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KALAMOS BOOKS
Aug 30, 2007, 11:39:17 AM8/30/07
to HELLAS-GREECE LIST
Dear June, ( feel
free to post if it interests anyone)
==================================================
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamo...@gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
This morning ( August 30th 2007) while fires continue to burn in Peloponnsos/Evia the
media have calmed down, turned their attention to the regularly programed soap
operas, upcoming elections, the aftermath of the fires, opinion surveys
etc....so you know we are in trouble if there is no debate about responsibility.
RESPONSIBILITY, a
word I never, ever hear played out in Greece. Who is responsible for this
destruction???
I want to let you
know about last night in Syntagma Square.
At 7 p.m. in the
evening my friends and i joined over 10,000 people dressed in black for a
silent demonstration in front of the Parliament Building. Other than a small
group of people who came with their political banners and were booed out
of the way, everyone else represented him or herself as a citizen who was
outraged at the situation facing us here.
There were children,
young and old people. Talk was in hushed tones as we walked through the crowds.
Some flyers were handed out, some people lit candles and in the center of
those candles was a flower pot with a small, delicate tree. I believe that
was what it was all about.
This demonstration
started out as a call to all from a blog site and it spread from one person to
another until we all found ourselves together last night. I still feel
there is a great deal of shock, hesitation in us, confusion, disgust, doubt as
to what this really means for Greece, for us, for the families who were totally
destroyed.
What will we
do when it comes time to vote???
In 2007, can you imagine if you or I or anyone we know were so trapped in the fire we would have to use our own bodies to shield our children and die doing so????
With frustration,
anger and deep sadness from Athens,
A....
A....
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamo...@gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
akarp...@aol.com
Aug 31, 2007, 4:10:04 PM8/31/07
to HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
Was this gathering publicized? I was in Athens all week and did not hear about it, in fact, noone in a group of a dozen people I came into contact with on any particular day mentioned anything.
Another point which is really bizarre: otan erotisa pos boroume na boithisoume aftous tous anthropous pou hasane spitia kai periousies, na fitepsoume xana ta dasoi, oi apantisis pou elava itan: giati na boithisoume? kai i kibernisi ti kanei? aftoi den ehoun anaggi, eine plousioi me tis elies tous. KAABBOOMM!!! karafliasa!!! responsibility as a citizen ine kati agnosto katalaba edo stin elladitsa mas. nane kala i kebernisi na ta kani ola, ftani na min mas pernei gia tous forous.
Anna K.
June Samaras
Aug 31, 2007, 11:27:02 PM8/31/07
to HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
Anna,
There was a message about it (in Greek) posted by Neni Panougia on the
MGSA list which I then forwarded to this list on Aug 28th :
from June Samaras <june.s...@gmail.com>
Aug 28 (4 days ago)
to HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
date Aug 28, 2007 12:12 PM
subject Sygkentrosi sto Syntagma
mailed-by gmail.com
====================================
From: Neni Panourgia <np...@columbia.edu>
Date: Aug 28, 2007 6:18 AM
Τετάρτη 29 Αυγούστου, στις 7 η ώρα το απόγευμα θα
συγκεντρωθούμε όλοι στην πλατεία Συντάγματος αλλά και σε
κάθε κεντρική πλατεία κάθε πόλης σε ολόκληρη τη χώρα.
Φορώντας μαύρα.
ΒΟΥΒΗ ΟΡΓΗ.
ΕΚΚΩΦΑΝΤΙΚΗ ΣΙΩΠΗ.
Αποδοκιμάζουμε χωρίς συνθήματα και πολύχρωμες σημαίες.
Πενθούμε για την απώλεια των συνανθρώπων μας χωρίς να
συνδέουμε την πρωτοφανή περιβαλλοντική καταστροφή με
προεκλογικές σκοπιμότητες.
Δίνουμε το παρόν και στεκόμαστε απειλητικά απέναντι σε
οποιονδήποτε επιχειρήσει να εκμεταλλευτεί την τραγωδία για
οποιοδήποτε όφελος.
ΤΟ ΠΟΤΗΡΙ ΞΕΧΕΙΛΙΣΕ.
=============
June S
--
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamo...@gmail.com
akarp...@aol.com
Sep 3, 2007, 12:45:37 PM9/3/07
to HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
Hi June: I saw Neni's email three or four days after the fact. Apparently email is still not an effective way to communicate info speedily in Greece.
Neni did good, trying to reach as many people as possible thru this medium. Anyway, I did NOT intend this as a criticism of Neni, this is the only announcement I myself saw on the subject even though I was in AThens all of last week and am back here again today. This is ONE person who spread the info. Where's the media in this? I walked around to different areas today (after lunch at Exarhia) and was looking for posters/announcements, anything relating to the fires. nothing.
I just spent 15 minutes looking for articles on civic responsibility in greece. is it telling that i found none in j-stor?
Neni did good, trying to reach as many people as possible thru this medium. Anyway, I did NOT intend this as a criticism of Neni, this is the only announcement I myself saw on the subject even though I was in AThens all of last week and am back here again today. This is ONE person who spread the info. Where's the media in this? I walked around to different areas today (after lunch at Exarhia) and was looking for posters/announcements, anything relating to the fires. nothing.
I just spent 15 minutes looking for articles on civic responsibility in greece. is it telling that i found none in j-stor?
KALAMOS BOOKS
Sep 3, 2007, 4:34:31 PM9/3/07
to HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
On 9/3/07, akarp...@aol.com <
akarp...@aol.com> wrote:
Hi June: I saw Neni's email three or four days after the fact. Apparently email is still not an effective way to communicate info speedily in Greece.
