Laws and Ethics

The Villa Silva is shared by two people: Mrs. Steen and her brother. When Mrs. Steen’s father bought the land, he kept it in the family but did not write to whom the land should go in his will before he died. By Greek tradition and law, the land naturally went to the father’s first born son. However, since Mrs. Steen needed a farm in which to house The Silva Project, she moved into the old house on the property and established herself in the community of Corfu. However, about the same time that The Silva Project began, Mrs. Steen’s brother began renovating the second house on the villa.

This second house is comically referred to as “The Bond House” by the volunteers. Bond, James Bond. In fact, portions of the 1981 “James Bond: For Your Eyes Only” film was shot on the property, especially on the immaculate lawn and breathtaking “bella vista” (pictured below) that belongs to Silvia’s brother’s claimed side of the property. Silvia’s brother rents out this house to people of James Bond’s financial stature at a ridiculous price of $4000 per night. According to Captain George, the price is so steep because the clientele who rent this house often bring hoards of live-in servants, which, of course, heightens the cost.

There is a stark difference between Silvia’s side of the property and the Bond side, mainly because thousands of dollars per week are spent manicuring the lawn and maintaining the house on her brother’s side, while Mrs. Steen spends thousands of dollars per week on feeding the horses and maintaining The Silva Project. And, as I’m sure you can imagine, after spending $4000 to enjoy each day at the Bond house, many of the snooty guests do not appreciate the cacophony of chicken’s clucking, birds chirping, turkeys gobbling, 21 dogs barking, and horses whinnying that emanates from Silvia’s side of the property throughout the day and night. As a result, conflicts have emerged between Silvia and her brother that threaten Silvia’s right to the land, and ultimately, The Silva Project itself.

Just this week, her brother locked the front gate of the property and changed the code so that Silvia could not enter. She was forced to call the police and have them take care of the situation since it is not lawful for anyone to lock her out of her own house. It eventually turned out that the brother wanted Silvia and all of the volunteers to use the back driveway because it was too much of a disturbance for her to be driving and us to be walking so close to the rental house. Although the law was in favor of Silvia this time, there is no law that supports that she has the right to the land on which she lives—there is a law that allows that her brother has every right to ask her to leave and take the horses and dogs with her.

If this were to happen, Mrs. Steen’s brother would sell Silvia’s portion of the land to a nearby hotel, which would no doubt tear down the 200 year-old house, farm, and guest house, no doubt turning it into a botanical garden, featuring some of the rarest and most mysterious species of trees and plants that there are to see. But at what cost? The hotel spends millions of dollars to buy the property, Silvia’s brother kicks her off the land and severs any familial ties whatsoever to her, The Silva Project withers away. The cost of this potential situation is beyond money.

I have asked Silvia what she plans to do, and she says matter-of-factly that this is the way it always has been and always will be. I just worry for the long-term of The Silva Project, and I hope that it can establish itself more fully in the community in the upcoming years so that the non-tourists on island of Corfu will rally behind one of the defining organizations that preserves their island’s beauty, nature, and civic engagement. Ultimately, I hope the community will learn to stand behind The Silva Project and it's ethical imperative rather than the hollow agendas of the laws that dictate its intrusion on the first-born son's land.