To Burn down or chop every tree, to kill everyone who will oppose him, and will not yield. And he succeeded. For 2 years, and even under the resistance of the released Kolokotronis and his guerrilla warfare, Ibrahim managed to take over Peloponnese.
The disaster was so great that Kolokotronis send a mail to Ibrahim telling him that:
Not the branches of tress to cut from us, not the trees, not our homes you burned down,even if stone under stone to be left, we'll never yield. Even if, the trees to cut them down, the soil that doesn't want to be lifted up, the same soil that raised them, this soil will be ours for ever and it will reborn everything.free translation...the original as follows:
Όχι τα κλαριά να μας κόψεις, όχι τα δέντρα, όχι τα σπίτια που μας έκαψες, μόνο πέτρα πάνω στην πέτρα να μείνει, εμείς δε προσκυνούμε. Τι, τα δέντρα μας αν κόψεις, τη γη δε θέλει να την σηκώσεις και η ίδια γη που τα έθρεψε, αυτή η ίδια γη μένει δική μασ και τα ματακάνει.
The reasons for the complete defeat were: the best strategic minds of Greece where in prison or pursued as criminals, the Greece was under the bad influence of foreign forces, the government under the presidency of Georgios Kountouriotis not able to handle the crisis, and the people not having faith to the government.
Peloponnese was turned into a dry land, was deserted, people were fleeing either to Sicily or to the coast line of Ottoman Empire, to get away from the disaster inflicted by Ibrahim. The land recovered after 100 years.
It seems that History repeats itself. But this time we do not needed any Ibrahim, or any Ottoman troops. We managed to bring total annihilation by ourselves. Cause, don't get fooled by political declarations of salvation to all Greeks by blaming the others, pointing the finger to everyone else but ourselves, we all have part in this.
I that throw the cigarette out of the speeding car into the dry land, my need for more money, for a "better place" to raise my children into the "forest", any action that is believed to put the blame on the other political party, of burning the weeds. Of the Greek way, as a nation, of the government (of every government) THAT consists of local Representatives that are responsible for theirs specific area of jurisdiction, of the ministers, the authorities, the leaders, all elected by the people...and goes on and on. Because I believe that in this case its not only the head of the fish that stinks it the whole fish.
And a final though is:
will this disaster be enough to awaken us, the dormant fellow Greeks;
It sounds as rhetorical as ever. Anyway I hope that I made a point and not been misunderstood.
Talk to you when I feel like it, or when the Navy permits it...
P.S.: minor spelling corrections. 19/09/2007
