrived with the Mission's vaccination unit cannot take the baby to hospital, but the vaccination had not started, so it can't be done. The cameras are still rolling. The driver of the ambulance is smoking a cigar, while the baby at E1 is waiting for an ambulance that does not come because the phone service does not answer."

It has been reported in the press that migrants will be distributed around the country, with some coming to Crete where they will be housed in children's summer campsites, a former psychiatric hospital and a disused military camp. I'm wondering how the migrants will react to being moved to another part of Greece. Victoria Square in central Athens where migrants were congregating out of the fear of being placed in closed camps (they don't exist in Greece) was cleared by Sunday morning, which was only sensible, as having people sleeping and pooing in a city centre public park is not wise. Apparently, it took a bit of convincing to get them away from there. When the time comes for their distribution to other parts of the country like Crete, or if they are to be taken back to Turkey (as is being discussed by European leaders), how willingly will they go, especially if they have to get onto a boat again? They only know that Europe involves a land journey. No doubt people smugglers based on Greek territory will be doing a roaring trade soon .

On a very long walk I took recently to gather historical information in preparation for a seminar, I came across a part of the Venetian wall of Hania which is connected with refugee history. The long black markings on this part of the western side of the wall on the outskirts of the suburb of Nea Hora were made by the iron hooks that were nailed into the wall for the refugees from the 1922 population exchange, where they set up temporary shelter with the use of tin roofs. They camped out in this area until they were allotted land to build a home and live off. Nea Hora, meaning the 'new town', was named as such since it was the first suburb to be built outside the western walls. The suburb was mainly built by refugee stock, starting from the Muslims living in Crete who were escaping the fighting with the Christians. When they left, the Greeks from Asia Minor took over, where a mish-mash style of architecture mushroomed. The houses were all originally small bungalows with gardens. As the town grew and people became wealthier, these small plots of land were turned into apartment blocks.

Given that the EU will be providing aid to Greece for the humanitarian crisis, I really wonder what employment opportunities (legal ones) this will bring to a country battling unemployment. Surely this is a chance - surreal as it may seem - to use certain Greek people's skills, esp in the department of human resources, jobs that qualified unemployed Greeks couldn't find work in due to low demand. Also of interest is how these jobs will be allocated - by foreign NGO's or by the government? We know all too well what happens in the latter case - Syriza is no exception to nepotism.

Last week I read about a group of people in Hania who are sending over donated refugee aid. My conscience got me out to a supermarket where I spent 21 euro on items listed by the agency and I took it out to them immediately, in time to get delivered to the port of Pireas the following day where an estimated 3,500 were camping in conditions of squalor. The scenes on TV news are indescribably painful. Time is of the essence here. Money isn't of much use at this time. People in need require direct assistance, and the people providing them with that assistance don't really have time to go shopping for the goods they need in order to help the helpless.

Small bottles of water, UHT milk, diapers, soluble tea, hot cups, biscuits and a collection of hotel-size soaps. This box contains 20 euro worth of goods, destined for northern Greek migrant camps which are much much poorer and more desperate than the ones in Piraeus-Athens.

Living in Crete basically means you don't see pr feel the problems of northern Greece and of the islands that are affected. The only time we are reminded of what is happening in the other Greece is through the mass media. In my case, so far away from it all, helping the refugees at this time is more a way for me to help my own people who are living through the crisis more closer to their own homes.

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.

Feidias' story (Φειδίας)

We are experiencing beautiful weather these days, maybe too beautiful for the month of February. We long for rain, which hasn't come in a while to Hania, and this worries us for the coming summer when our water needs are increased in the very hot weather. While we are waiting for Μάρτης γδάρτης to come, we decided to enjoy the good weather at the weekend with a trip to the small village of Sfinari on the west coast of Crete in the region of Kissamos. A friend had recommended to us an excellent fish taverna in the area, where only fresh line-caught fish is cooked by a family of four brothers, headed by their father Feidias. It was a perfect day to try it out.

On the way to Sfinari. The small island in the middle of the photo is Pontikonisi ('mouse-island'), located close to 'insanely awesome Balos', which is hiding behind the mountain.

