The biggest news story in Greece this weekend is the escape of two convicts who managed to break free from their transport vehicle yesterday, killing two policemen in the process. The saddest part of the story is the death of the two policemen - one who had two children and the other the father of one child. Christmas and New Year's will never be the same for these three children again thanks to a murderous Russian who felt he shouldn't be held responsible for his crimes. This, my friends, is one of the reasons I am in support of capital punishment (I know, I know, but that is a discussion for another time).
There were three prisoners being transported - two Albanians and the Russian. The Russian confessed to killing and robbing a woman in Corfu in October. The Russian is responsible for killing the policemen, and while one of the Albanians chose to escape, the other one decided he didn't want any part of the whole business. It was probably the smart decision, because at least he has a chance of living life as a free man again, while the other two, if caught, won't stand much of a chance.
Upon hearing the story I realized I regressed to my childhood fear of "the Russians". When I was growing up, the Soviet Union was still America's great enemy. The government, the media, even my teachers pounded into our heads that Russians were bad, were evil. They didn't think like us, they did bad things - and should we ever come across a Russian, the idea was to get the hell away (ok, so that was how I perceived it as a child, but still). Of course, now Russia is our "friend", with its sexy leader (there was a song about him, I don't think he is sexy), and its wonderful pipelines. Still, I can't help but continue to picture the Russia of my youth, the mean looking leaders, the repressive KGB, the bread lines. I have a hard time remembering that Kiev and Minsk are no longer Russian cities. Hell, I still refer to places that no longer exist, like Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Obviously, my brain is frozen in time in a geography class from 1979.
So here were are, with a delusional, psychopathic Russian on the loose in Greece. Now, I figure if he had any brains at all he would be trying to cross the border and not staying in Greece, but he could still be wandering around here somewhere. If I should come across him, I am likely to start jumping up and down, shrieking "its a communist!! its a communist!" followed by a frothy spitting and shouting "die, commie, die!" Hey, I'm not proud of it, but the hatred of the USSR was so ingrained in my psyche as a child, I can't help it. Show me a smiling, friendly Russian and I'm ok, but face to face with a demonic Russian all that childhood propaganda comes screaming back.
At any rate, I hope they do catch both prisoners, and I hope no other lives are lost in the process. My thoughts go out to the families of the officers who were slain, and I hope they find the strength to live on and find some happiness in their lives in the future.
1 comment:
How many times have Greek police officers had their weapons removed from them and their cars stolen from them by criminals in the last couple of years? This is also not the first time a criminal has escaped on a "bathroom break". I think officers definitely need more training in this regard and to be more alert while on the job. I hope they catch the escapees and then let them rot in Korydallos.
Mel, I'm morally against the death penalty but realistically, if I were the families of those slain policemen, I know I'd want the murderers dead. So, I guess that makes me for capital punishment huh?
Post a Comment