(from Athens) “The situation is still difficult. We cannot walk on our own legs yet. The figures show that the crisis is behind us, but today the Greeks’ quality of life has got worse. We did and do lots of sacrifices but we see no light at the end of the tunnel”. This is how Maria Alverti, general manager of Caritas Greece, speaks to SIR about her country leaving the Troika aid programme, started in May 2010 to avoid bankruptcy, on August 20th. In eight years, the EU, the IMF and the ECB have given Greece 288.7 billion euros, loans that the Hellenic country is called to repay by implementing a number of tough reforms and cuts on public expenditure. But, after eight years of intensive treatment, Greece’s crisis has not been cured yet. “It is not a matter of food, which is not in short supply – the general manager of Caritas explains –, but people are stressed and anxious because they do not know how to pay their bills. Everyday life has become hugely challenging, because of unemployment, a healthcare system that no longer provides good treatments for free; the wages have been reduced, tax exceeds 60%, we have had cuts on pensions and welfare”. An austerity programme, which, as Alverti points out, has caused people to become estranged from politics: “The Greeks have lost confidence in their rulers and above all in the European Union”. In the folds of the economic crisis, one can read another one, which is deeply felt, and not only in Greece: “The Greeks felt betrayed by the EU, not only for the austerity policies imposed on the country, but also because they think they have been left to fend for themselves in facing the refugee crisis”. Nowadays, the forefront of this refugee crisis takes the name of the isles of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos, where the hotspots for the registration of arrivals have been located and where, according to the International Organisation for Migration, 13 thousand of the 50 thousand migrants and asylum seekers in Greece are held up. “Greek society is lifeless before all this and seems to be unresponsive. And, in doing so, the Greeks are not honouring their great history. The growth of the far right, such as the Golden Dawn party, was born out of this feeling”. According to Alverti, “the Troika measures should have been shared, not just imposed. We have had our pensions cut 16 times, the measures have been paid for by the people, certainly not by our politicians. Now, they are trying to reduce the wages to the level of the Balkan countries, but prices are rising and are turning out to be much higher than those of other European countries”. Young people are one of the most vulnerable groups in Greece nowadays: “Over 500 thousand have left the country since 2010. Those who have stayed and have found a job are paid about 400 euros a month, sometimes even off the books. This is no way to live. They cannot be independent, they cannot pay for insurance or spend to boost trade and consumption. There are a lot of disheartened young people who, because of this, have even given up looking for work. Nowadays, people cry for the wealth they enjoyed before the crisis. Youth unemployment exceeds 40%. There is the real risk of having an ageing country. So, it will be impossible to get the economy back on an even keel and pay the debts”.