The west coast of Crete is appealing for its isolation and remoteness, combined with its wilderness. It's basically off the beaten track. We would not have gone there ourselves had it not been for our friend's suggestion (he is related to the owners). Feidias' taverna is located by the sea, but during the off season in the winter period, when the sea is not so alluring, Feidias and his family operate the business from a building located on the main road of this very peaceful village, close to their home, and mainly at weekends. When we arrived, we found one of his sons preparing hooks and lines, while another was in the kitchen cooking. As Feidias explained to us, their customers are mainly friends, and friends of friends, who usually phone them beforehand to tell them that they are coming. Apart from one other couple, we were the only customers in the restaurant. By the time we left in the middle of the afternoon, some more of his friends had turned up.

Feidias

"Please excuse me," Feidias said, as he took a chair from a nearby table and set it next to me, joining our table. He was curious to find out who our friend was that recommended his restaurant to us. While we were talking, in his sailor's song-song voice, he told us his story, a story that carries great relevance for the times we are living in.

One of Feidias' sons, cooking and serving in the restaurant. 

"My father was a fisherman. I became a fisherman too, and my sons have now entered the same line of business. From a very young age, I was always involved with the sea. That was all we had here, and this is what gave us our food. My father fished for a living. He sold his fish to the residents of nearby villages. When I was young, I told my father that I wanted to join a fishing ship. He let me go. There was little else to do in those days and you took your chances. I sailed to Africa where I spent many months. When I returned, I spent very little time back at home before I was on another boat. By the time I finished my sailing years, I had been to many places around the world. There isn't an ocean that I haven't sailed in..

Another of Feidias' sons, setting up fishing hooks and lines

"My last journey took me to New York. I was 19 years old and looking for luck. So I jumped ship. It seemed the most natural thing to do. I knew I was an illegal immigrant, and for the next 18 months, I feared the sight of any figure of authority that got in my way. In those days, there was a lot of work available in America. I had spent many years working in the sea, and this was my first job working on firm ground. I landed work in the textile industry, with a Jewish employer who had a clothing factory. I worked 16 to 23 hours a day. It sounds like a lot of work, but I was young, and I had no idea how hard I was working then. Everything seems so easy when you're young.

Feidias and his wife

"I worked and worked, saving money and avoiding the police. I was always worried about the police. I came so close to them one day when I was in a shop buying food. Some people came into the shop and attacked the cashier. I was caught up in the robbery. The shop owner tried to close the doors quickly but the mechanism didn't work. If the doors had closed, I would have been stuck inside the shop when the police arrived. I could hear the sirens of the police cars. Luckily, I managed to slip out the door just in time.

Feidias' wife is cleaning salty sea greens, Cretan seaweed, which is pickled and served in salads.

"The robbery made me think about going back to the safety of my island home. I had travelled to so many countries around the world in such a short time, but I never came across a country I wanted to live in. Eventually I found a passage on a ship, and left New York. My first job back home was to find a wife. I married a fellow villager at the age of 22 and had six children, 4 sons and 2 daughters. I opened the taverna 40 years ago. My children love their homeland in the same way that I do, even though they never took to the high seas in the way I did. They've never felt the need to leave. Things are different now - in my youth, the need to get away from our background of poverty was great. But my greatest desire all those years away was to return to my homeland. I may not have made as much money as I could have, but I have a better quality of life here. My family continues to live off the sea."

Octopus, sun-dried and grilled, slightly chewy with a soft interior

Marida Spicara smaris, a kind of sardine, lightly fried

Cuttlefish, grilled

Cod (European hake), fried

(plus the usual fried potatoes and fresh seasonal salad)

All the fish were caught by Feidias and his sons. The reason why we didn't order any calamari or shrimp is because they hadn't caught any at this time.

Feidias' story of his travels over the sea, his desire for self-improvement, and his eventual return home have a certain resonance with the major crisis that Greece is living through at this very moment. Whether the human convoy of moving people are refugees, economic migrants, or opportunists, they all share a common desire to live a better life, which may be found in another country far from their own. At the same time, we can't underestimate the yearning of most people in the world to live a quality life in their own homeland.

Most of Feidias' family still live in Sfinari. The ones that don't have gone as far as Kissamos town. They all fish for a living. Whatever fish are not needed for the taverna continue to be sold in the villages of the region by car. They will soon be moving to the premises of the summer taverna by the sea, once the summer tourist season kicks off. They will definitely be seeing us again some time soon.

For more photos of our drive, click here: https://www.facebook.com/maria.verivaki/posts/10208488101017083?pnref=story

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.

