Dubai: Members of the Greek community in Dubai are feeling the heat from the debt crisis back home and wish that they could be part of the snap referendum on Sunday.
The Greek economy has been battered by budget battles and bailouts over the last five years that many think leaving the Eurozone could help solve the situation. A snap election is set on Sunday and should the Greeks decide to leave the European Union, it will be the first country to do so.
Markos Delasoudas, a Greek expatriate who works in a multinational technology company, said the Greek community is closely monitoring the situation from Dubai. “It’s a critical time. We all look forward to Sunday’s referendum. We wish we could vote from here but we can’t,” Delasoudas, who has been in the UAE for almost three years, told Gulf News.
He said he has not made up his mind yet but is considering the whole scenario.
“I will decide at the last minute. So far a ‘No’ vote would bring everybody back to the negotiation table. It would not trigger any untoward situation.”
Delasoudas said his family in Greece is affected by the crisis just like everybody else but they are managing somehow.
“My family is surviving because they live in an island and the cost of living is not as high as that in the bigger city.”
Long queues at cash machines have been a commonsight in Athens since the weekend, adding to the gloomy situation in the country.
“It’s very sad to drive around the city seeing the long queues in banks, hearing and seeing people so perplexed, so depressed having this constant discussion on what’s gonna happen next,” Dubai-based Maria Karra told Gulf News via phone from Greece.
Karra, founding member of the Emfasis Foundation, flew to Greece just recently to take part in the referendum.
“The word you can use to describe us now is ‘numb’. Everything happened so fast and everything took a turn for the worst. Psychologically speaking, it’s adding to the pressure that people are feeling. They are already very weak and vulnerable, tired and exhausted of this five-year suffering.”
Karra said she hopes that since the issue here is about a country’s future, all parties would consider a solution that will help Greece get back on its feet again and “not just talk about figures.”
Gulf News contacted a number of Greek expatriates on the issue but many of them preferred not to comment.
