Men queuing for vegetables thrown away at the end of market day in Nicosia
FAMILIES are spending weeks without electricity and are forced to go to a charity organisation for food and clothing, as the economic crisis’ grip on households grows stronger by the day.
“The situation is dramatic,” said Georgia Polyviou, head of the Alkionides charity. “We receive a call roughly every two minutes in the mornings from people whose electricity was cut off and who are seeking coupons for food.”
She said the situation was “100 per cent” worse than last year, with families that were last year making ends meet currently finding it difficult to survive.
“Single parents have been hit especially hard, after their benefits were slashed during the government’s reform,” said Polyviou, adding however that many other categories of people were suffering, such as large families and the unemployed. Last December, in the government’s effort to tidy up its finances, it decided to reform the benefits system. As a result, any benefits given to single parents by the welfare office were scrapped and responsibility was shifted to the finance ministry. As a result a single parent who may have received €800 a month from the state, ended up getting around €250.
And about 1,900 out of 6,200 beneficiaries were completely excluded, due to new criteria which was widely criticised for being unrealistic. Someone whose entire assets were worth €40,000 could receive €200 a month, with €50,000 they got €150 and €80,000 they got €100.
Last month, the labour ministry promised to spend some €2.7 million on assisting single parent families to pay off rent and loan instalments. “People are scared of having their homes repossessed as they can no longer meet their mortgage payments and loans.
“These are what we would call normal families last year, which have now found themselves in a very difficult situation due to unemployment,” said Polyviou.
She said electricity bills were possibly the biggest problem for these families.
“We have a family that has not had electricity for a month,” said Polyviou. “Both parents lost their jobs and they have two young children. What are they going to do? They simply cannot pay it.”
She said Alkionides had funded many electricity bills. “But we cannot pay them all.”
One 23-year-old woman sought help from the charity to pay a €425 electricity bill. “She returned to school as she had dropped out when she was younger. Her father is serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted of paedophilia, her mother is mentally ill and she has a younger brother who has dropped out of school. They had their electricity cut off a month ago.”
The school she is attending agreed to pay €125 towards the bill, while the remaining €300 was paid by Alkionides, which also gave her food coupons.
“Another woman who is suffering from leukaemia is working and earning €900. She is divorced with two children and the father does not pay alimony,” said Polyviou. “They too are about to have their power cut.”
With €400 going on the woman’s rent and €50 a week going on medical treatment that is not available for free, there is simply no way the woman will be able to pay up, she said.
“Electricity is the main problem, along with the lack of food. I have a lot of people with young children call me up and say they have €5 in their pockets and do not know where their next funds will come from,” said Polyviou.
“I would say around 16 per cent of the population is living under the poverty line,” said Polyviou. “The situation has deteriorated 100 per cent from last year.”
Recent official figures showed that the poverty and social exclusion rate increased in Cyprus between 2009 and 2010, placing between 120,000 and 130,000 people under the poverty line based on a population figure of 839,000.
The figures however are two years old, and from a time when unemployment was still hovering between 6.0 and 7.0 per cent. It is now heading for double that figure after shooting up five percentage points in only 18 months, putting even more families below the poverty line.
Alkionides only used to hand out food coupons to poor families at Christmas and Easter. “This month so far, we have given 7,000 food coupons. We simply cannot give any more,” said Polyviou.”
The charity, which also runs a house in London, for people who go there for medical treatment, is organising a number of events in November and December in the hope to help more.
“There are so many cases; I even get calls from children telling me they are hungry and if I can help,” said Polyviou. “Unfortunately, I am now in the horrible position of saying that we just cannot help.”
But it is not just local families that are in dire straits.
The Future Worlds Centre (FWC) issued an urgent plea to the public last week for food and clothing for families of political refugees, people under subsidiary protection and recognised refugees.
According to Danae Psilla of the FWC, the situation is “very bad”.
“This initiative started after I visited a family of Palestinians, who sought food coupons from (clothes’ recycling NGO) Anakyklos,” said Psilla.
The family has three children, their father is paralysed through injury and their mother has been trying but cannot find work.
“They said the children do not have clothes and that they go to school without food; all they can afford is a small lunch, no dinner,” said Psilla.
Psilla said the situation was getting progressively worse.
“Parliament is delaying approving the benefits they get, resulting in some families not receiving any aid in over four months,” she explained.
And it is not due to their lack of effort to get work.
“These people who are looking for work, they are the last in line who will be given priority,” said Psilla. “First are the Cypriots, then EU workers as they know the English language better and then there are these people, who are always last on the list.”
Alkionides has a warehouse in Dali, where people can donate clothes, furniture and dried food to be handed out to people in need. To donate, contact Alkionides on 22 361295 from 8am to 1pm, Monday to Friday
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/families-breaking-point/20121028
Συμμαχία Ενάντια στο Μνημόνιο | Alliance Against the Memorandum 