Lately, I have become quite the cynic. I used to be that social studies teacher that taught current events everyday (or at least once a week) so that my students knew what was going on in the world. I trusted, for the most part, the press because they were supposed to be “free” from the government. Hmm. Before I left for my trip to Greece, I was warned by a few that it may not be the safest time to go because the people were rioting. After all, this is a great time of civil unrest in several countries across the “big pond.” Hell, there’s civil unrest here. But I insisted that it would be fine. I mean, new counties are formed from revolutions, like ours, right? This could be a valuable learning experience.
When I got to Athens, all was calm. Granted, the people were not happy with the situation. However, most were only discussing it, not rioting. I did not see one car on fire the whole time. How disappointing (note the sarcasm in my voice). A little over a week after arrival, I attended an after wedding party. I had arrived there with my friend Louis, who speaks Greek, but he had to leave for about an hour to take some food back for the children. I was left there with his father who spoke English, but decided not to use it so much. So I did what any self respecting American girl in a foreign country would do. I sat down at the table with the older men and drank hard liquor. Now, the liquor in this case was Raki, which is a lot like white lighting–or corn liquor. It was strong enough to use as fuel and had a rough taste. I preferred Ouzo but it was not available. I sat and drank and listened to their conversations without having one clue as to what they were talking about. It was confusing and then amusing. I wondered how long I could just sit there and listen. Then an angel appeared. Her name was Natalia and she spoke English. She looked at me sitting there with the Raki and said “do you understand any of what they are saying?” My reply: “not a bloody word.” Long story short, we sat and talked about politics and economics of living and Greece and it turned out that she was one of the protestors. I, of course, immediately asked about the riots. She said that she was never there for those. As a matter of fact, when she saw the rioters coming, she promptly left. Well, this raised questions for me. Turns out that the government, including the police department, is corrupt. Surprise, surprise. It has been proven, numerous times, that the police department would hire this “gang of thugs” to come in a start a riot at the protest. When the violence broke out, the crowds would disperse. The media would have a frenzy about the protestors and the jobs of the police were done by the thugs. Pictures have been taken and published with police and known rioters together after the violence ended. Police have the mess cleaned up and the media gets a good story to share with the world. So much for your truth and justice.
Meanwhile, back home, my friends are watching the news and hearing that the roads leading to the airports are being blocked by taxi drivers. When I arrive back in Athens, I ask Louis’ uncle what that was all about. Turns out it is a different story all together. It seems that the Grecian government had recently passed a law that would allow taxi drivers to get their licenses at a much cheaper rate than previously. This upset the current taxi drivers because they had to spend a great deal of money just to get the license and now their jobs would be given out so easily. So in protest, they parked their taxis on one street. One street. It just so happened that it was one of the many roads leading to the airport. I had no trouble getting through the airport or customs. I found out quickly that it is easier to get out of our country than to get in. So there you have it. Civil unrest in other countries is not always as it seems. I wonder what it’s really like in Libya.....
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