00:00
[Angry man]
You shithead! You should be ashamed! … Photograph the bread instead, the bread! You should be ashamed. Show some respect!
00:10
[Other man]
Come here, I’m with you.
00:15
At this soup kitchen, the presence of camera crews aggravates people who have come for handouts.
00:25
[ENGLISH]
"the people are complaining about the cameras – the people are scared of the media because they are transporting the wrong pictures”.
Other woman [ENGLISH]
“that’s right”
Question in the off: 00:34 [ENGLISH]
I can see "Free Food for All" - are you a government organization?
00:42
OT Kalliopi Charkianaki, former saleswoman [ENGLISH]
No way. We are just human beings, we care about people, we don’t have anything to eat, we don’t have work and we Greek people we don’t talk too much about our problems, about our needs. So we need to talk about it, we don’t want to die from starvation.
01:05
01:07
The volunteers cook and distribute about a hundred meals daily. Those who lost their jobs a couple of weeks ago now work here, collecting food and donations for the ‘street kitchen-project’. More and more middle-class Greeks are also coming to receive handouts.
01:24
01:26
The driver provides some first impressions about the mood in Greece. In the company where his wife works, five people are being laid off every month. He says that they can work out who is going to be next. It may not be immediately apparent what’s going on in Athens, but under the surface the crisis is bubbling away furiously.
01:51 Question [ENGLISH]
Are you one of those who are now angry at the government and all the politicians?
01:57
OT Apostolos Dimopoulos, employee [ENGLISH]
I’m very angry with the politicians, the government, and with the whole of Europe. We’re expecting something different, we’re expecting some solidarity. We’re expecting a European Union [a united Europe?]. I don’t see any union. I just the power of the stronger against the power of the weak.
02:25
02:30
In the book "Greece, a European tragedy" the author describes how the corruption scandals in Greek politics have contributed to the current crisis. Wassilis Asvestopoulos is half Greek and half German but has lived in Athens for many years. When interviewed he asks how people can expect things to change when the same families have been in power for three or four generations. When asked why there has not been a single conviction for corruption at higher level after all these years, he has a simple answer:
im off: 03.07
im on: 03.09
OT Wassilis Aswestopoulos, author and journalist (GERMAN)
It's obvious they know each other. A crow does not peck another crow in the eye. In Greece we have an amnesty law, which states that a Minister can be charged when two sitting Parliament members make provision for an act of legal disclosure. In such a case the Parliament acts here as Attorney General, a state lawyer, because of course the Minster cannot stand before a normal court. Instead the Minister is naturally accountable to a before a Parliamentary committee/court. But ok, when I have the majority in Parliament, my own Attorney General and I just need Parliament to close two more times - as Mr Karamanlis did in 2009 - then there are no more criminal proceedings.
03:53
03:56
Wassilis offers to show us Athens at night – it’s here where we can see the crisis more clearly. It's just after 8 o’clock - we go through a typical shopping quarter. All of the shops are now shut - some of them have closed down permanently. People have no money to go shopping. The number of homeless has also increased – there have always been people sleeping on the street, but now they dominate the city. The temperature in Athens is around freezing. The sense of hopelessness is helped in other ways too.
im off: 04.30
im on. 04:31
OT Wassilis Aswestopoulos, author and journalist (GERMAN)
From morning to night, Greeks are confronted with the fact that the country is broke. This uncertain future also poses a psychological problem. People no longer have anything to laugh about. Wages and salaries are being cut, prices are going up, people cannot survive any more and they have no prospects. There are no plans - either from the EU or the government to say that things will get better– if people don’t have a future they will be depressed and won’t be productive.
05:08
The crisis has badly affected pensioners and small wage earners, but it’s the youth who are being hit hardest by the crisis. The development of many industries has stalled because the state is in retreat. There is also a lack of entrepreneurship and despite young people having good qualifications and a good education; their prospects are at an all time low.
05:28
Alexandros Kalafatis has just completed his marketing studies and plans to go abroad. For the director of his university it’s not a bad decision - the youth unemployment rate currently stands at nearly 44 percent.
Question: 5:49 [ENGLISH]
Isn’t it also a pity for Greece because they are loosing a lot of people with good skills, good education; they are all going abroad - and for those who stay, they can’t find work.
06:03
OT Harilaos Daskalothanassis, The American College of Greece [ENGLISH]
Yes, the greatest tragedy in a crisis is this, what happens to an individual people. Yes, in a way it is; on the other hand, the crisis is global and the response has to be global. In other words, individuals like Alex have to look at his life and has to build it in a global system, so if Greece doesn’t have the opportunities today, he will go somewhere else. If Greece has the opportunity tomorrow, he will come back to Greece.
