I got some comments criticizing me for writing the article When Foreign Media get really bold on Greece. The majority of them showed no sign of understanding to the point of view I expressed. I even got some nasty e-mails telling me that as I am an “alms receiver” I have by no means any right to complain about anything and I “should better shut up!” I didn’t publish them because then I would have answered them, they would answered and the whole things would end up in an endless and twisted dialogue. Needless to say that the majority of these comments and e-mails with similar content came from Germany or Austria. I cannot stop reprimanding Arrogance, Ignorance, Prejudice and Populism every time I see a provocative article aiming to insult a whole nation, or at least the half of it…
On the other hand, I got some e-mails and even phone calls by Greek friends telling me “Well Done!”, “Somebody must tell them”, “Keep blogging about how we really are and what we think”. The article was shared by Twitter and Facebook users, Greeks and foreigners alike. To my surprise, I have realized the voice of those foreigners defending Greeks have started making the rounds, in printing media, on the internet. I don’t know if they are just Philhellenes or people with a balanced common sense. People who have lived in Greece and know the reality in the country. They know that the majority of pensioners, for example, get not more than 600 euro per month, that people need two or three jobs to come along. And that they know very well that it’s only a part of Greeks who have been profiting on the shoulders of the majority.
Such a brave article fighting prejustice was publish in Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad. I call it ‘brave’ because I know the hateful response such an article can provoke. Then articles are not computer-generated but have real authors behind them.
Anyway, the article entitled “The anti-Greece campaign of international media” refers mostly to Dutch newspapers and politicians’ verbal attacks against Greece. The author, a Dutch, who seems to know very well the conditions ins Greece, summarizes that “Prejudice against Greece has taken on grotesque proportions. There’s only one word that adequately describes the majority of Dutch media reports on Greece right now: a witch hunt. Of all the arrogant stupidity, full of gut feelings of Dutch superiority”
It’s really worth reading, right Here
Excellent, there is some really nasty, arrogant anti-Greek racism doing the rounds. It is utterly ignorant. An Irish friend of mine is equally as irritated by the spurious nonsense talked about the Irish.
you name it, Peter, it’s racism thus based of snobbish arrogance. I lived in Germany for 20 years, studied at the university and worked there, and the last bread seller felt was superior to me.
Keep on writting this blog. For me this blog is the best source of information for whats going on in Greece. By the way there are people with a balanced common sense in Germany.
thank you so much, Marko, I know that there are people with common sense there.
You are not alone!
Here’s an article with statistics aso
found in it’s comments:
“Breaking News: ‘Colonel Papandreou orders the arrest of Loukanikos(Riot dog) as he is destabilizing his regimes ability to sell out the people of Greece. Colonel Papandreou will not hold early elections as recent polls suggest that Loukanikos would win a landslide victory.
When Loukanikos was pressed in what he would do to save the Greek people. ”Since they put the bite on you it’s my duty to put the bite on them.” “It’s based on trusted economic principle of ..Dog eat Dog’
Simon June 23, 2011 at 3:41 pm”
found here: http://sturdyblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/democracy-vs-mythology-the-battle-in-syntagma-square/#comment-1262
Keep up the good work. Lots of people across Europe are on your side!
After seeing this film the press-campaign made more sense to me. Nearly all the information i knew before but put together it’s brilliant. This shit must get translated into more languages before some conspiracy-sites put it next to the tunnel-story.
http://www.debtocracy.gr/indexen.html
http://www.presseurop.eu/de/content/article/618761-debtocracy-oder-die-wut-ueber-die-krise
do you know if they have English subtitles meanwhile?
the 1st link is english, if you click on “greek version” a few more flags will appear… not the german one
(btw: what are all those german speaking Greeks doing? (except from reading “Bild” for entertainment, haha) Most of the german internet-sources are translated from English and not directly from Greek!)
For those who are capable of understanding Dutch… the original article is here http://www.globalinfo.nl/Achtergrond/heus-grieken-werken-41-uur-per-week-en-zijn-niet-verder-uit-te-persen.html
Here http://radio.tros.nl/?page=popup&autostart=true&startid=47486 is a radio interview with the author Ingeborg Beugel.
And here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd8SJCzMdx4 an interview on Dutch television.
The translation of the original piece is good. She has lived for about 13 years in Greece and still has a house on Hydra.
In the interviews she repeads the same points as in the article. One of the interesting things mentioned is that Dutch people are now for 67% against more money to Greece. They say: “Why should we pay if we have to cut our own budget back with around 18 billion euro.”
Ingeborg is countering that by stating that all that money is not a gift. We pay for it with 5.5% interest. Dutch bank are getting that money from the IMF at 2% and lending it at a huge profit.
She is also pleading for an political intervention into Greece to correct its faults. She is furious that this was not done already in the last 30 years. In wich an “uneducated country” was admitted into the EU to earn money by loans to them… Don’t know if most Greeks will be happy with that ‘intervention’ part though…
She wants now: interest on the money from 5.5% back to at least 2%; a bit more solidarity and getting at the corrupt politicians here.
