Mike Nerouppos, 17, is a student who should be in school.
Instead, he is on the streets of Athens outside the Greek Parliament demanding more school books and protesting at increased class sizes.
"We have only 5 per cent of the books we are supposed to have and the level of education here in Greece is falling," he says. "The government cares more about money than students' education."
Mike is one of thousands of Europeans who have taken to the streets this year in protest, usually against austerity measures. Anger is manifesting itself in all manner of ways in this euro crisis, with the most extreme protest so far being the man who set himself on fire in Thessalonika demonstrating against his level of debt.
Others in Greece are protesting by leaving the country.
"I will certainly move away because here we don't work like proper doctors in a hospital," says Olga Vartzioti, 36, a consultant pulmonologist in Athens.
She, like many others, is trying to emigrate and has chosen Australia as the place to build a new life.
"It's a country that is something new for my life and it's not going to have economic problems," she says.
Germany last week voted to back an increase of the euro-zone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Fund. But the issue for many people across Europe is whether their demands will ever be met. In February, thousands of Italians took to the streets in about 200 cities across the country in protest at the alleged conduct of Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, towards women.
About 100,000 people were reported to have gathered in Rome on one day, with a further 60,000 in Milan. But the protests did little to change the status quo; Mr Berlusconi is still under investigation, still in power and not expected to resign.
In Athens, many Greeks say they will continue to protest until the austerity measures are reduced. But Manos Panorios, a partner at the recruitment firm Stanton Chase International in Athens, says there is no option for the Greek people but to get on with life.
"The only solution is to do what the IMF says and then get over it," he says. "The government has to do what the IMF tells them to do."
rjones@thenational.ae
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani