Starving Greeks Line up for Food in the Thousands

Starving Greeks queued around the block for free food handouts as the country's politicians managed to end a crippling stalemate to form a coalition government. Young children as well as the elderly waited in line in Athens to collect the parcels of fruit and vegetables donated by farmers from Crete to help ease the devastating austerity faced by many Greeks.

But as hungry people collected food, a few miles away a new conservative-led alliance was formed, vowing to renegotiate the country's strict European bailout in a bid to breath economic life back into the debt-stricken country. Conservative Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister and head of a three-party coalition that will uphold the country's international bailout commitments.

Cretan farmers handed out some 2,700 10-kilo packages of produce, in cooperation with the capital's municipal authorities. Among the people lining up was Panayiota Sidera, 31, from Athens. She said she has been unemployed for two-and-a-half years and her husband is also out of a job. The couple is living on a (euro) 250 monthly disability pension and rent from an apartment they own, and has a (euro) 540-a-month loan installment to pay. Read more >>

Both Greece and Italy See Increase in Suicides Over Economy

News Report from RT

A 77-year-old Greek man has committed suicide in central Athens by the nation’s parliament, shooting himself with a handgun in apparent financial desperation. Eyewitness reports say that the man shouted “So I won’t leave debts for my children” before turning the gun on himself. Others claimed he said nothing.

The pensioner was a retired pharmacist who owned a drugstore in Athens, which he sold in 1994, Costas Lourantos, the head of the Attica Pharmacist’s Association told Skai radio.

The number of suicides has dramatically increased in the country since the beginning of the economic crisis, shows data released by the Greek Health Ministry.

Prior to the economic downturn Greece had the lowest suicide rate in Europe at 2.8 for every 100,000 inhabitants. Now, this figure has almost doubled, with police reporting over 600 suicide cases in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Attempted suicides are also on the up.

Last month, a 38-year-old Albanian man killed himself on the island of Crete. He had been unemployed for some time. The financial hardship made him jump off his second-floor balcony, reported local news.

In neighboring Italy, a 78-year-old woman threw herself out of her third-floor apartment after her monthly pension was cut from 800 to 600 euro. Since the 25 per cent cut, the pensioner from Sicily had reportedly been struggling to make ends meet.

"The government is making us all poorer, apart from the wealthy – who they don't touch – in contrast with us workers and small businessmen who are struggling with heavy debts," said her son, Bruno Marsana, as quoted by The Daily Telegraph.

A picture frame-maker hanged himself in Rome. His suicide note told of "overwhelming economic problems." Previously, two men in northern Italy set themselves on fire in two separate incidents, citing financial woes as well. Both survived, sustaining severe burns.  More...