Families in New York try to help relatives in Greece | New York Post
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It’s almost as hard to get money into Greece as it is to get it out.
Greek citizens are scrambling for cash — but receiving money from overseas during a countrywide financial meltdown hasn’t proved easy.
“I don’t trust the banks,” said Maria Peponi, a 37-year-old New Jersey resident who shops at Agora Plaza in Astoria and has relatives in Athens.
She said she is worried about the money losing value after she sends it.
“The situation is so uncertain now that I’m not sure what value my dollar is going to have in the environment down there,” she explained.
As Greece continues to teeter on the brink of economic collapse, many Greek-Americans have been searching for ways to help their loved ones.
Western Union shut off service on June 29, only to resume it Tuesday. But Greek residents still have to adhere to the 60-euro-per-day limit at ATMs.
Peponi and others said they’re afraid to send cash through the mail as a way to circumvent the tight restrictions.
Maria Avlonitis sends $1,000 with her son when he travels to the island of Chios to visit his grandmother.Ellis Kaplan
One US citizen was so desperate to provide for elderly relatives that he made a plea on the site MetaFilter for ideas to get them some cash.
“So my dad (Greek immigrant to the US) told me that my 85-year-old uncle waited for three hours to withdraw 120 euros for himself and my aunt in Athens last week in 90+ F weather,” he wrote on the site.
Maria Mihalatos send groceries to her family on the island of Cephalonia.Ellis Kaplan
“Every time I see a photo of Greek pensioners lined up in front of a Greek bank, I keep picturing my sweet uncle and aunt in the crowd and I’m tearing up. Please help me to help them.”
Maria Avlonitis, a 59-year-old restaurant owner in Astoria, known as New York City’s “Little Athens,” solved the cash-transfer problem by sending $1,000 with her son when he travels to the island of Chios to visit his 88-year-old grandmother.
“She’s very, very worried,” said Avlonitis. “She has only 100 euros . . . so she just stays home.”
Another tactic proposed online was to pay for groceries in Greece online from the US so they can be shipped to hard-pressed relatives.
“I called my mom and asked her what she needed,” Nelly Skoufatoglou, a Greek-Australian, told Reuters on Tuesday.
“I bought olive oil, rice, cheese, groceries, detergent, toilet paper, just basic goods.
“Buying the groceries every month is another way to help.”
“It’s difficult,” concluded Maria Mihalatos, a 40-year-old Levittown resident who has family on the island of Cephalonia.
“[But] the Greeks are fighters — they’re not going to give up easily.”
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