This call goes beyond a plea for financial or infrastructural aid. This call rises above a cry for equity in the assumption or responsibilities that were meant to be joint and mutual for all countries making up the European edifice. This call dismisses any thought of calculative manoeuvre formed on a quid pro quo basis. Human lives and human dignity cannot, must not and will not be used as an ace up any country’s sleeve, as a part of a vulgar and indecent bargain.
This call is not confined in the narrow boundaries of an emergency situation amidst an unofficially declared humanitarian crisis. We should not be driven by any kind of new age - artificial - Samaritan-like “humanitarian” motives. We are simply inspired by the dire and inherent need to be Human. In reality, there is no other alternative than to humbly kneel before a fellow human being in desperate need and offer a helping hand of empathy and solidarity.
Over the past moths we have witnessed -on a repeated, increasing and nearly daily basis- actions, events, declarations and statements that inject lethal venom into the very core of our continent. Fences have been built up as if Europe has been under a threat of a foreign military invasion. Abominable laws allowing the confiscation of personal items have been voted, evoking the darkest and cruelest moments in European history. Borders have been arbitrarily and unilaterally crossed within European territory, in disrespect of every explicit or tacit rule, in contempt of all sentiment of unity and collectivity. Words of hatred, intolerance, narrow-mindedness and ephemeral self-interest have been spoken by official lips. Childlike arguments have been expressed, transforming Europe into an elevator or a phone booth, where “there is simply no more space for newcomers”.
The past has been neglected, pushed aside, ignored and misinterpreted, as if historical events are self-sown and not grown from seed. Europe, as a total, has acquitted itself of any prior (even indirect) involvement to the events that have led to this crisis and numerous European countries have ruled themselves as rightfully uninvolved in the process of coping with a calamity of huge dimensions. Immoral insinuations have been uttered towards Greece, which eloquently mask a clear incitement to acts of barbarism under the verbal diplomatic umbrella of phrases such as “need for effective protection of its borders”.
This call is addressed neither to European governments nor to European institutions. It is naïve to question their in-depth knowledge of the situation; it is a clear waste of time to place faith in a futile hope of sudden and divine enlightenment. This call is targeted to every mechanism, community, union, organization and group of people situated in the very heart of every society in worldwide scale. Diaspora Greeks, residents of Europe, citizens of the entire planet, no one has the right to feel exempt from the universal rule of awareness.
This call is an open invitation not only towards artists, intellectuals, academics and figures of public acclaim and appreciation, but to every individual citizen around the globe as well. An open invitation to all people at the four corners of the earth to exert pressure, to take action, to refrain from staying inert and indifferent, to take a stand in the direction of solidarity and empathy. It would be a fatal mistake for Europe to deal with the refugee crisis as a distant problem; it would be unforgivable to create pit holes and dumpsters of seedy and bedraggled fellow human beings. The village of Idomene represents a characteristic example of the above-mentioned, with 10,000 people being stuffed like animals in awful living conditions, while the standard daily flow through the FYROM – Greece borders does not surpass the number of 200 refugees. Needless to say that a rainy night can turn the camp into an unbearable swamp at the break of dawn…
In all honesty, it is not even acceptable to envisage this crisis as a “problem”, as this crisis is on the verge of becoming an existential issue that will determine who we really are, for many generations to come. It can never be considered tiring of useless to spread the word of a constant crime being committed against helpless people.
Engage yourselves in this cause. It’s worth your time.
Newspaper from Greece, “Press of Thessaloniki”
