This is Greece (too)

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Eleni Zoe| 31 Comments

There are too many people I know planning for their Plan Bs. They’re starting to research their exit strategies. Those who have the means are considering Australia, others South Africa, America or England. I’ve heard of some who want to go to Paris, Belgium, Germany.

“But Germans hate Greeks now?” I say.
“What are we supposed to do? That’s were the jobs are.”

They’re looking for work.  They say it’ll be easier. I think they mean that somewhere else would be stable. My sister tells me that she’s thinking of leaving too. If she leaves, my nephews will probably have to go with their mother and father, right?  I can’t contemplate my life without them in it. But I’d let my heart-break –I’d welcome it- for those two little boys to have all the opportunities I’ve had in my life.

I speak to my best friend who’s self-employed:  “I work all the time, all the time! Then suddenly I woke up one morning and I realized I didn’t have enough money. I don’t know if I can pay all my vendors. I haven’t slept in two months, Eleni.”

She’s not the first person to tell me she doesn’t sleep. I’m like a zombie mom. I have no baby but I’m up every two hours. Is anyone sleeping anymore?

Another friend has just had her second wage cut in a year.

“Keep your head down and carry on working.” they tell her, “At least, you have a job.”

She smiles diplomatically but I see the fear in her eyes, “But for how long?”  She’s looking for a second source of income. She does it enthusiastically.  I don’t know where she’ll find the time.  There are only so many hours you can work. But we’re not sleeping so I guess, that’s when she’ll work.

My mother and I go to our local haberdashery. On our way down, she collects our day old bread, leftovers from Christmas, and she puts them in a shopping bag. They’re for the boy with the old smile at the traffic light. He came to Greece from Pakistan for a better life. I think of musical chairs. We’re all running in circles, but there are no chairs left. When the music stops, where will we all go?

It’s a dark and cloudy day. I walk to the store and I notice that the lights are off.

“Are you open?” I say pushing the door and peeking my head inside.
“Of course we are, kopela mou, just trying to save money.”

It’s darker inside than it is outside. All the colourful yarn and sparkly buttons hurt my eyes.

We return home and as we’re walking up our driveway a man in his 40s walks toward us. I’m immediately on guard. I eye him up suspiciously.

“I’m sorry to bother you. My name is Costa. I live in the neighbourhood.”

He gives us his address. Street name. House number.  He tells us his story. Lost his job in sales a year ago. His wife lost her job a few months later. I don’t remember what she did. They’ve got two children. School age.  Priest told him about the charity of others. Suggested he offer his services.

 “I can throw out your trash. I’m good with my hands. I can fix things for you. I can water your plants. Anything you need.” He begins to cry. “I just need enough to feed my family.”

My mother throws her purse into my arms and takes his hands in hers and her eyes fill up with tears and she tells him that God is great and that we’ve been through worse and we’ll get through this too.

I don’t make eye contact. I don’t believe in God. I hide behind my mother like I did when I was a 5-year-old girl.

She never let’s go of his hands. She turns her head and addresses me, but she never stops looking at him, “Go get all the change you have.”

I do as I’m told. I rush into my flat and raid through all my secret money spots. All I have is five euros in one, five, ten, twenty, fifty cents. The loot feels heavy in my hand. It all feels so heavy that I have to sit still for a while. My mother comes looking for me because I’m taking too long.

“Here, take it.” I say. I can’t face him. I can’t give it to him myself. I want to cry in private.

I sit in front of my computer. An article about Greece catches my eyes on the Huffington Post. I read the comments.

“Greece…the armpit of Europe.”

“Let Greece go in the toilet where it belongs.”

“[Laziness], it’s the Greek national disease.”

“If Greece was wiped off the face of the earth, would we care?”

“Ef em, cut them off the euro, cut them out of the EU, and take a nuclear chain saw and cut them off Europe.”

As I read, images flash in my mind. I see my friends, the boy with the old smile, my nephews’ faces; I see my mother comforting a stranger.   I want to cry. I will myself to cry.

But I can’t. There are too many stories to be told. And I can’t work, I can’t see the words on the screen with tears in my eyes.

I don’t cry. Instead, I close the window with those callous comments, I raise my head higher than before and I keep working. Because I’m Greek. And that is what Greeks do.

All stories written proudly IN GREECE by Eleni Zoe.
All images produced proudly IN GREECE by Peter Economides.

If you liked this post, you’ll also want to read:
The Small Country That Will

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31 Responses to This is Greece (too)

  1. AlexMac | January 10, 2012 at 6:15 pm | Reply

    I’ve always wanted to go to Greece, I think it is beautiful and magical. My family’s hairdresser is Dimitri the Greek, the Great. That’s how he always introduces himself and it’s so true. I don’t understand how people can so callously damn an entire country. Sure, things are very hard right now (I admit to knowing very little about the struggle in Greece currently) but from waht I’ve been able to see, things are very hard all over the world. It is a scary time. But we’re going to get through it because that’s what we always do. Thanks for standing up for Greece. Thank you for telling these stories.
    AlexMac recently posted..Plants Plants Plants Plants

  2. Bex | January 10, 2012 at 6:32 pm | Reply

    Eleni, this is beautiful – really it is. I try my best, also, through my writing and on my blog. Occasionally I get the bl**dy stupid comment “Greeks are lazy – they don’t know what hard work is.” I am asked why people can still be seen drinking coffee in the cafe’s – I respond by saying people still drink their coffees (like they are entitled to), just not as much. What – are people now expected to walk around looking miserable? It seems so as the International Community can’t understand why Greeks are shown to be laughing and clapping each other on the back.
    I remind people that British people still go to the pub and get ‘out of their faces’ – which would you rather see? I ask.
    Let us together re-brand Greece…may she live on.

    • Eleni Zoe | January 11, 2012 at 10:33 am | Reply

      When I see people going about the business and having a good time, there’s one word that comes to mind. Fortitude. People are carrying on (drinking coffee, laughing, clapping each other on the back) because that’s you do. You go on whatever you can.

      Thanks for reading and thank you for writing a blog about Greece! <3

  3. Sami | January 10, 2012 at 6:50 pm | Reply

    Good for you for standing up and being proud for being Greek. Personally, I would love to visit Greece, I’ve seen some beautiful photos and your stories about it are always beautiful too.

    And for those who are thinking of going away, tell them that the recession is everywhere. It’s where I am too (Northern Ireland) and times are tough for everyone. I’m a recent Graduate but I’m working a part-time job in a restaurant just to try and make enough money to pay the bills and live. We should all be doing something to try and improve our lives as best we can, even if it means raiding our penny boxes and helping strangers.

    Keep on being proud and thank you for sharing this story :).
    Sami recently posted..Happy New Year!

  4. San | January 10, 2012 at 6:59 pm | Reply

    Just as an FYI, I don’t hate you (or any other Greeks) … it’s all politics and not the people’s fault.
    Kudos to you for being proud of being Greek and standing up for your country!
    San recently posted..Merry Christmas!

  5. queen | January 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm | Reply

    wow…….. i just read that and watched the movie of it too. you made me actually think for a minute that i was viewing all of this you wrote like a movie.
    this is greece !!!!!!
    xxooxx

  6. demie | January 10, 2012 at 7:08 pm | Reply

    Eleni κλαίω
    demie recently posted..the lake. frozen

  7. Sophia K. | January 10, 2012 at 7:25 pm | Reply

    Thank you so much for this piece. The examples of your friends, of the man from your neighborhood, the boy from Pakistan…they’re all so recognizable and so heartbreaking. I too read those poisonous comments in almost every article of the foreign Press (and also foreign blogs), it’s the same every time: we’re lazy, we’re cheats, we’re corrupted to the bone, we have spent other people’s money and now we deserve every single miserable thing that happens to us (oh, and we should be thrown out of the EU and left to rot like the undeserving bastards that we are). I’ve lived abroad for years now so the poverty and misery that seems to engulf more and more parts of Greece isn’t something I am confronted with everyday, but that also means that every time I come back I see all those changes suddenly: the dozens of closed stores lining up my hometown, the worries of my friends about their jobs, the amount of people simply begging for food on the streets…it’s like a stab in my heart and I can’t help but feel useless, scared and depressed. All my loved ones are in Greece, what will become of them? What will become of my country? Will I ever be able to return? All these thoughts run through my head, but I’ve decided that what I can do, is be an ambassador of Greece in the country I currently live: be hard-working, kind, helpful, lead by example so that people here can realize that not every Greek is a lying cheating slob: far from it. We too have dreams, we too have great hardships in our lives and we will too work hard to overcome this. Because (as you brilliantly wrote), we’re Greeks, and that’s what we do.

