Kids in Greece ask Santa for jobs for parents
Sunday December 25, 2011 08:25:32 AM,
IANS
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Athens: For the first
time since a "Santa Claus Post Office" opened around two decades
ago in Greece, children in the debt-hit country have not only
asked for new toys, but also for jobs for their unemployed
parents.
Officials at the headquarters of Hellenic Post in Athens -- where
thousands of letters sent to Santa Claus are collected in special
red boxes -- were left speechless this week, as they read a letter
that was "more like a list for the supermarket" than a typical
Christmas letter, Xinhua reported.
The letter by a little girl named Maria, an elementary school
pupil from the southern Aegean island of Crete, read:
"Dear Santa Claus, this year I want you to bring me two baby
pampers, milk, a pacifier, a purple brush and a job for my
sister."
Though traditionally Christmas means fun for children, amidst the
deep recession in Greece, for many families this festival season
will be different as major cuts in salaries and emergency taxes
did not leave margins for many gifts and expenses.
Many other kids have written to Santa Claus with the hope that he
finds jobs for their parents or gives money for everyday needs
during the holidays instead of sending expensive dolls.
All letters received in the special red boxes placed outside every
local post office across Greece will be read by officials and all
children would receive a written reply and a symbolic present from
Santa Claus.
Greece's soaring debt has caused an economic crisis in the
country. The country's budget deficit has reached almost 13
percent of its GDP.
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