The group of boys, consisting of boys aged 12-16 stared at the school walls blankly for years. Wondering why it was never renovated. Why it looked the same as it did more than 40 years ago. Did they not have the right to redecorate their school? They decided it was time to change the way the wall looked. With their graffiti and markers they wrote slogans they had learnt from children in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. They demanded change.

With that they all laughed nervously at their bravery and returned home feeling somehow liberated; a feeling children only dreamed they had in Syria. Little did they know they had to pay for that sensation. When the sun went down and sleep paralyzed all sensations, heavy footsteps were heard near the old school walls. Every single boy who saw, drew or even supported the slogans on the wall was awoken violently that night. The boys were dragged out of their homes by large armed men wearing uniforms. Their parents screamed and shoved the armed men helplessly. They were paying the price for years of silence.

Unable to understand their crime the boys cried as they were put together in small pickups and jeeps. They were dragged to small humid cells and beaten by large men. A kick in the rib for contemplating change; a blow in the face for asking for change; and a crack in the spine for feeling liberated. They sat in their cells for weeks, beaten and humiliated on a daily basis. As a final warning, their nails were yanked out of their fingers to teach them to never draw on the old wall.

Whoever survived the torture was later returned home, swollen and crushed. The dead were lucky to have never lived life to see the fate of the Syrian children in the future.

Family members and friends of the young boys swarmed the streets of the town of Daraa demanding justice be brought to those who tortured and killed their children. No one listened to them. Friends of friends and passerby’s later joined the angry group, forming a small demonstration. No one listened to their demands. The demonstration grew as more people were familiar with the recent events. There was finally a response. Live bullets and tear gas forced the crowds to split up the demonstrations temporarily. The demonstrations grew larger as angry crowds demanded for nothing but change and were not receiving it. The response was once again bullets and tear gas, however this time the bullets hit flesh. As more blood was spilt, the crowds grew more furious and larger.

The word about the demonstrations reached other provinces like Homs, Douma, Idlib and Damascus suburbs. Touched by the bravery of the little boys in Daraa, more little boys followed their example and drew on old walls. Demonstrations grew larger, demands progressed. People no longer wanted change and reformations; they wanted the complete removal of the old. They wanted Bashar Al Assad and his government to resign. While his grip tightened on his throne, more blood was spilt in demonstrations and more people grew aware of the situation.

The question is, what happened to the children? Did the government learn from their mistakes? Did they stop child torture and imprisonment? On the contrary, after the boys in Daraa, Hamza alkhateeb fell victim to their torture. His genitals mutilated, his body bruised from blows, arms dented with bullet holes and burns from cigarettes, and bones crushed. Him and thousands of children in Syria are paying the price for desiring what the boys in Daraa desired.

This revolution was ignited by the children, carried out by the children, and will be extinguished by the children.

For it is entering an inextricable maze when one thinks how easily smiles in photos are prevailed by the most refined western politicians to be bought by the un-refined, subduable Arabs who have forgotten the wisdom of their 10th century poet, Al-Mutanabbi, when advising, “If you see the canine of a line, do not think that the lion is smiling at you.” Very soon therefore, the lion will paws restlessly at everything that was formerly owned by the Arabs, roaring the closing of the curtain, to indicate the ending of the theatrical play. Perhaps it is better for one to leave their seat in the audience and travel back in history and time to understand how, firstly, the Middle East realm that were united in the Arab peninsula, got divided into lands and boarders.

One, consequently, would discover through the work of historians who Virginia Woolf points out “records not opinions but facts,” that the west had put their hands on this as well through their secret accord of Sykes-Picot agreement which was conducted in May 1916 between Great Britain, France and with the consent of Russia, for the detriment of the Ottoman Empire. The existence of this was diffused to the world through the break of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

What this agreement wanted to accomplish is gaining power and control over the Middle East and its surrounding lands. The French were to be given control over Syria, Lebanon, South-Eastern Turkey, and northern Iraq; whereas the British were content with owning power over Southern Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Arabia, and areas surrounding the Persian Gulf. Jerusalem on the other hand, was to be ruled by an international body. One needs to clarify that these two western powers didn’t ‘own’ these territories in the sense of the word, but controlled the governments and its administration (achieving the division of the area: dividing based on economic factors) and thus, one is permitted to use this term, in this context.

