“Ten thousand people committed suicide during the last five years, that’s the population of a whole city. One of them was my son.” Theodoros Giannaros, 58, is a broken man. May 22nd is a day that the governor of public hospital “Elpis” will remember all his life. His 26-year-old son, Patrick, had jumped into the rail tracks of the Athens metro, just before a coming train was entering the Acropolis metro station. It was a Friday noon on a bright spring day.
A couple of days earlier, “the young man was fired from his work place, his psychological condition was very bad” local media reported.
Speaking to the website of Italian Corriere della Sera, Theodoros Giannaros, claimed that “ten thousand people had committed suicide” in Greece during the five years of austerity.
“Since the beginning of the crisis in this country ten thousand people committed suicide. Yes, you got it right: 10,000. It’s like a big city has been wiped off from the map of the nation,” Giannaros said adding that “Many people tried to put an end to their lives but they were rescued. But ten thousand have died.”
Theodoros Giannaros is the governor of the public hospital Elpis in Athens since 2010. He may have access to data and statistics that are not been reported by the media or even the police.
Greece saw a dramatic suicides increase of 43% during the last 5 years of economic crisis, recession, austerity cuts and unemployment. According to official police data, 3,124 people committed suicide in the years 2009-2012.
For the last two-three years, unconfirmed information speak of more than 4,000 suicides since the beginning of the crisis.
We may never find out the exact number.
Giannaros’ Interview in English here.
Nearly all the countries, that are supposed to pay for the Greek “humanitarian crisis” have a WAY higher suicide rate than Greece:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
One might deduct a moral obligation of Greece here: simply stop taking the money of the nations that are ahead of you.
The moral obligation that most people would deduce is that you go and f**k yourself.
LOL you’re 150& nuts
You’d better tell this their loved ones: “Stay cool, everything is easy as in Greece there are less suicides!” What do you think would happen in Italy if one would tell your mindfuck openly on a public market?
Typical Christian CSU/CDU propaganda, heard from their politicians in Deutsche Scheisstag and on TV, in countries like Austria that could meet laws against reinstitution of the 3rd Reich, because authorities might decide this is racist.
If they would google just a little bit more they’d figure that Greece was once a country with very low numbers and so this number is even more alarming.
In the 70ies of the last century comments like this would have seen iron bars on knees but hey, the whole political class wouldn’t have had the balls to put up measures like it has forced on the populations in Greece and Portugal the last five years. Instead they’d installed some Junta, supported it secretly but waiting every night in fear of having ugly uninvited guests.
If youre going to be cynical at least be accurate/dont provide the data that destroys your own argument.
Those numbers you cite are from 2009. If you compare that that to 10000 over 5 years the suicide rate has tripled.
Its true that even now many countries have higher suicide rates but that doesnt make the situation any better. Also I am thinking that any list starting with greenland, lithuania and south korea is so diverse that there must be a multitude of factors behind those rates(f.e. there isnt a lot of sun in greenland).
But the tripling of the greek rates can at least in part be attributed to the dire economic circumstances.
Besides any single one of those is a tragedy and regardless of the reasons behind it nothing to be silly about.
Paf, you are filthy and I am sorry to say it, pathologically insane. I can’t even rephrase your statements because they are so entirely mad and senseless. Even Dr. Strangelove wouldn’t want you on his side and you certainly do Germany no credit.
For anyone else reading this it should be noted that Greece had the lowest number of suicides in Europe before the crisis.
Sorry! That comment (no.2) was a reply to “Chris” (no.1).
“One might deduct a moral obligation of Greece here: simply stop taking the money of the nations that are ahead of you.”
As a German I am entertained by most Greece-bashing comments, but there is a limit and this one is from the bottom of the deck. If you want a discussion please use arguments, not insults.
The facts and conclusions of this articel are entirely wrong.
3124 confirmed cases in 2009-2012 (4 years) + a wild guess of 4000 for the last 2-3 years is simply not 10000 in 5 years with this dramatic rise. I have linked official data in my initial post.
So much for the facts.
Then the conclusion: the suicide of this 26 year old man is flat out attributed to Austerity. Why not to unfulfillable expectations from his closest environement as it is usual the case? As the son of a high ranking person, the pressure to be successful is certainly high and it is not uncommon that the offspring break over this. A typical pattern and at least as likely as money problems with his background.
