Postcard motif: flock to Greece and the Acropolis. Some wonder how well things are going in the country. The tourists
Image: LAIF
Inflation is rising in double digits and Greeks are sweating in the offices. But they bear it with composure. Because the economy keeps growing.
Dhe church in Greece isn’t what it used to be either. Dimitri Vettas knows this better than many others. In a simple garage in the Greek port city of Piraeus, he stores bells, some weighing 400 tons. His company, called Kambanes, also makes ship and cow bells, but the largest customer is the Greek Orthodox Church: “There are often five or six bells for a church,” reports the 44-year-old Greek, who wears a black T-shirt and sweatpants stands between his goods. He has been selling the bells for two decades and often personally brings the smaller models to the islands by car and ferry. “Today the church has less money than before or it spends less, in any case our order book has become thin,” he complains. Ten years ago they had twice as many employees, today only seven employees cast and sell the sound bodies made of copper and tin.
Still, Vettas is not contrite. He has been with the company for a long time and considers himself difficult to replace. The current inflation is a heavy burden on his budget, but at least his condominium in a neighboring town has been paid off. His wife, with whom he has two daughters aged 13 and 4, is likely to return to work for a shipping company soon. The Greek reports that that would add at least EUR 1,000 to his EUR 1,400 net monthly salary. “The money is never enough, but that actually applies to every salary,” says Vettas.