Consequently, one is required to learn about their past for a better understanding of their future. To divine this future would be exemplified through the study of history which roots through the blossoming of remembrance.

Herodotus, “whom Cicero called pater historiae,” embraced the task of history Arendt writes, in order “to save human deeds from the futility that comes from oblivion.” Should Arabs remember their past accordingly would elevate their status from that of oblivious to a more dynamic one approaching ahead start to the chess board, relishing the only wining strategic plan, while maintaining the safety of their king (territory) throughout the game and managing to tame the bitter, savage, greedy lion.

I would like to acquaint the reader that our current lion, if I’d borrow from Richard Steele, would “groan under life, and bewail those who are believed from it.” But, is the lion to be blamed? Not exactly I would say, for the Arab societies compose of such individuals Gayle Pemberton, warned to be aware of. Individuals with no memory of their past and whom are powerless to connect pervious events and current ones to future acts, who would wake up to scratch the same mistakes yet another time. These communities I would say with utmost confidence are the mileage of ignorance, lacking premonition to posterity, for they unfortunately took the acidic bait in what they called “The Arab Spring.”

Spring (Aniksi) – a war term was firstly used by Herodotus in The Persian Wars where in book seven (POLYMNIA) Gelo talks of the lack of order recipients (from the Athenian men) even if there is commanders to give orders, telling them that “ye had best make haste back to Greece, and say that the spring of her year is lost to her.” What this conveys is that Gelo’s troops are compared to spring (beginning of summer and is the finest season of the year) transmitting the meaning that his troops are the premium of the Greek army and a deprivation of his coalition would be like a year, the spring, is executed and drawn from it. “Arab Spring” therefore is the beginning of the end of hope for pure revolution and an end to the foundation of progress in the region, where no flower blooms, no tree grows and night refuse the recuperation of dawn.

One would walk into isolated roads reminiscent of previous decisions and remember that at the approach of these decisions, there were two voices communicating with equivalent power in their mind: one rational speaking which studies the reasons behind the west need and urge to help peoples living in far lands and inform of the realization that should they accompany that flow would driven them into floods of regret and live with the understanding that they have sold their country freely, with no worth of charge earned; for this torrent flood they have engaged in, no human power could save them from it. The other voice speaks with passion and converses of the urge one needs to consider in their memory, of the deprived years they have had experienced thus far in surrendering to dictatorship and looks for but a hole of escape. Perhaps in the peaceful silent moment one holds between themselves would bend towards the first one, but within their Arabic society they would conform to believe in the latter, thinking they’d have power over their country in embracing liberalization, which in turn they believe, would secure happiness.

But, what is power if not a mere word one assumes understands. Leo Tolstoy asked a long time ago in War and Peace “What is the cause of historical events? Power (he says). What is power (then)? Power is the sum total of wills transferred to one person. On what condition are the wills of the masses transferred to one person? On condition that the person express the will of the whole people. That is, power is power. That is, power is a word the meaning of which we do not understand.” In the arena and principle of International Relations or politics, possessing power (a word a meaning of which no one truly comprehends) is the force dominating all states, even if it brings with it corporeal suffering and winter solstice all year long.

Thucydides asks if the relations between states could be directed by principles/norms of justice, when power is an important factor to be considered. If we look at the lion or lions governing us today, the answer to Thucydides question would exclude the word justice and replace it with sadism. For both Politics and International Relations for that matter are governed by egoistic and languid individuals exacting more power with absence of moral values. These factors therefore present “a conflict-based paradigm of international relations” where power develops into the solstitial concern and where there is little, to no residue of morality.

Does this overwhelming idea and enforcement of power provide happiness? Graham Greene, according to Shirley Hazzard, converse on happiness saying, “point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil- or else an absolute ignorance”. Flaubert like Greene also felt that “to be stupid, selfish, and have good health, are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.” Now a day is no difference which hurts me to say, that happiness is achieved when one holds a blind eye to the pure truth, is ignorant of the lion and its plans, and approaches the chess board thinking it would provide ecstasy of mere moments of happiness.

