Roupas, a Penn State U. sophomore, is studying abroad in Greece — an idyllic Mediterranean nation, home of olive trees, the Acropolis and, recently, violent clashes between Greek citizens and their government over the nations’ massive debt.
According to the Greek Tourism Organization’s website, Greece is a popular tourist destination because it is a “crossroads of colors and cultures,” and it has an “affluent historical past.”
But popular tourist areas have been sites of violence in recent years.
In January 2010, according to a State Department warning, a bomb exploded near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, “a site popular with tourists.”
The European Union nations of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all suffering debt issues, Terrance Guay, an associate professor of international business, said. Greece is in danger of defaulting on its loans, which the Greek government borrowed to cover budget deficits, Guay said.
The problem stems from excessive social programs, early retirement age, large pensions and a failure to collect taxes, he said.
And the EU will only bail out Greece if it gets its government finances in order first.
“That means raising taxes, laying off government workers and cutting pensions and social programs,” Guay said.
This threat of cuts has led to protests — some shockingly violent — in history-rich Athens.
The U.S. State Department has not issued an official travel warning for the Mediterranean nation, but does provide up-to-date U.S. embassy notices, including emergency warnings of the violent demonstrations.
The State Department’s web page on Greece warns that recent austerity measures have led to strikes and demonstrations in the center of Athens.
“We remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence,” the warning states.
Barbara Rowe, Executive Director of Penn State’s Education Abroad, said students are free to study abroad in Greece.
University policy prohibits students and staff from studying or researching through Penn State programs in countries with U.S. Department of State travel warnings, though students and faculty have the ability to petition for an exception.
Rowe said no students have been affected by violence, and students studying in Greece, or considering traveling there, are advised to stay clear of the areas where demonstrations occur.
Roupas said except for her mountaintop view of violence at the Greek Parliament, she has seen little protesting and no violence.
About 50 people protest at Parliament every day, holding signs and blasting music, she said. Riot police are numerous, but the neighborhood where she resides has been totally quiet, Roupas said.
Penn State hasn’t provided Roupas with any special rules, but her professor looks out for her and other students, she said.
According to a U.S. government warning, on February 12 “thousands of protesters gathered nearby [in central Athens], with some throwing objects including Molotov cocktails, and authorities responding with tear gas. The situation is unpredictable, and we want to remind U.S. citizens that that there exists the continued potential for violence during the demonstrations outside Parliament.”
The U.S. Department of State also warns of “increasingly active” domestic terrorist groups within Greece.
Groups have bombed foreign embassies in Athens with moderate frequency in the past several years, and, according to the State Department, domestic group attacks have also involved “Molotov cocktails (gasoline bombs), small arms and rifle fire, targeted assassinations, and improvised explosive devices, the largest being a 100-kilo ammonium nitrate car bomb detonated at the Athens Stock Exchange in September 2009.”