How should Europe react to the worsening Syrian crisis?

For the past couple of years we are seeing a great animosity in our world. From our own economic crisis, to the turbulent uprisings in our own very neighborhood, with "the Arab Spring."

One after another, people in the Arab countries demand change in their societies and reforms. They want to get rid of the established elites and bring democracy in their nations. For the past one and a half year, Syria is the country that is in the eye of this storm of events in the region and the one that after Libya, has experienced the most violence.

Between 18,000 to 25,000 people have died already, between them 500 children. An outcry for the rest of the world, but still this carnage continues. Yet things are not as easy or straight forward as they seem. Russia and China, though critical of the Bashar al-Assad's regime and its actions, they block any foreign intervention especially from the West. Others like Iran, support the regime totally.

But we should not try to explain the events according our version or understanding of politics and social issues. The Middle East and Syria, have a different culture and if we examine their history, it was always violent and full of coups and instability that often was supported by powers outside the region.

For example in 1949 the democratic rule was overturned by a coup backed by America. And when a coup or a civil was comes to a nation, it leaves wounds that are very hard to heal. The country's old divisions between its religious and ethnic minorities have been ever since at odds in many occasions. Sunnis against Shia  Muslims, Kurds against Arabs, Christians against Muslims and vice versa.

And so because of  this mosaic of peoples, instability, need for social coherence, foreign intervention and with its important geopolitical position, Syria created its own peculiar to us political and social system. In this system certain clans gained more power and monopolized the country's politics. But why is the West so critical of this? The same happened in my native Greece where a similar situation exists, yet our partners seem to support and encourage it.

Nevertheless nothing justifies the violence and number of deaths that Mr. Bashar al-Assad's regime is bringing on to their own people. We are in the middle of a power struggle in the region that dates back centuries and is fanned by foreign powers, trying to protect their interests in the region.

So what should Europe do, to help the people of Syria? Is Syria the next Bosnia, and can Europe solve the crisis there with an invasion like in the Balkans?

We should be really careful in this conflict. The Russians have already sent troops down there and so have the Chinese and the Americans. Each one trying to protect their own interests. The Americans want a change of the regime, since the current one do not serve their plans for the region anymore. The Russians have a long trading relationship with the Syrians, especially with the arms trade.

They also have a naval base in Syria, the only one that remains outside their borders since the times of USSR and it is their only gateway to the Mediterranean. They are showing a great interest in the region, especially now that a huge amount of gas was found in Cyprus. The Russians are investing hugely on the island and they are prepared to defend their interests. Therefore they sent troops to the region, ever since Turkey started threatening Cyprus again.

So the Turks are in a power struggle with Russia, with the backing of their long standing allies the Americans. They also have interests in the region themselves, both in the Cypriot waters and the Middle East. A region that is located in their borders and they have long seen as an great importance. Turkey in the recent years have been trying to establish itself as a leading power in the region. They also support the Syrian rebels for all the above reasons, in hope to change the status quo in the country and promote their interests.

The Syrians on the other hand showed their teeth to the Turks, by shooting down one of their air-crafts that had trespassed their aerial space down. China, showing support for Russia have also got involved in the region. Can Europe enter such situation, we can not afford to enter a war right now. Our economies are not performing well at the moment and we have so many things to solve in our own back yard. But we do not want another Bosnia either.

I think we should only intervene under the UN lead, and only if we have to. The Russians won’t let go of Syria so easily, it is their only ally in the region. It is sad that the Syrian people must pay for the geopolitical games of power between East and West and the established powers of this World. But it has always been this way.

The Syrian situation is far more serious than the Yugoslavian war. It could implicate all major World powers, leading to a hot war that could spread in the whole region and even worse, become global. Can Europe be at odd with the Russians? We need them and unless we find alternative energy resources we can not be hostile to them.

And even if we do, Russia borders so many EU states and in the future they may become even more. We should re-establish new relationships with them, growing away from the Cold War days. But this requires effort and trust from both sides.

In my opinion we should give the UN full power and control over the situation, and if needed Europe will assist the UN and bring peace. But the question is, will the Americans allow it? They have ignored the UN so many times before. Europe is enough involved in hostilities and wars in the Arab world already.

Can Europe be seen to be siding with America once again and get involved in yet another conflict in yet another Arab nation? We could be giving more fuel to Islamic fundamentalists to promote their anti-Western propaganda, if we keep meddling in their affairs.

We should pressure the Arab League to take a more active and decisive role in the conflict. They have suspended Syria's membership in their organization so far, but perhaps they could get more involved. Their actions can not be seen as anti-Islamic or anti-Arab. They have to understand the importance of the situation and for once the Arabs must start uniting and speaking with one voice too, while getting more involved in global issues just as the Europeans are doing.

Europe has a great experience in negotiations and could play a decisive role as a peace broker, as a moderator for the conflict. We should not side with anyone in this conflict in the region.  I do not trust the Western media, after what they have been saying about Greece during the economic crisis.

Some say that the Christians of Syria are being attacked by those same rebels that the EU wants to support.  Why doesn’t Europe protect those people, are we using one-sided drama stories to justify our plans to expand our sphere on influence?

Europe should offer humanitarian aid in all sides of the conflict indiscriminately, we should be seen that we really care for the suffering of the people of Syria, not just for those who we support because our interests dictate so. We should not pour oil in the fire and side with either the Sunnis or the Shia, the Christians or the Kurds.

Diplomacy, aid, and the use of a united voice in the UN, while bringing on board the Arab League to try to bring knowledge and legitimacy in our peaceful involvement in the conflict, should be the preferred solution. For once Europe must start acting ethically, giving an example to the rest of the World.

The future of Euroland. Berlin, June 30th 2012.

