The name is absent

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geriatric abuse was probably very common, adding I found it unfortunate that Greeks
broadly condone this violence. My consultant nodded his head and began to muse as to
why this was. He rejected the idea that the Greek “culture” promoted this reality and
dismissed the idea that Greece was a violent nation which taught its citizens to behave in
this way. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he spoke the words I have recounted above.

It was not surprising that our conversation had slipped into an analysis of Greek
politics, sovereignty, and even “national character”, as most conversations I had with this
particular consultant usually did. However, I did find his assertion of a link between
“being Greek” and what can be considered the country’s cosmopolitan history and future,
surprising. This was the first time I had heard such a sentiment from a casual contact
with no special training in the history of the country, politics, sociology or the like. This
man had worked as an accountant, first for a family-operated shipping company before
the Second World War¹⁴², and after for a small firm involved in bookkeeping for local
businesses. When I met him he had been retired for nearly fifteen years. During this
time he watched his neighborhood, Kypseli, which was once a well-to-do urban area,
come to host a diverse immigrant community. This, he explained, resulted from the fact
that most of the apartment buildings were old and that the units had been passed down
from generation to generation. The inheritors of these units rented them out, first to
wealthy immigrant families looking for a nice neighborhood, and then to middleclass
immigrants as the area gained a negative reputation and most Greeks and wealthy
foreigners began to avoid it. During this time Romani vendors began frequenting the
narrow streets, selling everything from rugs to wash basins to newcomer families. Now,
however, the charming apartments, lively streets, and pleasant square are attracting
¹⁴² During the war, the company’s ships were commandeered and subsequently sunk by the Germans.

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