In Greece 29% of the population are unemployed. Yet the ‘unemployed’ often fade into a faceless mass. Their introspection, their guilt, their shame and their resignation lead them to shut themselves in their homes and not attempt to speak, to protest, to complain, to shout. They often prefer themselves to remain invisible, in order not to provoke pity.” The Diary of the Unemployed began as an online experiment where “the unemployed themselves write about their experiences, their torments, they outline their demands to a society that must urgently reverse its priorities. First the unemployed and then the middle-class. First the unemployed and then the minimum wage. First the unemployed and then the property tax. First the unemployed and then pensions and rebates.”

A book about unemployment by the unemployed, undeniably provides an insight into the dark emotional journey that so often accompanies joblessness. This book is a strong portrait of people who face the raw violence that unemployment is.

“I do not want to ask for anything or burden anyone. I see every morning by son’s torn shoes and I reconsider. Do I have the right to dignity, or was that lost two years ago together with my job?”          H. An

Kastaniotis, 2014, 221 p.