|
From Katerina Tsatsaroni Athens Greece, Sir, ("The reason for the Greek economic collapse? Retirement on a full pension at 38" February 11 2010) It’s true that this is one of the major reasons for the collapse of the Greek Economy. Hard working Greek people who work for the private sector are fed up with the system and all those public servants that are pensioners at 38 or work simultaneously in 2 or 3 jobs. It is more than obvious and fair that deep and unpopular cuts have to be made in the public sector. Furthermore we are deeply frustrated, angry, disappointed and sad with all the corrupted Greek and European politicians who led our country to this economic disaster. This is a situation that many of us anticipated long ago but we were unable to do something to change things as our only power was our vote. A vote that for many years we thought that will help us to change things. Unfortunately our vote is worthless as the political system in Greece is deeply corrupted.
What is unfair in the article are the comments about our living conditions. I quote "Maybe Greece needed to wake and accept that two homes, regular holidays, private tuition for the kids, and meals out every other day must now stop."
Please allow me to describe why and how many hard working Greeks have two homes (like millions of other Europeans also have. Our islands are full of beautiful properties owned by German, English, French, Italian citizens), how they manage to pay private tuition fees as public schools are problematic (like millions of other European parents also do), how we manage to go once a year for holidays (like millions of other European citizens also go to ski resorts during Christmas or to the Greek islands during summer).
I believe you know that proportionally Greece compared to England, Italy, Spain etc does not have such a huge debt. Of course, on the other hand we are a small country that ended up producing almost nothing for reasons that is impossible to discuss in this short e-mail.
Why we have 2 homes : Greece is a small country (approximately 10,000,000 population) The majority of Greeks that live and work in the 6-8 big cities (approximately 7,000,000 population, 4,000,000 in Athens only) come from villages and islands where their parents or grand parents were born. This is why most Greeks have a second home. A home that they usually inherit from their ancestors (Farmers, Fishermen, Teachers, Priests, Workers, Bakers, Sailors, all hard working people). From the moment we go to school our parents are telling us that we have to study hard and to work hard in order to obtain a house and offer the best to our children.
To understand what I mean I will use as an example my family that is a representative example of a typical Greek middle class family.
The origins of my parents are from two beautiful Greek islands. Ithaca and Chios. Traditionally both families were sailors. My two Grand fathers were engineers in ships and my father too. My father was born during world war II, he was 14 when he got his first job. He studied and simultaneously was a worker carrying heavy packages in the port of Piraeus. When he finished his studies at 22 he immediately start working in bulk carriers. Engineers who worked in old technology ships had a barel full of water were they had to "dive" many times during the day due to the high temperatures in the engine rooms. At the end of the day the water was black from the engine oils they had on their uniforms. He worked hard for almost 55 years in conditions that only some of your ancestors can realize.
I have a masters degree from Leicester University. I worked hard 9-12 hours on a daily basis for 16 years. I stopped working 7 years ago to be with my child as in Greece mothers do not have the privileges that most other European mothers have. Now my son is in elementary school and I am a middle aged mother that I can not find a decent job due to the bad economic conditions. My husband is a mechanical engineer with a Phd. He is 49 years old and as he had to work to finish his studies he is working in a non stop basis for 32 years now (9-10 hours a day). Only the last 2 years he succeeded to stop working during weekends.
As in our family we all worked in the private sector with nominal contracts we paid in full our taxes.
You believe that after all this hard work we do not deserve to have a house bank loan as you have the mortgages or to go for vacations once a year to our ancestors house in the island or pay private tuition fees for our only child or going out for a movie or dinner once or twice during the week?
I lived for many years in England and I have seen theaters, restaurants coffee shops, pubs full of people of all ages. Traditionally you have the Pubs we have the coffee shops. Many of you go not once but two and three times for vacations abroad as your children have often mid terms. Like all hard working, free and decent people in Europe that pay in full their taxes Greeks as well have the right to spend their money for the best interest of their families.
We are not thieves or lazy people. We are hard working, decent European citizens. We pay our taxes and social security that amounts 60%-70% of our annual income. And what our government does for us ? Absolutely nothing. When we go to our hospitals we are treated in corridors and in conditions that you can not imagine. Our children go to public schools lacking educational material and in many cases in buildings that they are ruins.
Please if you do not believe me send a reporter in Greece and I will personally take him in our hospitals and public schools.
Yes, our politicians are corrupted. Yes, our public sector is a huge problem that has to be solved. On the other hand Greeks in their majority are decent, hard working people who for decades and on a daily basis suffer from a corrupted political - economic system.
Please, it is not fair to generalize and put "in the same pot" decent Greeks - that believe me is the majority- with the corrupted part of our society. All Europeans more or less have serious social, political, economic problems for well known reasons. I believe that we all have to act fast and resist so not to loose our working privileges and our lifes that we gain with many years of struggles and hard work.
Katerina Tsatsaroni
|
