Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)
August 26, 2004 Thursday
PLIGHT OF THE ROMA;
Outcasts of Greece and the Games
BY TINA SUSMAN. STAFF CORRESPONDENT
ASPROPYRGOS, Greece - The rubble is everywhere: rusted car parts, a rickety baby carriage, a broken TV and all manner of trash. The ground is unpaved and strewn with rocks. The homes, patched together with stray chunks of wood, plastic and metal, resemble ill-fitted jigsaw puzzles.
Asked what she uses for a toilet, Joanna Aristopoulou motions toward the field. "Nature," she says.
That goes for the dozens of other Roma, or Gypsies, occupying this grimy industrial area outside Athens, which underwent a massive beautification effort to host the Olympics.
Aristopoulou and other Roma say they are victims of this effort and that the attention being focused on Greece should be turned to their plight. That's especially the case, they say, since many Roma settlements were dismantled before the Games, including one cleared to make way for a parking lot at the main Olympic complex.
The Roma say the government has reneged for years on vows to provide them better living standards.
"We are Greek citizens too. What is it for them to give adequate housing to the Roma?" said Aristopoulou, one of tens of thousands of Roma living in Greece, which has long been accused by human rights groups, including the government's own National Commission for Human Rights, of neglecting them. Those accusations took on new strength in the run-up to the Games from organizations such as Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations. Among other things, the government was chastised over the eviction that cleared land for the Olympic parking lot. That Roma settlement had existed nearly 50 years.
"The Games and all the infrastructure that's been done - the highways and this and that - that's all very good and very helpful. But for us to feel good about the Olympics, we need to be housed somewhere," said one of those displaced by the parking lot, Prokopis Nikolaou, 36.
Nikolaou and others who had lived in the shack settlement said they were promised rent subsidies so they could find apartments, and were told permanent housing eventually would be built for them. But the subsidies have been consistently late or not paid at all, Nikolaou said. Two years after the forced move, he, his wife and their three children share a cramped house with other relatives because, he says, the erratic subsidies made it impossible to secure an apartment.
In addition, he said his monthly subsidy, calculated according to family size, was never raised after his wife had their third child 11 months ago. "Basically, we feel we were cheated," he said.
The Greek government denies mistreating the Roma and says they, like other fringe groups, are simply feeling the bite of enhanced police enforcement during the Games. The interior ministry did not respond to e-mailed requests for specific comments, but in response to past criticisms it has described the Roma situation as "of great concern" to Greek authorities. It says it has spent millions of dollars moving Roma into prefabricated houses to replace their shacks and tents; to build permanent housing for others; and to offer them job training.
Determining how many Roma live in Greece is difficult. Estimates range from 120,000 to a half-million, and they are scattered and subject to different treatment, depending on municipality.
Commumities Wiped Out
A common complaint by rights groups concerns evictions by local officials determined to keep Roma out of sight and away from non-Roma, who derisively call them "gyps." Such evictions picked up speed after Athens was awarded the 2004 Olympics in 1997, as local officials saw a chance to bulldoze unsightly squatter settlements, the National Human Rights Commission said in 2001.
Those in Aspropyrgos, northwest of Athens, say they ended up in their current spot after their settlement next to a dump was razed by local officials. In Spata, south of the capital, another group was moved from its settlement behind a school to a seemingly preferable spot a few miles away, on a breezy hill with a view of the sea. But four years later, the promised electricity and water never materialized, and it's too far from town for children to walk to school, or for residents to go shopping or to a doctor on foot.
Land of broken promises
The Romas who were evicted to clear land for the parking lot two years ago are scattered across the city, since no settlement was established for them.
Critics say no matter what municipalities are guilty of, the final responsibility lies with the central government, which in 1996 and 2001 unveiled plans to, among other things, build new settlements for Romas, improve existing ones and make housing loans easier. In May, a report from the UN's Economic and Social Council said few of the promises had been kept and that "persistent discrimination" against Roma existed. It also said it was "gravely concerned" about demolition of Roma housing without adequate compensation or provisions of alternative housing.
