I have been back in Greece since February 1st, and am pretty content to visit with a few friends that I made here, and do some
volunteer work at Caritas Refugee Center near Omonia Square downtown Athens.
I am wishing that I were more poetic. One poem would be on a ten minute walk through my slightly posh (by Athens standards) neighborhood and the human misery unfolding before me with each half a block. But there is no poem in me yet.
I was walking down the street in Palio Faliro past the fancy shops. What! Is that guy dead or hurt? He's lying in a ground level tree planter square in the dirt. No, his legs are bent at the knees in a sleeping posture. He is sleeping with his upper body and head in the dirt around the tree, and his legs are on the sidewalk. It is one in the afternoon.
A moment later a man emerged from near a store front ready to play his accordian for me. Just a few half-hearted bars while his little boy held out an empty plastic cup for change.
I crossed the street to go to the video store and passed a gypsy woman sitting on the sidewalk with her child in her lap. She wasn't even begging, but was folded into her head covering. Then she reached out her hand as I passed.
After I left the video store, I came upon a man digging through a dumpster. He said "papootsia" which means shoes.
He indicated that his shoes were falling apart. I wanted to tell him that he could go to Caritas Refugee Center to get
shoes and clothes, but the language barrier was too great.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had originally crossed the street at the beginning of my walk to avoid the usual beggars by the church who sit there all day long in wheelchairs as well as the Africans who hawk umbrellas and movie CD's . Unfortunately there is no avoiding poverty and despair in all of the places i have been in Athens. There is a steady stream of refugees from
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and many African countries such as Rwanda and Sudan, and this government judging by its lack of action couldn't care less about helping them to survive.
November 14, 2008
St. Theresa of the Dogs
I went to Evangelismos metro Station today to look at an apartment.
Mr. Sotiris Mousouris* who showed the apartment was a former assistant
secretary general of the United Nations. He is retired now, but heads several
major volunteer organizations to help people in Greece and in Africa lead better
lives. He was very pleasant and gave me a drink of water and chocolate. His apartment and the one he
showed had great views of Lycabettus Hill and the Parthenon.
I left and went into the Metro Station where a large dog was resting in the lobby.
A male Metro employee told his underling to get the dog out which she tried to do with a push broom.
She wasn’t having much luck, and a pretty British/Greek young woman turned to me and said how much it upset her, the way dogs were treated in Greece, often turned out and left to fend for themselves, never mind spaying/neutering in this macho country! One of us suggested that food might help to get him out of the station, and I offered to go with her to get it. We walked several blocks to a fast food shop, and she ordered two burgers with cheese on a long bun and a bottle of water. She told me that her name is Deborah and she is from the UK and works in the British Embassy. Her mother is Greek, so she grew up speaking Greek. She and her family love animals, and they have property on the beautiful island of Hydra where they either have 10 dogs and 20 cats or 20 dogs and 10 cats that they have found abandoned and/or hurt and that they want to rescue. She said that she feeds the animals in her neighborhood every day. Her parents call her the St. Theresa of dogs since she is always bringing them home. She also said that my husband and I could come and stay in one of the bungalows they are building on Hydra! Very generous!
Back at the Metro we were unable to find the dog, but we did find the woman with the broom and asked her. At this point the dog had gone down about 45 steps to the bottom of the station near the tracks. Now several workers were trying to get the dog up as they feared he was in danger being so close to the train. They used a sort of shepherd’s loop/hook and continued to shove, at least gently, with the broom. Deborah tried the double cheeseburger, but he wasn’t interested.
At least the workers at the Metro Station are not completely heartess. Unfortunately there don’t seem to be dog shelters or people to come and get stray dogs. The previous night I had watched two dogs barking and running out into a four lane busy road near the hotel. They did this repeatedly with no sense of watching out for cars. I spoke to some policemen at a nearby police station. They said that the dogs were barking at the cars, and that they did that every night, and there was nothing they or anyone else was going to do about it.
Back to the Metro Pooch, they finally led him out with the
Shepherd’s hook. I think he took the elevator! As I left, a
poodle came walking through the upstairs part of the Metro.
It is endless, the parade of homeless animals and very tragic.
