Shopping in the corner supermarket is turning into luxury in Athens. High food prices make Athens citizens seriously consider how to spend their money and instead of the familiar chain stores they increasingly prefer the services of regular market. Even the mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis himself has noticed the apparent increase in shopping from the Athens market as evidence of the empty pockets of Athens people...
The market may partly patch the empty purse of many households, but not of the poorest people in the city. The social store on 66 Sofokleus Street opened on the initiative of the Department of Homeless at the Athens City Hall in cooperation with Carrefour Marinopoulos remains their temporary solution. The shop is open twice a week and satisfies the basic needs of families without income. They can get free clothes, food, household goods, soap, washing powder etc. There are such social stores in Belgium and France and they are sponsored by the headquarters of the Carrefour chain. Indigents are allowed to use the social services shop for 6 months. After that other people take their place.
According to Kaklamanis, the number of applications for using the services of the store is continuously increasing. The City Hall plans to open a second social store in Athens. The plans are to open such stores in the rest of the country in cooperation with the municipalities.
At the request of Nikitas Kaklamanis, Athens county office agreed to grant some of its buildings on Yera Odos Str to the City Hall for two years. Both parties have already signed a cooperation program that arranges the distribution of food to poor, homeless people and other disadvantaged groups from these premises. “The problem with feeding the poor in Athens is not diminishing. It becomes more and more serious every day,” emphasizes the Athens prefect Ioannis Sgouros.
Today one third of the Greeks live with less than 470 euros a month according to data of Kappa Research. 1 in every 5 children do live below the poverty level. Even experts are already talking about “American” poverty. 60% of the population fear that they can wake up on the street the next day. Тhe fact that 50% of the Greeks believe that a person can pass the threshold of poverty due to factors beyond his control make the specter of poverty even stronger. This may be illness or redundancy of the elderly.
The latest data with regard to unemployment in the country are tragic. The Union of employees in the private sector reports that it rose by as much as 26.7% compared to last year and currently stands at 11.7%. This means that another 124 420 workers joined the old group of unemployed.
The situation for the next two years is not bright either. The unemployment rate in 2012 is expected to amount to 20%, which means that 1 million Greeks will have no income.
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