Separate lives
The Romas' nomadic past, and the illegal squatter settlements they formed when they were drawn to cities in search of work, have prompted disdain among non-Roma. Many dismiss them as criminals who choose not to integrate with other Greeks. "The Roma are always in camps. They don't want to live in houses," said Theodoros Stefanides, a university student in Athens. "These people always complain, but it's their choice to live in tents. They're difficult people."
His companion, Daphne Dedopoulou, agreed: "If they want more respect from us, they could stop selling drugs."
Those attitudes rile Roma like Spiros Parianos. "Look at our hands! They are honest, hardworking!" he said indignantly, holding out his dry, calloused hands. "We are not illegal. We don't go to steal. We don't deal drugs."
Parianos makes a living selling scrap metal. Others sell wares at street markets but have been hampered by crackdowns on nonlicensed sellers.
Nikolaou admits he was selling trinkets and housewares without a permit. And there's no question some Roma are involved in questionable businesses. As one woman in Aspropyrgos lamented her poverty, her son drove up in a flashy red BMW she insisted was paid for through selling vegetables.
Economic Reality
Human rights groups say the majority of Roma, though, are law-abiding people forced by poverty and discrimination to live on the fringes of society. Nikolaou, for example, now cruises neighborhoods selling watermelons out of the back of a truck because the crackdown makes it impossible for him to sell at the flea market.
"We spent billions to make Athens much more beautiful," said Panayote Dimitras of Greek Helsinki Monitor, a rights group that has taken up the Romas' cause. "If only a tiny fraction of that was spent for those Roma who are in need, we would have model settlements that we could brag about."
Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)
August 22, 2004 Sunday
BATTLE OF SEXES PLAYS OUT;
The woman Greeks love to hate
BY TINA SUSMAN. STAFF CORRESPONDENT
ATHENS - Ask a group of Greeks what they think of having the Olympics in Athens and the responses are overwhelmingly positive. Ask the same group what they think of the woman who, by most accounts, made it possible to have the Olympics in Athens, and the mood turns decidedly negative.
"Arrogant," "annoying" and "show-off" are some of the kinder terms used to describe Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who led Athens' bid for the 2004 Games and who was drafted by the prime minister four years ago to take charge of the floundering Organizing Committee after international Olympic officials threatened to yank the Games away.
So are "clever," "very, very capable" and "energetic," underscoring the conflict many Greeks have with a woman as powerful and high-profile as Angelopoulos-Daskalaki,
This may be the cradle of democracy, whose capital is named for a powerful woman - Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who defeated the god of the sea, Poseidon, for the honor.
But it's also a country that denied women voting rights until 1952, where 35 women won seats in an election in March - an increase of 10 over the previous parliament - and where nearly half the men of the 300-member Parliament cast blank ballots in the same election for a new speaker rather than vote for the sole candidate, a woman.
Anna Psarouda-Benaki won with just 163 votes.
"They always want a strong woman behind them, but not in front of them," Ria Rigatou, an Athens businesswoman, said with a laugh Wednesday in describing attitudes of Greek men.
Two women have headed up the show in these Olympics: Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a lawyer and former Parliament member, and Athens mayor Dora Bakoyannis.
The daughter of a former prime minister, Constantine Mitsotakis, Bakoyannis was elected Athens' first female mayor in 2002 and, under her leadership, the city underwent a cleaning and construction boom in time for the Games. But her understated style and soft-spoken elegance have not generated the criticism hurled at the colorful Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, giving credence to Rigatou's theory.
Certainly, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, 49, has her admirers. They include former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who warned Athens in 2000 that it faced losing the Games if it didn't speed up preparations. In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, he credited Angelopoulos-Daskalaki with turning things around. "It was Gianna 100 percent," Samaranch said.
"She's an exceptional human being. She kept it together and was amazing," said Vangelis Tsioumas, an electrician sitting in the shade in an Athens park. "She's a goddess, and we owe very much to her," said Thomas Chortis, a salesman at a posh boutique who feigned a swoon at the mention of Gianna, as she is commonly known here.
