Athens taxis. Flickr/Manos K. Some rights reserved.A summer night in mid-August Athens is a thing to behold. The Athenians have retreated from the asphyxiating heat to old family homes in villages across the country, leaving the city’s streets blissfully abandoned. To make the most of this empowering phenomenon, you should wander through the abandoned streets in a car, the warm breeze on your face as you zoom down 3-laned boulevards solo, taking in the stillness of the otherwise chaotic Greek capital.
If you happen to take a taxi at this time, this near-spiritual activity is usually interrupted by your driver – especially if you happen to be Greek. Empty avenues are filled with the passionate monologues of Athens’ political animals; the single most unfaltering source of current affairs critique. I have had some of the most engaging political debates of my life with Athenian taxi drivers; from discussions on police violence and anarchy, to the deregulation of various Greek professions (taxi driving included) and our relationship with Europe. So this August I could not help but feel a gathering sense of dread as I hailed taxis on numerous occasions, told the driver where I was heading, and heard not another word from them until I was told the price for the ride.
No indignation at the pseudo-exit from the bailouts, no commentary on the deadly fires that hit Greece a few weeks ago and whose terrible death toll was only bolstered by austerity. Not even the most basic of exclamations of political indignation were voiced, in the form of familiar mantras like “politicians are all the same; they are all liars, all corrupt”.