  8. IdaV | January 10, 2012 at 7:50 pm | Reply

    This is exactly what it is all about … being proud of the country you are from … being proud of being Greek! Well done Eleni Zoe – for reminding this to all of us around the world.
    I know times are hard these days and it is truly heart breaking to hear the stories from your country. BUT believe me you are not alone in this. Every country, every nation DID / IS / WILL go through this.
    This is a circle of life – something I feel we have completely lost an understanding of. The fact is that often you have to loose the ground below your feet to realise how to rebuild it and become better and stronger. Always remember: “Sometimes the brightest light comes form the darkest places.”
    And to all of you Greeks there – you have nothing to be ashamed of. You should still stand TALL and PROUD. Most importantly, you should NOT ESCAPE and should NOT GIVE UP. The future of Greece is in YOUR hands – in the hands of your generation, your parents and your kids – you all have to stick together at this crucial time and really get through this TOGETHER!
    JUST LOOK at your history, culture, arts, philosophy, etc. Is there a nation that can compare to what you have been through? You have so much to build on. Not everyone can say that!

    PS: You may think: Why does she care? It is easier said than done! etc. etc. But I have lived through Communism – time when my country’s heart was broken into pieces by the Eastern oppression. Despite being a small, pretty insignificant country in the middle of Europe, we did one thing right – we did stick together as a nation!
    You should all read Vaclav Havel’s “The Power of the Powerless”. He was not only our leader in the time of oppression, but also our inspiration and hope. And remember? HOPE DIES LAST!
    ;-)

  9. Eleni | January 10, 2012 at 9:22 pm | Reply

    Thank you Eleni for sharing with us in words what we are already thinking and living every day. I constantly hearing from people around me that they have lost their job, that they are forced to shut down their store etc etc and it is happening to my family also. ( i cant deny it! ). But on the other hand i have to add that i see people pretending that nothing has changed(mostly people that they have money). Thats why i see a country divided in two. Those who have and those who havent. I really wish that those who have to share them with people who havent. As for the rest of Europe or the rest of the world let them go f*&^% themselves! There is nothing for us to prove. Les them come here and see with their own eyes!

  10. Alexia | January 10, 2012 at 10:54 pm | Reply

    Bravo, Eleni! Patrida mas! I say this in spite of having just booked a ticket out of here.

    I can really feel the pride and determination in this piece. And I love the change of pace to your usual writing.

    ‘Geia mas!
    Alexia recently posted..Annual Questionnaire: 2011

  11. nil | January 10, 2012 at 11:19 pm | Reply

    I truly understand what you mean. It was almost same shortly ago in Turkey and hoping and working are the only solutions we have. I am sure you will also find a way to pass these days. Just do not stop believing, otherwise nothing worth living :)

  12. Angela | January 10, 2012 at 11:51 pm | Reply

    My cousin just moved back to England from Australia. They were there about six months or so. I don’t know why, though. On the other hand, my other cousin still has her second home in Greece, and they go at least a few times per year. I don’t see them stopping.

    I haven’t been sleeping either; a combination of money worries (we’re getting by, but I can’t contribute, and I want to), family, pets and health worries, amongst other things. I’ve never been to your country, but I think I told you once before that my mother has wanted to live there since 1989/1990. She would talk about moving, and I couldn’t picture it. I thought we should scrap the money together for a vacation (that never happened) first, see how we felt and really get a feel for the place, meet people, etc. It’s so beautiful there; I wish I could kick the people who are talking about just letting it go under. (WTF? We, in America, have dealt with that crap for years. I don’t understand people sometimes.)

  14. Melina | January 11, 2012 at 2:16 am | Reply

    This post broke my heart. After just reading an article today about how families are opting to abandon their children to churches and orphanages rather than have them go hungry… and then on top of that, to read all those hateful comments… Heartbreaking. Thanks for writing xx (ps: I feel you regarding your nephews.)

  15. Marina | January 11, 2012 at 2:38 pm | Reply

    I am Greek and I would prefer to write this post in greek but i understand the necessity of writing in english, plus I would like for foreigners to be able to read my post.

    This post brought tears in my eyes. Our country goes through rough times with rougher to come. I am not being a pesimist, i just acknowledge the truth. It hearts me seeing people losing their jobs, shops closing, people losing their dignity because they don’t have enough money to buy FOOD. And Europe, the world, is making fun on us???? People say we deserve what we get??? People say that it’s ok for children to starve because mistakes were made???? What does that say about Europeans and people of the world in general? I dare them to answer.

    I am so tired of hearing that we are lazy, blah, blah, blah….For those accusing us,please, read first, and I don’t mean read the papers of your country and the propaganda (I am not sure if thats the correct word in english) in it, read thoroughly, try to understand a bit of economics, try to learn all the points of view, and then form an opinion of your own!

