Among the childhood Sunday School stories from the New Testament that have been embedded in the stream of my consciousness were the journeys of Apostle Paul as he responded to Jesus’ call to spread the Good News to regions far and beyond.
Places like the Greek islands of Cauda, which was part of his shipwreck journey, Chios, Samos and a few others mentioned in biblical accounts, have stirred my youthful imagination. I wondered how the early missionaries, like Paul, faced challenges and trials as they embarked on long and trying voyages to fulfill their calling.
The present Holy Week vibe must have contributed to this recollection of stories told during those Sunday school days of youth and yore.
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My interest in ancient Greece being the cradle of Western civilization continued in college, where my Philosophy classes ushered me into the revered ideas of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and a host of others who shaped my thought processes toward greater objectivity and critical reflection. Discussions could be heavy – and, at times, mind boggling but they were always perceptive and instructive.
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My interest in Greek culture and traditions further grew while attending graduate school through my casual conversations with a student from Athens who lived few doors from my dormitory room at the American Midwest.
The occasional conversations with Petros at the study hall or cafeteria turned to be mutually beneficial as he was also I treated in Oriental Philosophy and way of life.
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This week, my interest was drawn once more when Australian Broadcasting Corporation published an online report on the vanishing local population of “one of the world’s most visited countries” – which is Greece.
The ABC special report shows how popular mountain villages have been reduced to ghost towns. Estimates show that there are more than 100 depopulated or abandoned villages all over the country.
The reasons for the drastic population decline:
• Decreasing birth rate – which is now 1.3 children over woman, lower than the 2.1 replacement rate. Add to this concern is the death date which is “twice as many as births.”
One reason given is that many young people do not want to have children in the meantime. Instead, they focus on their careers.
• Mass emigration – following the 2009 national debt crises, about 500,000 young people sought opportunities abroad, many of them for good.
• Cost-of-living pressures.
Demographic forecast shows a population drop of 20% about twenty years from now, making the country having the oldest population in the whole European continent.
Experts also expect that the population issue will trigger problems in the labor force as well as pension and health care systems.
There are efforts to lure back those who left but the gains are not that high at the moment.
Another consequence in the demographic swing is the fact that many rural areas have now a shortage of children, thereby affecting the rate of prospective employment. As a result, number of schools have also been closed – about 700 around the country – due to shortage of learners that young people who stay are compelled to travel far each day to attend classes.
Measures are being undertaken – with incentives given – to reverse the situation.
We trust that authorities will be able to address the out-migration and population decline impact and learn from experiences of other countries threatened by an ageing population – like Japan and Hong Kong.
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Apparently, the message that Paul and other apostles brought to the islands in their voyages and journeys about 2,000 years ago have remained relevant and even urgent today, when many nations are governed and guided not by mutual understanding and harmony but by hatred, wrath and greed.
As Holy Week approaches, we focus on the rhyme and reason for the story of salvation that Paul and other apostles spread in their voyages far and near and how this ancient story of love and grace continue to touch lives and communities.
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1:16) | NWI
