57 Sacrifices

Tempi train crash — a modern Greek tragedy

Impudent mouths in front of TV cameras spelling words of mourning they don’t feel. Political parties arguing over dead bodies like hyenas hungry for votes, ready to steal. Communication managers in panic but still daring to do their job “well”, trying to ease the pain and loud voices of a society that rings outrage’s bell. Journalists that see themselves as public opinion’s sculptors, working on reversing events, paid to be professional manipulators.

Two trains were running on the same line facing each other for twelve minutes. No one in this whole damn system acted within responsibility’s limits. Absent or unsuitable employees and technology; crash and death were the answer to it. Years of ignoring warnings of a few; a political system that doesn’t give a shit. “Those souls didn’t leave in vain, though, because the railway will be improved now”! That’s a statement of a journalist-my-ass who has asshole-ness’ know-how.

So, 57 “Iphigenias” had to be sacrificed in order for our leaders to start doing the job they’re paid for with fat salaries, instead of continuing promises’ chewing. Great! Let’s explain that to the parents of so many young people who died. “Isn’t your pain lighter now? Doesn’t this feed your pride”? What if you had done your duty earlier? Wouldn’t that be better, you bastard? But, since you take votes and you’re paid, just showing up at the Ministry is your standard.

Congratulations to us, then! A country of the EU of 2023! We needed a tragedy to wake up; — still not sure that we “see” — . We protest now in the streets, demanding justice, defending our rights, but we are not angry only at the “system”. We also have internal fights. Because we know we are also responsible; our ancestor, Isocrates was right: The ethos of the whole state is the same as that of those who govern it.

Iphigenia: In Greek Mythology, Iphigenia is one of the daughters of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artemis’ sacred stags. She retaliates by preventing the Greek troops from reaching Troy unless Agamemnon kills his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, at Aulis as a human sacrifice. (Wikipedia)

Isocrates : ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators (Wikipedia)

ethos: ethics, the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution

Part of the article above:

…more than one factor was needed for such an incident to happen, and the complete picture of circumstances was not yet known.

In an interview with Radio ENA, he (Nikos Tsikalakis, President of the Union of Employees of the Hellenic Railway Organization) referenced a lack of workers in the rail network — saying that while there should be more than 2,000 employees nationally, there are currently only 750.

Train drivers also say there have been long-running problems with the electronic systems that are supposed to warn them of danger ahead.

“Nothing works. Everything happens manually throughout the Athens-Thessaloniki network. Neither the indicators, nor the traffic lights, nor the electronic traffic control work,” train drivers’ association president Kostas Genidounias told ERT.

Allow me to add more information to the above; important information:

1. The local stationmaster was inexperienced. He started working there after a one-year training that ended in January. His previous jobs were different. He is almost 60 years old. (I have nothing against people in their sixties, but if you learn something new at that age, you definitely need more time to get used to it)

2. He was supposed to have one more person with him — exactly because he was new at the job — , but that other public employee left earlier, before finishing his shift! And he informed no one! (This is like that because they are public employees. Things are very different for private employees in Greece, of course. They work as slaves!)

3. The present Government — and many previous ones — were warned many times for the deficiencies of the system, but no one did anything about them.

4. From 2000 to 2020, €27 billion went into the coffers of Greek railways. Yet, …

5. The GPS systems that check the exact location of trains have never been put into operation, even though the country has them.

Anthi Psomiadou — CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International : Credit must be given to the creator/ Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted/ No derivatives