by FRANCOIs-XAVIER TREGAN
Thessaloniki — It’s Saturday evening in Thessaloniki, and near my apartment building I’m approached by a young man I suspect is a drug addict. He asks me for money.
I stick my hands in my jacket pockets hoping to find some spare coins and pull my bag tighter around me. “Hey, need some help?” he says jokingly. I smile at him and keep searching my pockets, but loose change is somehow never around when you need it.
“It’s really shameful to ask a young person for money, particularly someone younger than I am,” he says. “I don’t have a problem with it when people are older, but you’re around my age.”
I am 25. He keeps up the friendly chatter and I become less tense, but I always feel pressure in such situations because I don’t know if some harm is going to come my way or not.
“It’s terrible,” the young man continues. “A few years ago you could at least find some kind of job, and earn minimum wage for a day’s work. But now…” He pauses briefly. “It’s Saturday night, and I should be asking you out for a drink, but instead I’m begging money off you.”
Finally I dig up a 2 euro coin. “Here, please,” I say, “and have a nice evening. Who knows, maybe things will change. One of these Saturday nights you’ll be enjoying that drink with a date.” He laughs and moves on.
According to the latest Eurostat figures, Greece has the highest unemployment rate (28%) of all 28 EU member states, as well as the highest number of unemployed people under 25 (61.4%). In absolute numbers, this means that of 1.3 million unemployed people in Greece in the fall of 2013, 174,000 young people were looking for jobs.
I recently followed a discussion on Facebook about job applications and what young people should say about their motivation when answering the question, “Why do you want to work for us?” Somebody suggested, “Because through work I want to get my self-esteem back.” Others suggested replying that they wanted the job to gain experience.
The under-30 working minority
So how are things with the working minority? Meeting friends and exchanging news is always fun, but asking about what they’re doing and how things are going are a bit more perilous these days.
I recently met up with a friend I attended university with and who I hadn’t seen in a year. She had completed her masters degree during that time, and had moved back in with her parents. Going back to live with mom and dad is like a virus in Greece. Young adults are back in the rooms they occupied as kids, sitting on the bed where they used to dream of being grown up, moving out, being independent, and starting a new life.
Like thousands of other young Greeks, my unemployed friend had signed up with Greece’s employment organization OAED. She told me that she started a new job in September. “We were told we would be paid at some point,” she said. But no. She received no money.
Le Monde Diplomatic/World Crunch fr more