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Academics in Athens 

Terrified that we are tourists

27/5/2020

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​For the last week we have been out of lockdown and have been lucky enough to go to the beach and outside archaeological sites in Athens. However, as each country debates how and when to let tourist in it is clear from the reaction we get from locals that they don’t want tourists from England just yet.
​Pretty much every person we greet quickly learns that we are not local and are in fact English. On learning this, you see panic and confusion cross their faces. They imminently ask: “where are you from”, we confirm that we are English. You can again see them wanting to get the recommended two meters away and hand sanitise as soon as it wouldn’t be insulting. I have now learnt to say to people we meet as soon as possible that we have been here since September and are no more a threat than any other Greek. At this, they automatically ease and try and cover up their natural fear embedded by all the headlines of the thousands dying in Britain due to Covid-19.
 
We have seen this week that Britain is not included in the first wave of countries being allowed to holiday in Greece this summer. From our experience, it is clear that many Greeks would be terrified to have anyone from Britain flying over anytime soon, and it’s understandable. At writing this, Greece has only had 168 deaths, and the UK has had 36,393.  There is lots of debate to why Greece has been relatively unscathed by the virus in comparison to the UK. Still, one thing is for sure, Greece receives over 30 million tourists each year and only has a population of under 11 million.  The tourists from all over the world would outnumber the Greeks 3/1 and could quickly spread the virus across Greece, overwhelming the Greek health care, especially on the islands that do not have hospitals close by. The arrival of tourists would reboot the economy, but the loss of life could be equally devastating.
 
Greece will have to balance the damage to the economy with the strain on their health service and loss of life. If you are planning a holiday to Greece very soon, I would consider the risk to both yourself and those around you. It is essential to understand that you might be escaping the long months of lockdown you have endured, but to Greece, you will be a genuine threat.

Written & Published by Alex Hood
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    The Academics:

    ​We are three Brighton University students who have been given the opportunity to study at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This blog will be our way of sharing our experiences of living and studying in Greece, plus will include tips and advice for those also looking to study abroad or even just visit Athens. 


    Who we are: ​
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    Alex Hood
    English Literature Student
    Editor/Publisher
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    Elly Babe
    English Literature Student
    Head Journalist/ Contributor 
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    Where we went...

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    Aegina
    Agistri
    Athens
    Israel
    Mount Paranassus
    Mykonos
    Nafplion
    Olympia
    Panteion University
    Paros
    Poem
    Poros
    Sifnos
    Syntagma Square
    Syros
    UK
    Voula

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This website is run to help share travel experiences and advice. We rely on travellers from all around the world to record their travels and send them in so that we can share and connect them with people interested in travelling or to those wanting to know more about that certain destination. (please get in contact if you have a trip you would like to share)
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Myself (Alex Hood) and the head journalist of the site (Elly Babe) also share our own travel experience for others to enjoy and be inspired by. We both study English Literature at the University of Brighton and love the way in which the site has allowed us to put in to practice what we have learn't on our degree.  We will be moving to Athens for a study year so expect lost of content from Greece. Any advice or tips are always welcome. 

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