The phrase "Merry Crisis and a Happy New Fear" first appeared on the cover of the 2007 Christmas special issue of Vavel magazine.
The same phrase appeared at Christmas 2008 during the riots in Greece. The riots were triggered by the murder of 15-year-old student Alexandros Andréas Grigoropoulos by two police officers on night patrol in Athens' Exarchia university district.
The murder of the young student was initially justified by the maintenance of public order. The riots, which involved serious clashes with the police, lasted for more than 3 weeks and the damage amounted to 100 million euros.
The British anarchist publication Occupied London claimed that the phrase "Merry Crisis and a Happy New Fear" was "one of the main slogans of the 2008 uprising".
Today, the Exarchia neighbourhood is still a reflection of the failure of the EU as a civil community, but also of the free economic community as a panacea that was believed in unconditionally within the European borders for many decades. I was able to see this for myself during a trip to Greece in 2018.
However, due to the economic consequences of the pandemic, the entire world has moved a little closer to the brink of economic collapse and we are all facing very uncertain times ahead. The slogan "Merry Crisis and a Happy New Fear" is more relevant than ever.
Nevertheless, there are also some positive aspects to this development. Despite the many doubts, many people have put the "we" before the "I" and thus gained a different view of life as a social community. Through the scientific race, many new technologies have been developed at record speed which, despite initial difficulties and general scepticism, will give us many possibilities for the treatment of previously incurable diseases in the coming years.
The euphoria and the general relief that will occur in the Western countries, as they will probably have the pandemic under control already in the first half of 2021, will lead to an explosion of tourism in the traditional European destinations. My current adopted country, South Tyrol, will benefit enormously from this, but the keyword "over-tourism" will also be on everyone's lips again. By 2022, global tourism, with its ups and downs, will be back in full swing and accelerate the economic exchange of the globalised world.
I will try to contribute to positive development by continuing to consolidate local choices and economic cycles through my consumption behaviour, but also by being fearless in embracing new developments and technologies that are beneficial to the general welfare and well-being.
In any case, it will not be boring and as after every crisis and with every paradigm shift there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I wish everyone "Happy No Fear" for the time ahead and to embrace new habits and new opportunities with the chance they can represent in the eyes of a child.
Simon Margesin