Sorry for the recent post drought. After being gone for three days, I've had a lot to catch up on, and so haven't been blogging. I'm currently sorting through all of my photographs and notes from the trip to the Argolid, so hopefully the posts from those three days will be up shortly. In the meantime, though, I wanted to talk about some events that took place over the weekend.
On Thursday, while I was in the Argolid, a man named Dmitris Christoulas, a 77 year old retired pharmacist, committed suicide in Syntagma Square, as a protest to the austerity measures. In his suicide note, he wrote, "I cannot find any other form of struggle except a dignified end before I have to start scrounging for food from the rubbish" (source). Following this, Greek citizens reacted violently. There were riots on Thursday, following the event, and again on Saturday, after his funeral procession. I don't know how this event has rippled outside of Greece, but within the country, it seems to be making quite an impact. There's more information on the funeral, and the reactions of the Greek people, here.
Yesterday afternoon, after checking that everything was all calm, my roommate and I went to Syntagma to see the reaction. In the center of the square is a giant tree, covered with lights and paper notes and signs, surrounded by rings of candles and flowers. There were many people there, adding their own notes, placing flowers, or just reading the outpouring of anger and sadness already presented. It was a really powerful memorial, and one of the first really clear signs I've seen that all is not right in this country. On the surface, everyone is happy and peaceful, and things are going well. But economically and politically, things are far from nice and settled. Sometimes, that tension boils up to the surface, like it did this weekend.
For the past two weeks, I've been wandering around in ancient history, looking at artifacts and sites from 2000+ years ago. But that's not the only history present in this country. Right now, if I stop to look, there's history happening all around me. Greece is at a tipping point, and the future is uncertain, for both the country and its people.
On Thursday, while I was in the Argolid, a man named Dmitris Christoulas, a 77 year old retired pharmacist, committed suicide in Syntagma Square, as a protest to the austerity measures. In his suicide note, he wrote, "I cannot find any other form of struggle except a dignified end before I have to start scrounging for food from the rubbish" (source). Following this, Greek citizens reacted violently. There were riots on Thursday, following the event, and again on Saturday, after his funeral procession. I don't know how this event has rippled outside of Greece, but within the country, it seems to be making quite an impact. There's more information on the funeral, and the reactions of the Greek people, here.
Yesterday afternoon, after checking that everything was all calm, my roommate and I went to Syntagma to see the reaction. In the center of the square is a giant tree, covered with lights and paper notes and signs, surrounded by rings of candles and flowers. There were many people there, adding their own notes, placing flowers, or just reading the outpouring of anger and sadness already presented. It was a really powerful memorial, and one of the first really clear signs I've seen that all is not right in this country. On the surface, everyone is happy and peaceful, and things are going well. But economically and politically, things are far from nice and settled. Sometimes, that tension boils up to the surface, like it did this weekend.
For the past two weeks, I've been wandering around in ancient history, looking at artifacts and sites from 2000+ years ago. But that's not the only history present in this country. Right now, if I stop to look, there's history happening all around me. Greece is at a tipping point, and the future is uncertain, for both the country and its people.
