This is Effie Amanatidou, research and innovation policy analyst in
I’m sure you’ve heard of the dreadful economic situation that
I’m not sure however how much the measures imposed on the Greek population were broadcasted on international news going beyond phrases like ‘Greece had to take some hard measures’. This is not the whole truth. The measures are not just hard; they are unfair, unjust and bloodsucking the Greek people.
And this is the reason for contacting you. Please help make less the burden that’s been placed totally unfairly on the shoulders of the Greek people due to the loans by the EU/IMF.
1. Let’s issue and sign this petition to handle to the Greek government in order to issue additional measures right away to ease the burden especially on the low – income families and pensioners. Let’s make it easier for those that do not earn more than 700euros per month and the old pensioners that get even less (and the measures do affect them too). Please help prevent stricter measures about to come in the next years. Please help restore justice and take from ‘those that have’ to give to ‘those that have not’.
2. Let the people all around the world sign this petition to handle to all European leaders and beyond to save the people of other countries that are also suffering similar economic conditions and will be dragged soon to take similar loans followed by bloodsucking terms and measures to repay them. Let the people of the world stop the unjust conditions and terms imposed by the EU or IMF or any other international or national financial institution who are exploiting whole populations in such times of crisis to make profit!
To make the case for my argument I owe you an explanation about the Greek situation:
· I’ve heard that we (Greeks) have been lazy based on EU money for a long time and now we have to pay. I would only agree that we haven’t made effective and efficient use of the EU money, not even our own money in many respects and areas. But who has to pay has to be answered with more respect and evidence than mere generalisations that the Greek people have to pay so the measures imposed are fair.
· It is not unknown that the Greek state is among those with the highest corruption. The recent scandals revealed only in the last five years but going to more than 10 years ago account for several decades of € billions of public money lost. In the last five years we’ve listened about monks becoming land property managers and selling public property and even lakes(!) to the state (!) and making huge gains. We’ve been listening about vast illegal commissions for granting public contracts by both previous governments to certain companies (the Siemens scandal is only the top of the iceberg and only one that’s been heard abroad). We’ve been listening about huge costs of infrastructures going back to the preparation phase for the Olympic games which ended up being tens of times the cost of similar works built in other countries. We’ve heard about illegal commissions from public procurement in hospitals that reach six € bio (and this is only an initial estimation). We’ve heard about the Greek parliament’s web cite which cost 1.059 € million while similar works do not take more than 20,000€. And all these are just some snap shots that have licked in the news!!
· Has anyone been punished for these losses? NO. Has anyone paid for any of these? NO. Has anyone’s fortune been confiscated? NO.
· BUT of course these scandals, justifying that it is not the Greek public who should pay, are not known abroad and can hardly be used as arguments by politicians about the unfairness of the measures imposed on us.
· The situation was rapidly worsening for more than five years now. The international crisis was only the icing on the cake. The previous government was only able to make it worse. The last elected socialists’ government was only able to win the election by shouting that the money exists to save the country only to shout back after the elections that the money is gone.
· The new measures are ripping off the Greek public. Pensioners, workers and employers of any kind, old or young, low-income or middle-income, are losing their painfully gained 13th and 14th salaries. These two salaries are far from offering luxury in the living of the Greek people. Greek families look forward to these salaries to be able to afford a week or two of holidays each year with their children if they’re not already committed to other financial obligations like house loans payback or paying for the lessons that their children have to take on a private basis to be able to succeed in annual exams due to an ineffective and obsolete public education system.
· While the Greek people lose these salaries and pensions, parliamentarians are still enjoying immunity in anything they do (apart from their huge incomes) and there hasn’t been even one scandal that didn’t involve parliamentarians.
· While Greek people lose an additional 30% and even more of their salaries due to extra cut backs, the rich people will wait for next year to contribute to the loss by paying slightly increased taxes (if they haven’t found by then a way to evade them).
· While huge gains can be made on the spot by chasing up well known cases of tax evasion, it is the whole of the population that is being dragged to suffering.
· I even heard that we’ve been partying for some 30 years (since the re-establishment of democracy in 1974) and in this party some people had a great time while some others had a less good time. How can anyone assert something like that when at the same time almost 20% of the Greek population is close to the limit of poverty and this has been worse in the past? How can people believe that when the average Greek works 5 hours per week more than the average European and this has been worse in the past? How can anybody consciously state anything close to that about the Greek people when they’ve always been getting much lower salaries and pensions than all other Europeans?
· I also heard (from an IMF official! if not mistaken) that the Greek old pensioners live quite well on 700 per month. Do these people know what the expenses are that old pensioners have to make about their health? Or do they consciously keep their eyes away from our ineffective, one of the most expensive and unreliable national health systems so as not to spoil their argumentation. And of course it is not on their TV screens that pictures are shown regularly of old people searching in garbage cans to find things to eat.
· I also heard about newspapers showing pictures of Greeks having a good time and the paper asserting that we are laughing at all Europeans. Yes we are guilty but we are guilty only of letting such people judge on what we should live on and how we should live. Laughing and having fun at bad times is only healthy as not only psychology but also history has shown. It is basically our only proof that we’re still alive and able to do something to save ourselves.
· The Greek public is the victim of highway robbery both from abroad and from its own leaders. We are only guilty of not having reacted more radically till now. We are guilty of having been naive in believing promises made before elections again and again. We’re also guilty of having driven all talented and competent people out of the country.
· But it is other countries that are heading to similar situations with the whole European South already at the threshold of a similar crisis. We should limit the burden on the Greek people and we shouldn’t let this happen to the people of other countries. Loan terms and conditions should remain sensible even more so in such hard times. Excessive profit making for the lender is outrageous. Measures to repay loans should be mainly targeted to the rich (and guilty even on suspicion) rather than the poor and innocent.
PLEASE
· Join us and sign this petition to handle to the Greek government in order to issue additional measures right away to ease the burden especially on the low – income families and pensioners. Sign this petition to help prevent stricter measures in the next years. Please help restore justice and take from ‘those that have’ to give to ‘those that have not’.
· Join the people all around the world and sign this petition to handle to all European leaders and beyond to save the people of other countries from similar suffering. Be among the people of the world to stop the unjust conditions and terms imposed by the EU or IMF or any other international or national financial institution who are exploiting whole populations in such times of crisis to make profit!
You can sign this petition by inserting your name, profession and country as a comment - any other comments are also welcome
Please forward this petition to any other interested people you know !
