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Thessaloniki (Greece) (AFP) -
Retiree Giorgos Chatzifotiadis had queued up at three banks in Greece's
second city of Thessaloniki on Friday in the hope of withdrawing a
pension on behalf of his wife, but all in vain.
When he was told at the fourth that he could not withdraw his 120 euros ($133), it was all too much and he collapsed in tears.
The 77-year-old told AFP that he had broken down because he "cannot stand to see my country in this distress".
"That's why I feel so beaten, more than for my own personal problems," Chatzifotiadis said.
The
image of him sitting outside the bank, openly crying in despair with
his savings book and identity card on the floor, was captured by an AFP
photographer illustrating how ordinary Greeks are suffering during the
country's debt crisis.
Athens
had imposed capital controls and shut all banks since Monday to stem a
haemorrhage of cash, but on Wednesday allowed some branches to reopen
for three days so retirees who have no bank cards could withdraw their
pensions -- capped at 120 euros.
Recounting how he had gone
from bank to bank in a futile attempt to collect his wife's pension,
Chatzifotiadis said when he was told at the fourth "that I could not get
the money, I just collapsed".
Both
he and his wife, like many Greeks in the north of the country, had
spent several years in Germany where he "worked very hard" in a coal
mine and later a foundry.
And
it is from Berlin, which is being blamed by many in Greece for its
hardline stance in demanding the government impose more austerity
measures for fresh international aid, that Chatzifotiadis is receiving
his wife's pension.
"I see my
fellow citizens begging for a few cents to buy bread. I see more and
more suicides. I am a sensitive person. I can not stand to see my
country in this situation," he said.
"Europe and Greece have made mistakes. We must find a solution," he added.
But
Chatzifotiadis feels he can do little to change the situation, and he
is not even sure if he would be able to vote at Sunday's referendum on
whether to accept international creditors' bailout conditions.
European leaders have warned that a 'No' vote would also mean no to the eurozone.
Pointing
out that the polling station is 80 kilometres (50 miles) away,
Chatzifotiadis said: "I have no money to go there, unless perhaps if my
children would take me in their car."
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心酸！希臘老翁領無退休金崩潰痛哭
查茲佛提亞迪斯連續跑了3家銀行，到了第4家銀行被告知無法領錢，忍不住坐在地上痛哭。（法新社）希臘自6月29日起，實施資本管制與銀行暫時關閉，以防擠兌，7月1日允許部分銀行開放3天，讓沒有提款卡的退休者提領退休金，上限為120歐元。
《ABC News》報導，查茲佛提亞迪斯（Giorgos Chatzifotiadis）3日連續跑了3家銀行，到了第4家銀行被告知無法領錢，忍不住坐在地上痛哭，他的存款簿和身分證則散落身旁。
查茲佛提亞迪斯說，他和妻子以前在德國辛苦工作多年，先是在礦坑，後來到鑄造場。他還說：「我看到同胞為了幾分錢買麵包乞討，越來越多人自殺。我真的沒辦法看到我的國家陷入這種處境。」
