In a documentary film for Swedish television a woman employed as school psychologist in an Athenian suburb had a difficult time concealing her despair. While crying she told about the many times children turn up for school with pale faces caused by lack of food nourishment. Because food is hardly affordable for many families in Greece and plain rice and water is the only alternative for the unlucky, it is not uncommon for these children to faint during their lessons.

At the same time alarming reports keep pouring into news media about the growing number of impoverished people in Athens and all around Greece. An article in Athens News described how the Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat) had reached the conclusion that more than a fifth of the country’s population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The austerity measures designed to combat the faltering Greek economy have indeed pushed many people to the brink of personal tragedy. Another example is the electricity price increase from New Year’s Day, one of the terms derived from the EU/IMF bailout. The increase is meant to better reflect the actual energy prices and raise cash in order to avoid default, but it produces a grim reality for ordinary Greek citizens already struggling to pay their electricity bills. In the aforementioned documentary an interviewee estimated that in the Perama quarter of Athens alone there are approximately three hundred families without electricity.

The austerity measures have been described as a bitter medicine to swallow and many ponder whether the remedy actually fragments the Greek society or not. Elderly Greeks still remember the days of military rule and scorn the modern democracy since they consider it has failed in comparison to its non-democratic counterpart to produce job opportunities for the people. It is a dangerous conclusion in relation to the survival of democracy in Greek politics and could possibly plunge the country into the hands of opportunistic generals, reverting four decades of democratization. As much as austerity seems to be the only feasible option in the current financial crisis it does not stop the sentiment of hopelessness from running amok. It is not an enviable task of leading Greece through the crisis but the Greek state must be aware of the danger that could be awaken if people feel cornered by darkened prospects. Many examples of historical rebellions and revolutions have been ignited by the lack of basic commodities.

 The mentioned articles and the Swedish documentary are accessible through these links:

http://svtplay.se/v/2665222/vad_ar_det_for_fel_pa_grekerna_

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/13/51901

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/9/51996