Editorials

RIOTS IN ATHENS

01/12/10 16:25 Filed in: My Ideas | Greece
It must be December.

This year it’s about the financial crisis – again. Why?

This is what happens to a country when you outsource everything and rely solely on tourism. A proud country that can no longer make a car, or pair of shoes, lives on the wealth of its stunning islands. But they are only open in summer.

Sure, there is a huge amount of maintenance to keep people busy in March —all that salt air eats through wood and metal— so everything is painted (white and blue) each year; but it’s not enough work for the men.

The islands are largely unpopulated from November to February, and the population moves home to Athens —where there is nothing to do.

Unemployment is always around 10%, but it has climbed to about 12% at the moment. The IMF is expecting 14.8% by 2012, although the Wall Street Journal quotes experts who are saying one in five, 20%, will soon be jobless.

Which might be ok, if you hadn’t trained every single male in the art of violence.

Conscription, which takes every 18 year old male off the streets for violence training, ensures that the boys know how to riot effectively. The duration of national service has been reduced —it used to be 36 months— to 9 months.

So every year, after a few months of cold weather, and a couple of months since work on the islands ceased, the boys get frustrated and angry. Riots in Athens have become an annual pre-Christmas event. The fix is a creative plan to keep people employed all year —and come up with a plan to use that trained manpower over winter.

What about a solar panel initiative? The cost may pay dividends, develop an area of excellence and provide dignity.




December 20th., 2010

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