Like many other proud Greek-Americans, I’ve visited the country of my ancestors many times over the years. I even lived in Athens for two years while working for the U.S. government.
I recently returned to Athens for a week to help the Greek government draft a new whistleblower protection law. It was my first trip to the country in nine years—and suffice it to say, a lot’s changed.
I followed the news of Greece’s financial collapse as closely as anyone. I'd heard the numbers—I knew that 40 percent of Greeks now live in poverty, for example, and that half of all young people in the country are unemployed. Seeing it in person was something else entirely.
I knew that 40 percent of Greeks now live in poverty and that half of all young people in the country are unemployed. But seeing it in person was something else entirely.
