If you’ve never witnessed the feverish joys of cognitive dissonance before, then feel free to watch reruns of interviews with the British holidaymakers whose vacations were cut short by wildfires in Greece last month. More than 20,000 people were evacuated from the island of Rhodes in what would be Greece’s largest evacuation ever.
“Ooh, it was terrible. Horrible. A nightmare,” said Mavis from Wickham, dressed only in the fluorescent-green T-shirt and matching bikini bottoms in which she fled the resort. “Our holiday is completely ruined. The children are so upset they won’t be able to have their fish fingers this evening. The Greek taverna does them so well. And my tan, well, I don’t even know where to start. Everything is ruined.”
“We only got here last night and we don’t even know if our rooms are ready, whether the hotel is on fire, or the waiters have been burnt to a crisp,” added Mark from Bottomley while pulling his bulging wheely suitcase along a dirt road. Behind him was a Greek hillside swathed in grey-brown smoke and streaked with flames. “I want a refund,” he snorted angrily.
Okay, so this is a cruel, made-up version of what the evacuated British tourists really said. But it was pretty damn close. And the question that you feel like yelling – nay, screaming – at the TV screen is this: Do you not understand that you and your summer holiday are part of the problem?
There’s not enough room here to write about how short-haul tourism has not only increased greenhouse gas emissions and helped create the best conditions for Greece’s wildfires, but also that it has become a moral and ethical dilemma for many Europeans.
And that’s why the British tourists were irritating. Even as climate change chased them out of town, they could not even string that particular argument together. Maybe they didn’t want to.
Wildfires are not just happening in Greece, either. Europe’s recent heatwave saw fires break out in Portugal, Croatia, Spain and Italy as well. As you read this, there are likely still some conflagrations smouldering or new ones starting. Since they began in mid-July, the Greek wildfires have released emissions equivalent to driving 222,500 cars for a year. So, it’s also quite likely this year’s wildfires will affect next year’s wildfires.
Unfortunately, some European politicians didn’t react all that differently to folk upset that their beach party was cut short because a random village turned into a fiery hellscape.
The Greek Minister of Tourism pointed out that, despite the evacuations, only a small part of the island of Rhodes was affected by the fires. The airport was still open, she said. Rome might have been sweltering at 46°C, but Italy’s tourism authorities had the same idea, encouraging potential visitors by saying they will find a climate suitable for the summer season.
There were also some fantastical conspiracy theories about after one Greek official suggested most of the fires might have been started by “human hand”. Right-wing extremists were quick to jump on that: must have been those pesky migrants again, they whined.
Meanwhile, in Germany, there haven’t been any huge forest fires (yet), but the same kind of stupidity rages. In a July survey of political attitudes, locals were asked what the country’s biggest problem was right now. About every sixth German – 17% – apparently thinks it’s migration and asylum policy. Never mind that there’s a labour shortage here, as the Federal Employment Agency has reported, and that Germany actually needs more immigration. In the same poll, only 14% of Germans said climate change was the most problematic issue.
Cathrin Schaer is a freelance journalist living in Berlin.
