The Greeks for whom all the talk means nothing – because they have nothing

[marmar]

The Greeks for whom all the talk means nothing – because they have nothing
For Georgios Karvouniaris, his sister Barbara, and many thousands like them, whether Greece stays in the eurozone or not is unlikely to have any effect

(Guardian UK) On a steep, gardenia-scented street in the north-eastern Athens suburb of Gerakas, in one corner of a patch of bare ground, stands a small caravan.

Plastic mesh fencing – orange, of the kind builders use – encloses a neat garden in which peppers, courgettes, lettuces and beans grow in well-tended raised beds. Flowers, too.

The caravan is old, but spotless. It is home to Georgios Karvouniaris, 61, and his sister Barbara, 64, two Greeks for whom all the Brussels wrangling over VAT rates, corporation tax and pension reforms has meant nothing – because they have nothing, no income of any kind.

Next Sunday’s referendum – which, if the country stays solvent that long, will either send Greece back to the negotiating table with its creditors or precipitate its exit from the eurozone – is unlikely to affect them much either.

“I do not see how any of it will change our lives. I have no hope, anyway,” said Georgios, sitting in a scavenged plastic garden chair beneath a parasol liberated from a skip. .................(more)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/28/the-greeks-for-whom-all-the-talk-means-nothing-because-they-have-nothing

[BrotherIvan]

1. Europe is ruled by bankers just as we are

The troika have been absolute bastards. I wonder when people will have had enough?

[randome]

6. And Greece is ruled by idiots.

Leaders lead. Cowards call for a referendum.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[KingCharlemagne]

2. Great article. Should be required reading, imo - nt

[NBachers]

3. This is an excellent article, and I agree that it should be read by everyone.

I was so moved that I sent the following email to Jon Henley, the author:

Hello Jon,

I read your article, "The Greeks for whom all the talk means nothing – because they have nothing," linked through a political website I participate in, called Democratic Underground.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/index.php

I was moved by the plight of the Karvouniarises, and would like to donate a few dollars to the women's group who are helping to support them.

If you have contact information for this group, I will publicize this information on our group, and see if we can donate a little to help Georgios and Barbara.

Please let me know if there's a way for us to contact or contribute to this women’s group in Halandri.

Thank you,

NBachers
San Francisco California USA

I'll update if I hear anything back about this.

I've also sent the following inquiry to PayPal. If anyone knows the answers to these questions, let me know:

I am inquiring to find out if PayPal is operating right now in Greece. I may be working to set up a way to donate to a group in Greece. Since the Greek banking system is not stable now, I'm wondering if we could make funds available to this group through PayPal. Funds would be donated in American dollars, but available in Greece as Euros. Here are my questions:

1. Does PayPal operate now in Greece?

2. Can we set up a way to donate through Pay Pal to a Pay Pal account in Greece?

3. Can we donate to this account in American Dollars, and have it available in Greece in Euros?

4. How would the people in Greece withdraw these funds from the PayPal account?

[NBachers]

9. I got this response from Jon Henley

Hi NB - that really kind of you. I'll find out from the group what would be the best way to do this and get back to you in a day or two - things are quite fraught in Greece at the moment! Many thanks again jh

I also got a long useless robo-generated form response from PayPal. I re-sent my original request with a demand for a human-based reply. We'll see if PayPal comes through.

[NBachers]

11. Here's the donation information: Text of new response from John Henley:

Hello again and please excuse the impersonal email: there are several of you who have very kindly said you would like to send some money to Georgios and Barbara, and since I am still in Athens working and these are quite busy times I'm writing to you collectively.


There is now a bank account in Barbara's name at the National Bank of Greece, which is a major international bank and will be safe come what may. (We have been advised by a solicitor that for various Greek legal, tax and bureaucratic reasons it is better to send the money direct to Barbara than via Despiana's group).


Please could you notify Despiana Moragianis by email of any money that you send so that she can keep track of what should be arriving. She is also the person to contact if you have any further questions, encounter any problems, or would like to specify what you would like your money to be used for. Her address is: [e-mail] – she speaks perfect English.


The account details are as follows:


Account name: Barbara Dimitriou Karvouniari

Account number​: 870/604968-06 IBAN​: GR4401108700000087060496806 SWIFT (BIC)​:​ETHNGRAA NBG


​Thank you on behalf of Georgio and Barbara for your generosity. I've been extremely touched by some of the things you have said and am delighted this article has prompted such a warm and humane response.


Don't hesitate to get back in touch if you have any other questions, and do let Despiana know what you're doing. Thanks again and very best wishes


Jon Henley


--

Jon Henley / Feature writer
The Guardian [phone]
theguardian.com/profile/jonhenley
www.jonhenley.net
twitter.com/jonhenley
Watch Firestorm, the Guardian's acclaimed
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[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. If the creditors want money - get it from the rich. They'll still be rich.

[randome]

5. Then why doesn't Greece tax them more?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. It's not about the money....

The creditors want the pensions cut.

It's ideology.

[randome]

8. It matters not one whit to the creditors where the money comes from.

You hand them a billion Euros, are they going to say, "Wait. Where did you get this?" No. Their outline for how Greece can pay its debts includes cuts to pensions.

Greece could go ahead and say, "No, but we'll pay back what we owe this way."

But they won't. They don't want to make ANY sacrifices and that is why they are in the horrible position of having to make DEEP sacrifices and MASSIVE cuts. They waited too long.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. No, they want Greece to conform to their business model.

[laundry_queen]

12. Exactly. nt