From the mobilisation in Ikaria

From the mobilisation in Ikaria

It is becoming more and more difficult to report news from Greece, my country, in an unbiased manner. It is becoming obvious, more and more every day, that there is a “conspiracy” (for lack of a better word) to slaughter labour rights and therefore the working people for the benefit of an undefined and mostly imaginary “development”.

It is a universal truth that “development” is a desirable state. Who wants to stay behind? The dilemma that emerges today in our part of the world is “Development for whom? Development in what direction?” Is it “development” to turn into desert a spot of natural beauty in order to “create jobs”? Is it “development” to ask people to work, uninsured, for whatever salary his employer suggests? Is it “development” to dismantle [1]hospitals on far away islands without providing adequate health facilities? Is it “development” when salaries drop and prices skyrocket because they follow the rules of the market?

Does the Greek situation mark the return of TINA-there is no alternative, according to Ms Thatcher, to the barbarism of unbridled profiteering?

The general sentiment is that the country is cruising towards a steel door and no one can find the brakes.

[1] The hospital of Ikaria, built by funds donated from expatriates and not by the State, is ‘abolished” and the islanders sent to nearby Samos. It is obvious that this is a move planned on the map and not rooted in reality. During the winter months the Ikariotes are cut off from any other land and have had to look after themselves for centuries. Now they have to become their own doctors and midwives.