Don't book a Greek vacation just yet
The marble statues of ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, left, and goddess Athena stand in front of the Athens Academy in Athens, Greece, June 5, 2012. / AP Photo
(The New Republic) With the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's estimating that there's a one-in-three chance that Greece will abandon the euro sometime after its June 17 election, some people are already looking for a silver lining.
British tour operator Thomas Cook expects a surge in bookings to Greece if it leaves the euro zone as holidays to the Mediterranean nation would become better value for hard-pressed travelers.
"If Greece exits (the euro), for the tourism industry it could be very profitable," interim chief executive Sam Weihagen said after the company posted a steep first-half loss on Thursday.
I understand the general point here -- currency devaluation will make Greece's tourism sector more competitive internationally -- but I'm pretty sure this is underestimating how harrowing the transition process will be. There's sure to be political unrest as the value of ordinary Greeks' life savings plummet precipitously and the country ceases being able to pay for the imports on which it currently relies. I'm guessing some tourists would be put off by the steady rise of a pro-Nazi party, or massive shortages of basic goods. Much less the prevailing mood of illness and depression.
According to health ministry statistics, a quarter of men and a third of women are depressed, double the European average for men, and nearly double for women. Calls to mental health hotlines also increased twofold in the first six months of 2011 compared with a year earlier.
"I don't sleep anymore," said "Petros," who -- clearly embarrassed by his situation -- asked that his name be changed. An importer/exporter of furniture with several stores in Athens, Petros said that over the last months he had been obliged to fire many staff, a first for his family-run enterprise.
I'm sure Petros will feel better when he's fetching beer for German vacationers for however many drachmas-per-hour. Actually, forget beer -- I'm sure the tourists will want to try the new local delicacy, "sisa:"
The crisis has also encouraged the spread of a new street scourge called "sisa". Made from methamphetamines, the drug is ten times cheaper than heroin, but its effects are worse: blackened skin, sores all over the body, ultra-violent behaviour."One user stabbed another of my patients," recalled Emilios Katsoulakos, a psychiatrist. "There's no substitute we can prescribe for sisa."
The point is, once the euro is gone, this authentic Greek experience will be available at a deep discount. How can you afford not to buy a front-row seat to watch other people's misery?
Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at The New Republic. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
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First, S&P's estimation is that there is a 1 in 3 chance that Greece will leave the Euro. THAT MEANS THAT THERE IS A 2 in 3 CHANCE THAT IT WILL NOT. The odds are in favor of the purpose of this article becoming moot.
Second, there is no "steady rise of a pro-Nazi party" in Greece. There was a jump in support for a fascist party that shocked all Greeks, and that shocking jump was from nearly zero to 6.9% of an anaemic 65% of the electorate that was the result of a number of factors too long to go into here, but essentially was a protest vote against corrupt politicians made by a small number of undereducated people many of whom did not realize who exactly they were voting for because the media had blacked out any coverage of this party.
Third, despite the protests which have gotten so much air time and are made to look as if all of Athens is burning when in fact the chaos is limited to a very small section of Athens surrounding Syntagma Square, Athens is still a far safer capital than most of the capitals in the rest of EU, with a far lower drug problem than most EU capitals. This new drug he speaks of (and in such a callously humorous tone) won't even be visible to any tourist who doesn't specifically seek it out in a far back alley of Omonia Square.
I'd like to ask the author how much time he has spent in Greece, IF he has ever been there at all. If he had spent any time outside of the tourist traps he would know that, despite the terrible news that comes in on an almost daily basis, and despite increased rates of depression, Greeks as a people are still an inherently optimistic people, helped by the 300 days of sunshine Greece gets every year. Greeks have been through far worse than this current situation and have always been able to keep their spirit alive. If the horrors of WWII, in which Greece lost almost 10% of its population, did not destroy the Greek spirit, the difficult times they are having now most certainly will not.
I have friends who are traveling in Greece right now who tell me that there is a mood of concern there, that times are indeed tough, but how the Greeks have not let that get in the way of providing the best hospitality, and how proud and encouraged the Greeks are that these tourists have come to be among them and support them.
Greece has been through a lot in it's over 3000 year history, but like the phoenix on the face of the first coins of a newly independent Greece in 1828, it will rise from the ashes and be reborn again. Rather than drive people away with fear as this author attempts, the Greeks welcome people to come experience and be a part of their history, their spirit, and their rebirth.