Image via WikipediaI am not going to rant on today about the problems resulting from the influx of illegal immigrants to Greece, nor the fact that last weekend they buried an innocent soon-to-be-father (44 year old Manolis Kantaris) whose only crime was to carry a video camera to record his pregnant wife’s birth. He was stabbed to death by three foreigners carrying machetes. I just want to talk about what my logic dictates to me. (The link to this story can be found here)
I feel sick to my stomach and dismayed that disgusting, hate-filled crimes such as these are occurring in the Greek capital. The city of Sophocles, Plato and Socrates; the cornerstone of democracy; the place where only several years ago hosted the Olympic Games, has become nothing more than a haven for criminals.
How the murder was committed and the sudden racist clashes began.
Organized crime has transformed this city into a living hell for its residents and its visitors. Banditry, piracy, identity theft, fraud and prostitution is noted everywhere, especially around Omonia Square. These criminals, who are mostly illegal immigrants, have infested the Greek capital, and have been reported to carry knives, guns, machetes and God knows what else. Because of this, many muggings, robberies, sexual assaults, carjackings and stabbings have been reported. They outwit, outsmart and outrun the police, and are rarely caught and when they are arrested they are usually set free several hours or days later because they have no legal papers.
They know that Greek people have filotimo -generous and honourable hearts- but they have abused our hospitality. They do not respect the laws of this country nor its people and it is high time our government rounded them up and sent them home for good.
No… I am not a racist… I was raised in a multi-cultural society, but we had a strong justice system and no one was above the law. Something that does not exist at all here in Greece. In Greece, especially since the ruling socialists passed a law in the favour of illegal immigrants, we have seen our neighbourhoods transform into hell holes and no one cares, no one is doing anything about it and what is more, if you dowriright complain about it they also call you a racist. It is almost like the world is conspiring against us and allowing these foreigners to commit crimes on purpose to either lower the value in specific areas (probably some real estate companies are doing this) as well as keep our attention on other things rather than the real problems plaguing our country.
I am just up to here with all this crap… and tolerance does have its limits. No (generally speaking) we are not racists much like the international press has presented us to be, but maybe they want to transform us into racists. And I will use a line that a reader once sent me in a related article.
"Racism" is an English word that very recently entered the Greek vocabulary. It originally refers to apartheid and Klu Klux Klan. (Which certainly have nothing to do with Greek mentality and society). In fact, she says, it has no exact translation in the Greek language. The closest Greek word for "racism" is "φυλετισμός" –filetismos- which means the recognition and respect, and/or diversification between different races. Greeks have always been "φυλετιστές" –filetistes-, since antiquity. For example, it was extremely ridiculous for a Persian to pretend that he is Greek, as it was equally ridiculous for a Greek to pretend that he was Persian. But they highly respected each others cultures.
The academic community also believes that the sudden rise in crime, is nothing more than a ploy to get our minds off the real problems plaguing our country.
My logic tells me that those who want to call us racists for wanting peace in our neighbourhoods are using this as a weapon to encourage fear or hatred between people during our country’s economic downturn.
As Greece ends the Phase I of it’s so called “bankruptcy phase” and begins entering Phase II, we will see many more such violent acts of crime as the ones mentioned above.It is not just my opinion, the academic community believes this, common every day people believe this and even the immigrants themselves are starting to believe this. Now the reason I believe this is because the Phase I allowed Greeks from all walks of life to come to terms with the seriousness of the debt problem… and now being on the verge of total madness, and on the doorstep of Phase II, this madness can turn into chaos.
Our officials only know this too well. They know that as a society we are on the edge of total madness that is why they are purposely making the population turn its attention to other issues, as well as on to itself, so that they can begin with Phase II.
I do not believe for a moment, all this crap about Greeks becoming racist pigs. I want to think, that the term pigs is only something Germany used to term south European countries with. Greeks are not racists.
My opinion is that all these crimes have been planned out and are fuelled by leftist and extreme rightist groups who are working with God knows whom to keep us divided and not united. Officials knows very well that if we do, then our attention will immediately turn to what is really happening in Greece and we will turn on them. So to keep us calm, aside from the rumoured chemitrails… some people believe they are using illegal immigrants to stir up chaos so we can focus our attention there rather than the heart of the problem. Of course there are instances, as you will read further down, where some of these immigrants have performed such acts of violence that are too despicable to even mention, but when I see organised beatings, marches and other such events, and having grown to know how Greek politics works, I can only conclude that it is the work of “special interests”.
It is an everyday give and take. One day illegal immigrants strike and when taken to the limit, residents and extreme right groups strike back. For instance right after the above murder several youths took part in a march, chanting "Foreigners Out" and "Greece for Greeks". The march turned violent as the youths chased immigrants through a central district of Athens before riot police intervened. Obviously I do not applaud these acts, but surprisingly after this event the police began to “sweep” the area and suddenly many of these illegal immigrants disappeared.
