The Ban Bus

The Ban Bus needed to become the stealth bus for our crossing of the border from Macedonia to Greece. As there is no love lost between the two we did not need to stir the pot any more. There is nothing like a customs despot to turn you back or mess you about for no reason other than belligerence. Don’t like the Ban Cluster Bomb message? Let’s search the whole car and keep them here for many hours. My whole adult life has been travelling and I have seen every nasty border crossing known to man and had some horrible experiences on them. Depending on what is at stake influences how I behave but I do have the ability to give as good as I get if there is nothing to loose. Now there is plenty to loose so I will curb my natural hatred of these officials and avoid party tricks like proving what I had for dinner all over their desk. Get the picture?

The road out of Skopje is interesting as we have the insane GPS. “Turn left, turn right, roll over and scratch my stomach”. Everything, except good directions. Back to asking locals at every traffic light.

Rolling along towards the border was a pleasant drive and we were still in mortal combat with the GPS. Could we get it to direct us in some other direction than off a cliff? The border loomed up and we took the last stop to fill up on cheaper fuel. With all of the signage off the Ban Bus we were back to being a VW Transporter. Both the Macedonian exit and Greek entrance were no trouble and we still had a few more miles to the coast. Natasha had told us about the coastal holiday towns that all but close up after the summer tourist season. Any hotel open now would be very cheap and that was the magic word for us, cheap.

The little town of Katarini was found, by maps and signs, despite the GPS yelling and screaming that we must go back, turn around, panic, there be monsters here. This place was a strip of sand with hotels and bars sprawled along the shore. I walked to the end of the street and felt like I was in the Gunfight at the OK Corral. All it needed was a tumble weed to complete the scene. Nothing, not a soul. Splitting up in different directions we went in search of a place to stay. Lots of hotel signs here but every door was locked till next summer.

I finally found a bar that was open and asked in there. The young guy running the place started to ring around but also couldn’t raise anyone. He did give me a few phone numbers though so I kept walking. Farther along I found another bar open and asked there. The very pretty girl smiled sweetly and ran away. I didn’t think I looked that rough! Another girl appeared and she spoke great English and yes she had rooms and only 30 euro a night. We were in.

We met in the bar at sunset and began to plan what was to come the following days in Athens. The most important event was a lunch being organised by the Norwegian Ambassador here. He was going to pull as many strings as possible to get a good representation from the Greek government for it. Not much more was known than it was on, so our attention turned to basic logistics and beer. The pretty girl came over and brought back four beers. She understood four beers ok. I noticed her fly was undone and said so. She smiled sweetly again, said thank you, and went away. When she came back for a second round or drinks her fly was still undone, I said so again, she said thank you again and went away. I didn’t want to start pointing at her crotch so left it at that.

A little restaurant was open and we ordered seafood. Nice and local and the guy serving had spent time in Melbourne. As Melbourne has a huge Greek population we seemed to be always finding an international connection here. When we tried leaving, two old guys asked us to join them for a drink. Con and John were cousins and Con had migrated to Melbourne in 1972. He was back for his annual pilgrimage and family catch up. They got a few Ouzos into us till we managed to get away as the morning would be the drive to Athens and the wonders of peak hour traffic there.

The morning was perfect and we got a walk in along the deserted beach. The Ban Bus was again getting covered in signs, this time in Greek. We were not confident of our Greek translations or even of which way up some of the signs should be but we bumbled on and hoped that we would make no offence with our efforts. I certainly didn’t want “Ban Cluster Bombs Now” to become “Buy Cluster Bombs Now” or something as messed up as that.

It took longer to get on the road than planned and we would probably end up driving into Athens during afternoon peak hour traffic. The miles rolled on by and we all worked on our various projects. Mette was doing the accounts, Daniel was cutting a film edit, Davor was driving and I was writing.

Its tough farming here but the one crop that does well are olives. Ancient olive groves sprawl up the hillsides in that shade of dusty green. To me this is the same scene as in Southern Lebanon. That was the location of the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and now those olives are filled with the deadly crop of cluster bombs. Greece has cluster bombs and claims that all of their military objectives are defensive. If that is so then the only possible Greek use of cluster bombs will be on their own soil. One firing of cluster bombs into farm land like this will create a home grown tragedy that will take years to clear. The reality is that there would never be one firing but barrage after barrage of them would be used, guaranteeing that Greece would be trashed forever. They may as well draw a new international border now and just give that part of their country away as it will be good for no Greek in the future if a war is fought this way.

The traffic intensifies as we move farther south. Athens is ahead and it’s past 4 pm. The freeway grinds to a paralysed halt. We did get a street map of Athens at the last fuel stop so at least we are not driving totally blind but have no real idea where we are heading because the one way systems and small roads aren’t marked on our map. Davor keeps hanging out the window trying to get directions from anyone he can. Nothing like realising that you need to exit now and the exit is four lanes away. The Ban Bus will be etched in many an Athenians mind as the van that cut everyone off to a symphony of horns. At least they got the chance to read the signs!

