It was one of those moments that sends a bolt of lightning into your soul. The kind of moment that let's you know that life is fragile and that desperation leads alternative methods. I wanted a picture and I knew the precarious situation before me. Immediately outside what seemed to be an abandoned university (likely temporarily closed for summer) were men of all walks of life that were unified by their obvious anger and apparent unrest. Some appeared as a homeless person would. Others as hippies of America's 60's. And still others seemed as the average citizen would who had taken up a picket for a cause. In combination, they were a mob. A mob that would likely not be hospitable to an outsider. I am not Greek. Neither was she. The lady, with a lighter complexion and "I am a tourist" written all over her, wanted to capture the same picture I did. So, we both, two distinct looking persons, walked into the promenade and voluntarily surrounded ourselves with a wall of disturbed people and whipped out our cameras. I knew, although I don't think she did, that this could go one of two ways. We get the shot and leave quietly, or all hell breaks loose. Well, not all hell was unleashed. Just as the shutter on my camera closed a few guys rushed us and a chorus of others began yelling. I threw my camera in my bag immediately and began to retreat to the main street. Only one of the pursuers decided to actually prevent us from taking home the picture to our respective countries. The pissed off guy decided he would stop her by physical force if he must. He ran up to her, there was a struggle, and he ripped her camera from her grasp and ran. I stopped my retreat and was about to enter into the fray when the other protestors stopped the jacker and retrieved the camera for the female tourist. They escorted her away from it all and I escorted myself the hell out of there too. Our recession in America has been bad, and in Greece it has been worse. The protestors and incivility I witnessed are a result. With my heart in my throat, hands fisted, and camera in bag I escaped. The defacement of the statue expresses the frustration of the citizens of Athens. I felt and witnessed it first hand.
9/7/11
Desperation Felt
It was one of those moments that sends a bolt of lightning into your soul. The kind of moment that let's you know that life is fragile and that desperation leads alternative methods. I wanted a picture and I knew the precarious situation before me. Immediately outside what seemed to be an abandoned university (likely temporarily closed for summer) were men of all walks of life that were unified by their obvious anger and apparent unrest. Some appeared as a homeless person would. Others as hippies of America's 60's. And still others seemed as the average citizen would who had taken up a picket for a cause. In combination, they were a mob. A mob that would likely not be hospitable to an outsider. I am not Greek. Neither was she. The lady, with a lighter complexion and "I am a tourist" written all over her, wanted to capture the same picture I did. So, we both, two distinct looking persons, walked into the promenade and voluntarily surrounded ourselves with a wall of disturbed people and whipped out our cameras. I knew, although I don't think she did, that this could go one of two ways. We get the shot and leave quietly, or all hell breaks loose. Well, not all hell was unleashed. Just as the shutter on my camera closed a few guys rushed us and a chorus of others began yelling. I threw my camera in my bag immediately and began to retreat to the main street. Only one of the pursuers decided to actually prevent us from taking home the picture to our respective countries. The pissed off guy decided he would stop her by physical force if he must. He ran up to her, there was a struggle, and he ripped her camera from her grasp and ran. I stopped my retreat and was about to enter into the fray when the other protestors stopped the jacker and retrieved the camera for the female tourist. They escorted her away from it all and I escorted myself the hell out of there too. Our recession in America has been bad, and in Greece it has been worse. The protestors and incivility I witnessed are a result. With my heart in my throat, hands fisted, and camera in bag I escaped. The defacement of the statue expresses the frustration of the citizens of Athens. I felt and witnessed it first hand.
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