Unemployment, underemployment and living conditions in the refugee settlements of Volos during the 1950s

In the 1950s, the labour market in Greece was characterised by an oversupply of labour, combined with skyrocketing unemployment and underemployment rates, and Volos was no exception. Local unemployment rates were already high during the Greek civil war, but rose dramatically in the first decade after the end of the war. The economic and industrial policies adopted at the beginning of the 1950s, especially the monetary reform and currency devaluation of 1953, further weakened the local industry, since major companies found themselves unable to adapt to the new economic circumstances and either experienced reduced turnovers or were driven to closure due to lack of funding and a reduction in the availability of long-term bank loans.

At the same time, the already existing trend towards industrial concentration in the wider area of Athens continued unabated. This generalized crisis had a deleterious effect on all facets of Volos’ economic life and the city was driven to marginalization, losing its prominent position in the country’s economy. Within this context, the population’s living conditions deteriorated, with the more vulnerable members of the community, like the refugees, being disproportionately affected.

The news reports of the time were indicative of the problem. Compiled by local journalists who did field research in the refugee settlements and working class neighbourhoods of Volos where refugee families lived, the reports documented the socio-economic conditions that were prevalent. The journalists visited working class and refugee neighbourhoods, talked to residents and store owners, like bakers, grocers and butchers, went into refugee houses and then reported the results of their research in detail, in an effort to outline an accurate socio-economic profile of these areas. One reporter characteristically commented that ‘the bakeries and the grocery stores are every neighbourhood’s microbanks and a mirror which reflects local financial activity’.

 The articles highlight the poverty and financial destitution of the city’s refugee and working class population during the 1950s, a consequence not only of high unemployment rates, but also of low wages even when employment was achieved however temporarily. The articles are unsurprisingly repetitive in their conclusions: The residents of ‘extreme areas’, as they were called at the time, were faced with adverse living conditions. Malnutrition, non-existent or inadequate housing, lack of basic infrastructure plagued most of the residents of Nea Ionia and the neighbouring settlements of Kapakli, Epta Platania, Koufovouno to various degrees. These are all areas in the western part of the city housing mostly refugees, internal migrants and poor natives. The steep drop in bread consumption is proof of widespread malnourishment. According to a Nea Ionia baker who spoke to Tachydromos in February 1954:

‘In October 1953, bread consumption stood at 100-120 okas (≈130 -150 kgs) daily; 70 okas of white bread and 50 okas of brown bread. Lately, bread consumption has dropped to only 70 okas; 60 okas of brown bread and 10 okas of white bread. During the festive period before Lent, few customers brought us pies for baking. We mostly worked with bobota and paspalopita [pies made of humble materials using corn flour instead of fyllo].’

In certain areas, bread consumption dropped even lower, reduced by 50-60 okas. Other city professionals, like grocers and butchers, made similar statements. In grocery stores, consumption was limited to a little olive oil and some pasta, while butcher shops were hardly ever visited by residents in these impoverished areas. The fact that malnutrition posed a severe threat to public health in these areas was also attested by state officials, such as doctors working in the Greek healthcare sector:

 ‘With regards to nutrition, it is not just the unemployed and the people on welfare benefits who cannot afford to buy abundant quality food. It is also the workers, because their wages are so low. As a result, workers are undernourished and their body becomes more susceptible to diseases. Due to these conditions, we are seeing a number of dramatic cases.’

Thus, it becomes evident that low wages were a threat to the health of the working class.

Another doctor mentioned that, ‘Morbidity among Nea Ionia residents is slightly higher, because they are all workers and many live in unsanitary conditions. Housing in Nea Ionia is of poor quality, especially in the neighbourhoods “Germanika” and “Tetragona”. Nowadays, the workers of Nea Ionia are in a really dire situation. Indicatively, they don’t even have the 3 or 4,000 drachmas necessary to pay their share for medicine.’

Based on this testimony, even within the same settlement, the problem is more intense in certain neighbourhoods, underlining the social inequalities that existed in these areas. Finally, the photographs highlight the main features of a refugee neighbourhood and the type of low-quality dwellings inhabited by its residents. Made mostly out of wood, the shanties reflect the harsh living conditions in the refugee neighbourhood of Nea Ionia, its impoverished and disadvantaged state, and the near-total lack of basic infrastructure.