The name is absent

159

Greeks again. My contact referred to this as an example of what can be termed the
country’s crisis of identity:

H πλεovεξiα κaι о paτσισμoς τoυ 'Eλληva χaλaσav τηv γειτovιa μaς. Oi
μειovoτητες τηv σωσavε. Kai τωpa о 'Eλληvaς θελει va γυpiσει πiσω! ∆εv ξεpει
τι θελει!

The greed and racism of the Greek ruined our neighborhood. Minorities saved it.
And now the Greek wants to come back! They don’t know what they want!

Whereas Greeks were at first unwilling to work with immigrants, extend them rights of
citizenship, or even live near them; now, they were coming to realize that immigrants
were crucial to the country’s economic success, that they were not necessarily ruining the
city, and moreover, that many of them were good people - at least in this neighborhood.
According to my consultant, the average Greek had to reconcile their changing reality
with a lifetime of contrary thought. Bringing the conversation back to healthcare and his
future, I asked whether he thought this influence of “other people” would benefit him if
he ended up having to move to a geriatric home. With a chuckle, he suggested it might.
He explained that until recently Greeks were so influenced by the East, that certain old
“uncivilized” practices had become normal - introduced during the country’s occupation
and cemented in the popular way of thinking by years of denying that influence.
However, as “other peoples” came to integrate into Greek society, my consultant hoped
that they would inspire the Greek to reconsider the way they treat each other, perhaps
changing the way families and the medical system treat the weak and elderly. The
afternoon heat had become tiring at this point and I offered to walk my consultant home.
Our deeper conversation had ended on this optimistic note and I felt happy sauntering
along with this man, under the shade of bitter orange (vεpαvτζια) trees, to the stoop of his

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