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| Amid Greek Debt Crisis, Pensioners Line Up for Cash | Amid Greek Debt Crisis, Pensioners Line Up for Cash |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ATHENS — At the Piraeus Bank branch on Eftihidou Street here, and across Greece, pensioners lined up Wednesday for a chance to get a down payment of just 120 euros on their July pensions. | ATHENS — At the Piraeus Bank branch on Eftihidou Street here, and across Greece, pensioners lined up Wednesday for a chance to get a down payment of just 120 euros on their July pensions. |
| The bank branches, otherwise shut down in the midst of an intensifying financial crisis, had opened just for them. Some of those on the line were elderly and frail, others in their 60s and hale and hearty, reflecting the fact that many Greeks were pushed into early retirement during the economic troubles of the past five years. | The bank branches, otherwise shut down in the midst of an intensifying financial crisis, had opened just for them. Some of those on the line were elderly and frail, others in their 60s and hale and hearty, reflecting the fact that many Greeks were pushed into early retirement during the economic troubles of the past five years. |
| Most of the pensioners did not have A.T.M. cards. A cash payment was their only option for the money they need to live on. | Most of the pensioners did not have A.T.M. cards. A cash payment was their only option for the money they need to live on. |
| At the Piraeus Bank, a small unimposing branch facing a vest-pocket park, they were given small paper tickets like deli slips with numbers written on them to mark their place in line. Some of the pensioners then retreated to the park to sit on an iron fence with their friends and wait their turn. Others crowded anxiously around the blue-uniformed bank employees who stood at the door smiling warmly and calling out the next 10 numbers to the crowd as their turns came. | |
| By 12:30 p.m., the bank had given out 500 tickets, and had served 345 people. The bank managers assured people that they would stay open several hours longer than usual, and would be open for pensioners only for the rest of the week. | By 12:30 p.m., the bank had given out 500 tickets, and had served 345 people. The bank managers assured people that they would stay open several hours longer than usual, and would be open for pensioners only for the rest of the week. |
| Protecting pension payments from further cuts has been at the heart of the battle between Greece’s creditors and the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. It is an emotional and complex issue. But for those lined up here, the matter was simple: they count on this money to keep themselves and often their extended families afloat. | Protecting pension payments from further cuts has been at the heart of the battle between Greece’s creditors and the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. It is an emotional and complex issue. But for those lined up here, the matter was simple: they count on this money to keep themselves and often their extended families afloat. |
| The talk among the pensioners huddled together shoulder to shoulder turned to politics and a referendum Sunday on the terms of a potential bailout. | The talk among the pensioners huddled together shoulder to shoulder turned to politics and a referendum Sunday on the terms of a potential bailout. |
| Even close friends argued vehemently, though amicably. Some pensioners remembered the darker days of the Greek civil war after World War II, and worried that the country was so polarized that it might come to such a pass again. | Even close friends argued vehemently, though amicably. Some pensioners remembered the darker days of the Greek civil war after World War II, and worried that the country was so polarized that it might come to such a pass again. |
| Pensions are an institution with huge symbolic significance in Greece’s present crisis. The European creditors have been demanding changes in a highly fragmented pension system that allows some people, including members of special interest groups, to retire early, imposing an unequal burden on society. | Pensions are an institution with huge symbolic significance in Greece’s present crisis. The European creditors have been demanding changes in a highly fragmented pension system that allows some people, including members of special interest groups, to retire early, imposing an unequal burden on society. |
| “Pensions are the way to drum up political spirit and get people down on the streets,” Platon Tinios, an economist and assistant professor at the University of Piraeus, said Wednesday. | “Pensions are the way to drum up political spirit and get people down on the streets,” Platon Tinios, an economist and assistant professor at the University of Piraeus, said Wednesday. |
| “One of the great things about having young pensioners is that they’re in pretty good shape for getting down to the streets for demonstrations,” Mr. Tinios continued. “They’re not hanging around old-age homes. They’re out in force in cafes playing backgammon. So they function as an important part of any political pressure, and it’s important to have them on your side.” | “One of the great things about having young pensioners is that they’re in pretty good shape for getting down to the streets for demonstrations,” Mr. Tinios continued. “They’re not hanging around old-age homes. They’re out in force in cafes playing backgammon. So they function as an important part of any political pressure, and it’s important to have them on your side.” |
