Eleni Xenou
Two men were recently found dead in a workplace, a makeshift apartment where they slept on an inflatable bed. In an effort to ward off the bitter cold, they lit a fukou and left it to burn, and tragically, the noxious fumes led to their deaths. Just days before, a family of five perished in a fire in their home, likely caused by faulty electrical appliances. A few days later, a woman, a domestic worker, jumped from the balcony to escape a fire that broke out in the home where she was staying. These tragedies, though heart-wrenching, may be seen by some as isolated incidents, not connected beyond the fact that they represent unfortunate outcomes. It’s tempting to view any attempt to link them as an overzealous effort to paint a picture of an alarmingly divided society, one that the media may be magnifying.
But is that truly the case? Or are we ignoring a deeper, more disturbing reality? One that speaks to our collective decay, alienation, and growing inequality?
"The world is dying, and we are missing it. We fail to see that the world is becoming a lifeless expanse in which we move, lost and alone..." -Olga Tokarczuk
Earlier this year, members of the Immigration and Immigration Service arrived at a shabby apartment early in the morning, acting on a tip-off that illegal immigrants were living there. Inside the apartment, stacked on top of one another, were eleven people, forced to live in these deplorable conditions. When the Service agents knocked on the door, two men, fearing arrest, jumped from the balcony. One died, the other was critically injured. The young man who lost his life was only 19 years old.
The year before, a simple walk through the alleys of the old town led me to yet another tragic discovery. Some shopkeepers had converted their stores into makeshift homes and were renting them out to immigrant families. I passed by one of these "shantytowns"—spaces so cramped they had no windows. I saw a small child sitting on a bed, doing his homework by the light from the half-open door. It was a heartbreaking sight, and I couldn’t help but feel both sorrow and shame that such blatant injustices and inhumanities exist right before our eyes.
Since then, there have been numerous reports in the media about these illegal conversions of shops into living spaces. Yet, nothing has been done. These spaces remain, untouched, and children continue to grow up in unimaginable conditions, while those in power turn a blind eye. What exactly is happening in our society? How have we allowed this to happen?
While we continue to build towering skyscrapers and promote grandiose development projects, like massive student halls and luxury buildings, we remain indifferent to the growing number of people living in slums and dilapidated apartments. And when tragedy strikes, we briefly mourn, only to quickly move on to the next shocking news cycle. In a small place like ours, it is unacceptable for such a deep social divide to exist, and for us to do nothing as it grows. If this sense of alienation is a sign of our times, it doesn’t justify our failure to act or respond to the inhumanity unfolding before us. The truth is, it doesn’t take much for the reality of this situation to become painfully clear.
So, what is this reality? It’s the world that writer Olga Tokarczuk so aptly describes: "The world is dying, and we are missing it. We fail to see that the world is becoming a lifeless expanse in which we move, lost and alone, haphazardly turned, constrained by a sense that we are the plaything of the great forces of history or chance. Our spirituality either disappears or becomes superficial. Or else we become at the mercy of simple forces—physical, social, and economic—that move us as if we were zombies. And in such a world, we really are zombies."
And, as we continue to ignore the suffering of those around us, perhaps it’s not just the world that’s dying—perhaps we are too.
*This article was translated from its Greek original
