Galery

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Recently, there has been an increasing trend of young people in Greece seeking realization abroad. What is your opinion about it?

Indeed, all recent data suggest that the wave of Greeks leaving the country to seek realization abroad has increased dramatically. In most cases, these are young and educated people and I believe that this phenomenon is absolutely reasonable and easy to explain. I often do reports on similar topics. I spoke with a young man who has many degrees and a good academic base, but he finds only closed doors in Greece. Where he finds a job, the conditions are almost horrible, the payment is miserable with no health or pension insurance. Statistics show that every second young man in Greece is unemployed. I would also go abroad if I were younger. I do not exclude the option of doing it even at my present age of 36 years, unfortunately.

You have reported on some of the hottest topics in Greece in recent years. Tell me some of the most exciting or the most difficult stories you had to cover.

I have been working as a reporter for 13 years now. First in Diktio in Serres, which is my hometown, and for the last six years, I have been in the private MEGA TV in Athens. Currently I am dealing mainly with the events troubling everyday life and the protests. In recent years, the most difficult reports I have made were about the unrest in Athens in 2008. I was sure then that others would be killed (not only Alexis Grigoropoulos) and the capital would be destroyed. Another event that I will never forget is the Peloponnesian Peninsula fires of 2007, when the blaze was so intense that everything around me burnt in no time.

The most frightening moment I have had in my work was in Serres, when I was able to track down the perpetrator of a murder, who was being sought by police. He agreed to meet me in a secret place and give an exclusive interview only if I would go alone. When I met him, he told me he would rape me and kill me. For a moment, I was very afraid. He wanted to frighten me and nothing like that happened. The interview was broadcasted on all televisions and broadcasters. I was even accused of hiding a criminal, but with the help of the Athens Journalists Union, I was justified.

How do you personally look at the Greek economic crisis and how has it changed your life?

I look at the crisis as it is, a disaster. Unfortunately, because of my work, I face its extent daily. Every day I make reports about people who remain unemployed, lose their homes or just have to live on the street; about people queuing up each day for food from charities or in social shops to get milk for their children. These are real tragedies.

I cannot say that my life has changed very much since the crisis. What it has affected is directly related to my decision to start to make savings very early and thereby to be able to prevent problems that are more serious. This is how the idea of ​​the crisis survival electronic guide was born.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

If you had asked this question before the outbreak of the economic crisis, I would easily answer that I still see myself in MEGA doing what I am doing now. I love my work a lot and I would like to continue to do it in the best possible way, but everything is very uncertain today. One cannot make long-term plans. It is not known whether I will do the same job after some time, or whether I will be in the same country. The truth is that I do not like making plans. I believe that we cannot predetermine our future. I will continue to do my work in the best possible way and we will see what will happen.