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A 21-Year-Old Greek Unloads: "I Am Terrified Of Tomorrow...It Feels Like An End"
A letter to The FT... Presented with no comment...
Sir,
Memory. No memory of life before the financial crisis; politics has dominated it ever since. But now I can hardly remember life before Friday night. Fear. I am terrified of tomorrow, all I now see is black. Uncertainty, leading us through our days, every remainder of hope for a brighter future being destroyed by the minute. I look at my three-year-old niece, I envy her ignorance, I envy her age. I am 21 years old and the past few days I feel tired by life. A referendum that supposedly gives me the right to define my future, seems to have taken it away.
There are hundreds of people queueing at the ATMs and petrol stations, there is silence in the streets, people’s faces are frozen. This is the reality since Friday night. There are, and have been for a long time, people literally starving. However, it seems that instead of their situation improving, the rest of us will have no different a fate.
Families and friends divide in Yes and No camps. We are called to exercise our democratic right by voting on a referendum while having no tangible explanation of what will follow each decision. I see everyone I know ready to take this huge responsibility without even being prepared to do so. I notice us, arguing endlessly, everyone supporting their stance fervently, ego dominating minds and words, while having no clue as to what is really at stake.
We all want the crisis to end, we all crave growth and happiness. I do not remember my parents being free of stress and anxiety in the past years. I do not remember not noticing shops closing every month, or the rapid increase of beggars in the streets. People that, before the financial crisis, never had to beg for anything. However, the past five days have been worse than all that has been so far. They say that all we hear is propaganda; but we have lost our trust in all sides, now everything seems to be lies.
It feels like an end. The end of our lives as we knew them. Yes, the lives that, before Friday, we already thought could be better; now we realise they were better then. The only thing we truly wish for is that the worst is not yet to come.
Iliana Magra
Thessaloniki, Greece
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They should have asked him if he too participated in some of the countless strikes in past years(and if he enjoyed the show).
You wanted to believe you wanted that things are fine, that's the base line. As we can see it all was due to cheap credit. But whatever you can you can not get rich by consuming everything and beyond. I did not tell you any lies. I warned every one about the things coming. Others did the same - see this blog. But you wanted to believe and to make-believer is all there is to know about "politics".
"We Come In Peace, Shoot To Kill, Shoot To Kill, Shoot To Kill, We Come In Peace, Shoot To Kill, Shoot To Kill, Men"
We Cannot Change The Laws Of Maths, Laws Of Maths, Laws Of Maths, We Cannot Change The Laws Of Maths, Laws Of Maths, Jim.
There's Klingons At The ECB, ECB, ECB, There's Klingons At The ECB, ECB, Jim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE
Has the spectre of Scottish independence disappeared after that referendum?
We saw the fear tactic used in abundance in that referendum and it produced the desired result.
At the national elections the SNP were swept to power in a landslide.
A "Yes" vote here means fear tactics have worked and the problem has been delayed but not solved.
Its tomorrow. What the hell is going on?
anyone not terrified of tomorrow is just not paying attention.
Why should the citizens if any NATO country have to forage for food in trash bins? The other NATO countries are just going to stand by and do nothing while people go hungry? The costs of sending our Muslim-in-chief on a golf outing could feed several thousand for the duration of the crisis.
The old people voted for this before she was born so it's democratic.
If its the end to austerity then be terrified no longer!
There's going to be an even deeper austerity imposed by real life. When they have to start being productive and living a lifestyle appropriate to their productivity its going to make the EU's austerity seem pretty generous.
Yes, things will get worse before they get better. The troika will make sure of that. But, at least Greece will be free of the troika dictatorship and, if the Greek government handles the humanitarian / unemployment crisis properly, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
You see more beggars in Sweden than Greece.
That's because the beggars in Sweeden have a reasonable belief that their begging will yield a positive result.
How are beggars going to beg from other beggars?
What most Greeks ( and Americans ) don't realize is that their entire lives have been subsidized by government debt. 85% of them are not productive enough to justify the lifestyles that they have. This life of eased and plenty is only possible through an absurd debt scheme, and the oppression of other peoples. SOMEBODY is producing what you consume, and living a proportionately lower standard of living.
