A short blurb from the editors of ekathimerini caught my eye and piqued my interest this week. The editorial titled In Crete’s best interest, tells us everything we need to know about how the wheels of power in Greece spin.
The short piece labeled “opinion” acknowledges that the people of Crete Island are fearful that temporary migrant structures may evolve into permanent ones. According to the geniuses who wrote this declaration, they also admonish that, “The safety and public health of the inhabitants of Crete require that there be organized structures, as long as the island is under migratory pressure.”
Or, in other words, we know you are afraid of what we are about to do to your island home, but we are going to do it anyway, because we know better. Or, because there is some other game afoot, the average Cretan does not need to know about. A construction contract is about to be awarded to someone’s nephew or cousin.
The summary proves my point. According to sellout media outlet ekathimireni, the only thing that is needed is for local authorities to “explain” to the people in their communities that new infrastructure for migrants needs to happen. Or, it will occur because somebody higher up has already begun the process.
There’s no doubt the Crete migrant crisis demands the full attention of officials at every level. Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris has stressed the need for a system for processing people seeking residence status, and those not well-suited for integration into Crete’s social society and workforce. The need for a “processing center” is one thing, but developing a complex infrastructure without public input, a referendum perhaps, is not democratic in any regard.
With the brain drain hitting Crete like a sledgehammer, and the hoteliers desperate to hire cheaper and cheaper labor for their all-inclusive resorts, I guess we can expect people who came by dinghy or inflatable boat from Libya or Egypt to be serving tourists’ 5-star needs in the coming years. As bitter as this may sound, the truth just plain hurts.
As for ekathimerini’s editorial announcement, Greece’s most famous newspaper, owned by Skai Group, owes the people of Crete a better, more in-depth explanation. Don’t be surprised to learn that the new migrant port/center ends up being run by an outfit like Glafki (Hellas) Maritime Company.
To be continued…
