Only one in ten Greeks state that they are happy with their daily life and six in ten Greeks would live to live in another country, a global survey on “Aspirations – Dreams – Expectations” conducted by the international network IRIS (International Research Institutes), with the participation, on behalf of Greece, of Focus Bari.
Also, seven out of ten Greeks do not consider that they have a “common dream”, with 71% believing that Greeks express demands towards their country, believing that its strong value system has been lost. In this regard, they expect Greece to highlight its history and values in order to feel safe and proud.
Six out of ten Greeks would like, if they could, to live in another country, preferably in Switzerland, the USA, Italy and others.
According to the research:
Citizens, even in the most developed countries, appear reluctant to be satisfied with the achievement of their goals in their daily lives. Despite the reluctance of the respondents, for the difficulty in achieving their goals, the current image of their country is not a nightmare for their daily life.
There is a strong need from citizens to improve their quality of life and upgrade their standard of living, both on a personal level and in the context of the wider public administration and political forces. For this reason, it is evident the desire of all residents, regardless of country, for their country to focus more on the problems of its citizens than on its global influence.
None of the mentioned countries offer the ideal life to their citizens. This explains the fact that one in two respondents would prefer to immigrate to another country if given the opportunity
Greece
Only 9% of Greeks admit that their everyday life is what they wished for and only 4% declare that today’s Greece is the country of their dreams.
Greeks perceive that there is a lack of citizen cohesion in their country, as 7 out of 10 (71%) respond that there is no common goal and express the need to feel proud of their country again.
Citizens believe that the improvement of economic conditions is necessary to upgrade their quality of life, which is also the immediate demand for overcoming daily challenges in matters of vital importance. In addition, they point out the need for radical changes in basic public goods, primarily in the health sector, but also in education, employment and justice, in order to guarantee direct and equal access for all.
The above measures will ensure them a decent standard of living and the strengthening of their psychology (to have or be able to have dreams and goals), as well as the improvement of their family life (coziness), which has been affected by the stress of the struggle of their daily survival.
►It is worth noting that 58% of the respondents believe that Greece should take care of the Greeks first. In order to achieve this, citizens believe that the government and the central political authority in general should:
- embrace their needs
- show sensitivity to their problems
- ensure the smooth functioning of the country in vital sectors
(economy, health, education, justice).
The Greeks believe that if their country adopts its strong value system (national unity – equality – democracy), it will have the guarantees to stand as an equal member of the European Union.
Finally, 61% of citizens express their desire to live in another country, giving preference to Switzerland, a Central European country with the highest quality of life in the world and a strong economic system. (source: tvxs.gr)
PS I’m not surprised about the results of this survey. Greeks may have survive the hardship of the bailout agreements, but they had hope things would get better at some point. Now they don’t have that hope.
Daily life has been a constant struggle with bureaucracy, bad services in public and private sector, infrastructure that is collapsing, non-stopped jammed streets, high prices in food, essentials, rents and services like telecommunications heating and electricity, low wages and pensions, a public health care system on collapse and heavy cost from patients’ own pockets, and non-stop angry and frustrated people everywhere.
And a government living in a golden bubble with little connection to citizens’ needs.
Bye and Sigh
It would have been better to have defaulted. Greece then perhaps should have left the Euro but it would have been debt free. Now it is living by the dictate,still, of Brussels and Frankfurt. Life would have been jard but what is the diference now? Greece would have been debt-free and lenders and investors would return.
For the rest, it is up to the Greek people to form a sense of cohesion. I am in Greece now and I still see a lot of friendly faces on friendly people.