I am an expatriate investor in Greece and have a love affair with the country that refuses to die in spite of everything the Greeks can do to kill it. My experience of the Greeks is that have brought this crisis on themselves by an utter refusal to adhere to the most basic concepts of service delivery or social responsibility. Government departments are filled with patronage appointments who make it abundantly clear that the performance of their duties was not in their job description, corruption is rampant, from the guy who fixes your telephone, to High Court judges. Even in the private sector laziness, arrogance and incompetence are routine. Of course the politicians are no better, being comfortably content to let the Karamanlis family have a turn at the trough before allowing the Papandreou family a chance. Now the people are ‘indignant’ that the day of reckoning approaches. Well, those of us trying to build businesses in Greece have been indignant for years.
I don’t believe what the media says about Greeks. They are humans, and being human, means most want to do their best. I won’t believe a whole country is lazy and profiteering. What I do believe is those at top are profiteering, and a lot (if not most) have lost the will to do their best seeing it’s to no avail. (Common human behavior)
What’s happening to Greece is still a Greek problem. The Greek allowed it to happen. They should have protested and revolted sooner. Many Greeks protest now, but what do they protest for? They still want democracy and socialism. Socialism will not help. Socialism is what got them in trouble. (It will draw us all down.) Choose freedom instead. Real freedom, not the fake one Democracy alludes to, that’s just an illusion.
It’s not up to me to save the Greek. I sure don’t want to be forced in debt to safe the Greece (Bankers and government). Greece is failing and will default anyways, if not within weeks it will be within months. Let the banks fail, even the other European banks. I’m sick and tired of the monetary system and wish with all my heart for it to fail. Letting Greece go will do that. It will be painful, but in the end, it will be better for us all.
We all should end the notion of being ruled. Lets take back our sovereignty as human beings and stop imposing stuff on each other. Live free and allow others to live free.
I just discovered your blog via a twitter link. I am German and I have to tell you that I am extremely embarrassed about all this anti-Greek campaigning that’s going on in the German media for quite a while now.
A lot of people in this country are brainwashed by reading their “BILD”-newspaper daily (it’s not a serious newspaper, but a piece of vile hate-speech and government propaganda).
Luckily thanks to the internet, particularly Twitter, we have access to more varied sources of information, but the picture that some of the mainstream media draws of Greek people is not a kind one, although there have been some more balanced and even sympathetic documentaries and news clips on TV recently about the situation in Greece.
I understand that many people in Greece have bad feelings towards Germans right now – I’ve heard that it’s not so easy being German in Greece right now. But I hope that the people of our countries will move past these stupid media-created conflicts soon.
My heart goes out to all those who are suffering under the consequences of the financial crisis. Being no expert I don’t know what would be the best solution, I can only hope that things will get better soon and I fully support the fight of the Greek people for their rights. It’s a universal struggle – today it’s Greece, tomorrow it might be Spain, someday the credit rating agencies will target Germany as well. I can only hope that people in Germany will show the same spirit of solidarity that the Greek people demonstrate at Syntagma, but I’m almost certain that they won’t.
Most people in Germany seem to have fallen for the propaganda of the ruling elites. German society is in a sad state – so much arrogance and envy and no compassion, no love.
All the best to the people of Greece.
thank you so much Andre
well andre i cannot argue with anything you say. you are right. however please keep in mind that politics is not made by bild or focus readers.
in my understanding the political caste is showing solidarity with greece until now, both in germany and european union. whether its for altruistic, solidarity or other reasons is debatable. still i see the best for greece and for germany in congruence.
having said that i agree that germans are arrogant towards weakers. however please be so kind and accept it as a bad habit that has formed throughout centuries. unless we do not translate this attitude into politics (which we do not so far, my opinion) this can be forgiven.
hi i read the article. i agree that media coverage in germany about greece is not balanced at the moment, to say the least. and this is something we germans have to work on. while this is an important point there is an issue which is more urgent in the moment. and this is to find a way to solve this crisis. im really wondering what you/the greeks suggest – cant find it in our media :). argueing at each does not help right now.
if those privatisations were to be demanded for germany, i would fiercly fight it. but i really do not know what could help greece in the moment. what realistic solution do you want ?
(btw ingeborgs solution is not realistic)
Dear Greeks, please accept that there are common Germans like me who are solidary with the common people of greece.
In Germany, we have millions of people working for low pay,temporary employment is widespread over here. Food banks can be found in every City.The number of poor people and working poors is increasing everywhere.
We, the common people of Europe, have to pay for the greed, foolishness and arrogance of our banks, politicians, the rich ones and the corporations. Always remember: War and propaganda are only tools of the aforementioned.
We must stick together! Peace & God bless you all.