The Etesian winds are the dominant weather influence it the Aegean. More commonly known by the Greek or Turkish names; Meltemi or Meltem, they blow strong and cruel from May to September. No need to speak Greek to work out the probable origin of the name; the meaning of mal temps is clear in any Romansch language. Caused by a depression in south west Asia that sucks in air across the Aegean, driving a persistent, cool, dry, northerly wind, which although dying down a bit at night, (er… who wants to do things or sunbathe at night?) blasts away all summer long.
But it is a bit of a bugger, whistling down over the Thracian sea until it hits Andros, the first landmass in its path. It strikes this mass of schist with venomous intent and the Island winces. It bends horizontal the few trees hardy enough to find a foothold in the rocky north, it burns the tender shoot of garden plants which quickly give up the unequal struggle. It blows maritime detritus onto the northern beaches, which once dry, cavorts and cartwheels inland to get lodged in prickly bushes or behind sheltered rocks, and it drives visitors bonkers. It is said that if the mistral blows for nine days, it can excuse any number of crimes of passion, and then there is the Scirocco and the Ghibli and the Tramontana, as well as a bunch of others, all of which compete for superlatives of ghastliness and discomfort, but boy the Meltemi can be as persistent and annoying as the yapping of a neurotic Jack Russell.
But there is a new problem; wind turbines.
Stepping aside from the broader issues of green energy and the merits of wind turbines, it seems as if the placement of such devices has been deregulated and the possession of ‘a licence’ apparently cuts through all other legal and planning considerations, the Government having issued said licences to all and sundry to meet EU diktats on green energy. But no one is able to tell me how many licences have actually been granted or whether there is a legal challenge. What actually is the pressure group doing? Who is the leading the group? Is there a national campaign? (For example my internet trawling has found a very impressive bilingual web site for the island of Kythera facing similar issues.) Is the media involved and on side? Why is it not in English and French?
But the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, although the time isn’t known nor the location. We learn that it is between the local campaign group and the energy company installing the turbines. A similar meeting the previous week in Gavrio had disintegrated into a shouting match.
Monday comes and all is unclear. The meeting might be at the school in Sidontas or not. It might be at eight, or before, or at eight-thirty. The voice on the street is that the confusion is deliberate; the company doesn’t want a repetition of the unconstructive shambles of the previous event. On Tuesday afternoon the news is that the meeting is to be held at Kossi’s taverna, but on the way home Gillian calls in and Kossi tells her he knows nothing about it. Wherever it is it will be in Greek and what do we ‘tourists’ know about anything? There are hints from some that we would not be welcome. We decide not to go.
The Greek islanders are an independent spirited breed, brutally partisan and inward looking. On Andros this is even more marked and probably has two antecedents. Firstly, from medieval times the islanders have had a valid fear of pirates and raiders. They built their houses inland and those who could afford it, castellated and fortified. The lingering leitmotif is that strangers are not to be trusted. The second feature is that for the last 200 years Andros has been a seafarer’s island. The men were at sea leaving women and children at home; even more reason to be cautious about unfamiliar men from strange lands.
To many of us, used to the genuine open-armed hospitality shown by the Hellenicos when we visit Greece, this seems anathema, and difficult to reconcile, but it can be explained by seeing a difference between the ancient notion of hospitality to travellers on the one hand, and acceptance into a tight family bonded community on the other. So whilst the young here are open minded and global in their perspective, a lot of the older generation are staunchly loco-centric. They don’t mind accepting tourist’s money for goods and services but are a long way from accepting they can contribute to what, erroneously, are seen as Island issues.
So, back to the meeting and the shambolic campaign against the windmills which makes Don Quixote’s efforts look like an Apple product launch. This is surprising given that there are many sophisticated people on the island from many countries in Europe. But the issue is this; will we and the other xenos who have houses on the island or visit for a holiday or to walk the brilliant network of pathways nurtured by Andros Routes, or birdwatch or attend a painting course, or just find an empty beach, still want to come if 100 windmills dominate the rugged unspoilt landscape? Left to their own devices I fear the worst. A narrow perspective local campaign dominated by anger and a sense of injustice, and the exclusion of the expertise that could help to broaden, and add dynamism and clout, to the movement, will in my view achieve little.
The meeting finally happens and reports tell of a civilised event with only a bit of shouting, the xenos being given their own table . The company is going to install three turbines adjacent to the others, but knows nothing about the other licence applications. Still lots of cause for concern.
It all comes back to the blessed Meltemi. If the wind didn’t blow so consistently and vigorously across the island there wouldn’t be the incentive for this development. There are other charming islands not thwacked by storm force winds all summer, who would be delighted to welcome tourists and residents thinking of staying or visiting. Perhaps the Andriots need to think more globally about their campaign, else the tourists find somewhere else to spend their holidays and their Euros.
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