Both they would agree that when a system relies for too long on extensive borrowing to make a living, at some point comes the time when imbalances, deficits as well as ‘extra cash needs’ (e.g. Olympics 2004, repetitive elections, etc.) cause the system to suffocate; things are worse when the system is already severely structurally flawed.

The phenomenon is not new in Greece. Greeks, due to a peculiar sense of individualism, are used to live in the sidelines of legality, sustain distortions and serve each other’s petty interests; suddenly, when the shit hits the fan, they resort to law books to assess wrongdoings of those who were found standing when the music stopped or had failed to secure sound political backup.

In the case of 2013 Greece, what’s done is done. The blame game’s only significance is when citizens approach the polls. What is really needed – and perhaps what citizens need to rely on to move forward – is strong political will to codify the crisis rhetoric in terms of the future; it requires thinking what is necessary to exit the vicious cycle of indecisiveness and misery, maintaining, at the same time, the decency of the Greek people.

To start looking ahead (and most importantly to start exploring the advantages of the country) needs to first to put things in order. Some key areas –that, perhaps, would satisfy most mainstream political trends- could be the following:

1) Protection of national sovereignty (land and sea borders, ownership of natural resources).

2) Fiscal efficiency – we should stop consuming more than what we produce.

3) Production of new wealth in a socially responsible way.

4) Preservation and development of social capital to secure sustainability of all the above.

These four simple concepts (homeland, fiscal balance, sustainability, people) require a new philosophy towards life as well as long-term planning and continuous innovation. Before those, however, some positive shocks could come in handy.

A couple of months ago, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras shyly mumbled a figure: 15% corporate flat tax for all entrepreneurial activity. Well, it is not like inventing the wheel, since many countries with fewer problems have introduced it as an incentive to attract FDIs, but it could definitely be a positive sign for companies already operating in the country. Well, for new ones to arrive, Samaras would have to voice more meaningful points such as: simplification of the process for the creation of new companies; online company register; cutting down red tape; eGov services etc. And guess what: voicing these may not be enough anymore; turning it into practice and presenting some real success stories would do the trick.

In my mind, this is the key weakness of the ‘success story’ Maximos Mansion’s staffers are trying to spin to desperate Greek media; these guys some times look like retired wizards who are trying to learn new tricks. The attempt to assign the ‘Grecovery’ to the country as a whole is a stupid shortcut that leads nowhere; what’s more, it seems to jeopardise any positive results secured by Greek people’s sacrifices so far. In modern times, the ‘phoenix’, in order to rise again needs a little bit more than magic and national wishful thinking; for instance, it requires sound management, across the board utilization of digital means and renouncement of partisanship from the handling of state affairs. I doubt that they have anything to communicate in these fields…

To inspire ‘Grecovery’, the government needs some political R&D towards two directions: first, real life solutions and second, communications. No matter what it is commonly argued, the country cannot exit the crisis without state of the art communication strategies and practices that will keep Greek people informed and foreign investors motivated.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said some time ago: “…Despite the signs that the worst of the financial crisis is now behind us, despite these modest green shoots, there is still a long way to go to restore our growth prospects, to revive our economies, to heal our banking systems, to create more jobs and to improve welfare across our union. We need to remember that the economy reacts with a time lag: once stability is back, it takes time before this is translated into more confidence, more investment and growth and jobs. And as growth returns, it takes time before the positive impact on employment starts kicking in…”

To this direction, Greece would require a lot more than old-time wizards constructing ‘success stories’ out of thin air, or political mumblings of coalition partners who have lost their role in contemporary politics.

Dr. Demetris Kamaras is the Editor of alyunaniya.com

So, where do we go from here? Albert Einstein once stated that a person, who by repeating the same process expects a different result, is definitely insane. Following this, it is evident that expecting salvation from the current economic practices is doomed.

I sincerely believe the West should move towards the Scandinavian welfare state direction. Adopting such a system, would end the focus on personal gain and the ridiculous pursuit of riches. It would stress the importance of collective well being and the importance of society’s progress instead of pure personal well-being.