Last Saturday the 30th of June, I had the honor to be invited in a workshop organized by the Euro-land-Citizens movement of the Newropeans magazine, in Berlin. The topic of this public debate was the future of the Euro-land (or euro-zone as most of us call it) and its democratization: "From the fiscal compact towards a Euro-land citizens pact!"

The initiative of such forum was taken to deal and discuss the European paradox; 300 million European citizens have no say in the decisions taken by our governments on the future of the euro-zone. The "Euro-land," is devoid of the least democratic institutions and processes to allow its citizens to influence decisions taken on their behalf. Lobbies of all kinds and external bodies, beyond any democratic control have more say in shaping the policies that define the euro-zone, than the citizens that live in it.

This adds to the socioeconomic current crisis  that engulfs the EU and Europe in a "undemocratic black hole." Under these conditions, it is urgent and essential to find alternatives to the current EU institutional procedures, because without the support of the people there is no democracy. Condemning democracy in Europe is also condemning its future.

The debate was performed in three languages, English, French and German, as the debaters and the attendees were from a variant background. People from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland and Greece, from different European organizations, media, student groups, political parties and lobbies. 

The opening was officially launched by Mrs Marianne Ranke-Cormier, editor in Newropeans and its President, Mrs Margit Reiser-Schober. After a short introduction to the cause and purpose of the debate we quickly proceeded in the first panel that was moderated by Mrs Reiser-Schober and comprised by David Nadasi from the French Pirate Party and Mr Massimiliano Gambardella, from the Friends of Beppe Grillo. The topic was the rise of the far right and far left parties in Europe and the search for new political ways of expression.

Mr Nadasi described his party's initiatives for democracy, mainly on the web. To be honest I never really thought much of any Pirate Party in Europe, until their campaign against ACTA. To me it was something unnecessary, as we have far more important issues to solve in Europe than freedom on the internet and  exchange of data. But after listening to Mr Nadasi and what his party is aiming for, I am not as skeptical anymore. Their party also stands for freedom of information on the internet, which is going hand in hand with the pluralism of the media and offers an alternative voice on political and social issues.

I only wish parties like these presented themselves differently to the voters, otherwise I do not see them flourishing anytime soon in countries like Greece or Ireland. But as Mr Nadasi explained to me in one of our discussions during the breaks, more and more people are showing interest in his party and that will bring more voices and ideas into their ranks. Perhaps then they will become more successful with the knowledge and support of those people.

Mr Gambardella offered a real eye opener point of view, from his country Italy. The MoVimento Cinque Stelle (or the Five Star Movement), is a new political group in Italy trying to fight corruption and the old established political elite. Its leader is Mr Beppe Grillo, a popular comedian and blogger. They support the idea that politicians should not be re-elected for more than one term, and that to be a politician should not be a profession, there should not be "career politicians." Its members are getting paid a minimum wage for politicians and they are trying to incorporate this into the country's laws. They also refuse to take a single euro as reimbursement of election campaign costs. 

Another populist party, or something that could give food for thought? All mainstream political parties loath or are afraid of what Mr. Grillo and what his party are promoting or standing for. Young Italians, fed up with their country's chronic corruption are turning to parties like the above for new genuine ideas. And how can you not agree with them. Perhaps the Five Star Movement has a real point, when they want to scrap "career politics." 

Even though I personally detest populist parties as they are only offering false hopes to the citizens (if they ever get into power, their policies won't be as break through as they promised before the elections), I totally embrace any suggestion that wants to end the reign of career politicians. In Greece we are suffering from the same plague for decades no, and personally I would love to get rid of our political elite. It is one of the main reasons why Greece and most of Europe is engulfed by this crisis. The nepotism and corruption of people who practice politics as a career choice, brought our countries to the brink of destruction.

The second panel of discussions was comprised by me, Christos Mouzeviris-a Greek blogger living in Ireland, Mr David Nadasi and Thijs de Wolff a Newropeans and a former AEGEE (Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l’Europe / European Students’ Forum) member. It was moderated by another Newropeans member, Mrs Veronique Swinkels.

Our discussions evolved around solidarity in Europe, what it means and how it should be expressed or implemented. We quickly came to the conclusion that solidarity does not mean charity. Solidarity means to share and assist when needed, but not in the form that it is done today. Share resources, knowledge, experience to create an equal, democratic, stable and prosperous Europe for all its states. Assist countries that are in trouble but without the stigma, the slander and the sometimes unfair demands in order to offer this help. It must be offered unconditionally, provided of course the country in need shows responsibility and takes action to deal with the problems that it faces.  

It was very heartening to hear from my fellow debaters that people in Germany and Holland, are starting to understand now that it is not the fault of some countries like Greece the problems we face in the Euro-land. People in Holland in particular are now aware that the major fault is this capitalist "Anglo-Saxon" banking system and economic style.

And they want to change that, or they believe that something better and fairer must be created and implemented. The citizens of these countries do not support their leaders' views or actions and they are aware of the heart of the problem. Why their national media are keep bombarding them with inflammatory propaganda, it can be only explained as their need to cover their country's weak spots and the real root of the problem: the corruption and failures of the capitalist system.

And those failures were discussed during the lunch break that followed and I was more than happy to see how other open minded Europeans realize that we are all in trouble. Some more, some less. But sharing ideas and views with a lovely German lady, I was amazed to hear her telling me not to be envious of the "pristine" German system.

 "There is a lot of hidden unemployment in Germany," she said "and our society has become deeply divided and unfair." She went on to explain the failures of the German system and how it creates two kinds of citizens, how the often perceived German punctuality and perfectionism sometimes hides tragic stories of unemployment. "For all this efficiency you see around you, people have been fired and forced to freelance at their profession. And we all know how hard is to make a living from freelancing," she said.