The Marina Hotel is a nice little place near Omonia Station. This is very central in Athens so will make getting around for us quite easy. Like all big cities, accommodation costs a fortune. Athens is no different. If you do manage to find a cheap hotel there is always a catch as to why it is cheap. Normally it’s due to being in either the Red Light district or junkie land. We scored junkie land. All quiet enough on the surface but as the sun tipped over the horizon the streets around us became a mecca for open street dealing and shooting up. Used needles were all over and junkies laid sprawled out in the gutters in their own vomit and piss. It’s very sad to see so many people in such a mess. There was the odd paramedic about and drug social worker but there was a notable absence of police. Apparently there is a pick up and drop off policy here that gets the junkies out of the expensive parts of town and dumps them in a few central locations like here. Not sure if that is true but there are certainly lots here.

One woman was romancing a pole while a guys head made a sickening thud as he collapsed with a needle in his arm while paramedics were working on another overdose case in his own pool of vomit. Junkies are not dangerous people, they are just sad people who have fallen through the cracks of society. The biggest danger here was stepping on a used needle so its not the place to wear sandals.

Lots on tomorrow so after checking in it was a data projector I was after. Unfortunately I was going to have to buy one as the one we had before was too expensive to get over here. It was an expense that annoyed me as we had one in Ireland in May. That projector finally made it to London but the only way to get it here in time was to hand carry.

I found an AV store that was open late and soon had cut a deal with them to get an ex display model cheaply. The lunch at the Ambassador’s house was very important and we needed to make a strong impact.

There is a secret on the streets of Athens and that is the many packs of roaming dogs. Athens has a unique policy for stray dogs, they like them and its illegal to kill one. It seems in Athens all creatures great and small get to live out a natural life. The dogs have a bit of natural selection going on too, as the dumb ones find their way under cars fairly quickly and the clever ones don’t. Dumb ones are normally aggressive and emotional, easy to get distracted by rolling wheels and other such objects of unimportance. Now the clever ones take the world in their stride and don’t sweat the little things.

If the city council finds a new dog on the streets it’s taken, neutered, vaccinated then let go again to pursue whatever dogs pursue that does not involve chasing cars or sex. They get a special council collar that tells of their health status. In winter the council even makes sure there is dog food around town and water. Dogs are just part of life in Athens. They can be found sleeping anywhere from historical monuments to doorways. They wait at traffic lights and cross when safe. Pet dogs on leashes see them and go nuts and they ignore them. I love the fact that the Athens council looked at what could be a ‘dog problem’ and turned it into another piece of the character of the city.

We took a taxi to the Norwegian Ambassador’s residence on Lycabettus Hill with plenty of time to set up the projector and my computer. Lycabettus Hill is the highest point in Athens and the residence was on top of a block of apartments and gave the most beautiful view around the city. Now I had my bearing. The other imposing spot was the Acropolis with the Parthenon perched across its summit. It really is impressive.

The Ambassador had invited members of a few NGO’s as well as representatives from the Departments of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Member of Parliament. This was the perfect forum to have a candid discussion about Greece’s reluctance to sign the cluster bomb treaty. Some pleasant chit chat was had on the roof admiring the view till lunch was served in the dining room. The Ambassador welcomed us and I responded with a little scene setting about the realities of cluster bombs. I had the projector set up shooting onto the wall and a montage of 200 images rolled over as I spoke about the field reality. The room was quiet as I told one story after the next hitting all the aspects from legacy to danger and poverty, to duration and history of the problem. All were silent and the MP was visibly shocked. I finished the photo show and suggested we eat. Some appetites were obviously now not there.

The representative from Foreign Affairs was very open and honest and explained the national line and agenda in relation to cluster bombs. He is just doing his job and has no latitude to waiver from the official line. The conversation then became more lively as it turned into more of a debate. He pushes the line that Greece would only use them in self defence and I say if you defend yourself with these you will destroy your own country. The MP sat and listened to the arguments ebb and flow till the lunch finished.

“Thank you for coming” she said, “I have learned much today and so much more needs to be done. I will take this to my parliamentary committee and I want you to come back to Greece and make a presentation to them. I think no one really knows much about this in Greece and we need to learn much more”.

Mette abandons us as she leaps on the back of a scooter with the guy from Amnesty and disappears. He will drop her at the printers to get flyers made for our public action tomorrow. Daniel and me walk outside after thanking our host’s and realise we have again no real idea where we are. We head towards the Acropolis. All roads seem to head there so it’s as good a destination as any.

The best part of our lunch was opening good dialogue with the Greeks. Seeds have now been planted and the doors are open for more discussion and I feel a good ally was created in the MP. The other great thing was the lunch itself. Magnificent!!

We had some media contacts and rang them to set up interviews and also checked the logistics for the next day. We had permission to have the Ban Bus outside a main metro station so we could get to many Greeks to address the problem of cluster bombs.

Athens at night is quite beautiful and the Acropolis is always dominant above us, all glowing and floodlit. We left our resident junkies behind and walked the streets around Plaka looking for a restaurant. Athens lives on the streets and there is no shortage of nice outdoor places to eat at. The day is digested and more plans hatched for the future.