Movers and hotspots

The war in Syria created a refugee crisis, which turned into a migration crisis, which has now turned into a crisis of people continually on the move. I call these people 'movers': we no longer know if they are refugees or economic migrants or opportunists. The crisis has now reached the stage where Greece has become the largest concentration camp (aka 'hotspot') in Europe. As the weather improves, more and more movers will make the journey; there seems to be absolutely no way of stopping them from moving. Since they are using the sea and not the land to make their move, the only way to stop them from making the crossing from Turkey to Greece is to push them back into the sinking rubber dinghies they came in, and let them drown. It's a completely different thing to push people back into the water, compared to pushing people back behind a fence. The former implies certain death, while the latter implies a great amount of discomfort: hunger, thirst, squalor, homelessness - but not death.

The hotspot at Schisto, an industrial zone noted for its rampant poverty and Roma camps, just outside Athens centre (it was featured in the BBC's recently-broadcast travel documentary about Greece which I reviewed here: http://www.organicallycooked.com/2016/02/greece-with-simon-reeve-bbc.html).

One could say it is Greece's fault that this is happening. When SYRIZA seized power (it wasn't exactly an easy governmental transition) just over a year ago, during their campaigning they had specifically stated that they would 'open the borders to everyone' (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l36y0pG4tlg - it's in Greek). Although the wall built on the border of Greece and Turkey has never been opened to allow the movers to come through, the movers have risked their lives to get to Greece (ie 'Europe' in their minds) with overcrowded unseaworthy vessels, wearing overpriced fake life-jackets made in Turkey.

Armed forces checking movers' documents, in order to enable them to leave the hotspot to continue their journey to the Greek border so that they can continue to walk through Europe by crossing into the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia.

But this is all by the by now. The fact is that these people would have made the move, whether via Greece or another country. While the movers keep coming, Greeks will continue to let them through. We'll feed, clothe and house them (that part is the least of the ordeal that both the movers and the Greeks face), but that's about it. I know it's not what the movers expect, but it's one of those things that are at the same time both right and wrong. We just don't have the heart to push them back into the water and let them drown. Heaven forbid we ever acquire such traits. The bottom line is: What would the world prefer to see? Lesbos-style movers, or Lampedusa-style?

Many new movers arrived on Tuesday morning in Piraeus harbour (Athens) after traveling from the Greek islands (notably Lesbos) where they originally entered Greece/Europe. If they want to avoid going to a hopspot, they make their way to the centre of Athens to Victoria Square.

Greeks are doing both the right thing and the wrong thing by allowing them to land on Greek soil, and other countries are also in their right not to allow them to pass onto their soil, which again is also wrong. In both cases, the movers find themselves in relative safety. What they will do after they arrive in Greece or hang around the Greek border is quite predictable: if they aren't permitted entry into another country by legal means, they will find a way to do it illegally. Look what happened just under two years ago in Crete (see http://www.organicallycooked.com/2014/04/trapped.html). After those movers arrived here, most of them left the area by various illegal means which aren't reported in the press - they did not wait for official help.


Trapped in Idomeni (a Greek border town), since the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia is stopped allowing Afghan movers through the border.

Unlike the Brexiteers of our times, Greeks don't fear immigration at all. I don't know if it’s fair to say this, but the truth is that Greeks no longer care so much about the origins or intentions of these movers, because it is an accepted fact now from all parties concerned with the European migration crisis that the movers don’t actually want to stay in Greece. So we know that we will see them go eventually, whether by legal or illegal means. We don’t mind helping them, because of our innate trait to share things with others. Greeks regard foreigners as exotic: foreigners could be a guest, host, stranger or friend, before they are regarded as a nuisance or an enemy. We still see the 'xenos' in a similar way to the ancient Greeks. So no one really worries much now about seeing these people in our country. We all know they don't want to be here. They want to go somewhere else, and that's what they will do. They aren't tourists coming here for a sunny holiday or to see the sights.

The humane way that Greece has treated the movers is really quite incredible, considering that other European countries have now taken on fascist elements in their politics:

"Going against the current of the rising xenophobia in Europe, many Greeks are mobilizing for the refugees who are flocking to their country. Thanks to the mobilization of the radical anti-racism left, even the influence of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn is declining."  http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2016/02/16/en-grece-le-probleme-n-est-plus-le-racisme-mais-la-pauvrete_1433818

While Switzerland and Denmark are confiscating movers' possessions; Poland and Hungary refuse to take in any movers; the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia built a barbed wire wall overnight (what for? to pander to the EU's fancies? the movers don't want to stay in their country either); a Belgian mayor insisted on passing a law saying that feeding movers is illegal (like they do for seagulls, to stop them from coming); Sweden is rejecting close to 100,000 asylum claims; Austria is allowing in just 80 movers per day (100,000 have made the crossing in less than 2 months); Brexiteers base their belief that Britain will be better outside the EU on immigration fears together with the mistaken belief that we can be independent in a world where borders are now a figment of the imagination; Germans are voicing their fears of the islamificaiton of Europe;, in Greece, we are collecting food and clothes for the movers, building pre-fabricated housing to shelter them, and as yet, there has not been heard one single claim that movers are raping Greek women.