It is simply not valid to simply tie his death to austerity.
The reason why I triggered this discussion: I deeply and sincerely despise now the traegedy of this young man (and all other suicides) is misused for cheap political propaganda.
The posters here do not have the tiniest clue, how the situation after the Greek bankruptcy would have looked like without the help of the Troika. A total collapse: no energy, no food supply, no utilities, no medical aid, no law enforecement. – Nothing. For a very long time and it would have taken years to reestablish basic supplies at a decent level on organic growth. Currently, 75% of the Greek consumer goods (medical kit, energy, tools, food, …) are imported. A bankrupt state has no money for imports.
You know, all the doctors, nurses, firefighters, policemen and farmers do not work for free now (else Greece would have no liquidity issue) and they would not have worked for free then and the riches would have escaped in time.
You are a moron. Did nobody ever tell you that? Now you think you are an expert on suicide, as well as having two Nobel Prizes in economics.
Try reading Durkheim’s original book on suicide, which documents and tries to explain why northern countries, such as sweden, have always had high suicide rates and Equatorial and Mediterranean countries have had very very low rates.
And now to deny that the economic catastrophe inflicted on Greece by self-interested yet incompetent Troika policies has nothing to do with suicides in Greece… Do you think we are as stupid as you?
Go back to your little hole in the ground, troll. You have no place in civilisation.
“Now the banks began to take our homes. How many other dead need to understand? “Wonders Theodore Yiannaros, referring to civil debts, which is a result of the crisis, and adds:” This is a question to which I am unable to answer. All I know is that we all have the same heart, the same smile, the same sad eyes of people elsewhere in the world, but we are so closed within Europe. ”
“If in Germany a dog died in a bad way the news aired on TV and in newspapers. You saw to refer to ten thousand people who committed suicide? I do not think, because this time the value of human life is nothing. I can only say that I am ashamed to be European “underlines finally the emotional testimony, the commander of the hospital Elpis.
Source: protothema.gr
author avatar
Thursday, June 11, 2015, 19:33
AFTOKTONIES just thought you may like to see the end of his interview and thoughts—– especially for this anti Greek CHRIS
thank for the additional info form the interview. I was in a hurry earlier.
That’s not true. It was in the news several times:
http://www.fr-online.de/politik/suizid-in-griechenland-der-preis-der-sparprogramme,1472596,29650948.html
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/wirtschaftskrise-immer-mehr-griechen-verueben-selbstmord-a-868936.html
http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article122007742/Arbeitslos-und-verzweifelt-bis-zum-Tod.html
The value of life is equal whether it’s a billionaire or a refugee.
Chris is not just morally wrong, but also wrong on facts.
His source clearly proves that these suicides are attributable to Greece’s crisis:
10,000/10mio population/5years=0.018%, which is way higher than the data provided for 2009 (0.0035%) and almost twice as high as the number in Germany 2013 (0.0125%). It’s twice as likely to die in a suicide than in traffic.
RIP
Get your facts right:
3124 confirmed cases between 2009 and 2012 in Greece.
The WHO data I linked to is official as well.
Everything else is unconfirmed. A wild guess. Gut-feeling.
No reliable data, but a clear conclusion and a tiny problem: 3124 + approx. 4000 is not 10000.
And the fact that a debt fired boom 2001-2008 will definitely bust (as every bubble) is increasing suicide rates, but this is neither the fault of the Troika, nor the fault of Austerity, which was reuqired for containing the mess AFTER the bubble burst.
The sequence: FIRST bankruptcy (due to irresponsible behaviour) THEN Austerity is not deniable by any means, although Syriza tries hard…
Without the help of the Troika, Greece would have completely collapsed in 2009. Down in the dirt at rock bottom.
And the suicide rate would have been FACTORS HIGHER than it is now.
