Η Εικόνα μας στο Εξωτερικό

Αντιγράφω από το άρθρο με τίτλο "Greece: the political ecology of disaster" του Χρόνη Πολυχρονίου στο openDemocracy (ολόκληρο το άρθρο, εδώ):

The ecological and environmental crisis engulfing Greece also highlights the deep flaws of the contemporary Greek political and social landscape. The inefficient and dilatory official response to the burgeoning crisis has revealed a public-administration system staffed by poorly trained personnel (who in key areas collude with bribery-fuelled illegal building in forested areas); a political elite which caters largely to the needs of its financial patrons, and bickers over which of the leading parties (the ruling New Democracy and the opposition Pasok) steals more from the national treasury when in power; and a disillusioned, cynical citizenry.

Would London or New York tolerate large-scale illegal construction in area designated as forest parks? In Greece, as near to the centres of power and legitimacy as the outer suburbs of Athens, even the public-utility companies become part of the corrupt "exchange system" as in many cases they end up providing the owners of the new structures with access to electricity and water.

This, then, is a civic and political disaster as well as an environmental one. The Greek state is visibly ill-equipped to cope; it is dependent on technical assistance from its European Union partners in the short-term effort of firefighting and fire-prevention, and has no developed long-term plan that meets the needs of forest restoration and ecological management. Greek governments' lack of political will and governing capacity in dealing with the problem of forest fires (including those started deliberately) represents the national disgrace of the entire political and judicial system.

και λίγο παρακάτω...

"All nations at important moments in their history face pivotal moments when they must urgently address pressing matters of great collective concern if they are to avoid regression. For Greece, such a moment has arrived. Unfortunately, neither of the two major political parties that have taken turns to govern the nation since the end of military rule in 1974 have displayed the administrative competence or the intellectual understanding now required to address the ecological threat confronting the country."

Απλές διαπιστώσεις από άνθρωπο με κοινή λογική, που αποδεικνύουν πως δεν περνάνε άλλο τα παραμύθια μας. Μας πήρανε χαμπάρι...