06:33
06:32
Before Alexandros came to this private university; he was enrolled at public institution. Because of the extra cost of private education, he’s had to work during his studies. But his reason for moving was not the poor quality of education at the state university - it was to escape from its political influence.
Question: 6:53 [ENGLISH]
If a teacher is connected to a party then he is letting people pass because they are in the right party, or let them fail if they are not, is this the truth?
07:04
Alexandros Kalafatis OT, student [ENGLISH]
Well, it has happened but as you can see in general the political influence is high in public universities. You can see that from the signs on the wall and everything.
7:19 Question: [ENGLISH]
On these signs we can see political announcements?
07:26
Alexandros Kalafatis OT, student [ENGLISH]
Yes, mostly – a small percentage from individuals or students that just want to express their ideas or opinions, but mostly its from a political influence and political parties that have taken place inside the universities
07:39
07:40
Jason Lampidis also fled the political brainwashing at his university to study in England. He’s been back in Athens for a year, but he’s given up the search for work. When he completes his military service he wants to go abroad again. According to the 24 year old, it’s not fair to solely blame the politicians. He says that "It is us who voted for these people for years so it's also our fault". But his criticisms go even further:
im off: 08.10
OT Jason Lampidis, student [ENGLISH]
Basically I think what happened should be a wake up call, it should tell everyone that yes, there is something wrong and if young people are not going to do something about it then who will. If somebody always thinks about going around things, that’s how they’re going to go through the rest of their life. So basically I believe that if those people don’t start realising that they’ve dug their own grave and that something drastic has to be done, as in change the way they think about things then that’s the way it’s going to be.
08:47
08:48
Alexandros Kalafatis OT [ENGLISH]
As Jason said before that it’s up to us to take a lesson – not only us – but the other generations to learn from this thing – I mean try to overcome this and never let it happen again.
09:03
09:06
This is Anavra, a small village in Thessaly - a region about four hours north of Athens. Most of the people here support themselves through farming. Upon entry to the European Community, Greece was a leader in agriculture. 30 years on, EU support for Greece’s agriculture is no longer available. In Anavra, money from the EU has also been used but unlike in other regions, where local politicians used the money to help them buy votes, it’s been invested in a modern and efficient livestock industry.
09:45
Under the leadership of the former mayor, Anavra has done well financially. Unlike the rest of Greece, the people here are not suffering from the financial crisis and every farmer can live off the income from their farm.
10:16
The village inn offers the well-known ‘Greek hospitality’ and they give guests the opportunity to taste the locally produced cheese. Despite Greece’s problems it seems that the people here still trust their politicians.
10:35
Dimitris Tsoukalas OT, former mayor [GREEK]
We came to power, we promised five things but we delivered fifteen. However, our politicians say one thing and they do another. And this creates serious problem – a lack of trust. We came here and had dreams and aspirations to help the community. We had a vision and we worked whole heartedly and we don’t deserve the allegations of corruption that other Europeans have accused us of.
11:06
11:08
With money from the EU, the farmer Orisos Poulis has increased the size of his cattle herd and modernised his farming operation. Orisos says that there are many ‘black sheep’ in the farming community – people who have gained money surreptitiously by making false statements in order to indulge in private luxuries. But with widespread funding cuts from the EU farmers he says that farmers like this have also fallen by the wayside.
11:36
OT Orisos Poulis, livestock farmer [GREEK]
For sure, there are some who have bought cars or other things, and there are other farmers who have invested the money in machinery and buildings and now their farms are doing very well.
11:50
This family came here from Naxos a year ago. They came because life on their Island were getting worse and many people were moving away because of lack of work. They had to close their supermarket so they packed up everything and moved here to Anavra. The eggs, which he sells in his shop, “are from our own barn”, Spiros says proudly. But even in Anvara, to make ends meet for a family of four is not easy, especially with the state continuously implementing new fees and taxes.
im off: 12.32
im on: 12.36
OT Spiros Makrygianni, grocer [ENGLISH]
At this point we are at, you have to say no to some things, you don’t have to pay everything because you don’t owe. When you get 10.000 euros per year to live with two children, and the government comes and says oh you have to give me 500 euros because we have to help each other, I say to the government: I need help. I need help. I cannot give 500. I count that I need for my kids 3000 euros per year for bread and milk. The prices are out of control – if you want I can show you some papers – with the prices and you can see that the prices are going up everyday.
13:26
I buy this with the profit – 2 euros and 97 cents. Look, the same product – 2 euros 41 – 70. it is 50 cents more – it’s the same product with the same profit on it – so that’s a problem for me, because if I raise the price here in this village for 50 cents, to get my money back, everybody’s going to say that I am a thief. Because two days ago I had this product at another price.