* Sotiris Mousouris
Sotiris Mousouris (1936- ) served as assistant secretary-general heading such UN departments as the Centre against Apartheid, Political Affairs, Secretariat Services for Economic and Social Matters, and the Office of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Pakistan (1982-1995). He joined the UN in 1966 as an economist working in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and as assistant director at the Centre on Transnational Corporations, which he helped establish. Born in Greece, he studied at the University of Athens and at the Harvard Business School. Since retirement from the UN, he was appointed president of the Organization for the Construction of the New Museum of Acropolis and as special envoy of the Greek Foreign Minister. He currently is president of the Greek African Chamber of Commerce and Development.
St. Theresa of the Dogs
I went to Evangelismos metro Station today to look at an apartment.
Mr. Sotiris Mousouris* who showed the apartment was a former assistant
secretary general of the United Nations. He is retired now, but heads several
major volunteer organizations to help people in Greece and in Africa lead better
lives. He was very pleasant and gave me a drink of water and chocolate. His apartment and the one he
showed had great views of Lycabettus Hill and the Parthenon.
I left and went into the Metro Station where a large dog was resting in the lobby.
A male Metro employee told his underling to get the dog out which she tried to do with a push broom.
She wasn’t having much luck, and a pretty British/Greek young woman turned to me and said how much it upset her, the way dogs were treated in Greece, often turned out and left to fend for themselves, never mind spaying/neutering in this macho country! One of us suggested that food might help to get him out of the station, and I offered to go with her to get it. We walked several blocks to a fast food shop, and she ordered two burgers with cheese on a long bun and a bottle of water. She told me that her name is Deborah and she is from the UK and works in the British Embassy. Her mother is Greek, so she grew up speaking Greek. She and her family love animals, and they have property on the beautiful island of Hydra where they either have 10 dogs and 20 cats or 20 dogs and 10 cats that they have found abandoned and/or hurt and that they want to rescue. She said that she feeds the animals in her neighborhood every day. Her parents call her the St. Theresa of dogs since she is always bringing them home. She also said that my husband and I could come and stay in one of the bungalows they are building on Hydra! Very generous!
Back at the Metro we were unable to find the dog, but we did find the woman with the broom and asked her. At this point the dog had gone down about 45 steps to the bottom of the station near the tracks. Now several workers were trying to get the dog up as they feared he was in danger being so close to the train. They used a sort of shepherd’s loop/hook and continued to shove, at least gently, with the broom. Deborah tried the double cheeseburger, but he wasn’t interested.
At least the workers at the Metro Station are not completely heartess. Unfortunately there don’t seem to be dog shelters or people to come and get stray dogs. The previous night I had watched two dogs barking and running out into a four lane busy road near the hotel. They did this repeatedly with no sense of watching out for cars. I spoke to some policemen at a nearby police station. They said that the dogs were barking at the cars, and that they did that every night, and there was nothing they or anyone else was going to do about it.
Back to the Metro Pooch, they finally led him out with the
Shepherd’s hook. I think he took the elevator! As I left, a
poodle came walking through the upstairs part of the Metro.
It is endless, the parade of homeless animals and very tragic.
* Sotiris Mousouris
Sotiris Mousouris (1936- ) served as assistant secretary-general heading such UN departments as the Centre against Apartheid, Political Affairs, Secretariat Services for Economic and Social Matters, and the Office of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Pakistan (1982-1995). He joined the UN in 1966 as an economist working in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and as assistant director at the Centre on Transnational Corporations, which he helped establish. Born in Greece, he studied at the University of Athens and at the Harvard Business School. Since retirement from the UN, he was appointed president of the Organization for the Construction of the New Museum of Acropolis and as special envoy of the Greek Foreign Minister. He currently is president of the Greek African Chamber of Commerce and Development.
Stuffed!
November 14, 2008
Kallithea, Athens, Greece
Stuffed!
