Public suicide shocks Greece

Published on 5 April 2012 at 12:16

Cover

A 77 year-old man, Dimitris Christoulas, committed suicide Wednesday on the main square of Athens. For Greek daily Ta Nea, by shooting himself in the head in front of passers-by, he sent a "message of despair through a very public suicide". In a state of shock, many Athenians gathered at the square to express their sympathy and their support for an act seen as a political action of protest against the austerity measures imposed by the Troika – the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.

Ta Nea, however, recuses all political co-opting and publishes a front page cartoon with a man in the process of killing himself accompanied by the following dialogue:

"I can't stand it!"

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday

"What can't you stand, Gramps?"

"To see what you will say on what I am about to do!"

For his part, the leader writer of daily To Ethnos, Georges Delastik, says that the man —

was not mad. He took his life in order to have a decent end and to not sink into starvation. It is not a suicide, it is a murder. He explains this in a letter describing the dictatorship imposed on his country which slaughtered him. Today, pensioners are forced to beg or to hunt through garbage pails.

Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic