Some thoughts from Greece

Sitting in the Greek sunshine yesterday, I was contemplating my first article back home for this morning on AudlemOnline and how I must start by thanking the rest of the webteam for all their hard work editing and writing reports over the past two weeks.

It also crossed my mind that readers may be interested in some first-hand impressions from Greece, as the country has been the focus of world attention throughout our stay.

Fear not, this is not a travel blog, but thoughts on a country in a financial and political crisis.

Curiously, if one had been bereft of wifi, TV or newspapers, all on the surface is as pleasant as ever in the Greek countryside. However, we were in a very remote spot on the far south of the mainland, seemingly a million miles from Athens and other large cities where the crisis was really starting to bite.

But chat to the locals, particularly people running businesses, and you can sense the fear and apprehension if a decent deal with the country's creditors cannot be reached.

Some are philosophical, hardly surprisingly given the Greek roots of the word. In a remarkably beautiful tiny village, stopping for a beer, the cafe proprietor said "Welcome to Paradise" before explaining that he had moved there a year ago from Athens and that as he could now grow vegetables and keep chickens on his patch of land, he and his family could get by.

He then, with a smile, pointed to his mother, a lady well into her eighties, who was shelling beans and said she could do the gardening! Amazingly the beers then arrived with a complementary platter of cheeses, salami, tomatoes and olives.

Others spoke of their fears. One young businesswomen from Athens we discussed the situation with at length said she had lost four friends or acquaintances because of suicide. She added that the numbers taking their own life was in the tens of thousands. She spoke sadly of emails she had received from other countries saying the Greeks were lazy.

As anyone who has had the good fortune to eat in the country's tavernas will confirm, those Greeks servicing the tourist industry are extremely hard-working, as well as both skilful and efficient. Yes, we were told, many in the Greek public sector are overpaid and inefficient and owed their appointment to politicians in effect buying their votes, although that is hardly, if we are honest, a uniquely Greek problem. Most Greeks you meet are as hard working as anyone.

She concluded, almost tearfully, that she was sick with worry but that Greece was a proud nation and that was why she had voted no in the referendum a week earlier.

Hopefully, as I write, a solution of some sort will be found but one possible source of funds appeals in particular, an idea kicked off by an unwanted call on my mobile asking, yet again, that I might have a claim against a bank for mis-selling PPI – which I don't.

It is widely reported that the American investment bank Goldman Sachs created some questionable financial deals to hide much of Greece's debt back in 2001 – making incidentally a huge profit in the process – so that the country could appear to meet the criteria for getting into the Eurozone.

Given that USA officials have recently slapped a mighty multi-billion dollar fine on BP for an explosion off the Louisiana coast that accidentally killed eleven workers and caused extensive pollution – $43 billion so far in fines and compensation and possibly another $18 billion to come – how much might a bank have to pay if it deliberately misled the Eurozone in a move that has led unerringly to the crisis of the past five years and now at its peak?

Goldman Sachs, if the reports of their actions are true, might say they were asked to do what they did by the then Greek government – but surely a financial institution with any integrity would have said "Oxi" and not got involved. If the Europeans hit Goldman Sachs as hard as the Americans have hit BP, it would go some way to cutting Greece's debts.

Curiously, as I Googled for information on Goldman Sachs' involvement in Greece, up popped a report from that day's Independent newspaper suggesting that the Greek government may be about to pursue the investment bank! If only I had filed the story on AudlemOnline when it first crossed my mind: we may have been the first to publish such a thought!

It's particularly appealing because getting compensation that way may pay off some of the debt without incurring the wrath of other countries that have had to face up to austerity in recent years. And Goldman Sachs, of all people, can afford to pay up, and should pay up if they did something wrong deliberately.

There is, of course, one other way, and a very pleasant one too, where we can all help Greece – by going there! It's incredible value, very beautiful and full of extremely friendly people who, despite the country's crisis, still manage to smile and make you very welcome.

Tourism is the country's major industry and the one that is most likely to be successful in the current climate. And because many Greeks simply cannot afford to holiday at present, there's more accommodation available than normal and owners of rooms, villas and hotels will be delighted and relieved to see you.

And very helpfully, perhaps the most informative website on the Greek Islands is based here in Audlem – www.greekisland.co.uk – and is packed with useful information and deals.

And there you are, as promised this is not a holiday blog, but a story with a real local link!

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