Athens: Light and darkness in an eternal battle
A fellow wheelchair user was waiting last week at a bus stop, he has 4 buses as none could reach the sidewalk and/or had no ramp for the person to get on to go to work.
A European country must have solved such issues and not leave anyone “outside”. Will anyone say “is he the first or the last to suffer”? The buses in Athens are outdated, unsuitable for all citizens without exception. A modern city, the capital of Greece, cannot present images of “abandonment” with buses literally crawling and passengers permanently suffering and furious.
Of course, it is not only the buses that tarnish the image of the city. The center is permanently inaccessible, the traffic irritates even the coldest person and let’s not talk about cleanliness or the works on a permanent basis which are like the bridge of Arta “they built it all day and it was torn down at night”, constituting a hoarseness in the everyday life of the inhabitants of the capital.
The fact that in the 21st century people continue to disrespect their fellow man and park in disabled spaces, etc., is inconceivable. Everything is sacrificed on the altar of greed, because it is not only the state that is to blame. citizens also have a share of responsibility in matters that concern their personal conscience.
Greece is leading the 4th industrial revolution, rising in business, exporting know-how, culture, has brilliant scientists, has everything but does not take advantage of it, like a person who has talent, intelligence but lacks self-confidence, does not believe in himself and gives up and instead of living it simply exists.
The other side of the coin, of course, is the bright side of Athens. Although many consider it chaotic, “fussy”, dirty, scary. But if someone lives it, they will see its magic. The towering Acropolis is there to enchant and remind of the greatness of this country in general, as a hopeful reminder that miracles do happen. Picturesque alleys in the center and shops for food or drink, transported away from the city to places more relaxed perhaps reminiscent of an island. Seas, bays and lakes, all close to you, when the traffic doesn’t “break bones”, which again make you feel like you’re somewhere else.
“air”, not the normal one with the pollution and the smog, seduces you, reminding you of a cosmopolitan city, especially in the evenings when the rhythms “drop”, the lights turn on and the magic spreads everywhere, leaving a nostalgia and tranquility that calls you. to see it with different eyes, since it seems to be different in the morning and different at night.