Syntagma 地鐵站提款機排隊人潮，幾乎每台提款機都是這種陣仗。
This is the line for ATM at Syntagma metro station. Almost all the ATMs in Athens have lines like this.
I took off from Hong Kong, transferred in Moscow, and landed in Athens on June 28, 2015. The ATM at the airport had a huge line that night. When my friend R came to pick me up, he told me everyone wanted to get their money in advance because banks will be closed till the Monday after next week.
「搞不好很多人都專程從市中心來機場領錢哦，因為今天星期天，市中心的可能都被領光了，只剩下機場的有比較多錢給觀光客領。」R說完後哈哈大笑。
"Maybe they all came from downtown Athens just to get money out of the ATM. It's Sunday today, so every ATM in the city may very well be out of cash already. Maybe the machine here would more money for you tourists. Hahaha ... "
希臘是個土地面積很大的國家，全國人口僅一千多萬，但光是雅典就佔了六百萬人左右。我來的這個星期因為開始資金控管了，在希臘的銀行有戶頭的人一天只能提領60歐元，而政府為了替人民節省開銷，這週雅典包括周圍地區所有的大眾交通運輸都免費。
Greece is a country with huge area of land, but the whole population is only 10 something million people, and 6 million are in Athens. During the week I was there, everyone who owns a bank account in Greece was only allowed to take 60 euros from ATM per day. In addition, the government has announced that all public transportations were free in Athens and its surrounding area in order to save some cash for the people.
R家住在離雅典約45分鐘車程的Porto Rafti，來到希臘的第二天，我跟來自日本的壽司一起去了衛城博物館等R做完根管治療再來跟我們會合。博物館很新也很高級，但是館藏稀少的可憐。我和壽司駐足在沒有頭的阿佛洛迪斯女神（Aphrodite，也就是維納斯）前面，館內的一位人員主動朝我們走來，說這是複製品、那也是複製品，真品都在大英博物館裡。我們雖然一直都知道這件事，可是從她口中說出這段話透出的是深深地無奈。在歷史上，希臘不斷的被入侵、佔領、重組，而這幾年的經濟危機固然對希臘人民衝擊不小，但也許以某個角度來說，他們已經習慣了。
R lives in Porto Rafti, which is about 45 minutes drive from Athens. The second day in Greece, I went to Acropolis Museum with S from Japan while waiting for R to finish his dental appointment. The museum is quite new with very few collections. When S and I stood in front of the headless Aphrodite, a woman who was working in the museum walked toward us. She told us most of the sculptures we saw were copies. The originals are all in the British Museum. Although we already knew about this, we could feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness from her expression. Greece has survived many invasions, occupations, and reformations throughout history. Therefore, from another point of view, despite of the fact that the financial crisis certainly has a huge impact on them, this is not the first time they are "under attack." Perhaps subconsciously they would know how to get through this.
雅典的衛城滿載著來自世界各地的觀光客，「所以妳看到遠方那個黃色大建築了嗎？那是國會。另一邊的古城是民主誕生的地方，而那黃色建築是民主將要死亡的地方。」我們三個人站在衛城向下俯瞰這個世界上最古老的城市之一，聽著R說。
The Acropolis in Athens was filled with tourists from all over the world. R said, "Do you see that big yellow building? That's our parliament. It's where democracy will die. The Old Town is on the other side, that was where democracy was born. " We stood right next to the temple watching over one of the oldest cities.
離開衛城後，我們在國會前的Σύνταγμα (Syntagma Square) 看到一些記者和攝影師還有零散的警察。R說市中心今天會有抗議，但沒什麼好擔心的，因為這次不會像三年前一樣有催淚彈。「而且現在太熱了（攝氏28度又乾燥到底哪裡熱！）又快要siestas, 集會應該晚點才會開始。」唔，所以連抗議都是希臘 style 嗎？我心想好像在很歷史上的一刻時來到雅典，一邊覺得自己賺到了免費交通，一邊又覺得這是因為希臘的困境才得到的體驗，感覺矛盾。
After we left Acropolis, we saw some journalists, photographers, reporters, and police in Syntagma Square. R said there will be a protest in the center, but there's nothing to worry about because there won't be any tear gas flying around like 3 years ago. "It is too hot right now (it was only 28 celsius, and it was not hot in my opinion ..., ) and it's almost siestas time, so the gathering won't happen till later." Hmm ... So I guess the protests here are in Greek style as well? I think I certainly came to Athens at a historical moment. I was lucky to have free transportation, but at the same time, this happened upon me because of what is happening to Greece. I felt uncomfortable about my fortune.
2015年7月1日這天早上希臘被CNN宣布破產了，我問R接下來呢？「大家互相殘殺？當然沒怎樣啊，就還是一樣過日子，只是提款機前的隊伍更長了。」R指著電視上的新聞。「我不知道CNN在那邊倒數，說我們要是凌晨一點沒有付款給IMF（國際貨幣經濟組織）就是正式破產的意義何在，他們是智障嗎？有事嗎？我們兩星期前就說我們付不出錢來了...啊吃早餐吧。」R煩躁的說。
July 1, 2015, CNN announced that Greece is officially bankrupt. I asked R what is going to happen next? "We all kill each other? No, nothing is going to happen. The line in front of ATMs may get longer, but life keeps going. Also, I don't know why CNN even bothered to do this whole countdown thingy. They said if we didn't pay IMF before 1am, we are officially bankrupt. What's the point? Are they retarded? We already said we have no money to pay them two weeks ago! ughh ... Whatever, let's have some breakfast."
