As I explored Greece and embarked on my own Grand Tour during the country’s most profound crisis, I encountered various people. People who have not been affected by the crisis, people who have not felt it as deeply as others, people who have lost their university degree earned career and have settled for another lower paying job, people who have no jobs, people who have lost their houses, people who are on the verge of losing their minds, and even people who have truly lost them. Nevertheless, I promised every person I interviewed that I would end my deliverable on a positive note. Although they shared the negative effects the crisis has had on their lives with me, they each told me: “Ο Έλληνας δεν σκυβει ποτέ το κεφάλι”, which translates to “the Greek will never put his head down”. The Greek citizens recognize that they are in a predicament, however, they are prepared to face it. “Θα αγωνιστούμε, θα ματοσουμε, αλλά θα παλέψουμε”. “We will be challenged, we will bleed, but we will fight”.
I quote: “Ο Έλληνας ειναι αισθηματικός, εργατικός, φιλότιμος... παρ’όλα αυτά που λένε. “The Greek is sentimental, hard-working, a friend of honor, despite everything that is said”. And I believe that. While we are required to work eight hour work days in Montreal, the minimum work shift of a Greek citizen is twelve hours and he is barely compensated for his overtime seeing as there is no such thing as a reasonable minimum wage. And yet, during my stay, everyone wanted to treat me to a coffee, or a cheese pie, or anything for that matter, as long as they paid for it. The Greek people may be facing an economic hardship, however, they have not become stingy. The cafes and restaurants were always full, and when I would ask why people go out despite being unemployed or in an undesirable financial situation, most of them responded: the climate. The sun and the beautiful weather made people more inclined to get out of their houses and socialize. “Ο Έλληνας λειτουργεί με τον ήλιο. Ο ήλιος είναι η κορτιζόνη του Έλληνα”. "The Greek functions with the sun. The sun is the cortisone of the Greek".
Despite the financial predicament Greece finds itself in, the Greek citizens I had the opportunity to speak to were all proud of both their nationality and their country. They told me that Greece established the building blocks of the entire world, and that is something that cannot be changed, nor taken away from them. Philosophy, art, architecture, science, democracy, the Olympic Games and other disciplines and legacies that have been manipulated and reformulated by other cultures, but have their roots in Greece. “Την Ελλάδα μόνο οικονομικά μπορούν να την πολεμήσουν”. Greece can only be fought economically.