To the rest of the replies to my comment: no counter-argument, just ad-hominem bullshit and insults. A sign in its own…
Just to put your continious arrogant ass where it belongs, on the shit heap of humanity…
As somebody who has 17 years of counselling under his belt, specifically for those left behind after a suicide, I can tell you that the “official” figures are wrong, everywhere. Why, because of legalities. For instance, not so long ago suicide was legally considered a crime (up to 1961 in the UK), meaning, if a coronor gave suicide as the cause of death, that would create all sorts of legal problems for those left behind. Just think insurance, mortgage payments etc. So, in Ireland coronors would write “death through misadventure” instead of suicide.
Experience also tells me that when those left behind have a “gut” feeling” that the death was suicide, they are in almost all cases correct in ther feeling. When they finally manage to start talking about the deceased, it is invariably a tale of massive depression and subsequent hopelessness and despair. Here is a link from an article in the Irish Times in 2014
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/financial-crisis-linked-to-more-than-10-000-suicides-1.1830002
What you should
is your very own attitude towards about everything
Exactly and that in Greece lots of suicides get hidden as its a taboo was also published in Germoney
http://www.3sat.de/page/?source=/kulturzeit/tips/164519/index.html
http://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/38001/Gestrandet
2009? The troika a premature delivery? The first “rescue package” was in spring of 2010 but without any EU involvement, the austerity measures of Papandreou equalled exactly the money Greece lost because Karamanlis put down the taxes for big business from 42% to 20% and the rest is total nonsense like your mentioned “responsibility” only works inside capitalism but as capitalism is a irresponsible monster that needs to be aborted anti-capitalist forces would have joined and taken over the shadow economy in a collapse.
Chis provided Wiki data, but you may interpret as you want. However, even if the rate was 0.018% (not sure that the article data is correct), the rate of Lithuania (0.0367%) is almost double than Greece. In addition, Lithuania is one of poorest EU country from Eurozone group. So, why EU to support again an irrational spender like Greece to keep their unsustainable welfare system, instead of Lithuania and other EU countries poorer than Greece? While Greece represent about an insignificant 2% of Eurozone, I think the best solution will be to leave it out from EU.
You are another moron, here. The issue is what to about Greece’s debt, which is unpayable. It was transferred from private German and French banks to the public sector of the eurozone and Greece, by arbitrary decision of Germany and France. Greece still can never pay it, of course.
And it has fuck all to do with the Greek pension system, other than the fact that the Greek pension system (already weak) was further hit by the reconfiguring of the Greek debt by the Troika.
Try reading some serious economic analyses, instead of vomiting Troika political propaganda all over us. I know that this is a well-established Nazi tradition, but the Allied forces actually defeated Nazism in 1945. It is an insult to those of us who are not German to reinvent this shit, and pretend it’s ok. It’s not; we will never accept this vile and inhuman behaviour from Germans again.
If Greek is unpayable, as you “smart” guy said, Greece should declare default, as I said. So, we have the same opinion. Talking about Nazis, it dousn’t make sense and I do not undestand why the moderate allows these comments.
You are looking at the result rather than the cause. This is where it went wrong in Greece, Ireland, Spain and everywhere else
The mess created in Europe and Greece in particular is a direct result of the money junkies gambling and losing, but being able to use friends in high places to pass their debt on to tax payers everywhere. To rectify this, nationalise the banks, write of the debt, put the bankers of this world behind bars where they belong, and make them work for their stay, and start all over again. Trying to make Joe Soap pay for this is not only lunacy, it is impossible. Give back to the Ewhat belongs to the Emperor, and give back to the banks what belongs to the banks, ie. their debt
I don’t know much about suicides, but there are probably lots of factors at work. I guess nominal GDP has much less influence than the perceived personal future economic situation and purchase power leading to a feeling of despair.
Maybe we all could agree on:
1. There was unsustainable overspending before 2009 (defense, olympics, corruption etc.)
2. Greece almost defaulted in 2010.
3. A default would have led to a new or parallel currency, which would have devalued against the Euro or Dollar.
4. The cost of living in Greece was (and probably still is) higher than in Germany.
Of what “welfare system” are you liars always about? That around 100.000 unemployed still receive 360 Euro for a last leftover few weeks and then will join forces with more than 1.200.000 who are already without any income?
And what’s the point of always coming up with states that had no balls to join the EU in 1981, gentrification – kicking out the old tenants? Let’s lynch the landlord!