A crowd-funder set up to assist Greece in its €1.6bn payment to the IMF has received more than €230,000 in just two days.
The page was set up by 29-year-old Thom Feeney from York, who said that all this dithering over Greece is getting boring and asked “why don’t we the people just sort it out instead?”.
Over 15,000 people have already donated to the ambitious campaign, which has said that 100% of the profits will go to the people of Greece.
If you are looking to donate there are some great perks for parting with your cash. For just €3 you can bag yourself a postcard of Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras posted from Greece. If you’re feeling generous enough to donate €6 you can get yourself a Feta and Olive salad, with a hefty €5000 donation bagging you a week’s all inclusive holiday to Athens for two, an offer already claimed by at least one enthusiastic donor.
Unfortunately for those looking forward to receiving their Alex Tsipras postcard, the donations have to total €1.6bn by the 7-day deadline, or all the money donated will be returned. Although the near impossible amount is far beyond ambitious, Feeney said the campaign is not a joke, and that he believes the appeal can reach the total needed.
Feeney said: “€1.6bn is what the Greeks need. It might seem like a lot but it's only just over €3 from each European. That's about the same as ... everyone in the EU just having a Feta and Olive salad for lunch.”
“So come on, order a Feta and Olive salad, maybe wash it down with an Ouzo or glass of Assyrtiko Greek wine and let's sort this s**t out,” he said.
The 29-year-old shoe shop worker, who had never previously been involved with Greek politics, originally offered a small Greek island “the size of Inchmarnock” to anyone who stumped up the €1.6bn, but the host site Indi-go-go forced him to remove the offer, who said he could not guarantee the sale.
“Europeans are pretty generous on the whole, maybe Ms Merkel and Mr Cameron are the exception,” Feeney said. “I'm confident the people of Europe will get this campaign and sometime soon we'll all be raising a glass of Ouzo and having a bloody great big celebration.”
To contribute:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/greek-bailout-fund#/story
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