Opinion
By Christos Zavos
Like water flowing through the dams, like the oxygen a person breathes to survive, cash in this country is treated as a matter of life or death for anyone who wants to stay afloat.
The street vendor needs cash to sell his goods, and the “middleman” needs cash to grease his connections at the Presidential Palace.
Cash goes into the church collection box to light a candle; cash goes into the pockets of the “investor” hoping to secure political backing.
Cash slips into an envelope every time you congratulate newlyweds; cash slips from companies into campaigns to curry favor, expecting favors of a different kind in return.
You offer cash to a buyer, hoping to lower the price on a property; cash flows to the campaign chief, also the president’s brother-in-law, so he can smooth the path for interested parties.
Cash buys a dose for a drug user; cash buys the attention of the grande persona who presents himself to fake investors as the president’s best buddy.
Cash changes hands in casinos across Cyprus; cash changes hands for access to the corridors of power.
You pay cash to the lottery seller buying a ticket; cash is what Russian oligarchs hand over when trying to dodge sanctions.
You pay cash sending your child to school, hoping for an education; businesses pay cash, hoping the president’s nod will cut through bureaucracy.
Cash goes to the cleaner who tidies your house; cash goes to the contractor who feels like the president’s girlfriend.
Cash is what the homeless man outside the shop desires, holding out an empty cup; cash is what the head of presidential charity galas covets.
Cash fuels charitable campaigns; cash funds the social support fund run by the “first lady.”
Cash crowned the president in the last election, and cash will clearly decide the next one.
Cash buys loukoumades from a street vendor, hoping to scare away goblins on Epiphany; cash cements a different kind of goblin in power.
*Read the Greek version here.