R的哥哥說，也許破產是好事。對反對接受歐盟開出的條件的希臘人來說，他們寧可破產、離開歐元區重新開始，也不想留下來成爲金錢的奴隸。來到希臘以前在網路上閱讀了一些希臘財務危機的文章，大部份都在抨擊希臘人就像是欠了一屁股債還擺爛的屁孩，但實際上生活在雅典的希臘人究竟是怎麼想的呢？沙發主H說，七年前，希臘的基本薪資還有700歐左右，但如今只剩下450歐（約台幣15k。）「政府對我們畫大餅，說改用歐元會對希臘的經濟更好，但實際上採用歐元只是在幫有錢人，加深了這裏的貧富差距。他們還要我們賣掉海灘給企業蓋飯店、渡假村 ...。」在希臘還不到一個星期就就已經聽到好幾個不同的人說討厭歐盟、不喜歡德國、寧可離開歐元區。希臘的媒體也是被控制的，R跟H都說，新聞大都被影響過，不斷的提倡留在歐元區的必要性，於是對有些只看電視的希臘老人來說，他們覺得想要離開歐元區的人都在無理取鬧；在聖多里尼島當警察的T也說，破產的話希臘會陷入混亂，不知道他是不是真心如此認為。
R's brother said maybe bankruptcy is a good thing. To Greeks who don't wish to accept what was offered by EU, they would rather go back to their own currency and start all over. I read some articles online about the economic crisis in Greece before I came here, and most of the articles said Greeks were spending money irresponsibly, but what do Greeks who live in Athens think? My couchsurfing host H told me the basic salary was around 700 euro seven years ago, but now it's only 450 euro. He said the government told them their economy would improve if they join euro, but in fact, using euro only let the rich became richer, and poor became poorer. They even wanted to sell their beaches to big companies for hotels and resorts constructions. I've heard many people told me how they hate the EU, they don't like Germany, and they would rather leave the EU. Moreover, according to R and H, all the media are controlled by hidden power. The media always mention about how important it is for Greece to stay in EU. Therefore, anyone who wants to vote for "OXI" is not being reasonable to those elderly Greek who only learn their information from TV. The cop I met in Santorini also told me Greece would fall into chaos if it goes bankrupt. I have no idea if he really thought so.
All Greeks who are 18 and above are required to attend the referendum. Aegean Airline also offered discount tickets for Greeks to go home and vote. On July 3, 2015, 2 nights before the referendum, OXI supporters were having a gathering at Syntagma Square. I saw some flashes and heard noises that sounded like explosion before the gathering started. I also saw some people running. H told me to walk away from the center of the crowd. "I think the cops are throwing flash bombs. This is not good." However, the tension didn't last for too long, and there were many children, vendors, as well as bands playing throughout the night. A small group of NAI supporters were dancing and singing, but no conflicts happened. We had to walk a few miles to leave the crowd when we decided to go around 21.30. Everyone was happy about the gathering, and according to the news, there were around 30,000 OXI supporters at the square! And I was very impressed to see Syntagma being clean as if there was nothing happened the next day.
7月5日星期天，OXI是離開，NAI是留下，才開票一個多小時票數便明顯的拉開距離，國會前的希臘人已經在開趴，樂得手舞足蹈了。對說OXI的人來說，這是一大勝利，也是寧可破產也不向資本主義低頭的骨氣。 "Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος（不自由毋寧死）" ，直譯成中文就是『自由或死亡』，不管全世界怎麼說希臘現在是在自掘墳墓，這句著名的希臘國家格言充分的解釋63％的希臘人民對於這次財務危機的態度。聖托里尼的沙發主W是一半印度人、一半巴基斯坦人，17歲便到希臘唸書，現在留在這工作的他問我知道為什麼希臘會這樣嗎？「因為他們真的很懶，還有很多人會貸款去度假，希臘要振作起來一定是條很漫長的路。」儘管如此，即使他們可能已經預見了比現在更苦的生活，但大家都為這個國家的民主感到驕傲。「希臘不愧是民主的發源地。」壽司轉述著日本網友的言論。R說：「當然，歐盟根本就是希特勒！」
Sunday, July 5 was the day of referendum. OXI is no, NAI is yes. It was quite obvious that the majority was going for OXI soon after they started counting the vote. Everyone was partying and cheering for the result. By saying OXI, they were also saying no to capitalism because going bankrupt would probably be better than saying yes. "Freedom or Death" - Doesn't matter how the entire world is saying Greeks are digging their own graves, this famous Greek motto represents how 63% Greeks felt about their financial crisis.
However, my host who works in Santorini as an immigrant looked at the situation differently. He was half Indian, half Pakistani, and he came to Greece when he was 17. He asked me if I know why Greece is having financial crisis. Then he told me "it was because they are lazy. Many people would borrow money from banks to go on vacation, and it's going to be a long road down the tunnel if Greece wants to get back on its feet." Even so, Greeks are very proud of the results despite of the fact that their lives are just about to get tougher. On the other hand, S from Japan told us Japanese people were saying "Greece is truly the birthplace of democracy" on their online forum after the result was out. "Of course we are, and the EU is basically Hitler," R said.
在R家看開票
Watching vote counting at R's
Someone told me "Greek has lost themselves in euros," but no one knows whether the result of the referendum will let Greece become better or worse. Yet, Greeks made the decision all together through democracy. Although people like us who are watching have no idea why they made such decision, this is a country with one of the most ancient civilizations, and I am pretty sure they will survive this in their own way.
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