Before immersing himself among them, when Greek Australian writer Jorge Sotirios thought of his fellow Greeks, the term ‘fatalistic’ would spring to mind. 

“When I would go there, there was a real sense of uncertainty and despair hovering over Greece, and I sort of felt initially that this is all a theatrical act and they’re making things out to be worse than they are.”

But as Sotirios made progress with his forthcoming book Graffiti Over Marble, he admits his perception started to evolve. 

“I’m afraid that I sort of have to agree with them because the more I got into it at a deeper level, the more experience I got in the conditions that Greece is undergoing. 

“The reality around them is quite pessimistic and in a sense it taught me one thing; that sometimes when you’re optimistic, it can be a form of denial.”

Following on from the release of his book Lonesome George, the Sydney-based writer has turned his attention from South America to Greece.

Since the crisis reached its peak in 2009, Sotirios, also a journalist, noticed that reports on the matter tended to focus on Athens, which got him thinking about the rest of the country, those living in rural areas, and the Balkan region. 

“Whenever I saw media coverage of Greece, especially documentaries, it always focused on only five streets in Athens where there were riots, tear gas, protests – which of course happen, but it just meant a wider portrait of Greece was missing,” Sotirios explains.

Though working to a deadline, the writer says he soon realised the complexities of the crisis could not be summed up after a mere 18 months. His study of the modern Greek tragedy has seen him return to the Mediterranean four times since 2012, with plans to return one last time in 2016 to wrap things up. 

“A crisis is not just an economic thing; it’s a generational crisis between the older, ageing population and the younger ambitious ones who don’t feel like they’re getting a share of the spoils. And of course a crisis is also psychological.”

Travelling from one end of the country to the other, Sotirios took advantage of his connections with family, friends and colleagues to connect with as many people as possible for their first-hand accounts of the Greek situation. While he considers the position of those in the city, the book endeavours to give voice to those in various sectors, including the shipping and manufacturing industries. 

“Basically, a portrait is like a broad canvas and you’re trying to place in details of different people; everyday people who I just met briefly I would also try and incorporate if I felt what they had to say was important to the narrative, and in fact, it was,” he says.

Coinciding with the financial crisis has been the migrant influx, something which Sotirios witnessed first-hand. While a number of refugees in the cities have suffered from attacks by vigilantes and national groups, the writer says it has also been an opportunity for the Greeks to showcase their strengths and initiative.

“In Samos it was quite heartening to see the number of social workers, psychologists, doctors who were all involved. They were doing their best to make sure those migrants were given their human rights when they were placed in detention centres, that they were looked after medically, and were given proper food and nutrition. 

“That was a positive thing, because it showed what Greeks can do when they’re left alone to do things without state interventions. These were really strong, resilient Greek characters,” he says.

‘ΟΧΙ ΣΤΟ ΦΟΒΟ 5/7’ (NO TO FEAR 5/7).

While Greece’s geographical position, inevitably makes it a corridor to a European dream, Sotirios believes the refugee problem is not Greek but global.

“People in Australia should see it in that light and recognise what we need to do with our resources, our land and our compassion. We [Greek Australians] as the beneficiaries of leaving Greece need to certainly not be pointing the finger at these people fleeing war.”

These experiences are what give Sotirios’ work greater authenticity thanks to his commitment to immersing himself among his subject matter, and in this case, his ability to speak the local tongue.

“Being able to speak Greek was very important. That’s the thing with most documentaries; the commentator doesn’t know any Greek. It’s not a problem, but you’re just relying on translators all the time who line up interviews with people they’re comfortable with; whereas I tried to immerse myself and figure things out from within,” he explains.

Though a generalisation (based on truth no doubt), Greeks are known to express their anger verbally and theatrically, but anyone who has set foot in Greece since 2009 will know that graffiti has become another popular form of expression, one which has been identified as “a social form of psychotherapy”. 

“If you have access to a spray can you can go and express your discontent or your criticism, and your creativity, on any surface that you like,” Sotirios says, the notion proving to be an inspiration for the book’s title. 

Graffiti Over Marble – they’re two opposing qualities. Graffiti is anarchic, useful, and yet marble is the opposite – solid, traditional – and so when you put those things together you get a certain frisson, a tension going. And so I’ve tried to talk about older and younger people in my book, about traditional forms of life which are disappearing; about newer forms of societies that are appearing. There are a lot of contradictions and ambiguities in Greece and I’ve just tried to be in the middle of that.”

But above all else, what the writer hopes is for his book to be taken as a cautionary tale for countries like Australia.

While he acknowledges that Australia has checks and balances in place, privatisation of essential industries and agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership leave Australians open to potential vulnerabilities. 

“I don’t want to seem too bleak, but once you take the neo-liberal agenda of selling off your assets, of cutting wages, slashing pensions, the whole Pandora’s box of goodies, that’s what could occur,” he says.

And what about Greece; are better days ahead? Sotirios holds hope, but it will take time.

“You feel like the Greeks can get out of this if they can harness their resources and band together, but it’s going to need a whole lot of other factors – economically, socially, institutionally – to be corrected, and we’re talking, they need a generation really to see any improvements.”