Terrorism and Rage
The last four days I along with over 10 million Greeks have been living a surreal nightmare. Brushfires helped along by arsonists have been raging all over the country and at the time I am writing these words over 60 of my fellow citizens have lost their lives and unfortunately the body count is bound to grow.
I am beset by a feeling of helplessness sitting in my living room watching live coverage of the over 170 fires across the land, while my parents are stuck in Euboea, not necessarily under threat at this time but cut off from land access to Athens for the better part of 48 hours as the fires in Aliveri and Amarinthos raged on. While I could talk to my parents on the phone, I had no physical access to them. When at some stage I could reach them, we decided that I stay in Athens to keep a watchful eye over our properties in the capital. Low and behold, a huge fire broke out in Athens and soon the streets and our homes were filled with ashes like snowflakes in August.
I did cry a lot this past weekend watching the human suffering as my country was ablaze. It feels like we are under attack from either ruthless profit-makers that put fire to forest lands late at night in the hope that these might soon be converted to plots for future homes or from ideologically-motivated individuals aiming to weaken the country's democratic institutions or at least to bring about the government’s downfall in the general election slated for 16 September.
I am beset by a feeling of helplessness sitting in my living room watching live coverage of the over 170 fires across the land, while my parents are stuck in Euboea, not necessarily under threat at this time but cut off from land access to Athens for the better part of 48 hours as the fires in Aliveri and Amarinthos raged on. While I could talk to my parents on the phone, I had no physical access to them. When at some stage I could reach them, we decided that I stay in Athens to keep a watchful eye over our properties in the capital. Low and behold, a huge fire broke out in Athens and soon the streets and our homes were filled with ashes like snowflakes in August.
I did cry a lot this past weekend watching the human suffering as my country was ablaze. It feels like we are under attack from either ruthless profit-makers that put fire to forest lands late at night in the hope that these might soon be converted to plots for future homes or from ideologically-motivated individuals aiming to weaken the country's democratic institutions or at least to bring about the government’s downfall in the general election slated for 16 September.
As a result, in this fantastic yet real world, one feels both terror and rage. The terror comes about due to the magnitude of the catastrophe which has stretched to its limits the state’s ability to cope (thank God for the help for allies from the EU and elsewhere). “My God, can things get any worse than this?”, one wonders.
The rage stems from the political manipulation of the tragedy by the opposition parties (unfortunately especially by the main opposition party) in a last-ditch attempt to augment their votes in the forthcoming elections.
The rage also comes from the unethical role of most television channels and other print and electronic media outlets that have blurred their role as transmitters of information and news, unable or not wanting to understand that this is among the greatest disasters to strike Greece since World War II, to providing tilted commentaries by professional know-it-all commentators as to how to fight fires and how incompetent the government is at a time when the fires are still raging, homes are being burned and lives are being extinguished, and the birthplace of the Olympic Games is nearly razed.
The rage is due to the inability to come together at a time when the damage from the work of the arsonists amounts to over 2% of the country’s GDP, when the land’s olive and agricultural wealth is in smithereens, when most of those untouched directly by the ravage are beginning to lend a helping hand. In this deeply politicized country, the polarization sought by some should not and must not be allowed to prevail.
I hope we all come together in solidarity and after the fires are put out we are all mobilized to rebuild together the country. One apt parallel is the New Deal promoted by FDR after the Crash of 1929. My country deserves much more than this desolation and I for one will not stand idly and see it mired in misery. Reconstruction is in the offing and with it hope.
The rage stems from the political manipulation of the tragedy by the opposition parties (unfortunately especially by the main opposition party) in a last-ditch attempt to augment their votes in the forthcoming elections.
The rage also comes from the unethical role of most television channels and other print and electronic media outlets that have blurred their role as transmitters of information and news, unable or not wanting to understand that this is among the greatest disasters to strike Greece since World War II, to providing tilted commentaries by professional know-it-all commentators as to how to fight fires and how incompetent the government is at a time when the fires are still raging, homes are being burned and lives are being extinguished, and the birthplace of the Olympic Games is nearly razed.
The rage is due to the inability to come together at a time when the damage from the work of the arsonists amounts to over 2% of the country’s GDP, when the land’s olive and agricultural wealth is in smithereens, when most of those untouched directly by the ravage are beginning to lend a helping hand. In this deeply politicized country, the polarization sought by some should not and must not be allowed to prevail.
I hope we all come together in solidarity and after the fires are put out we are all mobilized to rebuild together the country. One apt parallel is the New Deal promoted by FDR after the Crash of 1929. My country deserves much more than this desolation and I for one will not stand idly and see it mired in misery. Reconstruction is in the offing and with it hope.
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