aegean

Pedro Olalla, The Geography of Greek Myth - Episodes 9-12

Pedro Olalla, The Geography of Greek Myth - Episodes 5-8

Pedro Olalla, The Geography of Greek Myth - Episodes 1-4

Message from a blogger to Greek PM, George Papandreou: "There is a constructive and meaningful way for this country to get back on track." - Allow the people of Fukushima to make Greece their new home.- Take action so as to restore our lost credibility as a state and regain our sense of ethics as citizens, which the local political elite has wasted.Despite the ongoing recession ravaging this country as we speak, despite the escalating tragedy its people have been led to as a result of the incompetence of the political class - poverty and despair now gradually affecting an ever-increasing number of Greek citizens - and notwithstanding the feeling of humiliation setting in as a result of the international slur against Greece and all things Greek without exception, we, the citizens of this country, could not help but feel devastated by the news of the massive earthquake that struck Japan and its aftermath: a destructive tsunami too overwhelming to control, the force of water literally impossible to contain, sweeping everyone and everything in its path, wreaking havoc along the way.Without doubt, there were those of us who couldn't help thinking, "At least the demise of those people will be a quick one, as opposed to the slow death we've been condemned to." And yet, no sooner had the thought crossed our minds than the news of the nuclear meltdown broke out. It seemed that death had settled down in Fukushima, making it its permanent residence. Huge amounts of radioactivity leaked into the water and air, making the stay of the inhabitants in the area for any less than twenty years literally impossible, according to some moderate estimates by Japanese experts.Before anyone knew it, an area spanning tens of kilometers was rendered too dangerous to stay in. Tens of thousands of earthquake and tsunami survivors were left homeless, without any land to cultivate and build a future on. We were shaken by the cruel reality, the unpredictable and arguably inexplicable twists that life can have in store for all of us.As human beings, as Greeks, the legacy of a human-centered culture still weighing down on our shoulders, and despite all that had suddenly come upon us, we were shocked by the very fact that there were some people out there who actually felt the earth move under their feet and were left with nothing to hold onto. We were shocked, until the idea crept in: "Is there anything at all we could do for them?"Having said that, that spontaneous thought didn't imply any scepticism regarding the intentions and sensitivity of the Japanese authorities. On the contrary. We are well aware of the fact that the Japanese government is made up of statesmen whose prime concern is to see to the welfare of Japanese citizens as well as their access to a satisfactory - high, by our standards - living standard. Undoubtedly, they wouldn't be left to their own devices, struggling against the forces of nature. Quite simply, as citizens of this country, we thought of making a proposal to all local authorities, every Government minister as well as the Prime Minister of Greece himself.We therefore propose allocating Greek state-owned land to any disaster-plagued inhabitant of Fukushima who wishes to accept it, so that they can build new homes and start their lives over. We know we wouldn't be able to offer them much more than that, but we do believe that at least a portion of all public assets now unused could be offered to the Japanese Government, so that, in turn, they can arrange for the disaster-plagued Japanese citizens to be transported to Greece.Being in the middle of a debt crisis ourselves, we don't have high hopes of being able to offer them much more, but we can guarantee them our empathy and care. Wishing to do our best to help them get over the trauma they are still experiencing, we ask the Greek Government and all local authorities to take a step forward, reaching out where help is needed, in the true spirit of Greek ideals handed down to us over the years. Besides the relief offered to those people in need, the move might help to restore at least part of our sense of ethics, which the local political elite so remorselessly wasted, at our expense...

...And, just to reassure some who might jump to conclusions, we are talking about 20,000 to 40,000 Japanese citizens maximum, who may be given the opportunity to come to our country and work together with us, so that we can build a common future together. We are not discussing the option of hundreds of thousands (let alone millions) of illegal migrants being given land here. Besides, given the current financial plight of Greece, we are suggesting that any expenses incurred by the construction of homes or complexes should be covered by the Japanese authorities. As citizens of a crisis-plagued country, we will clearly not be able to offer them anything more than some of our precious land, though we do wish we could do more.As a blog, we are putting forward this proposal, inspired only by a true sense of universal empathy and belonging together. It's a move that might also serve to prove that the citizens of Greece are not unethical, corrupt, or prone to deceit, as some might have the world believe. Driven by deep respect for human values, we offer some of our land to some Japanese people who have lost everything and are now forced to live in a region where death roams free. We are willing to offer them a fresh start to life, our fresh air, our blue seas and the undivided empathy and care of the people of Greece. That is all we seem to have been left with under the circumstances, along with our dignity, and we will gladly offer it to them.All we want is to bring this proposal to the attention of those in charge, any local authorities in Greece that might be interested in considering offering land which, though useless to some, may prove to be a lifeline for some fellow humans who are now suffering.Here is your chance, ladies and gentlemen in power, to prove just how sensitive and humane you can be. It won't be hard for this proposal to be turned into action. You have already been assigned to allocate land to farmers, as part of a recently announced government policy to revive farming. There will surely be some land left to give those people who badly need it. We are convinced that, once you take this step, there's a chance that a lot may change for the better. Above all, you will finally manage to restore the lost credibility of this country and its people, world wide.So go ahead and make this move, to prove that you still have some sensitivity and there's a part of you that's Greek. If it were up to us, we'd have made the announcement by now and contacted the Japanese Embassy to make our offer. We can only hope you will go ahead and do just that.Konstantinos

What SurvivesWho says that all must vanish?Who knows, perhaps the flightof the bird you wound remains,and perhaps flowers survivecaresses in us, in their ground.It isn't the gesture that lasts,but it dresses you again in goldarmor "from breast to knees"and the battle was so pure,an Angel wears it after you. -- Rainer Maria Rilke.Elvira Amrhein, In Wahrheit ist es Liebe

Greek War of Independence Timeline Eugene Delacroix, The Massacre on Chios

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