For the first time, Greeks are facing the prospect of having a standard of living equivalent to their productivity. This terrifies them, and rightly so since they haven't been productive in nearly a century and those that knew how are dead. The infrastructure doesnt even exist...where are the factories? They've had more than a decade since being in the EU to get their house in order and they spent it idly, electing communists to get them more free money instead of preparng for tomorrow.
For those of you who might be interested, here's a great experiment for you...if you have land available, go out and try top produce just 50% of your food from this land. You will find that just producing 50% of your food will take the equivalent of a modern full time job in terms of time, and you'll find that the labor is much, much harder than what you're used to. Now consider that it is only 50% of what you eat. Now consider your clothes, your house, your car, and all the materials that are required to produce these things. Even with a factory, machines, and labor division you would be working day and night to provide the goods that we all take for granted. There would be no time for lounging on the beach, gossiping at the local cafe, retirement at age 56 or wyling away hours in front of a TV. That whole lifestyle is artificial, it is only made possible by exponential debt, and most modern first world people have absolutely no idea what real life is. That's true, natural austerity and it makes the "austerity" imposed by the EU seem pretty generous.
You are reading too much mainstream news. What you say is pure propaganda.
But the world's .01 percent flying to Mallorca or Gstaad for the season with their inherited wealth are exempt? From anything?
They have the money, they can afford it. If you don't then you have to live within your means. Just because 'somebody else' is rich, doesn't mean you don't have to work.
Not entirely true but you make excellent points.
All I'd add is that Greece hasn't been self-sufficient in food in a long time. Unable to borrow money to import food, they won't be able to feed more than a fraction of their population. Only made men and women in Syriza or people with money or relatives abroad will be able to count on three squares a day. Everyone else is facing famine of North Korean proportions.
Which is a shame because they have some of the most productive farmland in the entire world...AND they have access to the mediterranean. But, my guess is that their population might be too large now to feed at home. They have been able to print and borrow for so long they have likely grown all out of proportion to their ability to feed themselves. This is again one of the inevitable dangers of societies that live beyond their means, eventually they lose the means to live.
"...But, my guess is that their population might be too large now to feed at home...."
Sounds like a job for Monsanto, eh?
The Truth About Greece: Syriza’s Creatively Ambiguous Referendum @ http://99getsmart.com/the-truth-about-greece-syrizas-creatively-ambiguou...
the free ride on other peoples' money is coming to an end.
the bright future painted by the politicians that was too good to be true is coming to an end.
but life will go on (if you dare)
A day or so ago I saw an article mention that previous years of Greek 'prosperity' was achieved with borrowed money. Then I started thinking about every country on earth that has massive debt levels...
Extrapolate.
OK, I extrapolated that, and after following the money trail, concluded that Earth is in debt to a small branch bank of the Phantom Menace Corp. on the moldy, fungus covered planet of Honeytrap circling Sirius A.
Try intra-polating instead.
Fiat is objectively nothing and it does nobody any favors to identify it as money. Fiat is a token passed around on a game board.
The conclusion to be made is that for years Greeks have been conned into shuffling resources around their land in a chaotic manner under the illusion of predictable order.
The conclusion is that Greeks never got "prosperity" in any intelligent sense of the word because today they have nothing sustanable to show for it.
#GREECE NO
The "No" vote has the lead in opinion polls, according to the FT - One major Greek bank is near collapse The polls close at 5 p.m.
The IMF published a scathing analysis on Friday which practically stated that Greece can’t be saved from bankruptcy.
Real Live Ticker:
https://tersee.com/#!q=greece&t=text
Consider what an Icelander might think of this article. The only fundamental resources they had when they cut the debt cord were fish, mineral water and geothermal vents...
Oh no, young ignorant voters are about to get a taste of Reality. That sucks.
Guess it's time to put on your "Big Boy Pants" and admit you've been lied too by your politicians. Young Americans are waking-up big time. Embrace the moment, take you medicine and start resisting the NWO!
He's 21. That's good.
this one strictly reminds me quotes from "When money dies"...