By Deniz Torcu
The image that has started to go viral in social media amongst Greek users is simple, yet strong enough to explain the stand of the majority. It says a clear “NO”, however the rejection is composed of the sentence “YES TO THE EURO”.
My recent trip to Athens was a clear depiction of how devastated the country really is. The once busy neighbourhoods filled with restaurants, cafés and shops are now being replaced by two yellow signs that mark the desperation of the people: “for rent” and “for sale”, appearing side by side.
Yes, Greece owes billions of dollars. Yes, Greece cannot pay her debt to the IMF and has to redeem billions of bonds held by the ECB or run the risk of going into default.
These are the dry, non-human facts that we read in the news every day.
Do those developments seem as a healthy way to bring back an economy? Maybe to Angela Merkel and the German creditors who hold a majority of Greece’s debt, but definitely not to the Greek people.
However, what we don’t get to read as much is the following: after the measures taken by the Greek governments over the past 5 years, the situation only got worse where the real GDP fell as much as 27%, unemployment rates broke a new record, pensions were cut by 48%, unofficial and non-registered labour started to make up as much as 34% of the entire labour force, and public debt kept growing finally reaching a level of nearly 180% of the GDP.
Do those developments seem as a healthy way to bring back an economy? Maybe to Angela Merkel and the German creditors who hold a majority of Greece’s debt, but definitely not to the Greek people.
Go to Greece, speak to ordinary people on the streets, the cafés, taxis, etc. You will hear stories like that of the taxi driver Antoni, who, despite having two degrees in hospital management, has to work in a rented taxi because the highest salary that he can get practicing his own profession doesn’t even reach 500 euros per month; he is thinking of migrating to Canada with his wife, even though he doesn’t want to leave Greece.
You will encounter the taverna owner Dimitri, who is concerned about the anti-Syriza propaganda that has been going strong from the creditors, pointing out to the fact that two extreme right-wing parties are already backing the government. There are fears that if Syriza is not given a proper chance to try to make things right, the fascist Golden Dawn would gain even more power.
Let me say this on behalf of dozens of Greeks who are my dearest friends and the hundreds that I have met on my stays in Greece: Greeks are not opposed to being in Europe, nor are they opposed to being in the Eurozone. However, they are opposed to the continuing humiliation being imposed on them by the Troika and the ECB, where the only actual results that they have seen so far are salary cuts, increased unemployment and public shaming, while the Germans are actually enjoying a traditional “shaden freude”.
Although most of the emphasis with regards to Alexis Tsipras and his government in the media is on their inability to pay, the reforms that the government has proposed so far include important elements like a long-term privatization agenda, the liberalization of markets and services, and public administration reforms, which would slowly but surely lead to a healthier way of putting Greece’s broken economy back together.
Greeks are not opposed to being in Europe, nor are they opposed to being in the Eurozone. However, they are opposed to the continuing humiliation.
In addition, what an unnamed economist formerly with Obama’s team suggested also sounds better than simply shrinking Greek economy to death. It would consist of Germany’s willingness to accept an inflation rate of four or five percent, thus allowing Greece to augment its productivity growth rate faster than Germany’s and also provide full labour mobility Such measures would most likely work; however, they would not be accepted by Germany and creditors.
Given all this, it is imperative that the creditors comprehend the Greek stand on the issue. The Greeks are part of Europe and want to continue as such, however they want egalitarian treatment and respect from their creditors, and do not want to be treated as the unwanted stepchild any longer.
The sooner Europe realizes this, the sooner a solution would be found.
The editorial team of Katoikos
