Greece as is, by Kostas Panagiotakis

Our Greek iracundo friend Kostas Panagiotakis has send us this article to let us know about the Greek situation. Much better to have the information by first hand than from the slanted media. Thanks a lot Kostas!! Epharisto poli!!  

Hello my Spanish friends,

I’m Kostas and I’m from Greece. These days in facebook I saw some arguments between my friend Rubén and you, so I want to make clear some things about the situation on Greece from my point of view. Maybe some other Greek friends disagree with my opinion because I’m from the left anarchist part so a friend from other part maybe disagree with the politic management of Syriza and Tsipras. However, some of them are common belief.
Before 1973 the political situation in Greece was not normal, we had Junta Reign (dictatorial periods) and generally many fights inside Greece. After some very bad moments on Greek history (that is not the time to analyze now) we have the political changeover and start a new period for Greece. The people started to live free and could speak free. At that moment the government was on Konstantinos Karamanlis (the older - keep the names) and Nea Dimokratia. On 1980 came on government Pasok and Andreas Papandreou – not Giorgos eh!... I want to tell you that Georgios Papandreou (Andreas’ father) was also prime minister of Greece before 1973. Many changes from Pasok to Nea Dimokratia. On that period the Greeks didn't have economic problems... no one asked where we find the money for roads, and much waste of money. Of course in that years also they start to take civil servants (every part took their people to be sure that the next elections will have some fans). The result was big bureaucracy because all these people has to do something. And of course the dream of every parent that period was to enter his kid on civil to work normal and take sure money.
To continue with history... on 1996 the prime minister Andreas Papandreou died (from cancer) and Kostas Simitis became the Prime Minister. Simitis was called later the master of interweaving. Simitis made many people (with fake data) to put their money on stockmarket ...and also took the money of the reserves of the public insurance funds and use them for this reason. Also he took the Olympic Games and many many millions euro used and eaten for that reason. Also with fake data he put us also in Eurozone (euro). Greece couldn’t with that data and economy enter in Eurozone ...especially on that moment ...but Greeks didn’t know. Governments and European Union knew very well.
From 2004 little earlier than Olympic Games... the government changed and came Kostas Karamanlis (you remember the name, Konstantinos Karamanlis’ nephew!!)... this guy didn’t do something special and left from government soon ...Of course all Greeks were proud of the Olympic Games that returned to the country that born… but Greek people started realizing that something was wrong and we don’t have money.
Giorgos Papandreou and Pasok yes...the same family came to the government promising that we have money and everything was fine. But one day…  suddenly without anyone knew anything… our life changed. He just told us that we have serious problem and we have to call the International Monetary Fund (FMI). 
Greek people start realizing that something was wrong, and of course thousands of people went to the streets ...new elections again ... Nea Dimokratia with the fear strategy came to government with new promises…  

And now came the moment that we all know of Alexis Tsipras and Syriza. That’s the history.  The facts now. 

1.- As you realize they ruled us some families. Papandreou, Karamanli (and some others that is not the time to analyze now).
2.- European Union of course knew where they borrow the money and that Greece is not such a big economy that couldn’t return the money.
3.- They actually used us ...because as you may know we have traditional fight with Turkey, so they sold us military staff and they borrow us to buy this stuff.  Can you realize this? They borrow us money to take weapons from them (specially Germany). And sometimes the weapons was also bad but no one say anything because they took kickbacks. (only Akis Tsochatzopoulos - politician- is in jail now ...after all these years because he took for many millions euro ... submarines that could not go straight… incredible).
4.- Many corrupts politicians and constructors (many of them also have now TV channels) earn a lot of millions euros for constructing roads that cost 1/4 of the money. For example during the period of Olympic Games they earn millions and the Olympic Games cost us four times more than the previous ones. And of course all these constructions are now destroyed. European union knew also that ...but they also earn.
5.- European Union with the help of our government destroyed our production units of Greece... for example they close three production units of sugar on Greece and we import sugar from Germany. Can you realize the reason? Our farmers put their products on rubbish and we import oranges from Spain, wine from France… and many other products. 
6.- Because of the families and the destroy of the production the keep the public workers alive... that is the reason why we have such a big public sector. About 1 million people ...they keep the two big parties Pasok and Nea Dimokratia. 

The result of all these is that now European Union realized that wants everything back... but also wants Greeks and Greece. We have politicians that without democratic way called FMI ... and European Union that wants every day to kill us (7.000 suicides because of the crisis!!!, yes seven thousands...). They sign papers that also ask us for Greek sovereignty. 
I don’t know what will be the result of Tsipras negotiations, but I know that me and my family have to pay for something that we didn’t cause... we have to pay 40 years of corruption of politics.
We are not lazy... we work many hours and we are proud that also on our lifestyle is the coffee, dance and taverns (as Spanish people, for instance). We cannot work as slaves and they force us to do it.
On the measurements now they made people work for 8 hours for 400 euros. You cannot live and make a family with that money.
They want us to work till 67 years old, and the average retirement salary is 600-800 euros. 
They killed our health system and our education system ... I pay for public service and also I pay every visit of the doctor!!
Of course I recognize that some people did huge waste of money... but everybody knew it. 

Why now?

And come to known days.

From the government of Samaras and Nea Dimokratia that sign everything without discussion and again killed us with new measurements, Greek people didn’t fear again and chose left government. The first real left government on Europe. That was a shock for European Union that didn’t want to change their plans. 
The bad for them is that someone read before sign and they start to say NO. But we are alone. We don’t have another part to help us (we can just wait for Podemos). The pressure is very very high not only for politicians but also for Greek people. As you know, and because we send Tsipras to change the situation, he couldn’t sign anything. So he turned and did a real exercise of democracy, he asked in referendum the Greek people to tell him our opinion. And our opinion is NO, we don’t want these measurements. We don’t want these kind of help anymore. 
As you may know the total money we borrow now is to pay back the previous borrow and the banks. Nothing for the people. Totally nothing. This is the help. 
We choose 61,3% was the result but the "democratic" European Union and European Central Bank (BCE) chose to close our banks and not let people take their money. Jean Claud Juncker asked us to change our government and to choose YES in the referendum. That’s all "democratic" methods. Of course as you may heard on news a little panic came on Greece because of these situation and again once more the strategy of fear for Greek future.

And to close all this huge text that I don’t know if anyone read this but I have to talk to you about the truth (I want to be clear that I cannot make a deep analysis ...we have to talk many hours about this).
The European Union now want us for cheap China of Europe ... and cheap waitress (on the last measurements they want to destroy the last thing we do well our tourism market... they want to put very high vat to all hotels... ooops!! exactly opposite on Turkey coast line there are huge hotels that belongs to Germany companies!!).  The European Union now works only for Germany. 
Personally and that is my opinion (many Greeks maybe will have different opinion) I don’t want to suicide my generation only to be part of European Union and euro. I prefer Grexit. 
This is not a politic that every member of European Union will be exactly the same. We are not the only that we have loan, for example Portugal and France have bigger. They don’t let us go out of Europe because they want to kill us every day more and more and take money and money. Every time, every moment. If we leave they will lose Greek money. 
The situation is difficult for Greece...we don’t know the next day what will be for us but we are trying hard.
And don’t forget we are now...you will be next.

And just a small detail… Germany had to pay 11 billions euro (the amount is correct) for a loan of the Second World War. They didn’t accept it. The previous governments never discussed and talked about this. Now Tsipras’ government start to search for this and who knows what will be the result.  

Something last for my text: Don’t believe anything that television tells you! They always propagandize you!

Best Regards from Greece.