“You, people, can watch while I’m scrubbing these floors
And I’m scrubbin’ the floors while you’re gawking”
Pirate Jenny
B. Brecht, K. Weil
Athens, 5 March 2012
Dear people,
You are watching both me writing in a foreign magazine and my country being demolished financially and politically.
When my friends heard about this letter, they responded to my call for contribution some angrily, some thoughtfully, some stoically. “The only way out of the crisis is prevention. Before the bubble of the educational system Greek students live in bursts, it is an imperative to learn, in depth, our language. If we are not becharmed by words and lies again, maybe our growls turn into words of critical thinking. We might save ourselves from ourselves. I’m just mad at all this.”-Katy Thireou, writer (living in Cairo, Egypt)
“Decline of language means decay of civilization. Since ancient times pariah (παρίας) was the one who stands aside, not to be associated with. This is where we stand. We were driven to the heart of a social crisis as if we were slaves, we Greeks, Mediterraneans, Europeans” – Maria Linardi, journalist
“Working for fellow citizens is not a chance to gain profit, except for those who govern. By this fraudulent act they abuse common earnings. And they pretend they ignore that money brought from far away become foreign curses.” – Nikos Stereopoulos, journalist
“I have never been a tax evader. I have helped my pupils wherever I was called to teach. I still keep faith alive. We survived World War II and a civil war. We’ll manage as well.” – Thanos Merkouris, pensioner teacher
We all know the causes of the erosion, we all took part in the blame game, and we all said enough. We feel ashamed and humiliated. Greece has been the scapegoat of Europe and Greek people were stigmatized for their inertia. Greece is a crime scene. After Memorandum II people all over the globe follow “Solidarity for Greece” initiative. At least Greeks are not the ones to blame for euro’s failure. What needs to be done now is a turn to positive, resourceful and creative action.
After months of resentment, depression and despair, I realized that the basic element of my country is still vivid. Democracy is the sane social reaction to social pathology. Not violence, terrorism, or repression; just action that springs from survival instinct, history paradigms, collective DNA. And this is what has been happening the last few weeks among Greek people. Teachers in tutorpool offer free private classes to pupils in need; grocery producers sell their products directly to the consumers in very friendly prices; in local supermarkets buyers offer food to poor families. Three words: solidarity, complicity, networking.
“Greek Noos (mind) gives birth to Light, under clear sky, beyond any painful thought. Through Chaos it reaches harmony and instinctively envisages the future. How many people could stand that Truth?” according to Anna Stereopoulou, composer.
It is not a matter of pride.
It is the firm belief in democracy which has always been silently in action.
But only in societies that have been trained in it.
So, it doesn’t matter whether we scrub the floor while others watch us.
It will be clean when we finish.
My best regards,
Natasha
PS. The text was published at the Sicilian magazine Casablanca, vol. 23 (March 2012)
Αφήστε μια απάντηση