Similar stories came from a Dutch attendee of the forum, that made similar comments for his country and how its economy resembles that of Spain in many aspects. A bubble economy, with the property and banking market in deep trouble. The only difference is that Holland found ways to cover the problems with "hidden" measures and for the moment is not as hard hit. If the crisis continues though, the cracks will most certainly come to the surface. 

Another example of "hidden" unemployment came from this Dutch man, but this time it was focused on Britain. A neighbor of his is a pilot and travels often to the UK. There he said, "they have three employees doing the job of one!" Meaning that in British airports, there are more employees that needed to do the same job as one employee in Holland and other mainland European countries. In that way Britain brings down the unemployment figures. How long can they afford to pay such expenses?

He also mentioned the fact that the Brits concealed totally the near catastrophic collapse they had in their banking system recently (mentioning the Barclays incident). Instead they focused on the troubles of the Euro-land to divert the public's attention and reinforce the belief to them that they are better out of the euro. With all the above examples it is clear the feeling that this corrupt system can no longer be supported and the frustration of the public exists in all European countries. It was wonderful to see that the European citizens have far more in common than they believe and if they sit down and discuss about the issues, they can find potential solutions and new ideas. I wonder why our leaders can't.

We returned to the forum and this time we had Pedro Simoes, a Portuguese graduate of the LEAP Academy speaking to us about the future of the Euro-land in the world stage. He focused on the idea of a Euro-BRICS closer cooperation, on the eve of an upcoming summit next year. The idea is supported by many in Europe, as a way to deal with the current economic crisis. 

The BRICS countries, comprised by Brazil, Russia, India, China and the recently added South Africa are a group of countries that will play a major role in the future global economy. They are forming a global lobby themselves with ever closer cooperation, in ambition to influence the world trade and economy. Many of us in Europe believe that we should form a closer partnership with all those countries and promote trade, but also form closer cooperation in other spheres like education. 

With student exchange programs between all the above countries and regions, we could enhance our knowledge and experience and learn new ways of doing things or dealing with problems. Most of us in the room agreed that Europe should look beyond its relationship with USA and seek to form new partnerships with the emerging countries, though we also agreed that this should not mean that we must end our traditionally close cooperation with America. 

Breaking the Washington consensus that was formed after WW2 and gave USA full monopoly and power in this world is essential, so that we can have a multi-polar and fairer global community. Some monopolies that were formed must be altered and it is in Europe's interests to encourage, exploit and explore those new relationships that could offer the continent new resources, trade, education and technology partners, so that we can better our economies. You may want to find out more about this initiative on Newropeans webpage (http://www.newropeans-magazine.org/content/view/13253/439/lang,english/).

The last panel of the debate was attended by Anna-Maria Hetze from Newropeans magazine, Mr Bruno Paul from Democratie Agile organization in France and Jose Ferro, a Spanish living in Berlin. It was moderated by Mr Ralph Pichler of Newropeans. The focus of this debate was the future of the Euro-land Democracy. In this panel we discussed the roles of the European Parliament, Commission and Council, the roles of our national media and the need to create pan-European media. 

Our national media are often owned by the ones who are trying desperately to protect their interests and monopolies, promoting protectionism in Europe and securing the current unsustainable status quo. We need to have an independent pan-European selection of media, TV channels, newspapers, magazines, blogs, on-line magazines and so on, to provide the European citizens with a more spherical, independent point of view, while promoting a less nationalist one sided and often biased source of information.

The failure to watch what is being discussed in the European Parliament or in the summits of the Council of the European Union was also mentioned. Especially in the case of the Council it was noted that our governments are promoting intergovernmental-ism, alas taking decisions behind closed doors and making deals or compromises without our knowledge or agreement. 

That leads to competition among member states that are striving to be more independent or have more power and influence on one another. The effect is a new wave of neo-liberalism, with the markets and banks playing one nation against each other to achieve what they want. And of course promote their interests and  of those elites whose interests are serving, ignoring the citizen's needs and interests.

For me forums and open public discussions like the above are what we need to solve many problems in Europe, but unfortunately they are not encouraged by our governments or being reported by our national media. Of course that is done on purpose. Because they offer a chance to the citizens to share information, discuss solutions, ideas, express their frustration and learn real facts about the situation that affects them.

It broadens their horizons and it is the essence of real direct democracy, encouraging the citizens' participation in their country's and Europe's political life. If only debates like the above were broadcasted in our national media and a much larger number of people had access to what has been discussed, I truly believe change in European politics would come faster. 

But Europe is being ruled by a conservative elite that dreads any change in the current status quo; that is why civilized and creative debates like these, featuring ordinary citizens with interest in their country's and Europe's politics, are replaced by chaotic, patronizing debates featuring only established politicians and journalists. Definitely a time for change!

Does Europe need a new Renaissance?

In the recent years Europe comes on the spotlight of the global news, only for its economic woes and inability to cope with the ongoing economic crisis. 

Just like many times in the past, Europe is in the center of the global interest for all the wrong reasons. We have been there before so many times and as some say, we always recovered and became stronger. 

But how will Europe look like, if we ever get out of this new low we have reached? In the past after every dark page, there was a golden period; the Renaissance after the Dark Ages, new European kingdoms after all the invasions and wars. With destruction always came rebirth and Europe always remained one of the leading forces on this planet, a main contributor of human history as we know it.

Also, we should consider what would be the catalyst that will put Europe back into the reigns of any progress of this world. What sectors we should encourage to grow, what resources do we have to exploit and how we could put it all together? 

If we examine European history, our greatest achievements and contributions to this world were our culture, science and industries. In the recent years they all suffer in a bigger or lesser extend. Long gone are the days that we enjoyed European (French or Italian for example) music, films and art. The days that European fashion was in its heydays, our factories were producing, our products were sought after all over the world and prominent European literature and philosophy were influencing the way the world thought.

