And the Vote Is In
As the results from yesterday’s
referendum were being counted, the handwringing was transformed into shouts of
praise that could be heard from cafeneions and bars and the waterfront. In an
overwhelming rejection of austerity (62 percent) Greeks held their heads high.
Now the hangover begins.
Greece, the birthplace of
democracy—not to mention literature, philosophy, science/technology, medicine,
the arts, theater…the list goes on—the first European nation to defeat an Axis
army in World War II, a small nation with a big heart and a restless pride…said
No to unsustainable debt bondage, No to continued relentless austerity, No
domination and oppression. What it is not? It is not a No to Europe. It is not
a No to its financial obligations.
To frame it differently: it is Yes
to dignity, pride, freedom, and above all else to self-preservation.
In an overwhelming show of
national solidarity, the Greek people spoke in one voice in Sunday’s
referendum. Their own “Occupy Movement” proved ascendant—for now, at least.
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The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) sought to make an “example” of Greece,
to show what happens when a sovereign nation fails to take its marching orders
from internation capital, from the banking and corporate elite. Failure to play
by the rules can be fatal, they warned. And it may still be. This is truly a
new day for Greece and for all of Europe, the “beginning of the beginning.”
But the unprecedented attempt to
topple a freely elected government—a government elected on a promise of easing (not eliminating) austerity—was and
remains historic. Greece, for the moment, is the mouse that roared, the David
that stood tall against Goliath.
But the banks remained closed.
Pensions are not being paid. Supplies of gasoline (and cash in ATMs) are
limited and shrinking daily. Tourists are canceling reservations out of fear of
“unrest” or of “no food” and other journalistic fabrications.
The consequences of yesterday’s
vote remains to be seen. But the message was sent loud and clear: this nation
will not be coerced into greater suffering through overt threats.
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Φιλοξενία (filoxenia)
Greeks have a long tradition of
expressing hospitality (φιλοξενία/filoxenia= “friend of foreigner”) which
dates back to ancient times and is part of continuum like so many elements of
life here. Sadly, this honorable tradition has been eroded in recent years, but
nowhere is it more alive and utterly vibrant than in Messinia and on the island
of Crete.
In that spirit, Jonathan finds
himself on the receiving end of daily gifts by local folk—baskets of oranges
and lemons, handfuls of tomatoes and cucumbers, bottles of olive oil and wine;
or sometimes a simple request shouted from a cafeneion: “Come sit with us, what
can we treat you to?”
It is heartwarming, generous, and
offered with true grace. It is disconnected from the quid pro quo of the
Western tradition. Hospitality in Greece comes from the heart.
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