Thursday, May 31, 2012

Greek Pensioner Found Hanging from Tree in Athens over 'Unpayable Debts'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Greek pensioner who was heavily in debt hanged himself from a tree in Athens yesterday, leaving a suicide note saying his country could only be saved with a leader like Margaret Thatcher.

The 61-year-old electrician and father of two, identified only by the name Alexandros, had owed money to banks and the tax office that he was unable to repay, according to police.

Greece, which used to have one of the lowest suicide rates in the world, has seen a surge of people taking their own lives since it was plunged into the euro zone's worst economic crisis. Experts say the suicide rate probably doubled last year.

In his anguished suicide note he wrote that he always worked hard but had become a businessman late in life and had got himself into debt.

"I hope my grandchildren will never be born in Greece because from now on it won't be populated by Greeks any more," he wrote, according to the police sources.

"At least they will know a foreign language as Greek will be abolished by then unless there is a politician with balls, like Thatcher's, to fix both us and the state," he wrote. » | Source: agencies | Thursday, May 31, 2012