My only hunch is that this infuriated anarchists who support the immigrants and one day later we watched news reports which said that they threw petrol bombs on an open air farmer’s market against common everyday citizens. The result: Many people were rushed to the hospital with severe injuries and burns.
There is more, a grandfather who was making his way to the Piraeus port, and thus passing through the centre of Athens to get there, only one day after the riots, was apparently beaten brutally by a gang of nearly 10 illegal immigrants. His only crime… was to wear a cap that had a Greek flag on it.
Now if you think that the problem is confined to Athens, then think again. In Igoumenitsa a 10-year old Roma boy was gang raped by four illegal immigrants. In Pyrgos a 77-year old grandfather was charged with homicide in a court last month after killing one of the two illegal immigrants, in defense, who attempted to rob his home in November of 2008. The old man was charged with a life time sentence and the illegal immigrant, who broke into his house and threatened to kill him, was only sentenced to several years in jail!
And I saved the worst for last. My residence is near the boarder of Nikea and Piraeus. In April of this year, confrontations between Greeks and illegal immigrants exploded following the gang rape of a 14-year old girl by what was reported was a group of Pakistanis. Her 17-year old boyfriend was brutally beaten as well. The crime was so horrendous and shocking to the residents of the area that they took the law into their own hands and went on a massive man hunt for the perpetrators. The result was bloody confrontations in Renti and Nikea, as well as Korydallos and Kolono. Many Greek citizens were brutally beaten, most of which were minors, by illegal immigrants (who want to control the areas mentioned and have formed gangs.) What is alarming in all of this is that the police, working for our government who has not shown any sign of compassion for Greek people but rather continues to support foreigners, did not even bat an eye on the crimes of the perpetrators and instead arrested two Greek citizens aged 22 and 28 who had the courage to defend the dignity of the young girl who was raped!
How can all these crimes keep a society calm, and more importantly can can they not take their attention away from what is really going on in the country? Indeed, no one has the upper hand in violence, no one is above the law, but… when the police are somewhat incompetent to handle the situation, for whatever reason, and you do not feel safe in your own neighborhood then what does one do to feel safe and more importantly to survive?
Today the situation has escalated to such a degree that it has built animosity between communities. Some Greek people, especially those who live in the heart of Athens, have openly asked that these immigrants leave our country. These are not racists, as viewed in the videos; they are common everyday people such as you and me. The media in Greece might present them as extreme rightists, or skinheads, but thank God for YouTube videos… and video phones, for they have provided us with a more objective picture on the situation.
Youths began chasing illegal immigrants after the news of the death of 44 year old Manolis Kantaris
Folks it is simple mathematics, when illegal immigrants (or any citizen for that matter) can do as they please with the support of God knows whom, and practice horrendous acts of crime such as the above against a community of people that were very tolerant of them up to now, then there is no democracy, there is no safety and there is freedom. How can people call them racist for feeling this way?
That is why citizens have taken the law into their own hands, and not because they are racists, since the government continues to bat an eye to their well-being. Simple things such as taking a walk on the street, going to the supermarket or taking their children to the park is now thought of as suicidal in some areas of Greece. No one is immune. The elderly stay home at night, women have been issued warnings not to exit their homes after dark and it is only common sense that items of high value not be visible when roaming this area.
Becoming a victim of crime is losing a fair measure of freedom in a democratic society and, my premise is that we have gotten far too accustomed to, and accepting of, crime and violence in this city. Enough is enough.
Do these people in the video look like extremists to you? They are common everyday people!
Crime can not thrive, at least not for long, in a neighbourhood full of involved, concerned residents and I support these citizens for wanting to safeguard their rights. I also support them for sticking together on this. These criminals need to be arrested and deported back to their countries.
Where is the government on all of this? Well, they have decided to include daily patrols that will also be assisted by members of the municipal police, targeted action by the Crime Prevention and Suppression Group as well as large operations of generalised police checks at least on a weekly basis, but is that enough? That is not going to solve the problem, and besides, it is still in the planning stages.
By the time they implement these measures, and if they implement these measures because for me they are sheer words and promises, many more people will have fallen victim to such acts of crime. This proves my belief that all of this might just be a ploy to turn Greek people’s attention away from the real problems plaguing our country. I want to be wrong I would hate to think that our officials are manipulating these immigrants to spread chaos all over the country.
My logic though dictates to me that too much is happening at the same time in a period when we are about to either default on our debt or get into further debt. This would result in even more harsher measures for the people of this nation and people will start to revolt, they are already on the verge of madness, all they need is a pole. But people cannot do that as long as they are divided, that is why they do not want us to come together as a society, for they know very well that if we do and realize what is really going on then we will turn on them!
Signed
Marina Spanos