    I am not going to rely on the greatness of our past and culture. That is very nice and all, but we can’t depend on that and not move on. We have great potential, some of the greater minds of today are Greeks, we are educated, we have studied foreign languages and cultures, we have traveled, we are open-minded!We have so many qualities but we have forgotten them. Each one of us has to do what’s right for our country, in our every day life, and slowly, step by step we will go through this. My parents me tell not to be afraid because we have lived through rougher times. We will rise from our ashes-another quality of our people!

    Through these difficult times, the ones who can, should and must help the ones that are in need. Please, remember this.

  16. nashe | January 11, 2012 at 4:57 pm | Reply

    That man’s story absolutely broke my heart, and it’s sad that he’s not the only person with that plight. Also, did those anti-Greece comments really happen? I can’t even take them seriously, they’re obviously written by idiots. There are ups and downs everywhere, good on you for sticking up for your country and its people.

    PS; those 2 boys in the first picture? You know they’ll grow up to be way hot, haha.
    nashe recently posted..It Ain’t The End of The World

  17. Namy | January 12, 2012 at 3:18 pm | Reply

    Eleni, I’ve been reading a few months now and I don’t usually comment on blogs, but I had to. This is a beautiful post showing the truth of what the problems in Europe actually mean. Thank you for writing it and sharing this.

  18. AngelaP | January 12, 2012 at 5:19 pm | Reply

    So WELL said Eleni Zoe, I applaud you!!!
    Your articles made me cry, not only from sadness but also in pride because it is wonderful to see that people like you give hope to others.
    I am a proud Greek as well. I have grown up abroad but have also lived in Greece for some years. I adore Greece and it hurts me very much to see what is going on and what is being said to slander Greece and our people. I guess it should not surprise me after so long. There has been so much hurt…the wars, Greece being divided and handed out like a piece of meat and then the mad dogs trying to pull the rest of her every which way. Greece being burnt down piece by piece and now this…financial distruction. Greece gave so much wisdom to the world and for sure they still feel she is a big threat to this “Globalization” otherwise they would not be trying to tear her apart right now and disgrace her the way they are. So…if Greece is in this situation because all the Greeks are lazy, cheats and thieves, I guess that must also go for Italy, Spain, Portugal and especially England because as much as the media try to keep the focus off these countries, we all know what their financial situation is as well. I was looking at a report with percentages showing financial debt ratios and England was only .30 points behind Greece…but you don’t hear anyone going on about that. I believe that by demoralizing the Greek people and pushing them into this corner the ‘powers that be’ feel they will be able to claim Greece for their own as the Greek people are unable and unworthy of her. They have all wanted a piece of Greece for so long and this is how they plan to steal her from us. I don’t believe the Greek people will allow that, they did not before and will not now. We still believe “kalitera mias oras eleutheri zoh, para saranta xronia sklavia kai filaki”.

  19. Simone | January 12, 2012 at 9:09 pm | Reply

    This is such a beautiful post and I absolutely love the photos that go with it. I spent 17 days in Greece in 2006 and it’s one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. The food, the people, the history, the color of the ocean…it all captured my heart & hasn’t let go. It makes me sad to hear about what your country is going through but I have faith that things will get better. They have to. I’d be proud to be Greek too xox
    Simone recently posted..Learning to Spend on the Right Things

  20. Pingback: Pick N Mix – 13 January 2011 | Cupcakes and Mace

  21. ameena | January 16, 2012 at 5:42 pm | Reply

    Greece is currently the country that I want to visit most. I have friends who are part of a very rich Greek community here in Salt Lake City and I am always envious that I was not raised part of such a beautiful community. I had no idea people were saying such terrible things about Greece. I am so sorry you are going through this. Hopefully things turn around soon. xoxo
    ameena recently posted..the secret to being an adult

  22. Stacey | January 21, 2012 at 11:57 pm | Reply

    Eleni, this post breaks my heart, yet fills me with hope at the same time. I cannot begin to understand the stupidity of those people and their comments. Sending you love and warm hugs from America.
    Stacey recently posted..Introducing: Penny

  23. Lygeri | February 21, 2012 at 9:57 am | Reply

    Bravo Eleni mou for this wonderful article!! It brought tears to my eyes. I am living in Greece too with my husband and son…we all have to hang in there!!! enomenoi!!!! =) I am proud to be greek!!!

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