This photo appeared in the British Daily Mail today. In another Daily mail article published today, a headline reads: "Taxpayers [in the UK] face bill of millions to tackle EU migrant crisis: Demand for refugee fund after arrivals soar to 102,000."  

In a very recent article (dated 11/2/16) in the Grexit-leaning (and generally speaking not-very-pro-Greece) Guardian, a highly leftist activist bandies about the racist Golden Dawn cliche by stating point-blank in his article:

"In austerity-ravaged Greece, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn terrorises immigrants." http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/11/economic-crisis-europe-far-right-left-alternative-austerity

The writer clearly stereotypes Greek politics, without considering that Greek politics has evolved in so short a space of time. The simple truth is that we no longer hear many news stories of this type. Golden Dawn has 'evolved', just like Syriza has, because they both needed to. Golden Dawn has virtually disappeared from the streets. Greece has been and is still being billed as a racist country, but our reaction to the movers flooding our country is far from racist.

Last night's Greek TV news was as one would expect dominated by stories about the moving people, showing scenes of confusion and abandonment. I listened to one of the movers speaking to a reporter as he waited at Idomeni (the Greek border town at the border between Greece and the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia), presumably hoping that the border would eventually open. Many of the movers speak very good English, and I heard him say something along the lines to the following:

"Thank you for your hospitality. You have been very kind to us. But we don't want to stay here. We will go to Germany. We will go there no matter what, and we will have a good life. We cant stay here. We must go."

If I have one reservation about the movers, it's their final intentions. The movers seem to want to live in a Western European city where they will be given a job and a home. They fail to understand how unreasonable their demands are. Not everyone in Europe is able to have what they want, yet here we have a very large group of people who - in the mind of the average European (and Brexiteer, because they don't feel European, they feel British) - have not paid their dues in order to be able to live in such comfort.

Listen to the movers speaking (in very good English) about their present ordeal in Greece - this video was filmed yesterday. 

The movers are city people, and they want city breaks. They don't seem to understand that since they have chosen to move to another country, it isn't up to them where they will be placed. They need to understand that their present needs are different from their future desires. If they are offered something like a chance to live and work on the land, they should be prepared to take it. If not, this is where the racism will start, and they will have started it themselves.

The fact is that they can indeed stay in Greece, in a similar way to how 1 million refugees from Asia Minor were incorporated into a much smaller Greece in terms of territory in 1922-3. The Asia Minor refugees were given land on which they could build a home and feed themselves. Greece is still underdeveloped in many parts of the country, and there are many abandoned villages, especially in Crete, where is so much unused land. It's already being done in some parts of Spain and Italy (see http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/23/jobs-refugees-godfather-corleone-sicily-mafia-cosa-nostra).

My understanding is that although the Greek government doesn't have the funds needed to help the movers, I'm sure that other states would help my country if only the movers themselves showed a willingness to stay in Greece. In fact, I would rather see them in my country than in Turkey, or wandering around fascist fear-mongering states. But they have to want to stay. If they don't want to stay, I cannot feel anything for them.

What will happen to the movers if they aren't able to move on after all? No one really knows. They wont stay in Greece, that's for sure. They'll keep in moving, perhaps even returning back to where they came from. They know Greece is a poor country - they can see her poverty in the way they are treated, and perhaps in the chaotic conditions that they are met with on arrival. One thing is certain: The crisis of the human convoy looks like a Greek problem, but this is not true. It is a pan-European crisis. If the movers haven't reached you yet, they're bound to be coming your way soon.

By stopping them from entering other countries, they may get the message, that they are not wanted there, or anywhere else for that matter. And this just might stop them from continuing to move. And then, defeated, they may move in reverse, going back to where they came from. That's why whatever we do is both right and wrong ay the same time. It's only right to let them in, and by keeping them out, we are telling them that they can't stay here. There is nothing for them. And so they will go, and the flow of the human convoy of movers will eventually stop. Until then, Greece will continue to let them in. Eventually, they will stop coming. At least, that is what we hope.

