So, yesterday (or, to be more accurate, last night), the government decided (under the caring advice of the U.N. "if you don't vote it, you're out") to vote the new mnemonium. It will be the third that this country's people will have to endure and it will make the situation even more insufferable. Of course, some people gathered to protest it down at Syntagma square in front of the Parliament but this government is an old fox at breaking up peaceful displays of dispute (plant a few policemen to pose as hooligans among the crowd, turn into a war zone, break it up with tear gas and some water tanks and everyone goes home).
Last night it was the Parliament workers' turn to lose their rights. They were to be treated from now on as typical employees and not get any "special treatment" if the new law was to pass. So said the minister of financial affairs. But that caused a riot inside the Parliament itself, which was followed by a strike. The politicians were now afraid for their safety, so the finance minister was forced to withdraw the statement.
Things got worse last night for the Greek people. Again. From now on, it is law that if you want to go into a hospital, you need to pay a 25 euro ticket. You're not allowed to get sick have you not the money for it. Also, people that have been working in companies for years are about to get sacked and their compensation will be next to nothing compared to the work they put in. And yet, the deputies are still making thousands per month. Nothing ever touches that.
So what did the people themselves have to say about this? Why does this keep happening? Well, apart from the hundred-something thousand that gathered in front of the Parliament last night (but quickly split), none of the people seem to understand just what is going on anymore. It's more than obvious that the Greeks have given up. Considering they can't change anything since this country is run by a couple of hundred people, they just don't bother with it anymore.
If the impact that these measures will have on the Greek person's everyday life was comprehended by everyone, there would've been at least a million people in the streets last night. Fighting for their rights. Fighting for their children's rights. Making sure that these laws never see the light of day.
But it's easier and much more comfortable to just sit at home, on your bed, in front of the pc or the tv and just watch everything get taken away from you, thinking "what can I do about it?". Which is exactly why this has happened to this country.
There is nothing left to lose. One of the ministers claimed that if these measures were not to pass, then there would be no meaning to talk about employment cause there would be no jobs left in Greece. HE is the employment minister! Has he recently checked the unempoyment rate, I wonder? Whether Greece stays in the euro or returns to the drachma it's one and the same, since most people can't afford stuff anyway.
So Greece is only in the eurozone for a few thousand people, who can still afford luxuries like a full shopping cart or medication! Because, yes, those are now considered luxuries in this land. A democratic land in which three hundred people, that have no idea of the side affects of the laws, since they consider themselves above them, get to create them as they wish and force them upon 9,5 million others.
People work eight (maybe more) hours a day for 500 euros a month, have no health insurance, get sacked with no compensation, can't afford to even get sick... Especially the young people's faces are full of misery, disappointment, emptyness, helplessness. It's so sad to see an entire generation just give up. They don't even talk about it anymore.
It's true that Greeks have been selfish in the past. Not just when it comes to politics, but in a lot of matters. Even in the war there were those who dobbed upon their friends to the Germans just for their own personal freedom and gain. Nothing's changed. My personal opinion is that Greece is now paying off a debt that it has owed for centuries. It's just so sad for this generation to have to carry such a burden.
Last night it was the Parliament workers' turn to lose their rights. They were to be treated from now on as typical employees and not get any "special treatment" if the new law was to pass. So said the minister of financial affairs. But that caused a riot inside the Parliament itself, which was followed by a strike. The politicians were now afraid for their safety, so the finance minister was forced to withdraw the statement.
Things got worse last night for the Greek people. Again. From now on, it is law that if you want to go into a hospital, you need to pay a 25 euro ticket. You're not allowed to get sick have you not the money for it. Also, people that have been working in companies for years are about to get sacked and their compensation will be next to nothing compared to the work they put in. And yet, the deputies are still making thousands per month. Nothing ever touches that.
So what did the people themselves have to say about this? Why does this keep happening? Well, apart from the hundred-something thousand that gathered in front of the Parliament last night (but quickly split), none of the people seem to understand just what is going on anymore. It's more than obvious that the Greeks have given up. Considering they can't change anything since this country is run by a couple of hundred people, they just don't bother with it anymore.
If the impact that these measures will have on the Greek person's everyday life was comprehended by everyone, there would've been at least a million people in the streets last night. Fighting for their rights. Fighting for their children's rights. Making sure that these laws never see the light of day.
But it's easier and much more comfortable to just sit at home, on your bed, in front of the pc or the tv and just watch everything get taken away from you, thinking "what can I do about it?". Which is exactly why this has happened to this country.
There is nothing left to lose. One of the ministers claimed that if these measures were not to pass, then there would be no meaning to talk about employment cause there would be no jobs left in Greece. HE is the employment minister! Has he recently checked the unempoyment rate, I wonder? Whether Greece stays in the euro or returns to the drachma it's one and the same, since most people can't afford stuff anyway.
So Greece is only in the eurozone for a few thousand people, who can still afford luxuries like a full shopping cart or medication! Because, yes, those are now considered luxuries in this land. A democratic land in which three hundred people, that have no idea of the side affects of the laws, since they consider themselves above them, get to create them as they wish and force them upon 9,5 million others.
People work eight (maybe more) hours a day for 500 euros a month, have no health insurance, get sacked with no compensation, can't afford to even get sick... Especially the young people's faces are full of misery, disappointment, emptyness, helplessness. It's so sad to see an entire generation just give up. They don't even talk about it anymore.
It's true that Greeks have been selfish in the past. Not just when it comes to politics, but in a lot of matters. Even in the war there were those who dobbed upon their friends to the Germans just for their own personal freedom and gain. Nothing's changed. My personal opinion is that Greece is now paying off a debt that it has owed for centuries. It's just so sad for this generation to have to carry such a burden.
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