A friend of mine, and follower of this blog, mentioned she had looked to it to check for my thoughts on the riots that began last Saturday (12/6). Due to fortunate, or unfortunate depending on how you look at it, timing I was busy flying to the U.S. for the holidays when this mess started.
At first I wasn't too phased (aside from the fact that the young boy died, obviously). Youths being unruly, Molotov cocktails and localized unrest are pretty standard. Pictures of police in riot garb are not new to me, and I've only been in Athens for 15 months. This picture here (thanks to Getty Images) is very similar to sights I've seen on the news before. When larger demonstrations are planned, Athens gets ready. Of course, this was a bit different - anger at the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
When it kept going on the next day, and the day after, I knew it wasn't about Alexandros anymore. Often, demonstrations are hijacked by anarchists to make trouble for their own causes. The government isn't very popular at all, with scandals and corruption popping up all the time. The Greek Orthodox church has recently been a subject of scandal as well (and they wield FAR to much power/influence in Greece), so there aren't really many spots of brightness when it comes to those in power in the country. There's a lot to be upset about and Alexandros' death became the matchstick to light the fire of these protests/riots.
There are calls for the government to step down, or at the very least to have elections (which aren't due until 2011). The opposition party (the only real challengers to those in charge right now, there are quite a few parties) really isn't any different. This became more obvious to me by the fact that I (however remotely) have noticed no attempts by them to quell this situation, but have fed it more by not supporting the current governments attempts. I could be very wrong...
Generally this makes me sad for the Greeks. Both that there is the need to voice such strong issues with the way things are, as well as how they do it. Destroying local businesses just hurts their fellow Greeks. A common response to this kind of behavior is "well, this is Greece". I feel it is an often used copout for Greek behaviors that are recognized as being bad but no one thinks will ever change.
I am truly sorry I am missing this. Not like I would have gone downtown to be a part of this (capitalist countries are not a favorite of most of these anarchists and as an American it's best to play it safe and stay away), but I could have gotten a better look at how it plays out with the Greeks both in the news and on the streets.
No one I know has been in any danger or even been near the action - so had I been there I would be as safe as I am now. I do appreciate those of you who did drop an email to check on me!
