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opinion

Zachary Smith is a history and politics student at King's College in Halifax.

The options at the bottom of the ballot seemed so simple. Nai or Oxi, yes or no. That was the decision facing the people of Kardiani and the rest of Greece on Sunday. Two simple words, but the choice could not be harder. In fact, the decision weighed so heavily on this small, picturesque village overlooking the Aegean that the word 'dilemma' might have been custom-made for the vote. It is a Greek word, after all, so perhaps it was. Caught between two unsavoury choices, the 40 or so residents of the village tried to choose the option that would hurt the least.

I have been staying in Kardiani for a month now, three hours on a sluggish ferry from Athens. My uncles operate a market garden on the terraces below the village, and when they invited me to help them out this summer, I couldn't refuse. I didn't know my stay would coincide with Greece's existential upheaval – I don't mark IMF repayment deadlines on my calendar. Since I arrived, however, the spectre of a Greek withdrawal from the euro zone has been growing by the day. As the June 30 deadline for interest payment loomed and negotiations collapsed, resumed and broke apart once more, the country's debt changed from the prevalent topic of conversation to the only one.

On June 29, the day after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the referendum, the talk as the locals and I picked beans was full of uncertainty. What happens if the government can't afford to produce electricity? What if pharmacies can't get drugs from abroad? For now, at least we had our own supply of fresh vegetables. The same day, the banks closed – first for the day, then for the week. At lunch, we toasted Greece's departure from the euro. Yamas.

On Wednesday, posters calling for the rejection of the creditors' terms began appearing around the village. Given the wording of the referendum, I was surprised anyone could decide so quickly. "In Greece, you can't help but be a financial expert," one resident said. "It's everything."

To many in the village, to vote No is to choose to reject austerity and Europe altogether, no matter how firmly their government emphasizes the narrow terms of the referendum.

To some, this repudiation would be a relief. Demetrius, a veterinarian who also has a degree in theology, hopes that leaving the euro will bring his country back to better times. "This was the happiest country in the world," he said.

What happened? "We were strangled for the benefit of others."

However, to most it seems as though voting No is a grim necessity. The ensuing weeks and months will undoubtedly be difficult, but better that than the crippling yoke of ongoing austerity and debt. No promises the possibility of recovery, while Yes only prolongs Greece's woes.

And what of the Yes campaign? "It's blackmail," said Demetrius. "People are scared." To the group sitting around the small taverna at the centre of town, fear is a major factor in why they would be voting Yes: fear for Greece alone. To them, as difficult living under the austerity imposed by Greece's creditors has been, at least it is a known quantity.

And so Kardiani tottered on the horns of the dilemma, caught between two impossible choices, Scylla and Charybdis. In this village, the choice lay between austerity and the unknown. The only one to withhold his views last week was the bank manager, who greeted us with a tired, melancholy smile. It is not an easy time to be a banker in Greece.

Sunday I travelled to Athens for the day of the vote. The city was deceptively calm. The crowds in front of the Parliament buildings weren't of protesters, just tourists trying to get their picture with the stolid ceremonial guardsmen. The mob of news trucks idling across the road was the only hint of something momentous.

As the sun set and the announcement approached, Greeks poured into the square. Not a single Yes placard could be seen. Slowly as the results came in the music was turned up and the No side began to celebrate.

As I watched, it seemed to me whatever way the vote was going to go, there is little cause for celebration. The hardest times for Greece still lie ahead, in a future filled with uncertainties.

But to a country that has faced five years of bad news, perhaps this decision is worth celebrating. To the Greeks I have talked to, the No that resulted on Sunday was in answer not only to the demands of creditors on the ballot, but also no to austerity in general. And maybe they're right. While leaving the euro is certainly a dangerous possibility, pensions and services cannot be cut endlessly; a country can only take so much. Perhaps it is time to step out into the unknown.

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