All photos published yesterday in protagon: for more photos, see http://www.protagon.gr/galleries/psyxes-pisw-apo-syrmata-44341062208

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.

January in proverbs (Ιανουάριος)

January is supposed to be as slow as molasses. In Greece, 2016's January has been full on. 
January has many proverbs associated with it in Greek culture. Click here for a list of them.

In January, I put the fear of God into the last lot of students who did not obtain a suitable grade in the TOEFL test. I give them the all advice and support they need, and I know that if they don't take my advice, they will probably fail. A couple seem not to be heeding it. Let's see what the results will show. And with this last testing session over, I finally took a week off work, at the beginning of the sales shopping period. Very convenient that my private writing jobs came in at the right time:  Γενάρης στεγνός, νοικοκύρης πλούσιος. Ι got myself new boots (€25), new shirts (€55 for 4), and new jeans (€30), with a little left over - maybe a new hair look? Even children ask me why I don't dye my hair. Maybe it's time I did. (Hm. The salon was closed when I decided to make an appointment. Is that a sign?)

January started off freezing - Αρχιμηνιά, καλή χρονιά, με σύγκρυα και παγωνιά; then it got warm - Δέκα μέρες του Γεναράκη, ίσον μικρό καλοκαιράκι; and now it's back to freezing. It is winter after all. The kids are walking around in short sleeves, making their parents feel very old as we bundle up against the cold. I can't believe they don't feel it. I don't remember under-dressing at their age. Perhaps we should turn off the heating and see how they feel then. But that's impossible - it's their bundled-up parents that can't cope without the wood fire.

Son's birthday party went very well - 9 kids turned up. They were really quite kids too - one was Albanian, another Bulgarian and one more called himself Skopian (I suppose he's been told not to say Macedonian).  "It wasn't like that in my days," my husband said. "We were all Greek." He completely forgets that half his classmates were actually the children of refugee Greeks from Asia Minor, whose parents and/or grandparents had come to Crete in the early 1920s. (He went to school with kids who had surnames like 'Agop'). The difference between my childhood and my husband's and my children's is that the migrants were different colours at my school, whereas they were/are roughly the same colour in my husband's and children's classrooms. Τ' Αλωναριού τα μεσημέρια , και του Γεναριού οι νύχτες. We've all gone through some kind of migrant experience, but they've seen the migrants through cat's eyes, different shades of the same colour.


The kids watched a thriller movie with some donuts and cheese pies, then we served BBQ, baked potatoes and salad for lunch while they listened to youtube videos. The they played a  game which involved banging the door open and shut (I think they've damaged it a bit - Γενάρη διαβολόμηνα ποτέ σου μην ξανάρθεις) while each one took turns entering the room wearing a long white scarf. (I have no idea what they were doing, and I never asked them.) Then we cut the birthday cake and they watched another video till it was home time. Very innocent. My English friends remarked that their kids would be out on the lash at this age - I waited a long time that day to have a drink, and I had to make sure I wouldn't be ferrying kids around.

After the weekend, the skies finally cleared. We can now see how low the snowfall has been. Only the lowest lying hills are bare. That's why it's so cold. But it's a good sign: Γενάρης χωρίς χιόνι, κακό μαντάτο. And now, I also hear both kids sniffling, blowing their noses and coughing. Serves them right.


The cat walked into the house after a week's absence. He disappears like this every year at this time. Nα 'μουν γάτος τον Γενάρη κι ας μην είχα άλλη χάρη. But now, he's come back blind. His nose has been scratched, his tail is slightly torn at the tip, and his one good eye is now bloodshot (he lost his other eye very soon after he adopted us, about 8 years ago). He occasionally crashes into the walls of the house and he doesn't feel confident climbing onto and down from his chair. He also jumps when he hears someone coming into the room, out of fear - he can't see us but he can hear us. When we speak to him, he feels reassured, and goes back to sleep. We're letting him stay indoors throughout the evening, but he always wakes up in the middle of the night crying to be let out. He doesn't always want to stay in anyway. He's still eating well despite losing one of his teeth a few years ago, but I think he's on the last of his nine lives. Today, I spotted him at the nieghbour's and called out to him. He heard me and jumped his way towards the fence to get to me. He had no idea how to get through. He just sat there and meowed. I coaxed him to follow me until I found a hole big enough for me to grab him and pull him through. I took him home, and gave him something to eat, and then he stared at the door again, meowing to get out. Even though he can feel so human, I really need to remember that he's a cat. A Greek cat, for that matter. He will live out his ninth life, and we will probably never find out how he lost it.


