Elder Pastitsios, Corpus Cristi, & the Greek anti-blasphemy laws: Eliza Goroya's speech at the World Humanist Congress, Oxford 2014

Can you hear me? I cannot both shout and pretend I do not have a heavy accent.

Susan Sontag talks a lot about how we 'regard the pain of others', how we examine horror stories that are a real experience, concerning real people—usually non-white—from afar.

How we become immobilised, numb, when all these stories are spectacularised and brought to us in abundance.

'Give us twenty minutes and we will give you the world', claims a popular TV news broadcaster.

Surely. But...which word?

Syria, Gaza, beheadings in Iraq, a rape victim being publicly punished with lashings somewhere else--forced to marry her rapist, even!--some celebrities getting married and some other divorcing.

Sometimes if feels like the media are slowly and perennially sucking satan's cock. Or God's cock. Because he killed more in the Bible, didn't he? Much more.

When we are confronted by these images, when we become aware of these realities, we feel at times shocked, hopeless, misanthropic, enraged. But...

'Someone who is perennially surprised that depravity exists, who continues to feel disillusioned (even incredulous) when confronted with evidence of what humans are capable of inflicting in the way of gruesome, hands-on cruelties upon other humans, has not reached moral or psychological adulthood.

No one after a certain age has the right to this kind of innocence, of superficiality, to this degree of ignorance, or amnesia. […] The images say: This is what human beings are capable of doing – may volunteer to do, enthusiastically, self-righteously. Don't forget.'

--Susan Sontag: Regarding The Pain Of Others, p.102

Remembering is important, but it is not enough.

At least not enough for us with our pronounced empathy, and humanitarian concerns, i.e., our messianic complexes. But what can we do?

Our own Maryam Namazie, who is a feminist fighter of Iranian descent fighting Islamic oppression and crimes often talks about how she finds it strange we haven't already revolted about what is happening there—that she needs to say these things again and again, and that is somehow feels like people do not realise this is what is happening and that it calls for urgent action.

We are afraid we might not know enough, not understand the culture enough (this is my favourite evil use of the social framework that “culture” signifies). We don't want to be called -phobic, feminazi or whatever it is that the hegemonic narrative will throw our way.

We don't want to jump into conclusions. Maybe that rape survivor 'was after it' after all.

What do we know anyway?

The uncomfortable truth is we know enough.

But, yes, this is all happening somewhere far, far away. 

What about Greece?

Well, Greece is a shithole.

And money is not the only problem; I would like to urge people not to bring up romanticised versions of an exotic Greece—'cradle of democracy!', 'homeland to Philosophy!' and so on—because, to quote someone else, "vomit is hard to clean out of my laptop keyboard."

Is Greece close enough for us not to ignore? 

Is it European enough? White enough?

Here is what happened:

This is pastitsio, a traditional Greek pasta-based dish:

And this is Elder Paisios on your right, a celebrated Greek Orthodox and dead monk:

On your left, this is Elder Pastitsios, a pastafarian parody remake of the religious icon.

Why does all this confusing information matter?

This blogger ran a facebook page that satirised and criticised various religious aspects in Greece such as infant baptism, religious education (that's teaching creationism—while Evolution is not taught at all) in schools and the lack of separation between church and state.

This guy did a fantastic thing:

'He created a hoax about a posthumous miracle by Elder Paisios which he then submitted to various Orthodox and far-right blogs. The story involved a miraculous recovery of a teenager who supposedly woke from a coma after his mother placed a talisman with dirt from Elder Paisios’ grave under his pillow.

The story reached 93,800 Google search results and was reproduced both online and in print, and even became a cover story on a far-right newspaper. The 27-year-old page creator would later state that he did this to expose the gullibility of the faithful, and also to show the poor fact-checking done among the religious and conservative blogosphere.

Four days before the page creator's arrest, an MP from the neo-nazi Golden Dawn party had brought the page to the attention of the Minister of Justice by raising a question to the Greek Parliament.

Philipos Loizos was arrested in Greece on charges of malicious blasphemy and offense of religion.'

The case's hashtag, #FreeGeronPastitsios, was back then a worldwide trend, so please join the conversation by using it as well.

Let's see the laws:

Article 198 - Malicious Blasphemy:

1. One who publicly and maliciously, and by any means swears, blasphemes God shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years.

2. Except for cases under paragraph 1, one who by blasphemy publicly manifests a lack of respect for the divinity, shall be punished by jailing for not more that six months or by pecuniary penalty of not more than 3,000 euros.

Article 199 - Blasphemy Concerning Religions:

One who publicly and maliciously and by any means blasphemes the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ or any other religion tolerated in Greece shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years.

The blogger behind 'Elder Pastitsios' was found guilty and has been sentenced to ten months' imprisonment – suspended for three years - for "insulting religion". 

This whole case exposed the ominous alliance between the Greek Orthodox Church and the neo-nazi party of Golden Dawn. They meet in biggotry. And in falsified Greek Supremacy. And in hating everyone who disrupts this national, religious and macho narrative: i.e., Roma people, LGBTs, people with disabilities, women, national and ethnic minorities and so on--you know the list.

Other things that have happened recently or are happening in Greece right now that you should know about before you come to me asking about tax evasion:

i. Corpus Cristi

This is about a theatre play that suggests homoeroticism between Jesus and his disciples. Golden Dawn and religious groups protested violently outside the theatre and the premiere was cancelled. More here.

Which brings us to the question:

Is Golden Dawn really marginal?

In the recent elections, the press officer and Hitler-idoliser got 11% of the vote for the province of Attiki where 30% of the Greek population lives. The horror.

ii. 28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers were shot when they asked for months of back pay 

More here.

iii. Farmakonisi

iv. And closer to home:

The prime-minister, Samaras stated that 'We will be rescued with the help of Virgin Mary'.

That would be all for me.

I am also live tweeting right now from @elizagoroya because as a Greek queer atheist woman you learn to multitask. Sign our petition to #FreeGeronPastitsios and ask the Greek government to abolish anti-blasphemy laws here, and follow the Humanist Union of Greece (HUG) on twitter and facebook for more.

I invite you to stay alert, and become a true ally. 

It is close to home enough to have no excuses.