Neni did good, trying to reach as many people as possible thru this medium. Anyway, I did NOT intend this as a criticism of Neni, this is the only announcement I myself saw on the subject even though I was in AThens all of last week and am back here again today. This is ONE person who spread the info. Where's the media in this? I walked around to different areas today (after lunch at Exarhia) and was looking for posters/announcements, anything relating to the fires. nothing.
I just spent 15 minutes looking for articles on civic responsibility in greece. is it telling that i found none in j-stor?
==============================================================
Anna
On Sep 3, 12:45 pm, akarpat...@aol.com wrote:
> Hi June: I saw Neni's email three or four days after the fact. Apparently email is still not an effective way to communicate info speedily in Greece.
>
> Neni did good, trying to reach as many people as possible thru this medium. Anyway, I did NOT intend this as a criticism of Neni, this is the only announcement I myself saw on the subject even though I was in AThens all of last week and am back here again today. This is ONE person who spread the info. Where's the media in this? I walked around to different areas today (after lunch at Exarhia) and was looking for posters/announcements, anything relating to the fires. nothing.
>
> I just spent 15 minutes looking for articles on civic responsibility in greece. is it telling that i found none in j-stor?
========================
Anna K.
It would seem that the news of the demonstration was disseminated more through the web, and text /instant messaging than though "old" media methods.
The posting (from Neni to me and then on from the to this list) was on Aug 28th for a meeting of Aug 29th so the "wired" world had the news in time! Obviously there was no time to set up publicity on paper, print posters and then distribute them all over Athens (think postively, though, of all the trees saved and the diminution of graffiti and visual garbage on the walls <vbg> )
If you look at a photograph of the demonstration you will see that it looks like it was mostly young people in Syntagma
http://flickr.com/photos/81222973@N00/1274135285/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melomimo/1278877547/in/photostream/
- and they most likely got the news through their "kineto" (and not from Skai or Ta Nea or even from a poster on the wall)
It might not even have occurred to them to post it in a paper format or through commercial media
Many University security departments are in process of setting up systems (at UBC and Simon Fraser in Vancouver,
for example) where campus news will be distributed pretty much instantly and automatically to students'
cell phones /IM / e-mail addresses etc (this in the aftermathmof the shootings at Virginia Tech)
They have recognized that the cyber-generation does NOT communicate using old technology like newsletters, posters and so on.
[Here in Ontario there are have been instances of instant "Rave" parties where thousands of teens turn up at an agreed location
for all -night parties often in buildings or public places without permits, totally unregulated, or not licensed to sell alcohol and
with insufficient facilities (like enough public washrooms !) and creating chaos in their wake. The information about these
events is often only disseminated through cell phone text messages and notices on web sites like MySpace and FaceBook
(which sites are now monitored as far as possible by the Police so they can at least offer some crowd control, and ensure
that ambulances are on call,and public safety concerns are addressed and hope that the worst excesses can be avoided.
http://www.popcenter.org/Problems/problem-rave_parties_p2.htm
The main point to notice is that "adults" may ever even see or hear what is being planned by young people!]
PS: One thing about the photographs of the disaster that may be particularly noticeable from here - the number
of people shown smoking cigarettes even as they were fighting fires or demonstrating against them .
Suspect some of the "Arson" may have been from live butts carelessly thrown out of car windows ....
Anna K.
It would seem that the news of the demonstration was disseminated more through the web, and text /instant messaging than though "old" media methods.
The posting (from Neni to me and then on from the to this list) was on Aug 28th for a meeting of Aug 29th so the "wired" world had the news in time! Obviously there was no time to set up publicity on paper, print posters and then distribute them all over Athens (think postively, though, of all the trees saved and the diminution of graffiti and visual garbage on the walls <vbg> )
If you look at a photograph of the demonstration you will see that it looks like it was mostly young people in Syntagma
http://flickr.com/photos/81222973@N00/1274135285/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melomimo/1278877547/in/photostream/
- and they most likely got the news through their "kineto" (and not from Skai or Ta Nea or even from a poster on the wall)
It might not even have occurred to them to post it in a paper format or through commercial media
Many University security departments are in process of setting up systems (at UBC and Simon Fraser in Vancouver,
for example) where campus news will be distributed pretty much instantly and automatically to students'
cell phones /IM / e-mail addresses etc (this in the aftermathmof the shootings at Virginia Tech)
They have recognized that the cyber-generation does NOT communicate using old technology like newsletters, posters and so on.
[Here in Ontario there are have been instances of instant "Rave" parties where thousands of teens turn up at an agreed location
for all -night parties often in buildings or public places without permits, totally unregulated, or not licensed to sell alcohol and
with insufficient facilities (like enough public washrooms !) and creating chaos in their wake. The information about these
events is often only disseminated through cell phone text messages and notices on web sites like MySpace and FaceBook
(which sites are now monitored as far as possible by the Police so they can at least offer some crowd control, and ensure
that ambulances are on call,and public safety concerns are addressed and hope that the worst excesses can be avoided.
http://www.popcenter.org/Problems/problem-rave_parties_p2.htm
The main point to notice is that "adults" may ever even see or hear what is being planned by young people!]
PS: One thing about the photographs of the disaster that may be particularly noticeable from here - the number
of people shown smoking cigarettes even as they were fighting fires or demonstrating against them .
Suspect some of the "Arson" may have been from live butts carelessly thrown out of car windows ....
<<< I just spent 15 minutes looking for articles on civic responsibility in greece. is it telling that i found none in j-stor?>>
Diogenes,even though carrying a lantern, was not able to find an honest man.... See the article below <vbg>
http://www.athensguide.com/journalists/articles/honestman.htm
http://www.athensguide.com/journalists/articles/honestman.htm
=============================-
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