In an Athens market, the talk is of paying bills, pensions, job cuts … and a better life

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/04/greece-referendum-ordinary-greeks-interviews

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MARGARITA ASIMAKOPOULOU, AGED 34. E-commerce worker

I used to live in London and came back just as the crisis was erupting. I haven’t seen a great difference in my work, because I work mainly on the internet. But I have, seen a difference in the life of my family. I’ll be voting Yes for hope and as a European citizen; for a better life for myself and for the generations to come.

There is no scope for being revolutionary or romantic when it comes to Greece’s future. I like to be realistic and if I thought there was a “Plan B” that might work I might in theory vote No. But I’ll be casting a ballot to approve the terms.

SPIROS GERONTAS, 35. Engineer

What has the crisis meant for me?

Well, payments to the company that I work for have been delayed and so now they just can’t meet their responsibilities.

It means there’s a hole in the firm’s accounts and they don’t have the money to pay our salaries. So I’m having difficulty settling my water bill, my electricity bill and so on.

What else can I tell you?

The situation is bad. Money isn’t circulating in the economy, so wages aren’t being paid.

Me? I’ll be voting No.

AKIS PAPASARANTIS, 55. Sailing boat skipper

I’m going to vote No. This government’s only allies are the general public. Germany has all the countries in the euro zone as its allies. I don’t expect I’ll get a pension because I can’t afford to make the necessary contributions to the fund – if I pay, I can’t afford to live. I’m going to have to work until the day that I die.

Why vote Yes when the only thing that matters to these people is to rule Greece by means of our debt?

VIVI GEORGOU, 29. Office worker in a private company

I haven’t yet made up my mind. The thing is that the company I work for has told us all to take our holidays now. When we go back to work in a couple of weeks, they’re going to see what the situation is and then they’re going to take a decision on whether they need to fire people. There’s also the risk that our wages might be cut. The crisis has ruined the summer for me. I really hope it is the last time. We are all spending more time at home in order to save money. My thoughts push me towards a No. But my fears push me towards a Yes. If I were five years younger, I’d definitely vote No.

MARINA, 45. Unemployed

My daughter and I never used to come to the market. We went to the shops. But now I am out of work, and although my husband still has a job in a private firm, as you can imagine, we’re having problems in our everyday life.

First I thought I would vote No and then with all the brainwashing we’ve had from the media I started to question my decision. (Marina is not her real name)

TASSOS KROMPAS, 42. Fashion shop manager

Before, even though we had crises, we had political stability and so we could live more or less normally.

Tsipras’s policies did not get the results that we were expecting. I have lost my faith in the new government. Being in the euro zone implies respecting certain rules and these rules have to be respected. Greece exports very little and imports a lot. It could only survive outside the euro zone if it were able to make all that it needed in Greece. I’m going to be voting Yes.