| One pensioner outside the Piraeus bank branch Wednesday, Chris Loukakis, a retired English teacher, with coifed black hair and stylishly dressed in a green blouse and necklaces, said the current crisis had brought her back to her childhood and her younger days in Ethiopia, where her family’s property was expropriated during a regime change, leading them to return to Greece in 1975. | One pensioner outside the Piraeus bank branch Wednesday, Chris Loukakis, a retired English teacher, with coifed black hair and stylishly dressed in a green blouse and necklaces, said the current crisis had brought her back to her childhood and her younger days in Ethiopia, where her family’s property was expropriated during a regime change, leading them to return to Greece in 1975. |
| “They confiscated everything,” she said. “We started all over again. After 35 years I am living again the same kind of drama.” | “They confiscated everything,” she said. “We started all over again. After 35 years I am living again the same kind of drama.” |
| Ms. Loukakis, who was pressing toward the bank door, said she felt humiliated to be packed into a crowd of people just to get the money that was due her. She arrived at 10 a.m., received ticket number 462 and walked out at 4 p.m. stashing bills in her purse. By that time, she said, the bank had issued 600 tickets and counting. | |
| Oddly, she said, the bank teller did not update her bankbook, so it showed neither that her pension had been released, nor that she had withdrawn part of it. (Many Greeks carry paper bankbooks to keep track of their accounts.) But she said she had gotten a receipt showing she had collected 120 euros — about $130. | |
| “I’ve always been a law-abiding citizen,” she said. “They asked us to be dignified. But where’s the dignity to be squeezed here like sheep since morning? I don’t like to speak against important people, because they may know more than me. But that’s how I feel now.” | “I’ve always been a law-abiding citizen,” she said. “They asked us to be dignified. But where’s the dignity to be squeezed here like sheep since morning? I don’t like to speak against important people, because they may know more than me. But that’s how I feel now.” |
| Ms. Loukakis, who is single, taught English for 14 years at a private school. Ms. Loukakis, who declined to give her age, retired early, in her 50s, to take care of family problems, she said. | |
| She could have received credit in Greece for her 18 years of teaching in Ethiopia as well, but she could not afford to pay into the system after being forced to leave, she said. | |
| As a result, she said, her monthly pension, at 492 euros, is lower than it might be. But she lives with her brother, a civil engineer, also retired, who helps support her, and like many Greeks, they own the apartment where they live, so that reduces their daily expenses and the chances that they will become homeless. | As a result, she said, her monthly pension, at 492 euros, is lower than it might be. But she lives with her brother, a civil engineer, also retired, who helps support her, and like many Greeks, they own the apartment where they live, so that reduces their daily expenses and the chances that they will become homeless. |
| “Thank goodness we have a house,” Ms. Loukakis said. “But electricity and water? How can we manage? I never wanted to owe money to anyone. I worked, and I paid my bills. I’m all alone, thank God. I have no children, so I don’t worry too much. But what if we get sick and need to pay for a doctor? An appointment is 50, 60, 70 euros.” | “Thank goodness we have a house,” Ms. Loukakis said. “But electricity and water? How can we manage? I never wanted to owe money to anyone. I worked, and I paid my bills. I’m all alone, thank God. I have no children, so I don’t worry too much. But what if we get sick and need to pay for a doctor? An appointment is 50, 60, 70 euros.” |
| Mr. Tinios, the economist, said that the pension system was like a “kaleidoscope” that could be tilted one way or another to produce different images. Despite talk of steep cuts, he said, only the top tier of pensions had been sharply cut, while more typical pensioners had their Christmas, Easter and summer bonuses eliminated. | Mr. Tinios, the economist, said that the pension system was like a “kaleidoscope” that could be tilted one way or another to produce different images. Despite talk of steep cuts, he said, only the top tier of pensions had been sharply cut, while more typical pensioners had their Christmas, Easter and summer bonuses eliminated. |
| “You can actually make an argument that pensioners have been shielded to a greater extent than other categories, such as the unemployed and families with children,” Mr. Tinios said. | “You can actually make an argument that pensioners have been shielded to a greater extent than other categories, such as the unemployed and families with children,” Mr. Tinios said. |
| Nonetheless, he said, he sympathized with pensioners. “Oh, absolutely, these are the people that everyone should be trying to support, rather than trying to mislead to get their votes,” Mr. Tinios said. “And well, the people you see in the queues are the people who are really the least fortunate, because the early retirees with high pensions, of course, are technically savvy enough to be able to operate A.T.M.’s, which is what it’s all about.” | Nonetheless, he said, he sympathized with pensioners. “Oh, absolutely, these are the people that everyone should be trying to support, rather than trying to mislead to get their votes,” Mr. Tinios said. “And well, the people you see in the queues are the people who are really the least fortunate, because the early retirees with high pensions, of course, are technically savvy enough to be able to operate A.T.M.’s, which is what it’s all about.” |