Queues return to Greek soup kitchens as inflation takes its toll

And again: I am back in Greece.

Pregnant teenage mums with empty fridges.

Thin pensioners with skyrocketing electricity bills.

Fishermen who've stopped fishing – because boat fuel is too expensive.

Farmers who have stopped farming – because they cannot pay for fertilizers or animal feed.

Single parents no longer able to buy ice cream for their kids.

Young men without work who have stopped visiting the supermarket and queue at soup kitchens.

In the beginning, I thought about going to the Baltic countries. Today's "champions of eurozone inflation" are located up there: Estonia has inflation of 20 per cent.

But let’s give it a second thought, and: let’s take into consideration that Greece has a long history of traumatic situations: the financial crisis of 2008/9, the recent pandemic that hit tourism and now the war in Ukraine that's having far-reaching consequences for Greece too, with energy, electricity and raw material prices spiralling up.

Alexandros and Angeliki invite me in. Two-year-old Jason wants to take over my camera. His 19-year-old mum Angeliki is pregnant with her second child.

"Our fridge is always empty," Angeliki tells me, while Alexandros walks over to show me.

"I don’t have even money to buy diapers," Alexandros adds.

He has distributed 180 job applications, door by door. But inflation has put stress on the local labour market, nobody wants to hire a hand.

Alexandros volunteers at a social kitchen nearby, handing out soup for free for those in need.

Kostas Polychronopoulos, the founder, tells me: "Many pensioners come here, and they bring us their electricity bills, asking for a contribution so that the electricity is not cut off."

74-year-old Spyros shows up: "A few months ago, my wife could fill up a supermarket caddy