Obviously, there are arguments against this. Winston Churchill, an ardent Anti-Socialist in his time, considered Communism as the destruction of free enterprise and will and thus, the damnation of society as a whole into misery.

Alas, the present situation indicates that collective misery can occur in the liberal system as well.

How can we put things into perspective? Our youth should be introduced to the belief that the common good is above personal gain. Schools and Universities should struggle to abolish the ‘greed is good’ dogma that has led society to a dead end. As George Orwell had noted in the 1940’s, ‘in a society, indexes and percentages are irrelevant, what is critical is whether the average citizen is happy’.

Ask yourselves a very simple question: how can one feel happy when there may be even one fellow citizen in misery?

In retrospect, we should have never allowed society to reach a state where the individual is more important than the whole. I am well, when everyone around me is well. My main concern is to have healthy and resourceful people around.

And this should be the norm in our society!

That being said, many of those who have worked, and are still working, for the Syrian regime were, and still are, the salt of the earth. I have personally met a great deal of decent people who work or have worked for the Syrian government. The overwhelming majority of them rejects violence and does not believe in demonization, a practice the decision-making Baathists are just too familiar with.

One ought to differentiate here between the Syrian regime and the Syrian governmental elite. The Syrian regime, in my opinion, includes everyone who is involved in the Syrian state, including those who denounce violence and otherization; whereas, the Syrian governmental elite are those who preside that regime and possess the authority to make vital decisions.

The word “regime,” at least in the current Syrian context, is very loosely defined, just like the word “opposition.” The “Syrian opposition” is a very conflicting entity, with an exceptionally problematic definition. If by “opposition” one simply alludes to those who are against the Baath and its policies, then I am not critical at all of such people. Frankly, I tend to be one of them. But if by “opposition” one means the organized political entities, such as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, then I am highly critical -if not condemning- of them. One must recognize here that the media-sponsored West-backed Syrian opposition is just a group of political elite that are not very representative of the various Syrian populations who oppose the Assad regime. For the sake of clarity, from now on in this article, I am going to use the terms governmental elite and opposition elite to refer to the two main fighting belligerents in Syria.

The Syrian opposition elite are constantly waxing poetic over democracy, equality, and human rights. However, in reality they are not different from the autocratic regime they are trying to get rid of. Just like the Syrian governmental elite have an uncompromising spirit to silence, shame, and demonize every dissenting voice, the Syrian opposition elite have quite an appetite for such tyrannical pursuits. Just like the Syrian governmental elite denied the existence of the Shabiha, the Syrian opposition elite denied the presence of foreign terrorists and Mujahedeen in Syria, till they were forced to admit it when Al-Nusra Front publically announced its unwavering loyalty to Al-Qaeda. Just like the Syrian governmental elite, during their heydays, had an archenemy on which all of their mistakes were blamed, the Syrian opposition elite, without any serious investigations, almost immediately attribute each occurring atrocity in the Syrian civil war to the regime, as if the opposition fighters are saints and angels.

The Syrian governmental elite and the Syrian opposition elite, dubbed in the media as the “Syrian regime” and “the Syrian opposition,” are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. Both of them have plenty to eat and drink, while many Syrians are in famine. Both of them have roofs over their heads, while many Syrians are homeless. Both of them have international chaperons, while no one—apart from an extremely meager number of Syrian and foreign politicians—is interested in escorting the Syrian people through their calamity. Both of them are self-righteous, with no interest at all in any form of constructive self-criticism. Most importantly, both of them are largely made up of condescending authoritarian figures that have the same one-size-fits-all explanation for any of their misdeeds: their opponents.

This controversial topic of gold mining in Chalkidiki has divided Greek public opinion. Stratoudakis, CEO of Hellas Gold, the Greek branch of Canadian Eldorado Gold, the main investor, says: “The country and the government seek capital. The total investment of the company in Greece will exceed one billion dollars in the next five years and that will increase exports of mining products.” He continues to emphasize that “the mining reserve in Skouries is rich and the drilling will produce not only gold, but also copper, lead, silver and zinc.”