Mette went with Davor early to Megaro Moussikis station early to get the van in position then went to pick up her printing. Daniel and I worked on more media then headed to the van. Another perfect sunny day in Athens but the wind was up and this would make getting our photo exhibition up difficult. We had printed 26 of my photos from around the world to use as a street exhibition. They are certainly eye catching, but a little hard to appreciate if they sailing by you at 75 kilometres an hour. We pick the windy side of the Ban Bus and place them there hoping the wind will keep them pinned to the van. It works and Mette arrives with the printing. We have flyers in Greek and start handing them out to anyone who comes or goes from the metro station.

Once people see the pictures they falter and take what we give them instantly. Many now start to ask what is going on and if they can sign a petition. We are in business and will be flat out for the rest of the day.

We have some local volunteers from Amnesty and they take to the flyer passing and petition signing. Most people are shocked by what we have to tell them and wonder why this isn’t an easy thing for Greece to sign on day one. The message is getting out. Not all are convinced though and some make a show of putting the flyer in the bin, ‘till one old lady goes nuts. She starts ranting how much she hates Turks and that there are not enough bombs for them. She gets really heated and goes into the metro. A few minutes later she is back and in full flight again. She has become a one woman protest against us! I wonder if she has a permit for her protest? I find her mildly amusing as she carries on. More people avoid her and take the information from us. That just fires her up more. She finally stomps off with an unhealthy level of blood pressure to look for a new audience for her tirade.

Dimitri and Sioux from Amnesty are really working the streets with us, as are a strong rotation of volunteers. The Norwegian Ambassador turns up with a few other embassy staff, slips on the T-shirt and work the streets as well. These people are great and it really is a case of different peoples coming together for a single goal.

A few years ago I photographed a project on ten years of peace in Bosnia. I took a lot of my photos from the end of the war then returned in 2005 to find the same locations and people. This became a perfect report card on how the place was progressing. I always thought of it as good, bad, happy and sad. The exhibition toured here in 2006 and made quite an impact. Many remembered it and a little collaboration from the Norwegian, Canadian and Australian embassies had pulled it all together. Cristina from the Norwegian embassy had been the point with help from the others. Zoe from the Canadian embassy now arrived and that little core of people might be able to do something again in the future on cluster bombs. The Bosnia project was exhibited in the Syntagma metro station. This is the main central station in Athens and would have been seen by literally millions of people. It was a perfect way to take the message to the masses. Already I am wondering if we can do it again with cluster bombs.

A TV crew arrived and shot a story then a few print journalists came, interviewed and went. The day had been a total success. As we began to pack up at 4 we had a call from a TV journalist called Filios Stangos. He was in Georgia when the fighting started and was nearly killed by the Russian cluster attack on Gori. A Dutch journalist was killed 5 metres from him and his driver was critically wounded. He wanted us to stay and wait for him as he wanted to meet. When he arrived he was a man who was still deeply affected by the experience. That question of why did he survive when others didn’t was rolling through his mind. His car had over 100 shrapnel hits to it and his driver was hit in the head and he had not a scratch. I know how he is feeling when you can’t get the sounds, smells and sight of such a thing out of your head. It’s a very dark place to be. I think he wanted to talk to people who understood how he was feeling and were happy to meet with him. I just wish the politicians would really listen to a man like this as he has a very intimate experience that is repeated by everyone who survives an attack like this. Eyewitnesses have undeniable power.

The Ban Bus packed up and headed home to junkie heaven and another great Greek feed under the Acropolis. Athens is my kind of living, casual, outdoors and friendly.

More local people who would hopefully become future campaigners wanted to meet us so we arranged to catch up at the Acropolis metro station and have lunch the next day. Another journalist wanted an interview and we invited her as well. The more we can discuss the issue and connect local people the better. The Ban Bus makes a great catalyst for this. Lida and Theo were fiends of Manolis who we met yesterday. Helen was a features writer for a weekly magazine. A lively discussion began that was part interview but mostly great conversation. Ideas were springing forth from all as well as more connections for other people, organisation and universities. This is networking, good food, good wine and great conversation.

Helen was really fired up about the issue and wants to do much more in the future so another good media contact has been made. That wonderful six degrees of separation can overcome most things. Everyone knows someone who could connect us somehow to something or someone we need. Networking at its best!

One of my biggest regrets of a Ban Bus is that we race in stir up interest in the issue then run away. I’d so like to have the time to work with local campaigners more for longer periods and really consolidate the work and connections. Soon we will be in Thessaloniki then on to Istanbul. I do know I want to come back here and really spend some time in Greece and Turkey helping to build a stronger campaign. They are key countries regionally and so many of their problems and fears are linked. A joined regional campaign would be useful here.

I had an email from Jan Erik who is in Georgia and he thinks that I could get into the cluster struck areas in Georgia now without too much risk. I am very keen to do this but not sure if this is possible time wise. I’ll start checking some flights and see if I can’t dash down there for 3 or so days and shoot the area then out again.