Europe today listens to American hit music and watches Hollywood films.  Our clothes and most of the goods and gadgets we purchase are made in China or India. There are very few prominent scientific discoveries or breakthroughs and very few well known writers, poets, thinkers or philosophers. We live in a fast consumerist and ephemeral society, largely influenced by the “Anglo-Saxon” or American way of living, while our economies are now based on services, banking, the markets and the monopolies of the few. 

Europe is the continent who influenced the most this planet, for good and for bad. Starting from the antiquity and the Greek and Roman miracles in drama, philosophy, astronomy and mathematics, other later European nations continued their traditions; French, German, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Dutch, Flemish and Portuguese explorers, scientists, philosophers, scholars and artists contributed to the enrichment, expansion and the zenith of European culture in all four corners of the Earth. 

Later, after so many wars and strife Europe found itself at the heart of the industrial revolution, which fuelled and was fuelled by another two world wars. During this period that shaped the most our modern day Europe, we had great technological and industrial advances that unfortunately also came with great tragedies. After the wars Europe was devastated so it had to lean on and accept the help from America, in order to stand on its feet again.

That came with a price: our economies today are modeled after America and are relying on the banking sector and the markets, just like it was decided after the wars, during the cold war period. Our capitalist societies were formed during that time and 70 years later this system is in crisis. Europe is at cross-roads. But it is not just a financial crisis; it is a social, cultural and ethical crisis above all.

After the wars many of our fathers had to live in absolute poverty and deprivation and had to work really hard. So it was very easy to lure them and turn them into over spenders: all it had to be done was to pour bucket loads of cheap money into our economies and their  pockets, created in our banking system with credit and bad loans and that was it. People went mad and wanted to live our version of the “American Dream!” Be able to spend and have the lifestyle they watched for years in the Hollywood films. 

That was going on for decades in our countries. Due to globalization, a phenomenon that again seems to favour the richer of this world, we got rid of our factories and industries and moved them to China because of their very cheap work force. We became manic consumers that even the music we listen to is ephemeral and so we have created reality shows to satisfy our appetite for junk.

We even prefer to eat junk-food. Most of the young kids today in the developed European countries do not want to be doctors or lawyers anymore, rather popular celebrities, foot-balers and foot-balers' wives, pop singers and models. 

So how can we reverse all this decay and not only revive our economies but our culture as well, as those two seem to go hand in hand in Europe’s history? My opinion is to examine as a group of nations what natural resources we have in every country and exploit them collectively. We should set up pan-European bodies that will fund and invest in exploiting those resources, reinstall our industries and invest in new ones like green energy. 

But also invest in reviving and promoting our culture and heritage, our music, cinema, cartoons, art, fashion, architecture and literature. Subsidize the artists and scholars, not the bankers! Michelangelo was subsidised by the then rich religious elite of the time, in order to create his most famous artworks that we still admire today. What are we doing to promote culture to our kids and help them experiment with it and be creative?

We should be exploiting every potential recourse of growth and income we have, not just our banking, property and other financial sectors. Easy profit and money only created bubble economies and we saw the outcome of these recently. But if we want to achieve all the above, we will have to re-educate our youth and promote different kind of role models. 

With that, we should promote legislations that would help young people in Europe to express themselves, start business, start a family or become fully independent as soon as possible and that of course requires to combat youth unemployment. Only then our youth will reach their creative potential. We should establish tax reliefs for the young, not the rich few. New job opportunities in our new industries for all young people, all over Europe not just the rich “North!”

That of course will mean that many will lose their monopolies, especially in the rich countries. We will see a transfer and sharing of wealth, but not in a bail-out form as we are used to now. We won’t have the taxes of the workers of a few countries be used to keep unproductive and easy to manipulate the rest of their “partners.” Rather shared opportunities equally distributed across Europe and not just in few.

New education systems and universities that can be linked or cooperate with each other even more closely than now, will enable our young people to become young scientists. We could use those new scientists to expand our innovation and scientific research.

That in turn will create a new type of industrial revolution. Instead of wasting money in bailing out the banks, securing the interests of the few, keep the status quo and balance of power in place, we will have a collective renaissance across Europe. In all necessary fields: cultural, scientific, industrial and economic. Simply because they all have to go together, if the stability and prosperity is meant to last. 

An educated person with reasonable career opportunities does not easily make the mistakes that many in the hardest hit from the crisis countries like Greece, Portugal and Ireland did over the past decades. Tricked, manipulated and deluded by their leaders who answered to rich elites inside and outside their nations, with limited education and qualifications, is there any wonder that they messed up?

But our leaders instead of promoting growth and investments in all the spheres that I mentioned above, they are looking to promote only economic growth, in the form of bail-outs and support for the banking system. That unfortunately has negative effects in all societies and in Europe collectively. It creates divisions among the European populace and it impoverishes the receivers of this “aid.”

That aid that has as only purpose the exploitation of the natural resources of the weaker nations by the rich elites of the northern European countries. We can see that clearly in the case of Greece, where our lenders ask from us to sell to them heaven and earth, in return for their “generosity” and “support.”

Sixty years ago, while the ashes of Europe were still warm, some enlightened people dreamed of a better, different Europe. And that led to what we called today the E.U. the European Union. But this dream became a nightmare recently, simply because our leaders are so easily corrupted by money and power. They rich elites of some countries dictate the fate of the rest of the continent and drive them into the old feuds, divisions and nationalism, a dangerous mix to have with an economic crisis. 

So instead of unity, diversity, solidarity, and growth we have bigotry, nationalism, greed, protectionism and divisions. The dream of real European renaissance after WW2 was flushed down the drain with the help of billions of euro from the banks, the help of the markets and the rating agencies and the power mongering of our ruling elites. And even still, on the verge of a total and catastrophic collapse, they refuse to invest in our youth’s future rather save and protect the investments of the few.

