ORGANIZED CRIME. Doesn’t it sound like the name of a board game with hidden roles or the presentation of some significant project?
Organized crime, in fact, according to the dictionary of concepts I consulted (just kidding: I asked AI), is defined as follows:
ORGANIZED CRIME: a network of individuals systematically collaborating to commit crimes, aiming for profit or power, using violence, intimidation, and corruption. It is characterized by structure, hierarchy, division of responsibilities, use of business frameworks, and —often— international operations.
Now look: If you remove the violence, you can easily describe the essence of politics. Read it and tell me if I’m wrong:
Politics is: a network of individuals systematically collaborating AND for the commission of crimes, aiming for profit or power, using (not necessarily) violence, intimidation, and corruption. It is characterized by structure, hierarchy, division of responsibilities, use of business frameworks, and often international operations.
It’s amusing to think that one might have inspired the other. Did organized crime inspire politics or vice versa?
The trigger for this (minimally) philosophical approach was a study I read on philenews regarding crime in our country.
In brief: Cyprus ranks 129th out of 193 countries — and yes, the lower you are in the ranking, the better. Highlights of our “best” performances: 34th place in foreign criminal elements (yes, we were shocked), 78th in the private sector, and 80th in counterfeit trade (our knockoffs are… internationally competitive). But what concerns me is organized crime: it’s not a casual affair; it resembles synchronized swimming in the shadows of the law. And we applaud. Synchronized.
There, the main conclusions from the experts (those who write reports in nice fonts) speak about a legislative framework adapted to international standards that is indeed not applied correctly.
The public has a strong sense that corruption runs rampant and has settled on our backs and that for progress to occur, international cooperation is essential.
In fewer and clearer words. 1) We write laws in our… ledgers and keep them like exhibits in museums: We admire them from afar. 2) The public has lost trust in the system and 3) if we are not “corrected” from outside, we are incapable of doing it ourselves.
I maintain that we are indeed capable of addressing this issue and the magical parameter is: we must want to. In a place so small, it’s impossible not to know who we’re talking about; therefore, a solution would be feasible if we started with this acknowledgment. We know and act based on that. It sounds difficult when corruption, if it exists, is part of the equation. It is indeed challenging to catch the mouse if the cat is keeping it company.
Ultimately, if we are to invite foreigners over, let’s do it to feed them grilled halloumi, treat them to rosewater sweets, and offer them chilled zivania. Not to admit that we know how to use our bed but lack the desire to make it — metaphorically speaking. Unless we’re talking about my daughter, in which case it’s literal.
Father Ratsis