I called Andi to invite her to lunch. She met me at the bus stop near her apartment and had leftover food from her family get together at Mt. Parnassus. Since her oven is out of order (I can relate), her 74 year old neighbor Ellie was planning to heat it up. When I arrived, Andi told me about the nice woman, Meszine, who had driven her home from her daughter’s house in the mountains. Meszine and her husband have a two bedroom apparent for rent in Palio Faliro. Of course we dropped everything including lunch to go see it. We took a taxi, but we were unable to find the address that Meszine gave us. Somehow we ended up in the backseat of a police car with 2 handsome Greek cops who took us to our destination. Andi is a friendly lady who seems to will people to her aid. The apartment we saw was lovely, but unfurnished, and for that reason only, we decided against it. Meszine is very nice, and I appreciate that she would have given us a big discount on the apartment just because I am Andi’s friend! Back at Andi’s house we gave the large pan of stuffed vegetables to Ellie and at about 5pm had our lunch of: stuffed pepper, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, and stuffed onions! Needless to say, when I finished the meal, I was stuffed! Andi sent a container of stuffed vegetables home with me for Tom, and will be making him lots of dolmadakias (stuffed grape leaves) when we return. Thank you, Andi!
Kallithea, Athens, Greece
Stuffed!
I called Andi to invite her to lunch. She met me at the bus stop near her apartment and had leftover food from her family get together at Mt. Parnassus. Since her oven is out of order (I can relate), her 74 year old neighbor Ellie was planning to heat it up. When I arrived, Andi told me about the nice woman, Meszine, who had driven her home from her daughter’s house in the mountains. Meszine and her husband have a two bedroom apparent for rent in Palio Faliro. Of course we dropped everything including lunch to go see it. We took a taxi, but we were unable to find the address that Meszine gave us. Somehow we ended up in the backseat of a police car with 2 handsome Greek cops who took us to our destination. Andi is a friendly lady who seems to will people to her aid. The apartment we saw was lovely, but unfurnished, and for that reason only, we decided against it. Meszine is very nice, and I appreciate that she would have given us a big discount on the apartment just because I am Andi’s friend! Back at Andi’s house we gave the large pan of stuffed vegetables to Ellie and at about 5pm had our lunch of: stuffed pepper, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, and stuffed onions! Needless to say, when I finished the meal, I was stuffed! Andi sent a container of stuffed vegetables home with me for Tom, and will be making him lots of dolmadakias (stuffed grape leaves) when we return. Thank you, Andi!
Andi
November 12, 2008, Evening around 7pm
Andi
Tom and I had our second Greek language lesson with our new teacher Maroussa, a lovely and fun teacher, a big improvement from the previous fellow. We practiced, "What is your name? My name is….. and so on." I think we will be chatting away in Greek in no time!
On the way back to the Theoxenia Palace Hotel where we are staying for three weeks until November 21, we came upon an older woman who seemed to be walking with some effort, again on Notara Street, where the blind people were. I took her arm as the terrain is difficult on the sidewalk and it was dark. She was very friendly, and was on her way to a Diabetes party at our hotel. She has had "theeaveetes" (how she said it) for 20 years, and was excited about attending the party. Her English was excellent; she had attended a private school in Cyprus where she had grown up. Her father had died when she was very small, leaving behind three children and a 24 year old wife. Luckily her grandparents had land which they sold so the family had money to live on, and she said that her mother was both mother and father to her. At the Theoxenia Hotel she gave us contact information and invited us to come to her home for coffee. I made a date for the next day (me only, since Tom is working here). I was concerned about her walking on lonely rough dark roads, and found out the next day that Costas, a waiter here, had given her a ride home as he didn’t live far from her.
November 13
I received a message from Andi that she would come to the hotel to get me, and tried to call to tell her that it wasn’t necessary and that I would find my way, but I couldn’t reach her. She came at 11am and we took the bus to her apartment near the School for the Blind (seems to be a blind theme in this blog). We had tea at the coffee shop below her apartment. Her 18 year old granddaughter was expected at her home. She commutes from Mt. Parnithas two hours and spends one or more nights a week with Andi. Andi wanted to make her lunch, and asked if I would mind if we ate at home. That sounded good to me. She wanted me to sit and watch Greek TV, but I insisted on helping her. The kitchen was big enough, but the major appliances were very old, and like my own house the oven didn’t work. Andi is moving back to Cyprus next month and I don’t think she will be staying at that apartment which belongs to her husband’s card making company any more. He is now retired. The granddaughter was very pretty, and nice. Her name was Mariella pronounced Maria’la with the accent on the middle a. She is studying business at Piraeus University. She watches all of the American shows like Lost, Friends, House, etc. Andi and I chopped onions and parsley and cooked them in lots of olive oil in a very small frying pan. She grated a tomato and added it to the vegetables. She then realized that she forgot to add the ground pork which we cooked separately with another good dose of olive oil. The pasta was a thick hollow spaghetti that is made by Miska. Andi said the advertisement says, “Don’t forget the Misko!” She added a good dose of olive oil to the Misko while it was boiling. She served the vegetables over the Misko with a platter of Thothoni feta (the best type of feta according to Andi), and it was best food I have had since arriving! Lunch was followed with apples, very sweet kiwi, and tangerines. Great lunch!
I asked Mariella if her grandmother often brought strangers home, and she said,
“Yes, she did!” I am invited to go again today (November14) for stuffed peppers, made with the rest of the tomatoes and some rice, but I will wait to see her until next week and hopefully either do the cooking or take her out somewhere. By the way, she is 73 years old. Mariella said that Andi talks to everyone on the bus, sometimes moving to find someone to talk with. That is exactly how I was in New York City and I like to think that it may have brightened someone’s day the way it cheered me to meet someone new. We all should strive to make the world a little warmer for others.
Andi
Tom and I had our second Greek language lesson with our new teacher Maroussa, a lovely and fun teacher, a big improvement from the previous fellow. We practiced, "What is your name? My name is….. and so on." I think we will be chatting away in Greek in no time!
On the way back to the Theoxenia Palace Hotel where we are staying for three weeks until November 21, we came upon an older woman who seemed to be walking with some effort, again on Notara Street, where the blind people were. I took her arm as the terrain is difficult on the sidewalk and it was dark. She was very friendly, and was on her way to a Diabetes party at our hotel. She has had "theeaveetes" (how she said it) for 20 years, and was excited about attending the party. Her English was excellent; she had attended a private school in Cyprus where she had grown up. Her father had died when she was very small, leaving behind three children and a 24 year old wife. Luckily her grandparents had land which they sold so the family had money to live on, and she said that her mother was both mother and father to her. At the Theoxenia Hotel she gave us contact information and invited us to come to her home for coffee. I made a date for the next day (me only, since Tom is working here). I was concerned about her walking on lonely rough dark roads, and found out the next day that Costas, a waiter here, had given her a ride home as he didn’t live far from her.
November 13
I received a message from Andi that she would come to the hotel to get me, and tried to call to tell her that it wasn’t necessary and that I would find my way, but I couldn’t reach her. She came at 11am and we took the bus to her apartment near the School for the Blind (seems to be a blind theme in this blog). We had tea at the coffee shop below her apartment. Her 18 year old granddaughter was expected at her home. She commutes from Mt. Parnithas two hours and spends one or more nights a week with Andi. Andi wanted to make her lunch, and asked if I would mind if we ate at home. That sounded good to me. She wanted me to sit and watch Greek TV, but I insisted on helping her. The kitchen was big enough, but the major appliances were very old, and like my own house the oven didn’t work. Andi is moving back to Cyprus next month and I don’t think she will be staying at that apartment which belongs to her husband’s card making company any more. He is now retired. The granddaughter was very pretty, and nice. Her name was Mariella pronounced Maria’la with the accent on the middle a. She is studying business at Piraeus University. She watches all of the American shows like Lost, Friends, House, etc. Andi and I chopped onions and parsley and cooked them in lots of olive oil in a very small frying pan. She grated a tomato and added it to the vegetables. She then realized that she forgot to add the ground pork which we cooked separately with another good dose of olive oil. The pasta was a thick hollow spaghetti that is made by Miska. Andi said the advertisement says, “Don’t forget the Misko!” She added a good dose of olive oil to the Misko while it was boiling. She served the vegetables over the Misko with a platter of Thothoni feta (the best type of feta according to Andi), and it was best food I have had since arriving! Lunch was followed with apples, very sweet kiwi, and tangerines. Great lunch!
I asked Mariella if her grandmother often brought strangers home, and she said,
“Yes, she did!” I am invited to go again today (November14) for stuffed peppers, made with the rest of the tomatoes and some rice, but I will wait to see her until next week and hopefully either do the cooking or take her out somewhere. By the way, she is 73 years old. Mariella said that Andi talks to everyone on the bus, sometimes moving to find someone to talk with. That is exactly how I was in New York City and I like to think that it may have brightened someone’s day the way it cheered me to meet someone new. We all should strive to make the world a little warmer for others.
The Nut Man
November 11, 2008 Athens, Greece
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