The four posters on our bed finally lost their last life. They were always a bit wobbly, and we had tried to secure them, but the new laundry basket is a bit bigger than the previous one I broke, and I bumped it onto one of the posts as I was taking out the washing. The whole thing came crashing onto my head. We decided to take down the posts after that. Κόψε ξύλα τον Γενάρη μην κάψεις τα παλούκια. It had its charm, but in our later years, it served more as a place to hang clothes we couldn't be bothered putting away. (Now we'll have to start putting them away.) Just when I was thinking what I was going to do with the curtains, my daughter says she wants to get rid of the girly ones in her room so I offered to recycle the ones from the 4-poster bed (which now looks like a plain old bed) for her use. She said she'd like that. She's grown up so fast: just the other day, she asked her dad (she is a daddy's girl after all) if he could take away her cellphone for a few hours in the week so she can concentrate on school work. I'm very thankful she found a solution for her problem instead of me having it on her (perhaps she'll remember to wear long sleeves too).

I'm trying to sort out my needs from my wants. I think I want rather than need new hair (despite what kids tell me). I think I should have new hair, but I don't think I need it. At least that's what I think. I need new glasses. I've always worn glasses to see far away, but I'm having problems seeing things close up. If I take my glasses off, I can see things close up quite clearly. I don't have problems driving with my glasses. Perhaps I can let the glasses wait for the time being. I need a new cellphone. I keep worrying that because it's nearing 5 years old (HTC Desire, if anyone's interested), it will soon break down. But it does everything I want it to do, and even more. So I could say I just want a new phone because my present phone is old (and it has a 3" screen and naturally I'd like a bigger screen). So I'm putting that on hold too. The way I think about things, it seems that all my needs are really wants. Ο Γενάρης δε γεννά μήτε αβγά μήτε πουλιά, μόνο κρύο και νερά.

We weren't sure whether we needed a coffee maker. I've had the same coffee maker for the last 15 years: a tall plastic cup (I gave up on plungers after I broke two in succession), a very fine sieve (it's lost its handle, but I haven't seen anything in Hania that can replace it) and the good old Greek briki (I prefer gas to boil water and I didn't want another kitchen gadget on the worktop). Husband has always made his milky coffee using the briki, but recently he admitted that he didn't like the taste any more. He has a takeaway cappuccino when he's suddenly called away on a fare in the morning, and he has obviously developed a taste for it. I personally never found takeaway cappuccino tasty enough and it's always so hot it burns your tongue if you try to drink it as soon as you buy it. On the other hand, a cappuccino in a sit-down cafe is NEVER hot enough, and it's always too small (even the ones that are supposed to be large). In the end, I decided to buy a cappuccino maker (DeLonghi, €130), probably because I got a €50 voucher from the purchase of a vacuum cleaner. Kotsovolos (UK's Dixons in Greek disguise) was giving €50 vouchers with the purchase of various German products. I think I bought a Siemens (or was it Volkswagen - haha). Money well spent. Γενάρη μήνα κλάδευε και το φεγγάρι χέστο. We LOVE our cappuccino machine.

The country's in tatters at the moment. I always put it down to winter. Μωρή πουτάνα αμυγδαλιά π' ανοίγεις τον Γενάρη δεν καρτερείς την Άνοιξη ν' ανοίξουμ' όλοι αντάμα. The farmers are on the streets up north. Greek winter is at its shortest in Crete, which is why the farmers have delayed their raging here. How can they strike anyway, when the whole of Southern Crete is busy supplying the country's tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers at present? (A good experiment: plant only seasonal produce, and see how long it takes before the peasants' revolt begins.) Cretan farmers are too busy making money in their greenhouses at the moment, as well as keeping their olive trees trimmed. Κλάδεμα του Γενάρη κάθε μάτι και βλαστάρι. Come summer, they'll be busy harvesting tomatoes in the open. Που να σου να Γεναρη καλε και ξακουστιαρη. The north is now covered in snow. Βαρύ το καλοκαίρι βαρύς και ο Γεναροχειμώνας - Χιονίζει ο Γενάρης, ξεψυχάει ο γαϊδουριάρης. Northern Greek farmers have less to do in winter; no wonder they have the time to think about how to block passage to Makedonia Airport. In any other democratic country, this would be seen as placing the security of the country in danger. But not in Greece: we are just too democratic to stop the undemocratic. Democracy as its most democratic.

