Refugee blankets, the homeless and beggars line the busy city centre in Athens, Greece.
The main news on the radio is about thousands of refugees coming into the Greek islands, too many to control. The farmers keep threatening more extensive strike action to block the country’s main roads and further strangle the economy.
“I’m fighting, but Greece is in a mess,” one man tells me, as he walks up and down the road selling tissues.
In front of the Syntagma (parliament) the retail pedestrian road of Ermou Street in Athens is extremely busy, making it painfully clear that while some parts of the economy are recovering, others are still in a deep slump.
The prices for shoes, clothes and other personal items in shops like H&M and Hondos are at record lows. Sales have become a normal practice, says one shop attendant. Everywhere, the standard of service is high, the salespeople are motivated to build relationships and pleasant, eager to please.
The restaurants are keeping their prices reasonable, and the food is amazing, fresh, and clean tasting.
Around the corner from Ermou Street is the Finance Ministry. Someone threw paint at the sign over the ministry’s door, making it abundantly clear what they think of the country’s fiscal and economic policies.
Ever since Syriza got into power, it has been one disaster after another, economically speaking. Ironic, considering that Greece was just about to exit the second bailout deal at the beginning of 2015, and was just on the brink of a turnaround. A year later, the economy is still struggling to recover.
The OECD predicts that Greece will grow by 2.1 percent in 2016, but this is far from a rate that would successfully deal with the 26 percent of the 11.1 million people who are unemployed.
But instead of being defeated by disastrous government policies, the Greek people are still fighting to recover, and knowing the history of this great country, the odds are in their favour.
[adrotate banner=”4″]