14:17
Back in Athens - in the middle-class suburb of Holargos, more than a hundred small shops have closed in the last two months. People from the area say that some of the owners were so desperate that they’ve even taken their own lives.
14:36
For over thirty years Angelos Belitsakos has worked as a beverage distributor for taverns and restaurants in the area. Most of the businesses he supplies to have closed down in the last two years and as a result, the 59 year old has lost most of his clients. He has another year until retirement, so he doesn’t want to give up without a fight.
15:06
Together with other distributors in the area, he’s written a letter of protest to the tax office listing all the financial demands the government has made since the beginning of the crisis:
im off: 15.21
im on: 15.24
OT Belitsakos Angelos, beverage shop [GREEK]
We don’t pay, because we don’t have the money to pay. We cannot put up with anymore demands. This is not tax, this is extortion. They come, they put their hand in your pocket, and they take everything you’ve got even if it means you die as a result. We’ve sent this complaint to the minister of finance, Evangelos Venizelos.
15:43 [GREEK]
Question: did you ever get a reply?
15:46
OT Belitsakos Angelos [GREEK]
No, nothing from anyone! - It’s as if we’d never written.
15:51
15:55
Angelos Belitsakos takes us to his old business premises, which are now empty. The landlord is already renovating it in order to re-rent the property. He says that on the 5th of January he closed down because he could no longer pay his rent. The landlord allows Mr Belitsakos to enter the premises again but only for a short while.
im off: 16.28
im on: 16.30
OT Belitsakos Angelos [GREEK]
It's very moving – to see the rooms where you spent almost all your life, where you earned money to build something - so empty and dead. It eats at your soul and it can break you almost.... Here, where we are now, was the sales room, over there, upstairs and downstairs, I had storerooms.
16:52
Suddenly the building work resumes – the landlord has only given the 59 year old a minute to show what was his business for 30 years.
17:02 Woman 1: [GERMAN]
We have to get out because the owner is renovating it in the hope that it can be rent. He has paid workers and does not want to wait for us now.
Woman:
What’s it like for him now?
Woman:
So, that was your shop?
Man:
Yes, that’s that.
Man:
Let’s go – it doesn’t matter.
17:41
Opposition in Greece has also been stirring far away from the demonstrations in Athens. People like the drinks distributors don’t throw rocks or set fire to buildings but try to fight against the corrupt state apparatus.
17:55
Dimitris Anagnostou is an olive grower in the central region of Pelion. He’s been fervently resisting an EU directive to clear his olive groves and wheat fields.
quite the off: 18.11
OT Dimitris Anagnostou, growers [GERMAN]
I haven’t got rid of my trees – but I have planted new ones in order to show that we must live. The EU is a force. It’s like a large ship - but unfortunately it’s now without a captain.
18:30
18:34
Dimitris gives a tour of his olive grove. He proudly explains how the trees have been in his family for generations. He says that most of the EU support for Greek agriculture has done more harm than good, but that no one really saw what was going on. He’s taken a different approach and opted for the production of traditionally made organic olive oil. Each bottle is filled by hand – a process that he personally oversees.
19:04
Man: Not yet, not yet, not yet...
Woman: No, I hold myself back (laughing)
Man: I must do certain things ...
Woman: Okay.
Man: You need a hand - or do you ...
Woman: It's okay.
Man: I've just smelled to see if you are wearing perfume. You must put your hand over the oil and wait a little bit – for a few minutes – so that the oil takes up the temperature of your body.
Woman: I feel really cold. Since it does not take much temperature ...
Man: Take it in hand firmly! The oil is cold now. It is like wine ...
19:34
Dimitris runs this family owned business with great enthusiasm and hard work, but it doesn’t seem to matter. The bureaucracy in Greece borders on madness.
im off: 19.46
im on: 19.49
OT Dimitris Anagnostou [GERMAN]
The bureaucracy here is so hard – it’s stupid as well. You can often wait years for certification. It depends on who's responsible. It goes from office to office. For example, this is my product and I want to export it. But they say I have to wait because the person responsible is not there.
20:24
Question: And that's why people say that things go faster if you have 300 euros?
20:30
OT Dimitris Anagnostou [GERMAN]
I've heard of it, but I can’t do this - I don’t have the 100 or 300 Euros to pay them. And why should I do that. I have to work for my money and they need to do the same. I think the laws are the same everywhere in the European Union. We are in the EU and therefore we ought to live by the same rules.
21:57
In recent years, Kala Nera and the entire region of Pelion have become more popular with tourists who want something more than just a beach holiday. The guesthouses are always full, except in the winter. Despite the crisis, tourism in Greece has not crashed completely. It’s only in cities like Athens where tourism has declined because of the riots. Many restaurants and hotels have registered a sharp drop in revenue and have been forced to sack employees. The Herodion hotel has a sensational location at the foot of the acropolis – but they have reported heavy losses. The hotel owner explains why they’ve not sacked any of their staff.
im off: 21.40
im on: 21.41
21:40
OT Anastasia Tsimidopoulou, hotel owner [ENGLISH]
We don’t have any loans - we don’t owe any money to the bank – it’s a family business so it’s like your house, you cannot spend more that you earn, we’re always very, very close to our expenses so we know what’s happening and we see what’s coming and we’re trying to make the best of it, so that it’s not at the expense of our employees
22:00
22:02
The fact that Greece is facing economic bankruptcy makes entrepreneurs like Anastasia angry. But she’s even more annoyed that Greeks have been lumped together. She says that “the whole of Europe thinks that we’re all tax evaders and that corruption is our national pastime.” For people like Anastasia, the system has failed them.
im off: 22:24
im on: 22.26
OT Anastasia Tsimidopoulou, hotel owner [ENGLISH]
I was feeling angry all these years – I was feeling that it was not fair, I was paying my taxes as a company and also privately and I was looking at all these people living a beautiful life, who if they paid their taxes couldn’t afford to have such a life and that was not fair. So I was already angry.
22:44
22:46
Just under an hour’s flight from Athens is the island of Ikaria . A former bar owner, Lefteris Kaparis, explains that when the civil war ended in 1949 thousands of communists were exiled here. The residents were forbidden from having contact with the exiles – but stubborn as they were, the islanders built friendships with them nevertheless. The island later got nicknamed "the red rock." The Greeks living here have never adopted the modern, "living on credit" lifestyle.
im off: 23.21
im on: 23.23
OT Lefteris Kaparis, former bar owner [ENGLISH]
I can understand now because I have lived here for a while, about why the people are so happy. It’s true that they have time for themselves and it’s true that most of the people here, they don’t really care about material things
23:35
23:39
It’s true that clocks tick more slowly on Ikaria, but otherwise, the island doesn’t look that different. Driving inland you can see that tourism is not as important as on other Greek Islands - most people still live through traditional agriculture.
Until the 70s, the government didn’t really care about Ikaria and the islanders were forced to take responsibility for the infrastructure of the island. This lack of support from the outside created a great sense of solidarity that they wouldn’t have otherwise had. Giorgos Vitsaras is a real Ikariotis – he explains what’s so special about the people living here.
im off: 24.25
im on: 24.27
OT Giorgos N. Vitsaras, journalist [ENGLISH]
Everybody works for the community. For example, if someone builds a house
and he wants someone to make the wood, and other guy will come and make the walls for him another time. And now with the crisis that’s very important. And it works; it’s working. That’s very good because we see that we don’t need money to do the simple things for our lives.
25:03
He also says that the youth are helping to maintain traditions on the island. In this small tavern young people are making music together. The crisis does not seem to affect people like Giorgos. He says that "life was never easy here, and if you are satisfied with less, you can still be happy".
25.33
OT Dimitris Kantounis, Pantelis Kazalas, Sideris Liaris (no inserts) [GREEK]
FIRST GUY [GREEK]
We can enjoy ourselves here at our local café. I don’t need to go to some other place and hear 500 different songs.
MIDDLE GUY [GREEK]
25.44
This is thing with consumerism – people now want to have everything.
3RD GUY [GREEK]
25.48
We see something advertised on TV, but can’t go to the nearest store to buy it like in the city. The young people in Athens, they see something they like in the evening and say, I have to get that in the morning. It’s a big difference in consumer behaviour.
MIDDLE GUY [GREEK]
26.14
Many people also want to have branded products. For us, the main thing is to have something to wear.
26.21
26.23
In the evening the island hosts a so-called "Panegiri" – a kind of village fair where young and old can mingle. Every stranger is welcomed here as a guest.
26.47
People dance and drink together. For the people of Ikaria, it’s important to spend time together as a community. But these festivals are about more than just having a good time.
im off: 27.06
im on: 27.08
OT Giorgos Vitsaras [ENGLISH]
They do this Panegiris to collect money, to do small jobs in the village, like for the roads, for the water, or for communal buildings. We've did this before the second world war and we’re still doing it. The young generation go one step further and do more things like this, which is very good. It’s very healthy.
27.42
Despite the crisis, it’s clear there is still a lot of optimism in Greece, as well as a determination to pull together whenever the state falls short.
im off: 27.53
im on: 27.55
Lefteris Kaparis OT [ENGLISH]
I really believe that we have this power to over come anything if we’re united.. and in the difficult times, the Greeks are always united - I think the same will happen again now.