To me they just reflect the decay that Europe suffers from; we are an old, tired and sick continent. The remedy to this situation is not just a financial one. It must include a cultural and industrial regeneration, a new renaissance that will mark a new path in our history. Hopefully we will be able to walk this path together, united in some form with the common good in mind. A utopia? Most likely. But the more our leaders waste time trying to preserve the interests of the lobbies they answer to, the more this utopia becomes more necessary and urgent!

The second Greek elections, June the 17th, 2012.

It just happened this year for me to be in Greece during the last three weeks before the elections; for some, they were the most important and critical elections of the country's recent history. The importance of the elections, gave them a referendum feel. It was not just a decision on which party the Greeks wanted to lead the country, it was a decision that would have far more serious implications not just for Greece, but for the whole of Europe too.

With the Greek political elite divided in pro-austerity and anti-bail-out parties, the outcome of the elections meant a potential drastic change in the country's politics and Greece's relationship with its European partners. It was bankruptcy, humiliation, poverty and deprivation on one hand and salvation, stability, the country's reputation and recovery on the other.

While the New Democracy, PASOK and some smaller parties supported the idea that the best way for Greece to recover from the crisis was to stick with the austerity measures and do not upset the country's lenders, others had a different point of view. Syriza and other radical parties, both from the right and left suggested that Greece should scrap the austerity deal and renegotiate. The Greeks are generally pro-European and they do want to stay in the euro. but then why all the fuss? Was Syriza wrong to put a question on the bail-out deal? Or was it just "fishing" for the public's support, grabbing the opportunity to become more prominent in the Greek political life by exploiting the public's anger over the austerity measures imposed on them by Europe? 

European leaders reacted badly in Syriza's rise and attitude and they threatened to stop lending money to the country. A move that according to what they supported would be catastrophic for the country. Understandably the lenders always want to secure their investments. That is why they always try to create conditions that will favor a profitable return of their money invested.

Because make no mistake: that's what is all about. The European elites and bankers were speculating all those years and experimenting with a currency that had no central governance. Now that it all falls apart, they rush to secure their investments scapegoating some countries and throwing more debt on them. A debt that must be repaid thus creating a division in Europe; this of the lenders and borrowers. The second will always owe money to the first, and the first will make profit out of the loans. If there was a real European solidarity, the loans they offered to the crisis hit partners of theirs would be interest free. By adding interest on the loans, they also add more debt. How can anyone call this "help" and put conditions to it?

They demand from Greece to stick to the austerity program and do not throw away the "help" it receives from its partners. For this reason the Europeans were trying to convince the Greek people to vote back to power the parties who were the reason that Greece is in the state it is. How is this possible? Now that the Greeks eventually woke up and realized what was happening behind their backs and how they were deceived by their leaders, they want to get rid of them. But this time it is the Europeans who force them to vote the same parties back in power.

Doesn't all this sound absurd? Well no if you are aware of the SIEMENS scandal that rocked Greece a few years ago. The German company was pouring money into both big parties-PASOK/ND- in order to fund their electoral campaigns in exchange for a secured favor when it came in public work contracts, notably in the Olympic Games preparations. The Greek governments were giving SIEMENS most of the public contracts, and they were making money out of those deals receiving Greek public money. So while the German political elite that answers to Germany's industrial and financial elite now blame the “corrupt” Greeks, it was them who where on the other side of the equation, fleecing the Greek public from their money.

In other words, German and other European elites helped the establishment of the two big parties in Greece. Those parties who lied about the country's economy before Greece joined the eurozone; those parties who sold out every resource of the country to foreign multinationals, who never proceeded to necessary reforms in order to modernize Greece, who lied to the Greek people and abused money coming from European funds. Yes there is corruption in Greece, it is no lie; but perhaps this corruption persists because it serves the interests of certain powerful people?

From all the necessary reforms needed to modernize Greece and make it more competitive, very few were implemented. Yet the "Troika" and the Greek government impose salary and social benefit cuts, tax increases and public spending cuts. This is not the way to reform a country, this is the way to lead it to its knees. All we needed was to reform out outdated taxation system, reform and shrink our public sector, make our economy more competitive. Not to pour an immense amount of debt to our children and grand children.

During the daily marathon debates on the Greek television, I experienced scare-mongering tactics from both sides; very similar to what I have experience in Ireland during the Lisbon Treaty Referendum, only much worse. In almost every morning show, news show, late night chat-show, newspapers and magazines the discussions were about what would happened if the Europeans stop giving money to the country. How much we needed those money and what would happen if we returned to the drachma, if we went bankrupt and so on. To me that is the root of the problem; the notion that we need European money to exist and solve our problems is false. Europe needs Greece equally badly, but why this relationship is not taking place on equal terms?

News about the worse stricken groups of people by the crisis were always on the top of the agenda. The case of an eight year old kid fainting at school because he was eating just boiled pasta for a week, as his parents could not afford to feed him properly anymore. Any case of crisis related suicide, or the refusal of the pharmaceutical companies to import medicines in the country fearing that they will never be repaid, leaving Greece with no medicines. The worse case was the fact that cancer patients were obliged to pay for their chemotherapy, a very expensive treatment. In the current economic crisis with no jobs and no money, if you get cancer your cure depends on your wallet! Not the type of reforms I would have dreamed of for Greece or any EU state!

Other documentaries brought to our attention the cases of Argentina and Iceland, what happened in those countries and how the population coped. "A total chaos" many commentators were saying, while the economists mentioned the fact that the countries are not able yet to return to the Markets. Those documentaries described how the supermarkets were left empty, the savings of the people worth half or much less and how anarchy was established there. They described different scenarios, of the military closing the borders of Greece to stop people getting out of the country in the case of Greece leaving the euro-zone, to prevent people trying to exchange euro notes in other countries. Or that perhaps military tanks in the country's cities would patrol outside its banks, to prevent people from attacking and looting them; images that brought back memories from the junta days.

