Lessons going unlearned

It has practically become routine by now, carrying on with the same conversation after every major natural disaster or incident of mindless violence.

Those in charge treat us to a monotonous loop of the same information again and again, and make similar statements or announcements, but in practice little changes.

Then time goes by, everything seems to be forgotten as other stories dominate the news, but as soon as the next disaster strikes and it becomes evident that the findings from the previous catastrophe were never taken into account, the same discussion starts again – and every time, it’s as though it is being held for the first time. Those in charge do not seem to learn; not from their omissions and mistakes, not from repeating them.

Authorities continued to favor suppression without taking measures of a corresponding extent and effectiveness to clear forests of combustible vegetation

We have seen this happen with forest fires. The discussion about the balance between prevention and suppression that came to the fore this summer is hardly new. The same was said after the wildfires in Evia and Varibobi in 2021, but also on other occasions earlier. Yet, authorities continued to favor suppression without taking measures of corresponding extent and effectiveness to clear forests of combustible vegetation. The notion that the main battle is fought on the ground and you need ground forces to do the work of, for example, building firebreaks and eliminate the risk of rekindling is not unheard of. It is espoused not only by foresters but also by Fire Department officials. In the field, however, everyone turns their eyes mainly to the sky, waiting for the water bombers, which may indeed contribute decisively, but have operational limitations. We know from experience that they are not always available.

The same repetition of the same arguments, conclusions and solutions also follows every instance of hooligan violence. Shutting down ultra fan clubs has been discussed many times in the past. In fact, after the recent murder of a Greek soccer fan by hooligans outside the AEK Athens stadium, the government proclaimed that fan associations would be shut down, with the exception of the “official” one of each team. And yet, in February 2022, after the murder of another soccer fan, Alkis Kampanos, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, the exact same claims were made. The government had again announced the closure of fan clubs as the main measure to deal with hooliganism and the plan even foresaw that it would be implemented by the end of July that year.

Beyond what will eventually happen to the organized fans, beyond upgrading security cameras in stadiums – since many are out of order or do not provide sufficient coverage – the government will also have to resolve structural problems within the police, in the evaluation of information and in the communication within the force, so that no procession of hooligans can cross the entire country undetected again.

At some point we will have to stop talking about the same things, again and again.