Living in Greece Today

We have spent much of this pilgrimage focussing on the apostle Paul's journeys two thousand years ago but we have always been conscious of the realities of life in Greece today and last night was our chance to find out more.

Malcolm Bradshaw, Anglican chaplain for Greece and Rebecca from mission agency US, came to speak to us about the two humanitarian crises facing Greece: the austerity crisis and the refugee crisis.

Malcolm spoke to us about the former issue. He outlined the impact the austerity cuts have had on pensions and the health service and highlighted the shortcomings of the political leadership within Greece. It was their failure to deal with an inflated civil service that had contributed to an unemployment rate among under 25s of 64%.

Rebecca spoke about the refugee crisis and the way in which there are 50,000 refugees in Greece but only facilities for 40,000. After a period of inactivity the government is seeking to deal with the challenge but it is still playing catch up.

Both Malcolm and Rebecca spoke about how the church is serving in the light of these crises. The Anglican church together with other churches serves 300 meals a day from a soup kitchen in Athens and it also provides one hot meal a week for every refugee in one of the detainment camps in Athens.

It was a sobering evening which reminded us of the broken world in which we live but were also humbled by the example of local Christians getting so stuck into a problem that will not go away.