The party isle of Mykonos, a playground for the rich and famous, is just one side of the coin. Images of the island’s carefree spirit and glamor are just the window dressing. Reality is much different for the hundreds of young workers from around Greece who have jobs at the nightclubs who average millions of euros turnover in just a night. When not addressing the needs of the wealthy clientele, the tired young employees go to their “homes” on their islands which are nothing more than cheap shacks and even containers in some cases.
Favelas, once synonymous with the shocking housing conditions of Brazil, can be used to describe the homes of workers on Mykonos. Hidden on hills, covered by reeds so that these eyesore accomodations remain invisible to tourists.
Shrewd business owners have set up these shanty villages to house their employees as a way of cutting costs and doubling profits. The temporary, illegal shelters are camouflaged so as not to be seen and lack basic amenities needed for an employee to feel as though they were living in a dignified setting. “When I learnt that a well-known club wanted personnel and offered accomodation, I traveled to Mykonos out of my own funds in the hope of getting a job. I had already been unemployed for a year,” said one former employee of a beach bar restaurant on the island, speaking with Proto Thema. “When I got there I realized that all that glitters is not gold. So-called accomodation required me to stay, not at a house, but in a container. The person responsible for the business was clear cut. You can either stay at a container or we’ll give you 150 euros extra per month to find your own house. As we all know, 150 euros is not enough to rent even a bench on Mykonos so I was forced to agree.”
Need made a job imperative, so the worker was forced to work from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. at the beach bar and return to the container and sleep in quarters shared by another five colleagues, all Greek. “For two months we didn’t even have air conditioning. The high temperatures made us leave the window open,” he says. There was a small shower that flooded the container and a small makeshift toilet. “It is the most tragic experience of my life. I was forced to leave running despite my need for money,” he says.
Do the Arabs, jetsetters, Russian tycons, large tour operators know that the beauty of Mykonos is built on the sweat and suffering of its workers? Does the EU know of the conditions on Mykonos?
