Portraits of Greece in Crisis

“After years of building up more than $400 billion in debt, Greece was devastated by the recent global economic crisis. Fearing the fallout from a Greek bankruptcy, fellow Eurozone members provided aid packages — under strict conditions, including the adoption of severe austerity measures. Greece is entering a fifth straight year of recession, its economy poised to shrink another 5 percent in 2012. Average unemployment is at a record 21.8 percent — with youth unemployment (under 25) at 51 percent. Years of increasingly difficult conditions have hit the citizens of Greece hard, and the uncertainty and frustration have led some to flee, a few to take their own lives. Collected here are images from a nation in the midst of a deepening crisis.” from The Atlantic

A man walks by a wall adorned with graffiti in Athens, on march 8, 2012.(Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters run from police after hurling petrol bombs during violent anti-austerity demonstration in central Athens, on February 12, 2012. Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames in central Athens as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers endorsed a new EU/IMF austerity deal. (Reuters/Yannis Behrakis)

Dimitris Stamatakos, 36, sits in a field on land he is renting near his home in the village of Krokeae in the Peloponesse area of Greece, on March 18, 2012. Before the crisis Stamatakos was able to make a living by selling olives that he farmed on the land he owns, now he is forced to work for neighboring farms and do odd jobs to earn his living.(Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

Members of the Greek Communist Party shout slogans during a rally against the austerity measures in Athens, on March 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

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