The causes and meanings of Greece’s mass social uprising

Sunday, March 22 2009

By Georgios Stasinopoulos
The Politic

As I walked up Ermou Street, the commercial center of Athens, the city seemed to have regained its vibrant life. People of all ages were out on the street, enjoying the Athenian holidays. Yet in the corner of the street, a couple members of the police force who had served to diffuse the riots of the recent weeks were still patrolling. As I left Ermou Street and reached Syntagma Square, the Christmas spirit was visible. Families with their children were waiting to take pictures in front of the replacement Christmas tree in the middle of the square. Next to the tree, several more policemen were standing guard. After the shocking events of the previous weeks, the police had taken strict measures to avoid the sight of a Christmas tree burning again. I proceeded toward Omonia Square, and in the notorious Exarchia area the remnants of mayhem were more noticeable. Broken store windows, buildings under reconstruction, announcements hanging on doorways notifying customers that the shops are closed due to fire damage—these are some of the signs of the recent turmoil.

Perhaps the picture described above perhaps contradicts what the average person thinks of Athens and Greece. What made the birthplace of democracy—a technologically modern country with European Union membership and a relatively stable economy—appear like a country mired in a civil war?

It all started on the night of December 6, 2008 when a police officer shot and killed a fifteen-year-old high school student in the district of Exarchia in downtown Athens. Although the precise details of the incident are still under investigation, the public was shocked by the brutality of it; violence erupted almost immediately. Anarchist groups who use Exarchia as their home base started attacking police stations, razing cars and stores. When the sun rose the next morning, Athens was still smoking. There were reports of overnight violence from other Greek cities. The Greek people, traditionally lenient toward the anarchists and their demonstrations, were left bewildered. Meanwhile, the Greek youth rapidly started organizing themselves using the Internet and their cell phones—the unjust killing of the fifteen-year-old student incited both fear and outrage.

During the next weeks, thousands of students abandoned their classrooms and started demonstrating. Middle school and high school students from all over the country blocked the streets in front of their schools and marched toward the local police stations. College students took over their universities and started protesting. For many days, the Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Education, and the Parliament were under siege by angry students. The parents were booing and hissing when the police showed up and the teachers joined their students in the demonstrations. When night fell and the students dispersed, hooded men, called the anarchists or the “known-unknown,” started rioting and looting. The public was troubled; there was not only hatred of the violent police and the incompetent government response but also anger toward the anarchists that took advantage of their protests in order to cause mayhem.

Nevertheless, the demonstrations and the riots carried on while the rest of the world viewed what was happening in Greece with increased concern. When demonstrations started sparking around Europe, the media began to realize that the murder of a student—Alexandros Grigoropoulos—was what triggered the eruption of a massive social uprising against deeply rooted societal problems. In the case of Greece, the murder was what pried open the floodgates of the youths' frustration and the uncertainty about their futures. Amid the critical economic crisis that afflicts the nation, Greece is riddled with massive corruption scandals. Government ministers were forced to resign because of these revelations, and even the Church was heavily involved in the corruption incidents. People were steadily losing faith in the political system of the country.

The students, however, had even more reasons to be outraged. There are serious problems that have yet to be tackled. The government reforms have failed to alter a poor educational system based heavily on memorization, with low-quality public schools and an extremely competitive university placement system that requires the costly attendance of night private schools. At the same time the universities suffer from political corruption, strikes, inadequate state funding, and incompetent administration. After graduation, young professionals are increasingly finding only low-wage jobs, while many face unemployment. There exist two ways for a young and ambitious university graduate to find a good job in Greece: knowing the right people or bribing the right people. The acclaimed Greek writer Nikos Dimou flatly lists the main causes of the uprising: “the unprecedented delay in the modernization of the country, the segregation of the young people, the 'ancient' educational system, the authoritarianism, the iniquity and the incompetence of the state, and the lack of impunity.”

The situation is more than chaotic. In the field of politics, the two main parties—the center-right New Democracy and the center-left PASOK—have lost public support and respect. The people, by and large, have lost trust in the capabilities and character of most politicians. The left-wing party SYRIZA (The Radical Coalition of the Left), which enjoys substantial student support, was accused of fueling the riots. Moreover, the Greek economy is on the edge of monetary and fiscal collapse; the tourism industry, one of the primary pillars of the Greek economy, has been severely damaged by the riots. Greek society seems to have lost its unity as social tensions flare up with increasing frequency. In essence, the very fabric of Greek society is on the brink of disintegration—trapped in apathy and indifference.

What can be concluded from Greece's example? Is the situation in Greece a new trend that threatens to expand, or a well-hidden illness common to Western nations? One thing is sure: what happened in Greece surely has frightened the governments of numerous European countries. For instance, French President Nicholas Sarkozy withdrew an educational reform proposal because he was afraid that it might trigger social turmoil and demonstrations by the youth. Many governments face regular demonstrations concerning the ongoing economic crisis. Thousands of miles from Athens in Oakland, California, civil strife erupted after an African-American was fatally shot by a police officer.

Perhaps our world is entering a new era in which many social groups, fed up by the long-suffered inequalities and illnesses of their societies, will more eagerly resort to demonstrations and violent acts of protest. Greece might be the first victim of this new trend. There are countless countries, with equally deep societal issues and special circumstances, that could be next. What is the solution to this looming crisis, and more importantly, does any solution exist? Greece now confronts a deadlock, albeit a temporary one. The Greek government, if it wants to banish the demons of civil unrest, must give the people more channels by which to express their opinions. The era of the voter-citizen seems to be failing, and the need for a more direct democracy is becoming apparent. Perhaps this is the message that the birthplace of democracy sends to the rest of the world. The frustration and the passion of the people should not be fiercely constrained but should be creatively used for the sake of the society. Until then, policemen will still have to guard Christmas trees and stores from the aggravation of the masses.

Georgios Stasinopoulos is a freshman in Calhoun College.

http://thepolitic.org/content/view/152/39/

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