ΑΠΕΡΓΙΑ

When I walk out of my apartment building, my nose instantly wrinkles up as it senses the smells reeking from the dumpster on the corner. The municipal workers have been on strike now for too long. Whenever I get within 15 yards of a dumpster (and they are on just about every street corner), I am overcome by the rotten stench of the garbage. There is more trash than the dumpsters can hold so piles have accumulated around the dumpsters, sometimes even making it difficult to pass by. The latest word I have heard is that the strike is expected to extend for another week. This poses a huge health issue and I hope it is resolved sooner. Here is a Greek news article about it: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_12/10/2011_410589

The garbage workers are not the only ones on strike though. The ministry of culture and archaeologists started a 48 hour strike and will not reopen until Friday. This means that I will not be able to give my presentation for class, the Archaeology of Athens, at the National Museum tomorrow morning for the museum will be closed.

A general public transportation strike begins tomorrow and will last two days. This has the possibility of messing up some of my weekend plans.

The number of strikes here seems to have increased. I have also heard more talk about the tax raises and the debt problems. Athenians always seem very willing to talk about the economic situation. My Greek professor went off in class one day about all the taxes and how the middle class are the ones that will suffer. On Mount Olympus a Greek hiker started a conversation with one of my classmates about the crisis. This evening Petros Doukas, the former deputy minister of finance, gave a lecture at CYA. Unfortunately I did not make it, but many of my professors expressed their dislike with him having been invited here. They were visibly angry with this man who is, according to them, personally responsible for the Greek debt crisis.

This evening I spent a couple hours at a U.S. university fair as a Tufts representative. I spoke with a Tufts alum a little bit about the situation. He was a) disgusted by the garbage and b) telling me about how the politicians are corrupt. According to him, the politicians promised people jobs in return for their support. This led to too many jobs in the public sector, which the government cannot afford. The politicians cannot fire these people or else they will lose power.

I find it fascinating to be in Greece watching firsthand how this economic crisis is affecting the people. People are certainly talking about it and are visibly upset. The strikes, however, are at times a bit inconvenient.