The lawyers (and scientists, and engineers, among others) are raging too, in their suits and ties. They no longer have 'their' people in government. They are no better than the farmers if they think they deserve different taxation methods and special pension funds. We are all in this together, mates: we ate it altogether, didn't we? I don't care if they strike forever. We are used to a very S-L-L-L-L-L-L-O-W justice system, because lawyers are used to striking in this country - they did it for different reasons before, but they didn't take to the roads like they do now. The greatest moaners are those that can't live without their comforts. They don't know how to downsize. May Syriza rule for a long time, no matter how badly they are doing it. Κάλλιο να 'δω σκυλί λυσσασμένο παρά ζεστό ήλιο τον Γενάρη. The others won't rule any differently, except to look after 'their' people, just as Syriza is doing now. That's what politicians call sharing.

Europe is also raging - again, against Greece. First they wanted Greece out of the eurozone (which they didn't manage to do), now they want her out of Schengen. They can't decide what to do with the Schengen among themselves. They say they want to break it, but if you ask me, those crying out for Schengen to be suspended want to go back to the past, where there was a mini-Schengen zone among a few Northern buddy countries, a Schinken zone in a sense. Northern European countries feel that they are the 'safe' countries, while they view Southern European countries as unable to control what is happening within their territory. They cannot get away from the fact that the north is landlocked against a cold inhospitable sea with hardly any neighbours - Οι γεναριότικες νύχτες, για να περάσουν θέλουν συντροφιά και κουβέντα - while the south borders the warm hospitable Mediterranean, and its nearest neighbours are Arab countries. The north thinks that the south lets in all the 'problematic' people. This is of course utter bullshit. The north has its own serious problems of home-grown terrorism. The problematic people are already living in Europe, as bona fide European citizens. Some countries were slow to catch onto this (France and Belgium in particular), while others (notably the UK) have been through it much earlier than the Paris attacks. In the meantime, Greece has done all it can for the refugee crisis. We put up a fence between Greece and Turkey to stop people walking into the country undocumented - did that stop them? No! They just sailed in instead. Apart from allowing them to drown, we can do nothing else. We cannot turn the boats back towards Turkey - that's a war signal. Marine borders DO NOT EXIST - Tsipras is spot on in this sense: No matter how many patrol boats are out in Greek waters, attempting to force a vessel of asylum-seekers back into Turkish waters is both illegal and dangerous, even in calm seas. So unless a Turkish patrol stops a migrant boat and returns it to Turkey, there is little Greek or Frontex patrols can do once it has entered Greek territorial waters but arrest the smugglers and pick up the passengers or escort the vessel safely to land. What use is the Greek navy in this case, apart from plucking people out of the water?

Those Northern Europeans think they know everything: Johana Mikl-Leitner, the Austrian interior minister, rejected Greek arguments about the difficulties of patrolling its maritime borders with Turkey and explicitly warned Athens about a Schengen expulsion. “Greece has one of the biggest navies in Europe,” she said. “It’s a myth that the Greek-Turkish border cannot be protected.” Come on over, Johana, and show us how to do it. Our arch-rival Turkey isn't bothering us. But not even Turkey can stop people from sailing away in dinghies. People say that Turkey is not a good place for refugees. Sure it isn't. But neither is Greece. These people do not want to start growing a few potatoes and keeping chickens to survive. If they did, we could probably accommodate them, just like we did during the population exchange: the numbers are the same now as they were back then. the present-day refugee issue involves approximately 1,000,000 people migrating to Europe in 2015 - the 1922 population exchange forced 1,000,000 Turkish-speaking Greeks to leave Turkey for Greece, while 500,000 Greek-speaking Muslim Turks were forced out of Greece and repatriated in Turkey. They were given land to live on and to live off - but this is not what the modern-day refugees want: they want a Western lifestyle. Many Greeks themselves are also biding their time, waiting for better days. Greece isn't a difficult country to live in; it is simply a little challenging at the moment. News sites write about the dreams refugees have for a better life in a Western European country. Is it any different from the dreams that Greeks have at the present? Most of us to a very large extent have a home and a family to turn to. Most of us also have jobs, albeit low-paid. We can't change that at present, and neither can we offer much more to desperate people. But we don't intend to let them drown, even if we can't offer them anything. We offer them a second chance to breathe; if they can wait with us, I'm sure we'd be happy to have them here too. History is just repeating itself, without any lessons learnt from the past.