Despite the approval of the mining company’s technical study and the governmental green light, the local residents took the matter to the streets as well as to justice. Eight local residents’ associations appealed against the 2011 decision that allowed Hellas Gold to go ahead with the drilling, but the Council of State upheld the ministerial decision as ekathimerini.com reports.

Since it is common knowledge that Greece desperately seeks investment and the Eldorado Gold will bring in cash for the Greek state, then why all this fuss and unrest? It was just last Sunday, on Mother’s Day, when female protesters were attacked by tear gas released by the police. As it becomes evident, the profile of the protester against the drilling of gold in Skouries does not fit the typical protester. So why would family people, homemakers, subject themselves to being arrested if the investment project will secure jobs for their children -1,500 to 1,600 positions as estimated by the company- and help fund the country’s budget deficit?

As it is clearly stated at the company’s site eldoradogold.com, the Skouries gold-copper project has an expected mine life of 27 years. However, the forest of Skouries, in the middle of which the company wants to establish an open-pit mine, has existed for centuries. “Those trees date back to the era of Alexander the Great. Skouries is an ancient and protected wood, with environmental impact for both Greeks and Europeans,” said Theocharis Zagas, president of the Hellenic Forestry Society, as quoted in Exandas film documentary on the subject.

On top of eliminating some of the ancient fauna of the country, there is a voiced concern from environmental organisations for polluting the main freshwater source for sixteen villages in the region. Not to mention that the nature of the mine is expected to also pollute the air, as it has been calculated by the company that the open pit will generate 3,000 tons of toxic dust per hour.

In an ironic twist of events, Environment Ministry has recently announced that 3,9 million euros have been allocated for the operation of forest services and forest stations. This is how the government plans to help protect forests from fire. What about deforestation and pollution? What really stands between the mining company and implementation of their plans for drilling gold is the active involvement of local people. Residents of the area oppose to drilling as they do not want to undermine (no pun intended) the quality of their lives and jeopardise the future of their children, according to the Hellenic Mining Watch.

The social unrest in the area takes a whole new perspective when taken into consideration the possible damage on the environment that this investment may have. Therefore, the question should be whether the benefits in money outweigh the environmental toll caused by gold mining in Skouries. What kind of investment do we want? A short-sighted or a far-sighted one? What is best for now or what is best for next generations? If I was to answer this dilemma, reaching for gold (and other minerals) should be the very last resort when all other options for attracting investment have failed. Have they?

A number of factors, mainly the ongoing financial crisis and intense competition from newcomers to the global tourism industry, make the coming years a critical period, as it is important for both Greece and Cyprus to remain resourceful and in the spotlight.

Destination Marketing has always been a challenging discipline, one where strategy and creativity are of critical importance. There have been a number of excellent campaigns over the last few years, while advertisers and communication consultants have in some cases even proposed extreme actions by countries and regions! New Zealand was the recipient of such a proposal: change the country’s name and flag, in order to make it more exotic as a destination! Last time I checked, they still haven’t adopted this!

The Web and specifically Social Media are transforming the way countries and regions are marketed. Gone are the times when TV would attract the largest part of a National Tourist Bureau’s budget. Also, the high cost of running Tourist offices in other countries and participating in exhibitions has stimulated the demand for a cost-effective platform.

Social Media are increasingly gaining the attention of Marketeers: they are effective and produce results that can be tracked and acted upon. Travel and vacations are inherently social functions. Prior to the advent of Social Media, friends would discuss and exchange views offline.

Apparently, research data shows that 60% of Europeans are influenced in the selection of holiday destinations, by comments, posts, suggestions that they read on Social Media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

In the case of Facebook, approximately two out of three users globally (in actual numbers, this translates to 700 million people), post pictures and discuss their holidays, while 50% admit that they are influenced by friend’s suggestions and comments, when it comes to picking a holiday destination.

It is also worth mentioning that research indicates that by 2016, social media will be a primary way to generate travel bookings and revenue for half of the travel industry.

Where do the above data leave Mediterranean countries as well as other aspiring tourist destinations?