But they appear outnumbered by those who believe Angelopoulos-Daskalaki has assumed too big a role, and whose comments indicate a view that successful women should not seek the limelight.
Love her and loathe her
"Her [Angelopoulos-Daskalaki] public persona has become too big and she's overshadowing other figures," insisted Christos Papamichael, a Navy officer who sat sipping coffee at an Athens cafe. When pressed to name those other figures, though, he couldn't.
"The problem is her style comes across as a model or an actress, as if she wants to always be in front of the camera," added Elias Theodorakopoulos, an insurance executive. "In a man, Greek people are accustomed to this very elegant style. They're not used to a woman in a leadership position being so stylish. We're used to women being like that if they're Madonna or something."
But summing up the dilemma of those who love what Angelopoulos-Daskalaki did, but resent her for doing it with such flash, he added: "On the other hand, she's very, very capable."
The views are not just shared by men. Women, too, have criticized Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, accusing her of riding her second husband's wealth - her first husband was also wealthy - to success and condemning everything from her colorful designer suits to her heavy make-up. They have even chastised her for not appearing regularly in public in the standard Olympic outfit: a frumpy polo shirt and baggy blue trousers.
"What she did very few people could have done," said Francoise Theodorakopoulos, a foreign-language teacher. "She should have tried to be as competent as possible. But that came across as provocative, because she wants to be seen and to be a public figure."
"I think the only talent she has is public relations. She just has an outer facade of glamour," said Daphne Dedopoulou, a student, who dismissed Angelopoulos-Daskalaki's contributions to the Olympics. "If I had two husbands myself who had so much money, I could also give a lot to the Olympics," she said.
'Man of the year'
If such animosity bothers Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, she doesn't show it. In fact, she appears to revel in it. When Greek Esquire named her "man of the year" in 2002, she gamely posed for the cover smoking one of her trademark cigars. She happily accepts her nickname of the "Iron Lady" of the Olympics.
In interviews with Greek and foreign media, she has dismissed criticism of her demeanor, saying a glamorous image helps when you're seeking international support for the Olympics or trying to get construction projects finished on time.
She makes no apologies for having used her husband's private jet to zoom around, drumming up Olympic support, and says the Games' ballooning budget - it started at 2.4 billion Euros and grew to about 5 billion - will benefit all Greeks.
"The Olympic Games were and are a tremendous investment for Greece, and as a result Athens and all of Greece has fundamentally changed for the better," she told the Athens Metro newspaper, citing the new public transport system, spruced-up buildings and new highways.
'A country where men know best'
Her critics insist her gender has nothing to do with their opinions.
"I don't think if she was a man she would be better liked," said Yvette Jarvis, an Athens city councilwoman who says Angelopoulos-Daskalaki alienated municipal officials by not giving them enough of a role in Olympics planning.
Not only that, she invited only the mayor and the president of the City Council to the Opening Ceremonies on Aug. 13, ignoring the 41 council members, Jarvis said.
Most importantly, she said, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki's flaunting of her wealth - including an Olympics fireworks display at her home that set a nearby hill on fire - is off-putting to average Greeks struggling to make ends meet.
Nevertheless, Jarvis, a Brooklyn-born activist who was elected in 2002 in large part on a women's rights platform, acknowledged that for any woman to achieve power in Greece requires fighting the status quo.
"This is a patriarchal country. This is a country where men know best, men rule and it takes some time for them to get used to a new idea," Jarvis said. "It's better than it was when I came here 20 years ago, but it's still a fight, and it's an uphill battle."
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki's admirers say nobody knows that better than she.
"Without Gianna, these Olympics would not have happened," insisted Christina Makri, a boutique manager, who said Greeks resent Angelopoulos-Daskalaki for her power, money, career and, yes, her gender. "Of course," Makri said, "because here in Greece, women are ranked second."
Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)
August 29, 2004 Sunday
AMERICANS AT OLYMPICS;
Facing anti- U.S. sentiment
BY TINA SUSMAN. STAFF CORRESPONDENT
ATHENS - Ronald and Karen Redden were wandering through central Athens yesterday, looking for Olympic wreaths to take back to Kennewick, Wash., when swarms of protesters shouting anti-U.S. slogans marched past. It was another reminder of the discomfiture of being Americans overseas, and enough to persuade them that future vacations will be closer to home.
"We've talked about it and decided any travels in the future will probably be confined to the continental United States and Hawaii," said Ronald Redden as his wife described some of the awkward moments on this vacation, taken to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.
There was the Greek woman who, upon learning they are American, snapped: "Americans - dumb and dumber!" And the embarrassment of being glared at and shouted down as they cheered the U.S. basketball team, and hearing crowds boo the American players during the tennis finals.
And yesterday, there was the huge banner flapping atop the ancient Acropolis - "Powell Killer Go Home" - which was hoisted late Friday after marchers demanding that Secretary of State Colin Powell cancel an Athens visit clashed with riot police. Hours later, Powell called off the trip, but another protest went ahead yesterday as Greeks sought to show their opposition to the war in Iraq.
State Department officials said Powell canceled his trip partly because of concern that his presence might disrupt the closing ceremonies. He discussed the situation on Friday with Greek Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis, they said, and hopes to come in October instead. The State Department initially said tenuous situations in Iraq and Sudan led him to cancel.
Yesterday's protest, unlike Friday's, ended peacefully, but the message was just as stinging to Americans. Many said they were frustrated by their desire to be patriotic but not be seen as backers of unpopular Bush administration policies. No matter what their political leanings, several interviewed throughout the Aug. 13-29 games agreed that being an American overseas is no longer something to advertise.
For many, the answer was to hide their Americanism by leaving the U.S. flags, Michael Jordan T-shirts and telltale athletic shoes and white socks at home and keeping their voices low in public. But playing down one's Americanism also meant keeping a low profile at sporting events and not feeling comfortable belting out the national anthem or waving American flags in the stands - the very things that make the Olympics a joy to attend.
"It's unfair that I feel conflicted about national pride, and it's hard because I want to feel attached to something," said Andrea Murray of Portland, Ore., who teaches English in Japan and has felt anti-Americanism there as well as in Greece. "It's not always my country or flag that I want to be attached to, but sometimes it is, and I want that to be OK."
Murray opposes the Iraq war but fears most foreigners view Americans as pro-war. That's why she joined Friday's march, even though she did not come to Athens with political activism in mind - she came to watch her boyfriend, Kenyan Eric Wainana, compete in the marathon. Judy Hoffman of Chicago, who took part in anti-war protests during the Vietnam War, also joined the march even though, like Murray, she was in Athens to vacation.
"I learned early on that it's better to let people around the world know that there are people in the United States working for change," she said, comparing overseas travel now with travels years ago. "I remember when I first traveled, just out of college, and people admired the United States for various accomplishments like political progress, Social Security. ... That's all gone now."
The protesters, and Greeks in general, have been eager throughout the games to assure Americans they have no problem with individuals - just with the U.S. government. Americans aren't convinced.
"Some people are angry with the U.S. government, but some are also getting angry with the American people because they don't understand why they aren't doing anything," Hoffman said, referring to the relative lack of anti-war protests in the United States and polls indicating that Bush remains popular among voters.
The Reddens have not traveled extensively. Athens, in fact, is Karen Redden's first overseas trip. But they said they have seen enough to feel that opposition to U.S. foreign policy has spilled over to affect individual Americans.
Ronald Redden said the reaction has made him believe that maybe it's time for the United States to pull back on "sticking our nose everywhere." His wife, though, said the United States is in a no-win situation: It would be condemned if it didn't get involved in other parts of the world, just as it is condemned for intervening.
"I think our forefathers set up a great country, and I say, 'Why can't others do that?'" she said of governments protesting U.S. policies. "We've opened our borders to everyone and tried to help, but all we get is complaints."
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