The letter, dated Friday, 19 December
2008, is from an Englishman living in Thessaloniki, just one of 30 towns and cities
affected by the ongoing riots which started in Athens on 6 December 2008.
The
letter lists some of the underlying causes of the unrest which sparked the
riots.
To read more from this excellent English-language newspapers, click: Athens News.
"Like the
teargas, the riots in Greece
have poisoned the air and reflect a deeper malaise.
Greece is a
country of paradoxes. A poor country with a lot of wealthy
people.Expensive cars, but no decent roads to drive
them on. A country where houses are kept spotless but no-one could care
less about the filthy streets outside their front doors.
Greeks have no
confidence in their institutions, which are very weak. Government is ineffectual.
Courts are corrupt and the legal system, literally, hopeless.
The police, who many still identify with the military junta of 1967-74, are a
law unto themselves. The economy is suffocated by an arrogant, pitiless and
pointless bureaucracy. Punitive taxes destroy incentive. The education system
short-changes its students. It demands nothing of them and gives them nothing
in return.
The riots
express the frustration of Greeks. But there is no real will to make the
changes needed. They do not want to uproot the legal system to make it work.
They do not want to overhaul the education system to provide better quality
education. They do not want to reform the bureaucracy and stop the corruption
and cronyism.
Not only are
Greeks reluctant to commit to the enormous effort this would require, but
Greeks, as individuals, fear that if the corruption stops, they will be the
only ones to suffer.
Most of the
graft is creamed off by a wealthy elite of all
political persuasions. They have a vested interest in maintaining the status
quo.
Sadly, nothing
will change. Inertia will take over and that makes me, a Hellenophile,
sad."
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