The Greek Student:Hard working, stressed, unhappy!

A child living in Greece 13, 14, 15 years old is probably the most hard working citizen in this country! While the law states that the legal working hour for an adult is 8 hours per day, Greek students start their day at 7 'o clock in the morning and usually finish at 10 o'clock at night. They have to go to school in the morning, rush home to have lunch, spend their noon studying their afternoon lessons, maybe attend a sport activity, return home to study for the next day and end up going to bed exhausted at about 10 or 11 o'clock! Hard schedule,  don't you agree? They suffer from stress, sleep disorder and depression. The social pressure is high as family tradition wants greek children highly educated and qualified. In contrast, in most European countries students finish school at noon and have the rest of the day for themselves to enjoy their free time as they choose. The homework they have to do takes no more than one hour a day. Whereas the greek students spend the whole day trying to learn by heart hundreds of pages of useless material resulting an unbearable social and psychological cost.  What would you change if you were the Greek minister of education? What is the ideal school for you?

Santa's Helpers:Some things cost more than you think....

Christmas is a major celebration for the western world. The 25 of december is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and it is considered a chance for family gathering and exchanging presents for the countries that are christian. But is it a religious celebration only? Christmas is a great opportunity for the market to increase sales as people tend to spend more money for presents for their loved ones. It's the consumers' paradise and the shopkeepers earn lots of money during this period. Everybody is happy, or that is what we are told! What about the countries that have nothing to do with christianity and christmas? Who manufactures the toys and the christmas trees that we put in our houses? Few will think why the prices are low and where do these toys come from? The fact is that the toys come from China, India and other mainly poor countries where salaries are extremely low and workers have to work for long hours making about 20 cents per hour. Another problem is that it is very likely that the toy or the christmas tree that you will buy is made by a child. Child labour is very common in poor countries like China and India, as there is no regulation to prevent this as the working force is needed to provide the products for the childen in Europe and the U.S.A. The Christmas joy for the children in western countries is the suffering of the children in China and India.

Greece in flames! Social unrest or Anarchy?

Teenagers throwing stones, cars and buildings are on fire, and Greek police firing tear gas are the only images being broadcast to the world, as rioting in Greece enters its third day with more demonstrations planned. But the unrest started long before the senseless shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos. The officer described firing warning shots but witnesses have said he took aim at the boy. Since this incident more than 50 people have been hurt and hundred of shops, banks and cars have been damaged. Police arrested about 150 people. Protests have erupted in more than 10 cities across the nation of , including northern Thessaloniki and the islands of Crete and Corfu. Greeks overseas protested in London and Berlin. It has been the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974, and the question is whether democracy truly exists in a country claiming to be its birthplace!

How do you feel about what is happening in Greece?