There was a general strike throughout the country today so instead of going to Athens today as originally planned, the group had the morning off and listened to a lecture of the current economic situation here this afternoon. The morning started leisurely with breakfast downstairs before Austin, Beth Ann, and I went into town to the market. The market was unlike anything I have ever seen before! They had everything—jewelry, fish, fruit, clothes, shoes, purses, textiles, and even turtles! It was so neat to see and everything was such a good deal! We perused for a while before heading back to the hotel for some sun. There were a lot people out by the pool today and it was so nice to have the afternoon to relax!
We came in after lunch and got ready to go downstairs to hear from our special guest speakers for the day. We heard mostly from Alec Mally, a state department employee here in Greece who has held multiple diplomacy positions throughout the Balkan region. First, he provided us with basic insight into how the Greek economic system functions and how Greece has catapulted itself into the mess the country is currently in. He talked about how Greece was able to develop a successful economy after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1824. Much of this can be attributed to the return of native Greeks back to their homeland after independence was achieved. There was steady growth for a long time as other European countries invested in the infrastructure of Greece. According to Mally, the real problems started in the 1980’s when political power shifted and thousands of civil workers were added to the workforce and the government became unable to support the massive influx of workers and their benefits. Basically, this happened again in 2004, and things have only gotten worse from there. After learning all of this background information, Mally summarized the situation by speaking on the regulations in place that prohibit free enterprise and outlining possible outcomes to the situation. Despite all the problems, he was very adamant that although Greece’s situation is bad, it is important to keep a regional perspective. Greece is still much better off than any other country in the Balkan region. feel as though the group left with a much better understanding of the situation facing Greece while we are here.
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