An elderly Greek-Cypriot decided to teach a lesson of generosity to Europe. According to Huffington Post, Onoufrios Michaelides took it upon himself to help his fellow pensioners in Greece, after watching Greeks line up outside banks to withdraw part of their pension. After the capital controls were imposed on Greek banks, citizens were only able to withdraw 60 euros per day, causing panic to many elderly Greeks whose only income comes from their pensions. Furthermore, the closure of banks has caused problems for pensioners who don’t own credit or debit cards who can only withdraw 120 euros per week from specific Greek bank branches. Michaelides decided to send his pension (506 euros) to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras along with a letter, expressing his appreciation of the prime minister’s tireless but also heroic efforts to preserve and secure the honor and dignity of the Greek people. “It is not a large sum, but the Greek government can utilize it where they are more needed, to orphans, or to poor families. I hope this deed will be a motive for others who have more than me and could help the Greek people,” wrote the 88-year-old pensioner. At the moment Greece has already defaulted on its last payment to the IMF and the country is on the brink of economic collapse. Meanwhile, the Greek government is currently trying to reach an agreement with its European creditors, to avoid bankruptcy and the exit from the Eurozone. Greece’s creditors are constantly pushing for further austerity measures and reforms, in order to provide the country with the much-needed financial support. However, the Greek people showed their discontent towards the harsh austerity measures in the referendum of July 5, leading to a stand-off between the government and the country’s creditors.
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