Social Media should be placed at the center of the Promotional Strategy, as the return on investment will be much higher than any other Medium. Print Media and TV should be used as supportive Media and no more than 30% of the annual budget should be allocated to them.

There are a number of successful case studies of National Tourism organizations and their Social Media campaigns. Two of them are worth mentioning.

First, Tourism Australia’s Facebook fan page has 3.4 million fans already, with 200,000 of then engaging and talking about Australia as a tourist destination every week!

Visit Britain’s Facebook campaign brought a staggering 42,000 new fans to their Facebook page in one day!

Keeping in mind the tremendous growth in people engaging with Facebook and Twitter around the world, which is 1.1 billion and more than 600 million, respectively, makes them the most important Social Media platforms for Greece and Cyprus, for the years to come.

So, time is precious. Engage and Tweet to get more tourists talking and eventually visiting these beautiful countries!

Two days later, on April 24, in an emailed statement to University of Indianapolis, Athens (UIndy Athens), newly appointed President of University of Indianapolis (USA) made known to faculty, staff and students his decision to “discontinue all undergraduate programs and most graduate programs on the campus effective after August 31 of this year.” This decision, practically means cutting down almost two dozen undergraduate and a series of postgraduate programmes, firing staff and full time faculty and more importantly, troubling students who will be forced to think different alternatives (one of which is migrating to Indiana to finish their studies).

Besides the entrepreneurial parametre, which usually has to do with revenues and expenses, liquidity and accounts receivables, the decision to terminate most of the activity of the one and only fully fledged American subsidiary in the Greek tertiary education market, especially this period, seems strange, or to put it mildly, not-so-well-thought of.

Why this decision is wrong and why especially this period? Three main reasons:

First, strategically, any effort to achieve growth in the long term will rely on vast improvements in the Greek education sector, primarily in the tertiary field, matching expertise with market needs. US and UK academic institutions, especially via organised subsidiary units could lead the effort, facilitating also corporate links with different educational fields.

Second, due to its geopolitical character, which, despite the crisis, remains strong, Greece is a political, economic and cultural meeting point of three continents. Just like Cosco managed to position itself as a global transport hub, innovative and far- reaching strategic planning could make established institutions to act as intellectual pillars of the new Greek economy, exploring opportunities for excellence not only in the academia but also in real life economy and entrepreneurship.

Third, after three years of crisis, foreign educational institutions with strong ties to the community is a rare commodity in Greece. In his inaugural speech, the new (Greek-American) President of UoI, referring to the values of the institution said: “our education will always reflect our commitment to community by tying the complex problems of society to the exercises in our classrooms.” Well, UIndy Athens is doing just that, connecting students with two key and very timely intellectual parametres: generic academic perspectives and the real pulse of current economic, social and political battlefield.

Moreover, hosting students from many different countries is a true challenge for all academic institutions, especially in times of economic insecurity and increased social unrest. This is something UIndy Athens has learned to do many years now, exploring the power of the country that has the ability to “Hellenise” foreigners, sometimes for life. Fruitful debates and free-spirited dialogue make this happen; for instance, Ambassadors in Greece, who take turns lecturing the international crowd of UIndy students, find themselves having to answer some harsh and disarming questions on their countries’ international policies, posed by some really informed youngsters.

Although I am not familiar with particular figures, I take it for granted that Greek economic crisis has affected sustainability figures even of non-for-profit institutions. Also, it is widely acknowledge in the country that traditional managerial weaknesses have inflated problems and institutional effectiveness in an era of rapid change. Finally, if asked, I would strongly argue that UIndy Athens needs to adapt its strategy, focusing on digital communications as well as invest on niche intellectual fields that are directly connected to Greece’s current and future state. Cross-discipline approaches and progressive academic angles can act as a driving force towards growth, in a period in which Greece is putting an effort to reinvent itself.

Therefore, investing a certain amount of money on aforementioned strategic priorities would make much more sense than spending a lot more to dismantle an institution of great potential.

Dr. Demetris Kamaras is the Editor of dailyGreece.net and alyunaniya.com and Assistant Professor (Journalism) at UIndy Athens. This has been a personal but essential note, which concerns Greek private tertiary education as a whole.

