No worries, div. Well, money…

I hope you didn’t take my comment in the wrong way scarf+? I was in no way implying that you shouldn’t say the things you’ve said! You are doing such a great job here answering certain people (something I can’t get my head around sometimes) that I was just wishful thinking.

Ok. So you caught us out. Your employer, Misssss thing says get back to work right now or else. You are being far too sharp and witty on this blog and you’ve got work to do.  Head down Scarf+ . Remember. Money, money, that’s the thing !

Diva -

Hermes. I have allowed some of your comments and not others because I feel you might have something to learn from some people here. Scarf+ is correct on the  probation thing.

scarf

Hermes, no one is blaming you for not living here and therefore not knowing much about contemporary Greek society. It helps that you are polite about it. But the implication behind your question is that Greeks hate the Roma, they cannot be blamed for it, and that anything that happens to the Roma is their own fault for being Roma. This borders on racist nonsense. The Roma in question are Greek citizens who are entitled to whatever it is Greek citizens are entitled to. This includes not having their homes demolished by the state. There are actually not many Greeks who would support actions of this kind, and the fact that there hasn't been an uproar has more to do with the Greek media's ignoring the story. There are definitely racist undertones to the silence, but a more likely explanation is that the Olympics were and are a holy cow, and the many, MANY scandals in the massive construction effort are still waiting to be exposed. Aside from the basic issue of wrongdoing, for your information the European Union gave Greece many millions of euros (don't know the exact figure) to create a national land registry a few years ago. Today, the money is spent and there is no registry. Why? Because it is in no one's interest to have one. People can make far more money and increase their property holdings when the situation is left vague. Probably the Greek Orthodox Church, the largest landowner in Greece, likes the situation as it is as well. So the fact that the Roma in question did not have title to the land doesn't actually mean very much. There are _innumerable_ illegal houses all over Greece, built and owned by 'Greek' Greeks, who simply build wherever they can and wait for the government to declare one of its periodic amnesties - generally around election time. The European Union is, of course, asking for its money back. These particular Roma lived on this land for over 40 years, back when there were still olive groves and flocks of sheep along Kifisias Avenue. That's probably 30 years longer than the vast majority of illegal houses in Attiki. These unfortunate people just happened to live in a part of Maroussi affected by the Olympic juggernaut. You can bet that if the house had been owned by a cousin of the Maroussi mayor's, the compensation would have been paid promptly - and it would have been triple. As far as I can tell, Hermes, and having read some of your postings on other blogs, deviousdiva has you on probation these days. If your mission in continuing to post here is to propagandize for ethnic purity, diva will start deleting in earnest. If your mission is to learn something, I'd suggest you read more Greek newspapers online and stop judging things based on some mythical notion of Greece's present reality.

Panagioti, let me remind you I am banned from this site so please do not address answers or questions to me as I do not want to upset people. If the Greek officials have promised rent subsidies and housing then they should honour their agreement. However, I am not sure the Greek taxpayer will like to find out that their taxes are being used to subsidise Roma housing. Also, I am not sure why the Roma would accept these subsidies. It will only make them more dependent on the State and further erode their dignity.
However, your website is fascinating. There are many articles berating Serbia and Greece but I do not see many bringing up the issue of Greek minorities in Albania, Turkey and Skopje. That sure is strange. Can you tell me why?
Would you also be so kind and tell me you provides the funding for this organisation?

Thank you for finally answering my question. If they do not have legal title then they should leave the land. The other agreement on rent subsidies and new homes is a separate issue. If the a Greek Municipal official has signed that paper then the Municipal office should honour it. Simple really.

I’ll certainly call them and see what they’ve got to say…

Here is the contact page from the ERT website:

By all means insist with ERT. Maybe you can pass on privayely the info on whom you are contacting to see how we can help.The ownership issue is irrelevant indeed. Please read the texts again, Roma laos have the right to adequate housing and the state should provide it to them, which means that when evicitng them from one piece of land -which they have the right to do- they should relocate them with better housing to some other place. This is in their contract whihc the Roma honored and left and the state did not honor. Whose shame is it? The UN and the Council of Europe say it is the state's shame, racists will start  stereotyping the Roma…

I will send one straight away and I am sure others will to. I will do a post to put up here tomorrow and ask people to write in. Have you got a specific email address for the people at ERT? We’re on it!

By the way, Ellasdevil and deviousdiva, we’ve talked with ERT about showing the film on TV and they sounded positive, but we’ve been having some trouble getting them to follow through. A well-placed email or phonecall from an interested viewer might do the trick. Thanks for your help!

Thank you Panayote for the extra information. I am very happy to hear that this film will get a screening here in Athens. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Daffodil, thanks for the link. The clips are incredible and do explain the themes of the film. Hi lavrentia, thank you for answering some of the queries here. I sometimes lose patience when people don’t use the links I have provided for them but I am glad you and Panayote answered clearly and precisely. I am really looking forward to seeing this film in its entirety.