![]() Mike Mourtzis, 20, a university student studying economics, said the train tragedy will be top of mind when he casts his ballot in the national elections in May. Written on Dourou's cheek: "Text me when you get there," a rallying cry since the collision. Lydia Emmanouilidou for NPR Stella Dourou and her high school classmates march in Athens in March. "For the first time in my life, I think it's essential to take part," she said. But the recent decree impacting performing arts students and professionals, as well as the collision, has changed her outlook. But others are hopeful.Īctor Thalassini Vostatzoglou, 27, said she has not been particularly active in protests and elections because Greece's political discourse and system feel helplessly polarized and immutable. ![]() Some young Greeks who spoke with NPR doubted the backlash to the tragedy will lead to meaningful change. Tragedy spurs some young Greeks into political action And that's a really depressing thought," Malkoutzis said. wonder if their future lies here or if there is any real possibility of things changing for the better. "I think a lot of those young people will. ![]() Students have occupied more than two dozen performing arts schools and theaters and are also revolting against what they describe as moves to privatize Greek education.įor many young Greeks, who grew up in the aftermath of a devastating financial crisis, the crash was the crash underscored the country's "deep, structural, fundamental problems," said Nick Malkoutzis, editor and co-founder of MacroPolis, a political and economic analysis website. Today, young artists are protesting a December government decree that they say downgrades performance arts degrees to the equivalent of a high school diploma and will impact their salaries, among other things. Banners hang outside, including one that reads: "The country which is known for creating art, is now killing it." Lydia Emmanouilidou for NPR Students and young artists have been occupying the National Theatre of Greece in downtown Athens for more than a month. They demonstrated during Greece's MeToo moment, and over a wave of femicides. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, sometimes with lockdown restrictions in place, students across the country protested plans to place police on university campuses and against police brutality. Students protest over university police and other recent issues We want something different,' " Gousis said. "You could see it coming - that this is a generation that at some point will say, 'This is enough. "We're seeing the shaping of a new political generation in Greece," Gousis said.Įven before the collision, many young Greeks were disillusioned over limited educational and professional opportunities in the country, working conditions, and gender inequality. The rail crash marks a defining moment for Greece's Generation Z and young millennials, said Costas Gousis of Eteron, a nonprofit tracking top issues for Greeks in their teens and 20s. "We are all at fault," she said, for repeatedly electing the same people. He was charged with negligent homicide and is jailed pending trial. "It could have been me," Alexia Athanasiou, 20, told Greek media the week of the accident, in an impassioned statement that went viral on TikTok.Īthanasiou said a Larissa stationmaster who appears to have failed to switch the train tracks, putting the two trains on a collision course, was partly responsible. Outrage over the collision - which many see as the result of government neglect of railway safety systems and protocols, despite years of warnings from rail unions - has galvanized Greeks of all ages and backgrounds to participate in massive demonstrations across the country, believed to be the biggest since the anti-austerity riots in 2010.īut the tragedy seems to have struck a chord with the country's youth because many of the train passengers were students returning home after a long holiday weekend. "We're protesting for all the lives lost for no reason," said Dourou, who knew one of the 57 people killed in last month's train collision, the deadliest in Greece's history. ![]() But on a recent Thursday morning, Dourou marched through downtown Athens, alongside her classmates and tens of thousands demonstrating in the Greek capital. ATHENS, Greece - High school junior Stella Dourou would typically be in class on a weekday.
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