With all this propaganda, stressful and unnerving debates and information, is it any wonder that the New Democracy (N.D.) and the pro-austerity parties eventually won these elections? The Greek public wanted to get rid of the two big parties, the N.D. and PASOK, because they are solely responsible for the country's demise to their eyes. They almost managed to achieve such thing, until the interests of Europe thought otherwise. You see they were making good business with those two corrupt parties, so why accept a change in the status quo? Besides if the Syriza won the elections, every deal that the previous parties signed would be in jeopardy, thus the Europeans would be in danger of losing their investments in Greece.

So we had Mrs Merkel the German Chancelor, Mr Schauble-Germany's Finance Minister and Mrs Lagarde-Head of the IMF, daily on our national television threatening us and making suggestions. Mrs Lagarde even dared to proceed in vile comments against the Greek people, when she does not pay any taxes herself. From all the above it was clear that there was an agenda, but what was it?

The French Presidend Mr Hollande stated in a recent interview in MEGA Channel, a Greek TV station, “there are forces in Europe that they would love to see Greece out of the euro-zone; don’t make them the favor.”To me that translates as such: Greece is being used as a scapegoat for the euro-zone crisis, when all of Europe is to blame, notably the elites of the most powerful nations in it like Germany. If they had set up the euro-zone membership rules better and created a more functioning true financial union, not just a currency union, Europe would not be in this mess.

Their sins come to bite them back now and they want to find a quick solution to the problem, by kicking Greece out. They do not want to do what it must be done in this case, meaning a true fiscal union, the creation of the euro-bonds etc. They just want to bully the Greeks and some other states to pay for all the damage, or they are threatening them with expulsion of their "club." Have you watched how they pushed Spain into another bail-out , a “light” bail-out as they described it, because they did not involve the IMF this time. The Spaniards did show more courage to stand up for their people, but of course they had stronger cards to play: they are the euro-zone's fourth largest economy and they did not waste so much money as the Greek corrupt elite did. Though Germany still would like to see Spain in the arms of the IMF and more austerity as in Greece.

So had the Greeks any alternative choice? Not really! Syriza and its leader could not achieve all that they were promising. They do not have the experience and given the situation it would be very hard to find cards to negotiate. Unfortunately Greece is not like Iceland. We are in the EU and the euro-zone and that comes with certain obligations and benefits. Nevertheless Syriza could really shuffle some feathers and I am really glad they formed a strong opposition in the Greek Parliament. Not that I support them or their policies; I find them rather populist. But at least they heated up the debate and forced the other large parties to promise re-negotiation of the bail-out deal, in order to counterpart the public's support for Syriza. Because such renegotiation is needed, especially now that Spain has managed to avoid such harsh austerity in order to receive money from its partners. And we have a socialist French President that also promised to put an end to Merkel's austerity obsession.

Now will Greece's and Europe's leaders keep their promises?The Greeks swallowed the pill and believed what the European leaders were telling them to do, for "their own good". Now the ball is with them, to prove them right and do not disappoint them. The Greek people compromised, so what will the European leaders do to meet them half way? Will they start the recovery of Greece's economy with the growth stimulus and support that they promised to them? We are waiting!

Η πολυπολιτισμικότητα στην Ευρώπη.

Είμαι Έλληνας και διαμένω μόνιμα στο Δουβλίνο της Ιρλανδίας. Από περιέργεια και ενθουσιασμό αποφάσισα να ταξιδέψω στην Ευρώπη πρίν λίγα χρόνια, αλλά η μοίρα όπως λένε τα έφερε αλλιώς και αποφάσισα να μείνω μόνιμα στο εξωτερικό.

Πριν αποφασίσω να φύγω από την πατρίδα μου, πάντα ήθελα να δω μια Ελλάδα εκμοντερνισμένη, κοσμοπολίτικη και «πολύχρωμη» ή αλλιώς πολυπολιτισμική. Όχι επειδή είναι «της μόδας» στην Ευρώπη. 

Αλλά επειδή προσωπικά πιστεύω οτι σαν χώρα χρειαζόμαστε να έρθουμε σε επαφή περισσότερο με άλλες εθνικότητες, και να μάθουμε να σκεπτόμαστε ως Ευρωπαίοι και πολίτες του κόσμου. Αν θέλουμε φυσικά να εκμεταλευτούμε την παγκοσμιοποίηση και τα προτερήματα που προσφέρει.

Η παγκοσμιοποίηση ειναι γεγονός πλέον και όλα τα έθνη προετοιμάζονται για το νέο «στάτους κβο» στον πλανήτη μας. Η διασικασία έχει ξεκινήσει πριν απο αιώνες με τις Ευρωπαικές κατακτήσεις και αποικιοκρατία, και εχει εξελιχθεί στην σημερινή μορφή της μετά απο διάφορες ιδεολογικές διαμάχες και πολέμους.

Αλλά ο πολυπολιτισμός δίνει προτερήματα σε μια κοινωνία, όταν οι κυβερνήσεις διαχειρίζονται τις αλλαγές στην κοινωνία αυτή θετικά, δίκαια και πάντα με την συμβολή της κοινής γνώμης. Όταν άρχισα να ταξιδεύω στην Ευρ΄βπη, είδα οτι οι περισσότερες Ευρωπαικές χώρες είχαν αποτύχει σε πολλά θέματα ως προς την εδραίωση μια πετυχημένης πολυπολιτισμικής κοινωνίας. Αυτό δεν σημαίνει οτι η ιδέα της πολυπολιτισμικτητας ειναι λάθος. Απλά λάθος την διαχειριζόμαστε στην Ευρώπη.

