2013-05-22T17:11:46-04:00 Katerina Vrana http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=katerina-vrana Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Katerina Vrana Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1498284 2012-05-07T21:19:33-04:00 2012-07-07T05:12:01-04:00

Katerina Vrana http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katerina-vrana/
My fear was that the Greeks, scared, tired and resigned, would vote for the same two big parties that have ruled the country since 1974 and have made a big, fat, Greek mess of it. But I hadn't counted on anger. Oh, the Greeks were angry. Livid. Raging.

Anyone following the Greek elections on 6 May, saw the Greeks essentially turn their backs on the two leading parties by giving both of them a total of 32% of the vote. The rest of parliament is now filled by a radical left party led by the youngest party leader in Greece's history, an extreme right-wing party with violent tendencies, a communist party, a newly formed populist right wing party and another left-wing party that is a tear-away from the radical left one.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and the Greek people are that woman. They've been in an unhappy and deteriorating relationship for years and they stayed because of habit, finances and the children.

In the beginning it was all so good. When the Greek people met their partner (in this metaphor that's the two leading parties, we all got that, yes? good) they were both so young and in love. They looked into each other's eyes and they knew, they just knew, that this was The One.

The first few years were magical. So much joy and hope and laughter. But inevitably, after some time, they started drifting apart. The Greek people's partner had a couple of affairs and started gambling. He tried to assuage his guilt by giving the Greek people anything they wanted. Designer goods and new cars and fancy homes. They went on five star holidays and held lavish parties. They started getting into debt. He gambled more to cover their losses and only managed to get in deeper. He was too frightened to tell the Greek people and the Greek people didn't want to see. They had gotten used to the lifestyle. The Greek people knew they should leave but it's difficult, you know? Thirty five years together and a house to die for and they'd be giving all this up for what? An uncertain future alone? The singles market is vicious. Better to stay put.

Then it all came crashing down. The Greek people were appalled to realise that their partner had gambled away all their hard-earned money. With no money to cover the cracks, they both found themselves staring into the gaping void of their relationship. And he just kept on gambling, placing an unbearable burden on the Greek people. They had massive arguments, fuelled by recriminations and hate. The breaking point came when he sold their house to buy himself entry to an exclusive poker game.

So the Greek people, hurt, confused and incredibly angry, packed their bags and left. Now newly single, they have done what every newly single person does. They have gone on the rebound. They are having wild, rebound sex. With lots of other political parties. And angry, hurt people don't make rational, level-headed choices. They're driven by vengeance, a need to forget, a need to prove they can start again. So their rebound choices are not wise ones. Some chose the toy boy full of vaguely formed leftist ideals and just so young! Others like the big, muscly guy that rides a bike and beats up everyone he doesn't like the look of; "he makes me feel safe, y'know?" Or the communist writer who spouts dead ideology but looks so constant. Their ex's best friend who always had a soft spot for them. That weird guy they used to make fun of but who suddenly looks so intriguing. Anyone, anyone who isn't their ex.

These elections were a rebound phase. And the Greeks needed it. They need the rebound sex, it's cathartic. They need it to feel they still have a choice, to gain back control, to say "f**k you" to their ex. Be a good friend and be happy for them for leaving that dead relationship. Don't judge them too harshly. They ran away blindly, without looking where they were going, but they ran away all the same. Please help them calm down, look around and take stock. See them out of their rebound phase. Make sure they don't get stuck in it or get back with their ex. Be supportive. They've had their foolish little hearts broken.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1417348 2012-04-11T19:00:00-04:00 2012-06-11T05:12:02-04:00

Katerina Vrana http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katerina-vrana/ committed suicide.

He was seriously ill. He was finding it difficult to come to terms with life in Greece in 2012. He was tired, frustrated and felt helpless and depressed. He wanted to choose how he would go and make a statement with it so, as the commuters streamed out of the metro station to go to work in the morning, he shot himself in the head.

Greek politicians and TV channels are using his death to further their pre-election campaigns and increase ratings. By the end of the week, his will be just another sad story of the crisis.

I am stunned. And exceptionally sad. Greeks are blind. And scared. And conservative. And self-serving. And stubborn. And tired. But most of all, they are paralysed by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. That no matter what they do, things won't change. That no matter who they vote for, the same kind of people will be in charge. That no matter what they say, no one will listen. So they lash out blindly, against Europe, Germany, Merkel, the banks, the incompetent and spectacularly corrupt Greek politicians, Sarkozy, the immigrants, the bailouts, the incessant taxation, each other.

Every day, another cab driver gives me his ridiculously unfeasible point of view. Another friend tells me they'll vote for what they consider to be the lesser of two evils (i.e. the same people who got us here in the first place). Another bill arrives that my parents struggle to pay. Because utilities have increased by 50%. And the emergency taxes were part of the utility bills (electricity bill for £3,000, anyone?) so if you didn't pay, you got your electricity cut off. And VAT is at 23%. And unemployment at 20% and rising. And salaries and pensions are being cut by up to 50%. And suicides are up by 45%. Numbers going up for a country going down.

I'm Greek, born and raised in Athens. I now live in the UK.

In the last two years, I have watched from a distance as my home country has sunk deeper and deeper into a financial crisis that it will struggle to get out of.

I've spent the last six weeks in Athens for work and the enormity of the country's problems hit me in the face. Crime is rising. Athens city centre is not considered safe at night. Immigrants get beaten up just for being immigrants. Average double-income families lose one income entirely and the remaining income gets cut by 25%. That works out to a total as low as 35% of their previous income. On which they now have to pay emergency tax. In a space of just a couple of months they struggle to pay rent, bills, their child's education. (Greece operates on an odd parallel education system of after-school tuition.) And these are the lucky ones that have at least one income left. Banks have stopped lending completely. Property is next to impossible to sell so people cannot liquidate any assets they may have in order to cover their mounting costs. In some cases, people wait outside supermarkets for the expired products to be thrown away and then rummage through the garbage bins. In extreme cases, parents are leaving their children at orphanages with notes pinned on them saying "Please look after my child, I can no longer feed her."

And no one can see any light at the end of the tunnel. The country's general feelings of frustration, disappointment and seething resentment have engulfed me.

And then, to my utter astonishment and disbelief, on Monday, 9 April, the Greek Parliament voted in favour of the political parties that came to power in the previous elections receiving STATE FUNDING OF €30 MILLION.

This is money that Greece does not have, you understand. This will be taken out of the money Greece will receive from the rest of Europe as bailout. This will be €30 million that could go to thirty million other causes rather than feeding the already bulging pockets of the idiots that have failed to lead Greece in a time of crisis and are heavily involved in getting the country here in the first place. On the same day, they signed an order giving the tax authorities the power to confiscate property of anyone owing over €300 in taxes. The hypocrisy is astounding. The two ruling parties have perpetrated white-collar crimes of magnificent proportions. Embezzlement. Bribery. Fraud. They have taken practically no cuts to their own wages. And yet, on 6 May, scared, tired, impoverished, resigned Greeks will vote them back in.

I want to scream.]]>