LETTER FROM GREECE:Visitors are drawn to the Plaka and Peloponnese but under the Greek surface lurks a group declaring war on democracy
LATE SHOPPERS for a holiday in Greece should not be deterred by the announcement by one terrorist group, “Sect of Revolutionaries”, that it intends to take its assault on the Greek state to a higher level.
Certainly, the group has said “tourists should learn that Greece is no longer a safe haven of capitalism”. And this could be interpreted as a threat to innocent tourists, whose euro-spend bolsters what the terrorists see as a corrupt state.
In threatening to intensify its “war on democracy”, the group states “we intend to turn Greece into a war zone”, adding it is no longer “a country that is a destination for holidays and pleasure”.
But this does not seem to be an indiscriminate war on tourists as such. It does, however, mean that Greece should no longer be regarded by tourists (usually from more northerly, more stable democracies) as a place merely of physical beauty and original culture. It is that, of course – for the sun-seeker, a paradise; for the sightseer, a place of wonder.
The Sect of Revolutionaries (who killed journalist Sokratis Giolias on July 19th) has stated that it is stepping up its targeting of politicians, police, businessmen and “corrupt media”. It doesn’t argue with the idea of Greece as a tourist destination, and it would be crazy to turn its back on the huge contribution of tourism to the national exchequer – except for the fact that Sect of Revolutionaries and its siblings are intent on bringing down the state which the exchequer supports.
Among other things, it’s an attempt to alert the single-minded holidaymaker to the fact that a land of sun, sand and beer, or even one of ancient sculptures, can also be a crucible of discord. This is manifested through what the group lists as “arson, sabotage, violent demonstrations, bombings and assassinations” – all of which it has achieved in recent months.
The mainstream media in Greece is vigorously downplaying the threats as scaremongering hype. Some are even arguing that to report such announcements is an irresponsible encouragement to the terrorists.
But there is no doubt that the sect is serious: it possesses an arsenal of weaponry including AK47 assault rifles. Its record in violence has been slim but impressive.
While there is no direct danger to tourists either individually or collectively, Sect of Revolutionaries (and other similar outfits) is reminding us that the friendly waiter at your taverna can also be a member of an anarchist group, or simply a demoralised citizen for whom “Greece” is a difficult and troubling topos for his citizenship – and there’s a lot of demoralisation around.
It isn’t simply those who want to wreck the Greek state who exemplify the current mismatch between culture and anarchy. It’s also the graduates who can’t find jobs. Up to the recent budget cuts, these were known popularly as “the 700 generation” – €700 per month is the average starting salary for graduates, forcing them to continue living at home and on the breadline. That €700 is now more likely to be €600 or less, leading to a potential “brain drain”, as highly skilled and intelligent graduates seek employment abroad, leaving behind a school and university system urgently needing a complete overhaul.
Considerable anger is directed against tax dodgers. In the Athens area, fewer than 500 houses pay the annual pool tax of €700. Recent aerial photo coverage of the area indicated that there are more than 10,000 pools. Simple arithmetic suggests that if all the pool taxes were paid, there would be sufficient funds to pay the first month’s salary for 10,000 entrants to the labour market. Hardly a bold fiscal strategy or a realistic one, but a symptom of how demoralisation can turn to disenchantment and then to anger and violence.
But with August temperatures in the high 30s and the waters of the Ionian and the Aegean a crystalline blue, it’s sometimes difficult to recognise (and tempting to ignore) the unmistakable unrest, even though it is written on the despairing faces of many hoteliers, shopkeepers and taverna owners.
Those of us who live in Greece cannot in fact ignore the present crisis, nor should any tourist, however innocent, be unaware of the social and political upheaval. Athens may have been the birthplace of democracy, but it is today the debating chamber of national change and the high point of street protest.
But Greece, whatever its problems, continues to offer experiences hardly available elsewhere: I can think of no places more magical or compelling than the prehistoric magnificence of Tiryns and Mycenae, or the tower-houses of the Mani (all in the Peloponnese), the Lindos acropolis in Rhodes, the arcaded Venetian-style streets of Corfu, the cliff-top monasteries of Meteora, the temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. The attractions of the Ionian islands on the west coast, and the hundreds of destinations in the Aegean, plus Athens’s new Acropolis Museum and its Plaka district, redolent of the multicultured Levant, are calling out more than ever for both the sun-seeker and the sightseer.