Και αυτό συμβαίνει για δεκαετίες, με μόνο αποτέλεσμα την άνοδο της ακροδεξιάς σε πολλές χώρες της ηπείρου μας, την αποξένωση και απομόνωση των μεταναστών και την «γκεττοποίηση» τους, αλλά και εγκληματικές τρομοκρατικές επιθέσεις όπως αυτή στην Νορβηγία.

Όταν επισκεύτηκα το Βέλγιο και είδα οτι η πλειοψηφία των νέων ανδρών Μαροκινής καταγωγής ήταν άνεργοι και βασιζόταν στο ταμείο ανεργείας για την επιβίωση τους, τότε άρχισα να σκεύτομαι τι μπορεί να συμβεί και στην χώρα μας. Τί νόημα έχει να δίνεις άδεια σε εναν μεγάλο αριθμό μεταναστών να εισέλθουν στην χώρα σου, αν ειναι να τους φέρεσαι σαν πολίτες δεύτερης κατηγορίας με άνισα δικαιάματα.

Άρχισα να καταλαβαίνω οτι ένα τέτοιου στυλ πολυπολιτισμικότητας δεν είναι τίποτε άλλο παρά ένα μοντέρνο είδος δουλείας. Οι μετανάστες ποτέ δεν γίνονται μέλη της κοινωνίας όπου ζουν, ακόμα και εάν αποκτήσουν την υπηκοότητα. Αυτό τους κάνει πιο ευάλωτους σε εκμετάλευση και τους καταδικάζει να κάνουν τις χαμηλόμισθες δουλειές σε μια κοινωνία.

Πολοί από αυτους αρχίζουν να εκμεταλεύονται το «σύστημα» και  θεωρούνται πλέον ως παράσιτα απο τον υπόλοιπο αυτόχθονο πλυθησμό. Και φυσικά με κάθε οικονομική κρίση οι μετανάστες και τα λάθη ή προβλήματα που φέρνουν σε μια κοινωνία είναι τα πρώτα που σηζητούνται. Το θέμα είναι γιατί μια χώρα επιτρέπει έναν μεγάλο αριθμό μεταναστών στη χώρα, όταν δεν έχει την δυνατότητα η την πρόθεση να τους δώσει ίσα δικαιώματα με τον υπόλοιπο πλυθησμό.

Για μένα προσωπικά, μια χώρα για να επωφεληθεί από τον πολυπολιτισμό θα πρέπει να έχει εντάξει τους μετανάστες απόλυτα στην κοινωνία ισότιμα. Με πολιτικά και κοινωνικά δικαιώματα, και ίση αντιμετώπιση. Απο την στιγμή που κάποιος εισεέρχεται σε μια χώρα νόμιμα, πληρώνει φόρους και συνδράμει με αυτό τον τρόπο στην οικονομία της χώρας αυτής, πρέπει να έχει και λόγο στο πώς θα χρησιμοποιηθο΄θν οι φόροι του.

Εξ'άλλου ποιό το όφελος των μεταναστών, αν τους φιμώνουμε και αποκλείουμε έτσι νέες πιθανές ιδέες και γνώμες, ή ακόμα και κριτική της κοινωνίας που ζούμε. Φυσικά μιλώ για νόμιμη μετανάστευση και όχι παράνομη.  Γιατί η παράνομη μετανάστευση συνδράμει στην εγκληματικότητα και το λαθρεμπόρειο, ή ακόμα και την παράνομη διακίνηση αθρώπων με σκοπό την εκμεταλευσή τους.

Η παράνομη μετανάστευση δεν πρέπει σε καμία περίπτωση να γίνεται αποδεχτή σε μία κοινωνία. Για τον απλό λόγο οτι ενθαρρύνει φαινόμενα όπως η βίαιη και παράνομη μετακίνηση γυναικών απο τρίτες χώρες εκτός Ευρώπης η Ευρωπαικής Ένωσης, με σκοπό την προώθηση τους στην πορνεία.

Μια κοινωνία θα πρέπει να δημιουργήσει μια ελεγχόμενη και πλήρως λειτουργική μεταναστευτική πολιτική, ώστε να ελκύει τα σωστά άτομα, με τις σωστές ειδιόοτητες και σπουδές. Σε αριθμούς που δεν θα επιτρέπουν μελλοντική ανεργεία και γκεττοποίηση, αλλά ανάλογα με τις ανάγκες κάθε χώρας για εξειδικευμένο ή ανειδίκευτο εργατικό προσωπικό.

Αλλά ίσως εέα άλλο θέμα είναι και η χωρα προέλευσης των μεταναστών. Σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις κάποιες εθνικότητες , αντιμετωπίζουν δυσκολίες στο να ενταχτούν στην κοινωνία όπου ζουν, και αυτό μπορεί να οφείλεται και σε παράγοντες διάκρισης και ρατσισμού, όσο και προκαταλήψεις ή θέματα κουλτούρας της χώρας προελευσής τους.

Κυρίως υπήκοοι από κάποιες μουσουλμανικές χώρες της Ασίας,  αντιμετωπίζουν δυσκολίες στο να παντρέψουν την κουλτούρα της χώρας καταγωγής τους με την Ερωπαική κουλτούρα, και έτσι να ενταχτούν πιο εύκολα και γρήγορα στην κοινωνία όπου επέλεξαν να ζουν. Με αποτέλεσμα να καλλιεργούν αισθήματα μίσους η αντιπάθειας πρός την χώρα που τους φιλοξενεί. 

