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Loading...From Hospitals to Donkeys: Austerity Cuts Hit Greece Hard
Throughout 2011, reports about the economic crisis in Greece have been woven in and out of headlines. Since the end of 2009, the country has been hovering on the brink of defaulting on its €340 billion (about $444 billion) debt more than once. In May of 2010, it received a bailout of €110 billion, or $152.6 billion, from the “troika” of the European Commission, the International Monetary Find and the European Central Bank. But in order to receive the bailout, Greece has had to agree to pass round after round of austerity measures including tax hikes and cuts to salaries and jobs.
Greece’s Public Health System in Crisis
In November, after a protracted fight with the opposition New Democracy party, then-Prime Minister George Papandreou barely won a confidence vote from Parliament, the Vouli, and then stepped down from his post. A package of yet more austerity measures was narrowly approved and it is hoped that Greece’s new Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank and an economist, will be able to lead the country out of the crisis.
Greece’s economy shrank by an estimate 5.5 percent in 2011 and the country has been in its third year of recession. With unemployment at 18.3 percent and unemployment for those in their 20s at 40 percent (and nearing 50 percent), reports of Greeks leaving the country have been frequent. Those who remain have reason to be concerned about their quality of life. A study in the British medical journal The Lancet warned about the effects of the austerity measures on the extensive Greek public health system. As the New York Times says, government spending on health has been reduced by 13 percent in the past two years, from $19.5 billion to $17 billion. A hiring freeze has led to a shortage of nurses and long waits, even for procedures such as breast cancer surgery and heart bypass operations. Access to drugs has become a real concern, with some drug companies unwilling to accept lower rates from government plans. More and more people are turning to free clinics.
Overseas Help For Abandoned Donkeys
British Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to offer bailout assistance for Greece but some in the UK have sought to help animals in need and, in particular, donkeys whose Greek owners, hit hard by the economic crisis, have abandoned. According to the Wall Street Journal, seven donkeys have made the five-day journey to an 11,000-acre estate, Angmering Park, owned by Anne Herries, the daughter of a late Duke of Norfolk. There, they have plenty of grass to feed on as well as fresh hay and ginger snaps; they sleep in a heated stable that offers a view of the English Channel.
It’s a quite luxurious life for animals who, in Greece, had hauled food, firewood and tourists up hills for sightseeing. Animals rights groups say that the donkeys are being abandoned in rising numbers.
Read more: Athens, austerity measures, Default, donkey, donkeys, economic crisis, eu, euro, europe, eurozone, financial crisis, george papandreou, greece, greek donkeys, papandreou, sovereign debt crisis, suicide, universal health care
Photo of the Athinogenis Mansion by kook
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52 comments
+ add your ownthank you for sharing
Oh no those poor donkeys! It's so good to hear that there's some organisation to take care of them, please continue the good work!
Thank you for sharing.
It's a very sorry state.
"Why help animals rather than men demand" Jason ? because the animals are worth it! the animals were born innocent and remain so throughout their lives, which is not the case for men who kill, rape, steal, lie, are arrogant, lazy, envious.
Thanks for the article!
Every living animal has a right to life, & if its better quality great.
Wow, really? The donkeys are going to get $60,000/year spent on them, but to hell with the people who are starving to death and can't get medicine? Seriously, I love animals as much as the next person, and quite possibly more than a lot of people, but there comes a time when we have to save our own. That same $60,000 could feed and clothe a LOT of Greeks who don't know where their next meal is coming from and don't have appropriate attire. It is a sad, sad day when donkeys are the recipients of far more love, compassion, and assistance than humans in the same predicament are.
I'm beginning to worry that human compassion for other humans is relegated to the history books...
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Thanks for posting.
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