When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Greece

Greece And The Dark Forces Of Modern Mobility

Young migrants board an airplane in Athens.
Young migrants board an airplane in Athens.
Carl-Johan Karlsson

The word krisis was coined by the Greeks three millennia ago, meaning "turning point in a disease." The meaning of course has evolved and expanded since, even if our pandemic has brought the word full circle to its ancient ramifications. In Greece's more recent history, turning points have come in different forms, at rapid-fire pace over the past decade: starting with the euro turmoil and the arrival of the establishment-busting leftist Syriza party, followed by the refugee crisis and now COVID-19 that seems to bring them all simultaneously to a head.


The pandemic arrived just as some believed that Greece was finally emerging from its longstanding economic torpor, with some hoping that the 2019 election of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the return of his business-friendly New Democracy party would further cement the country's upward economic trajectory. But the reality of the refugee crisis, so often hidden, remains and is compounded by broader economic ills: 30% of its own citizens trapped in poverty, and youth unemployment at nearly 40%.


And now, the health crisis. Though Greece has been spared the grave death tolls of other European countries, the government was quick to impose a national shutdown. But grave problems remain. As of April 20, 2020, some 35,000 migrants and asylum seekers lived in the camps on the Greek Aegean islands of Chios, Kos, Leros, Lesbos, and Samos — more than six times capacity. Human rights organizations have criticized Greek authorities for not doing enough to address the acute overcrowding and need to limit the spread of COVID-19 in camps for asylum seekers. Meanwhile, with its healthcare system in shambles after a decade of economic plague, Greece is pleading to the EU for help.


In the 21st century, there's another word with multiple meanings: "Mobility" can now refer to how we get around in our towns and in the economy. It is also what allows desperate refugees to risk their lives crossing the open sea, and lets tourists visit a Mediterranean beach for a weekend getaway. The pandemic has hit both, with reports of a near shutdown in illegal human trafficking as well as vacation travelers. Greece has again become the center of countervailing forces, a place where migrants come for shelter, tourists come for sun, and its own citizens leave for a better life elsewhere. Greece has declared that it will be ready to welcome foreign tourists by July 1. And yesterday, the country tallied its second straight day with zero COVID-19 deaths. Another turning point, perhaps. But the past two months have also taught us that the virus itself is a textbook case in modern mobility.


See more from Coronavirus here

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

eyes on the U.S.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest