Greece: Pictures Of Greeks Scrambling For Food Sparks Fresh Anger Over Austerity Measures

Pictures Of Greeks Scrambling For Food Sparks Fresh Anger

Pictures of Greeks scrambling for food handouts have sparked fresh waves of anger in the country amid crippling austerity measures.

One man queuing for food had to be treated for injuries after he fell to the floor and the crowds trampled over him.

The commotion began outside the agriculture ministry in Athens, where farmers demanding lower production costs began to hand out free fruit and vegetables.

Greeks scrambling for food in Athens

Living standards are crumbling in Greece, with just over one in four people unemployed and food and fuel prices rising. That's over a million people out of work.

These images have enraged Greeks

Kostas Barkas, a politician from the leftist Syriza party, told Reuters: "These images make me angry. Angry for a proud people who have no food to eat, who can't afford to keep warm, who can't make ends meet."

Greeks scramble for food

Wood burning has also increased sharply in Athens following tax hikes on heating oil and higher electricity rates. Scenes like this of a pensioner chopping wood scattered on the street by municipal crews that had pruned trees in Thessaloniki, show the desperation of ordinary Greeks to merely survive.

A pensioner chops wood for fuel on the street

Greek broadcaster Newsit said: "These people are not beggars, they are the victims of an economic crisis that like a hurricane has swept over and levelled entire families.

"They are people next door who until yesterday had jobs and lead a normal life. Today, these people, swallowing their pride and dignity, are going wherever they can to find a little free food, standing in line as they did today in Vathis square," the Guardian translated.

Members of a Communist Party-affiliated union demonstrate in solidarity for mobilised ferry crews at Piraeus

Meanwhile scenes of protest were also seen at Piraeus, the port of Athens, on Wednesday.

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