Stricken by a typhoon of austerity measures, facing titanic hurdles of unemployment, poverty and desperation, Greek society is literally between the hammer and the anvil. However, apart from the burning wave of anger, fury and sadness, among the citizens caused by the financial crisis, Greece is also torn by an explosion of xenophobic even racist responses.

These strong sentiments seem somehow justified. Every now and then, articles are published, blaming immigrants for the crisis, television shows are exposing sinning foreigners, illegal immigrants, dangerous criminals.

Motos such as “you are not becoming a Greek, you are born a Greek “, “proud to be a Greek” are becoming popular especially among the young. All of a sudden, Greeks have been transformed to a nation without memory, selectively forgetting their own past, present and unfortunately future as immigrants, as foreigners in a strange land.

From police operations with the awfully sarcastic title “Xenios Dias” to raids of the ultra-right party “Golden Dawn” and people who admire their political agenda to working immigrants and foreigners, that have resulted to major injuries even deaths, discrimination, racism and hate are becoming more and more tolerated by the society. A society that stays still, like a speechless theatre audience watching passively, the escalating violence and brutality.

Violence is not limited to the physical or verbal abuse. Violence is also the discrimination, the blockage, the exclusion of any dignity, security and respect the integration within the society might offer. How this integration is achieved for a foreigner? Only by his legal status, his naturalisation as a proud to be citizen of the country that has become his adopted homeland.

In Greece is very difficult to obtain legal status as an immigrant or a refugee. Most people are caught in a maze of bureaucracy, frustration and fear. It is almost impossible to obtain naturalisation status unless you are married to a Greek citizen and having Greek children. An excruciating, exhausting process has to be followed including language and history tests, high fees and often a specialist’s highly paid advice, with ambiguous results.

Greece is facing a “painful” truth that was resting for decades to oblivion. Immigrants do exist on its soil, they do obtain legal status eventually, and they do raise a family, children that will eventually go to school, will participate actively in the society. These children do follow the fate of their parents, being denied naturalisation. They will always remain strangers, foreigners, outcasts. Their residence, affiliations, taxes, contribution to society as workers is simply ignored, is non-existent. The state simply does not consider all of the above as sufficient for naturalisation; they do not prove alliance with the country. What does?

This is certainly a rhetorical question in a country where an American citizen of Greek descent can be naturalised even if he or she is completely alienated from the country, but due to his bloodline retains the right to be naturalised. Although Greeks do take pride of their fellow citizens of the world, they cannot tolerate the presence of foreigners on their land. Giving the chance to immigrants to naturalise would only benefit the country. Would create a homogenous population, contributing positively to society by paying taxes, studying, working, being grateful for their residency rights. Instead what is created is a house divided against itself; that house will not be able to stand.

Apparently though, as George Orwell had once stated, the fact that statistical figures might be looking good (or improving, at least) does not guarantee happy citizens. On the contrary, Greeks are destitute.

To be quite honest, I am surprised by the fact that our society is still in one piece. I fear the day though, when it finally cracks. I sincerely doubt the current calm before the storm will be prolonged.

I have been using public transport for the last month and as always have kept my eyes and ears open. One tends to pick up the national mood when in a bus or the tube. Everyone is moody, bad-tempered and hopeless. Frustration is all over the place. The only topic on the agenda is ‘we’re finished’.

Historically, revolution takes place when people lose all hope. We’ve reached this point. No politician can offer the people hope anymore and besides that, the latest images from last week’s parliamentary debate and voting on whether a number of politicians should face justice on a number of wrongdoings have confirmed the fear that we are governed by irresponsible and corrupt political parties.

I say we look to other social powers to face the crisis. I believe that it is definitely a time for social revolution. It is a time for changing guard and starting all over again. A time for people from all walks of life to re-establish a democracy that cares for every citizen, a just society that provides for everyone and in which public goods and services are accessible to all.

As Einstein once remarked, doing the same thing every day and expecting a different result is a clear indication of schizophrenia! And unfortunately, that’s what Greek society has been doing the last few years.

As a nation we have many rivers to cross, but as our history shows, we always get there.