When I travelled through Europe in 1991, between France and Belgium-Luxembourg (on the latter, what is a city that calls itself a country? Try cutting off its food supply and tell me if it can function), you rarely had your documentation checked. West Germany was also relaxed, but former East Germany wasn't - the wall had only just fallen, and the guards were used to doing things differently from their Western counterparts. Does anyone remember those pre-Schengen days when you could drive through different countries without presenting any documentation? "You cross the bridge from Germany into Luxembourg, turn left, and 300 metres on you’re in France – three countries in about three minutes, and not a police officer in sight. In 1985, ministers from five governments met here to launch a bold experiment in border-free travel. Cars and lorries with green dot stickers on their windshields could roam the five countries – the same three plus Belgium and the Netherlands – without passports." Those five countries trusted each other, they knew each other well. In fact, they were hardly different from each other, and they had nothing to share or divide between them. They just pretend to be different, so they can have a place to call their kingdom (and with a kingdom, you have rulers, and rulers have power. That's all.) They bordered countries they also trusted; they were all far away from Greece, who was cut off from them by the Iron Curtain that the north didn't trust. Greece was simply on the 'wrong' side. Suddenly, it's the other way round: Το Γενάρη το ζευγάρι διάβολος θε να το πάρει. Τhey now trust former communist nations more than Greece, who is now seen as the devil.

A lot depends on trust. A colleague who left Hania for Paris just after the attacks told us that immediately upon exiting the plane (from Athens), she had to show her passport. The French authorities had no proper space for this kind of check for flights within the Schengen zone. So they just 'caught' the passengers as they exited from the plane and checked their passports. They didn't trust the Schengen agreement after Paris was attacked - even though some of the attackers were bona fide European citizens, with French or Belgian citizenship. But checking your borders at all times is sensible, isn't it? Σ' όσους μήνες έχουν «ρο», μπάνιο με ζεστό νερό. Schengen just felt too utopian. Just because a law says you can pass through without checks doesn't mean you are maintaining safety. You are just putting your faith in the law, without really being certain that the law is protecting you.

So will I need a passport after all? Let's see. I've booked the tickets, I've hired the car, I've got my International Driver's Licence issued, I'm trying to get my credit cards sorted out (I really have no idea if they will work abroad, with all this capital controls σκατά). Will we be turned away at Border Control because we have Greek ID cards and not passports? I am wondering when my luck and my confidence in knowing what the future holds will run out. Χαρά στα Φώτα τα στεγνά και τη Λαμπρή βρεμένη.

There are often times when I am very thankful to be a Greek citizen. We are much more democratic and so very much less fascist than most other European countries. I HATE what Europe stands for these days: it is generally a money-focussed organisation that everyone wants to be part of, but they don't want to be led by a united Europe because each country thinks their way of seeing/doing things is superior to other countries' ways. They are afraid of losing their power. They want the money without the responsibility. They are no different from Greece, even though think they are. Do they really believe that they can have their Schinken and eat it too? With the North's predominantly sedentary lives and the ease with which Schinken is produced these days, having too much Schinken is a sure killer.

PS: All except one of my students passed the TOEFL. I've become a star. Everyone is in general agreement that he probably didn't follow my instructions. We're talking about a never-before-sighted test, sat by the weakest students, and they all scored more than 500 points (except that one person). When I initially suggested to my superiors that students need no more than one week of intensive courses for TOEFL, and they should sit the exam no more than a week after the course, they thought I was nuts. Instead, they listened to those fools (English teachers that no longer work here) who were bleeding them dry by demanding intensive courses for a month (so they could make more money) and staging the exam two months after the end of the course (when the students had forgotten everything they had learnt). Serves them all right - both the teachers that left (they were anything but teachers) and the superiors that didn't listen (and now have to admit to the role they played in the past recurring systemic failures in the English courses).

PPS: Get this: the same hair salon that I checked in at during my spending spree phoned me randomly with a €40 giveaway for whatever I want done! I can now have new hair. (Wednesday's the day.) Talk about good luck, which often comes to me. I think it's got to do with the level of patience I am willing to show. I have a lot of patience, and it really pays off. But I admit that this may not play a role in whether Schengen becomes Schinken. Let's see what develops.

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.