Πιθανές λύσεις είναι η εκδημοκράτιση των χωρών προέλευσης τους μεσω διάφορων θεσμών και προγραμμάτων, με την συμμετοχή και της Ε.Ε. και των κρατών μελών της, αλλά και των χωρών προέλευσης των μεταναστών. Κάμψη του αριθμού μεταναστών από τις χώρες αυτές και αναζήτηση πιο κατάληλου εργατικού δυναμικού που να είναι πιο κοντά στην Ευρωπαική κουλτούρα. Όπως για παράδειγμα πολλά κράτη της Νότιας Αμερικής.

Και τέλος, ενσωμάτωση των μεταναστών μέσω διαφόρων προγραμμάτων που να τους επιτρέπει να καταλάβουν την κουλτούρα της χώρας, αλλά και να φέρουν όλες τις κοινότητες που ζουν σε αυτή πιο κοντά. Οι τέχνες και ο αθλητισμός είναι δύο μέσα που θα μπορούσαν να χρησιμοποιηθούν κατάλληλα για την σύσφιξη των σχέσεων των μεταναστών και του εντόπιου πλυθησμού.

Η προσωπική μου άποψη είναι ότι θα πρέπει να έχουμε λιγότερη μετανάστευση στην Ευρώπη, αλλά με πλήρη ένταξη των μεταναστών αυτών στην κοινωνία μας και με ίσα δικαιώματα ως πολίτες. Η μετανάστευση του ανθρώπινου γένους, υπήρξε και θα υπάρχει πάντα και συνετέλεσε στην δημιουργία όλων των πολιτισμών του πλανήτη μας, συμπεριλαμβανομένου και του Ελληνικού. Το να πιστεύει  κανείς οτι απλά μπορούμε να σταματήσουμε την μετανάστευση των ανθρώπων είναι απλά ανόητο.

Αυτό φυσικά δεν σημαίνει οτί θα πρέπει να ανοίξουμε άλα τα σύνορα και να αφήνουμε την μετανάστευση στη χώρα μας ανεξέλενκτη. Αν κάτι τέτοιο συμβεί ποτέ θα είναι σε μια ουτοπική παγκόσμια κοινωνία, με όλα τα κράτη να έχουν το ίδιο βιοτικό επίπεδο και οι άνθρωποι να μεταναστεύουν απλά από ευχαρίστηση, για σπουδές η από ενδιαφέρον.

Προς το παρών κάτι τέτοιο δεν έχει επιτευχθεί. Και ούτε είμαι πρόθημος να υποβιβάσω τον Ελληνικό ή τον Ευρωπαικό πολιτισμό και τρόπο ζωής ώστε να πιστεύω ότι ο κόσμος θα είναι καλύτερος χωρίς αυτούς. Δεν επιθυμώ την αλλοίωση, όπως το βλέπουν μερικοί, του τρόπου ζωής ή του πολιτισμού μας με την άφιξη αλλοεθνών ανάμεσα μας. Παρά μόνο την εμπλούτιση του Ελληνικού πολιτισμού με αυτό των άλλων εθνικοτήτων. Αλλά αυτό μπορεί να εφιχθεί μόνο με υπεύθυνη και ελεγχόμενη μεταναστευτική πολιτκή, κάτι που προς το παρών η Ελλάδα αλλά και η Ευρώπη αδυνατούν να δημιουργήσουν.

Το γιατί φυσικά βρίσκεται στα συμφέροντα και την απληστία των ανθρώπων, που θέλουν να εκμεταλευτούν άλλα ανθρώπινα όντα και την αέναη επιθυμία τους για ισχύ και χρήμα. Μια κοινή Ευρωπαική μεταναστευτική πολιτική θα ήταν ένας θεσμός μεγάλης βοήθειας, αλλά όπως και οτιδήποτε άλλο στην ηπειρό μας, είναι πολύ δύσκολο να επιτευχθεί με ομοφωνία. Ειδικά όταν τα συμφέροντα των διαφόρων κρατών μελών, συγκρούονται και κρατάνε ακόμα το άρωμα της αποικιοκρατίας.

Κρίμα γιατί αυτοί που χάνουμε είμαστε εμείς. Η Αμερική, ο Καναδάς και η Αυστραλία έχουν δημιουργήσει επιτυχημένες ώς επι το πλείστο μεταναστευτικές πολιτικές, ώστε να προσελκύουν εργάτες με τις ειδικότητες που θέλουν, από τις χώρες που θέλουν. Εμείς στην Ευρώπη εν αντιθέσει αφήνουμε κατά βάση ανειδίκευτους εργάτες να εισέλθουν στις χώρες μας, και σε πολλές περιπτώσεις με πολύ λίγη μόρφωση.

Και διερωτώνται μερικοί γιατί η μετανάστευση στην Ευρώπη έχει αποτύχει. Μα αφού το μόνο που ζητούμε είναι φτηνό εργατικό δυναμικό και στην ουσία σκλάβους να κάνουν τις δουλειές που δεν θέλουμε να κάνουμε εμείς. Πώς εντάσεις στην κοινωνία σου έναν σκλάβο? Και τί οφέλη μπορείς να περιμένεις από αυτούς, εκτός από την ακούραστη εργασία τους? Όταν όμως δεν τους χρειάζεσαι άλλο τότε τι γίνεται? Απλά τους εντάσεις στα ταμεία ανεργείας εις αεί, με την ελπίδα πως αυτοί και το οικονομικό και κοινωνικό πρόβλημα που δημιουργούν απλά θα εξαφανιστούν ώς δια μαγείας.

Με τέτοιες αντιλήψεις στην Ελλάδα αλλά και την Ευρώπη γενικά, πιστεύω πως όχι μόνο δεν πρόκειται να πάμε μπροστά, ή να λύσουμε τα διάφορα προβλήματα που μας απασχολούν, αλλα και οτι δεν έχουμε ιδέα για το τί κάνουμε, τί θέλουμε και για το τί θα μπορούσαμε να έχουμε.