Διαβάστε μία ιδιαιτέρως συγκινητική αλλά και άκρως ορθολογιστική επιστολή απευθυνόμενη προς τους Άγγλους πολίτες:
To all British citizens, please bear with me for a couple of minutes:
Imagine the following scenario. Germans have managed to conquer Britain during the Second World War. Adolf Hitler decides to give away some of the most valuable parts of the British heritage (the crown jewels, the Big Ben, parts of Buckingham Palace, parts of Stonehedge, etc.) to the Japanese. Further suppose that sometime later the British people manage to reclaim their freedom and then ask the Japanese to give back everything that was stolen. How would you feel if the Japanese refused to give them back? Anger? Frustration? Resentment? Well, this is exactly what the Greek people feel regarding the marbles of Parthenon (the so called "Elgin marbles").
Sometime in the early 19th century the Ottoman government gave permission to Lord Elgin to remove ancient Greek marbles from the Parthenon and take them to Britain. However, the Ottoman government was an occupational government of the Greeks (and other ethnicities in the Balkans) and did not represent the will of the Greek people. In fact, the Greek people never surrendered to or signed any treaty with the Ottoman empire; the Byzantine Empire was annexed violently by invasion and the vast majority Greeks became little more than serfs in the Ottoman Empire. Greece has long since gained its independence and has been requesting the return of its stolen heritage. Essentially, the case of the Parthenon marbles and the hypothetical situation outlined in the previous paragraph are identical. The British government had resorted to the excuse that the sculptures would be much better cared for in London than in Athens. But now, with the new Acropolis Museum, that excuse can no longer be used. So what will the new excuse be?
Now is the time to prove that we, humans, are more than just primitive people with technology. They say that what separates humans from animals is reason. This is not true as animals can form rational thoughts and be very resourceful at times. What really separates humans from animals is ethics. Governments are never ethical but people can be. Now is the time to put pressure to your government to do the honorable thing. There is still time. You may listen or you may ignore this message, just know that history judges us based on our actions. History can either write down that the British people acted on a sense of justice or that they prolonged a great injustice through their indifference. The choice is yours.
Thank you for your time,
A friend from Greece
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