Ghost Village
"It's the biggest sadness you can imagine. It's sad that it's abandoned in this way", says Jose Collazo, the last resident of a ghost village. In recession-hit Spain there are almost 3,000 abandoned villages. With an ageing population and almost 25% unemployment, local governments are desperate for any boost to their economy. Whole villages are now up for sale, and locals hope that foreign buyers might boost the depressed economy. At a time when many Spaniards feel that capitalism has failed them, the rural idyll of self-sufficiency has never seemed so attractive.
Produced by Dateline, SBS Australia
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