Re: <nettime> killing immigrants in Greece

[Matina Halkia <matina@starlab.net>]

Since Korina Patelis has expressed an opinion, I feel compelled to express
my opinion in response, although I would have preferred to offer -- for
the interests of the group and for the soundness of my argument-- a
well-documented reply to the issues she has raised. At this moment
however, I can only offer what I have witnessed as a consumer of Greek
mass media. 

The appaling news of the murder of foreign immigrants were covered by the
Greek National Televison and Radio (ERT) -- which offers to a large extent
a high quality broadcasting service that appeals to the spirit as well as
the senses, comparable in my opinion to high quality European channels
like ARTE and TV5-- in the worst of colors.  (Of course, the choice of
delivery depends on the preferences of the viewer because extremely
bad-quality broadcasting is omnipresent in our tele-scape, it only takes a
zap). The news were second or third in order of importance and the tragic
event was covered extensively by condemning criticism by public figures as
well as journalists. There was no doubt in my mind that the reading of the
event was fiercely negative, as negative as other commentators would make
it in other broadcasting services in Europe, if not more. As I live in a
country where events as these are not unfamiliar and are more specifically
enforced by state institutions I can assure Ms Patelis that nothing worse
has happened in Greece than what has been happening for years in other
European countries. I condemn this barbarist act of killing human beings
to the fullest. I also wonder whether the news were not reported in
foreign media because it isn't new enough to be news. 

I have remarked that 4 out of 5 Greek newspapers yesterday reported the
news in the first page.The reports Ms Patelis makes of the criminal's
claims for what regards his so-called protection of the Greek people and
his supposed recognition as a hero were claims made by a madman and they
were reported with the due sarcasm in the Greek national channel . Yes the
police isn't overall well-mannered, but does Ms Patelis have experience of
United States police forces? Yes the police may be racist but how about
the racism of Belgian police forces when that borders to crime? I am not
offering excuses for the appaling events that are starting to appear in
such a tragic extent in the social life of Greece but it would be helpful
to look at the context of other European and First World experiences in
order to make sound and just analysis. 

Living in Britain surely Ms Patelis must have a first hand experience of
the story of colonialism and what it has inflicted on numbers of
indigenous populations in the not so distant past. 

Sincerely,



Matina Halkia
Dip.Arch.Eng, MA
Research Scientist
http://www.starlab.org

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