April 21, 2011
Easter here is usually a profitable time of year, when shops in central Athens line their windows with brightly-colored wrappings for candles and chocolate eggs. But this year has been one of gloom, with rows of shuttered shops and “for rent’’ signs in Greece’s recession-hit capital.
There are still Easter eggs and candles for sale, offering a brief respite for Greek shoppers and merchants alike. But nearly a year after Greece was rescued from bankruptcy by a $160 billion international bailout, its businesses are reeling from stringent austerity measures imposed as a means to pull the economy out of its debt hole.
In a country where the vast majority of businesses are small- and medium-sized ones employing fewer than 50 people, enterprises have been closing at an alarming rate. Last year saw 65,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises shutter, said Vassilis Korkidis, president of the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce.
Christina Karyda, 45, fears her gift shop might soon join them.
“There is no future. There is no present, how can there be a future?’’ she says, gift-wrapping a decorated candle used for the all-important midnight liturgy before Easter Sunday. “We’re already in the red. We’re just going to be increasing the amount of our debt.’’
Karyda has run her shop in the residential neighborhood of Kypseli since 1988. But with austerity biting, the appetite for trinkets and decorative toys is falling fast as customers concentrate on spending for more essential items. She is giving it until the end of the year, she said. “And then, it’s over. I’ll do another job.’’
The austerity package was essential to overhaul the economy after years of overspending and overborrowing. But the flip side has been to slash Greeks’ disposable income, which in turn has contributed to the recession.
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