JOBLESS GENERATION:
Marketplace looks at how Europe's record level of youth unemployment will impact the generation, in their own words. Share your story and read more.
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Georgia Ciska, unemployed
- Athens, Greece
- "I want to work, and I can't. [I've applied to] hundreds of jobs. And no response, yet. I think it'll be like that forever, at least. For my generation, at least."
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Fanifs Koutouvelif, 28, entrepreneur
- Athens, Greece
- Opened software company Intaile whose sales doubled last year, now employs 13 people. "You can't just stand there crying, 'You don't have a job.' … You have to make your own job. I believe it's the only way out."
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Panos Paklos, 28, degree in Information Technology
- Athens, Greece
- "When I was 20 or 21, I thought by now I would have at least somewhere to live on my own … and maybe support a family. Now, it's quite the opposite … I'm not quite fond of myself right now."
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Vassilis Korobialis, 28, degree in Industrial Design
- Athens, Greece
- Unemployed for 3 years. "When you don't have work, you feel like you are completely useless. You feel like you don't have meaning in your life."
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Michael Taliakis, 17, unemployed
- Athens, Greece
- Plans to open an engineering company. "If you're fearful … or if you have the attitude, 'I will never have a job,' maybe you'll never actually get a job ... . You need to have the attitude of a winner."
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Stamatia Konstanta, 24, qualified dietician
- Moved to Dusseldorf, from Greek island Chios
- Studies at the Goethe Institute, which teaches immigrants German and German culture. "It's easier to find a job in Germany. It's probably the best place to find a job in Europe in engineering Ö Of course, I would prefer Portugal. But it's impossible to find a job there, or at least a good job where I can be well paid."
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Jose Manuel Morreno, 29, doctor
- Moved to Dusseldorf, Germany from Spain
- "[Exercise] helps with the stress, it's a good way to let it out Ö [moving to Germany]'s not a piece of cake because you're leaving a lot of things behind, like family and friends. But I don't regret it. Once you take the step, there's no turning back. There's nothing for us back in Spain. I feel betrayed Ö so does my generation."
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Lenor Villa Lobos, 26, graduate in Geomatics Engineering
- Moved to Dusseldorf, from Portugal
- Studies at the Goethe Institute, which teaches immigrants German and German culture. "It's easier to find a job in Germany. It's probably the best place to find a job in Europe in engineering Ö Of course, I would prefer Portugal. But it's impossible to find a job there, or at least a good job where I can be well paid."
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Christina Lupo, 24, unemployed
- Italy, where her parents support her
- "When I talk to my mother and father, they can't understand our situation. They think to find a job is really simple. Ö they say to me, you don't know how to find a job, you're a negative person Ö my mother after graduation, after two weeks, she found a job ... That's impossible. That's a dream for our generation. A dream."
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Luigi Maiorono, university researcher
- Italy, where the labor force is dominated by older workers
- "We have a president that I like, but he's 90. Can't we find somebody's that's 60 or so to be president of this country?
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Rosario Nicoletti, 80, retired professor from Rome University
- Italy
- Retired at age 76. "The fault is also in the younger generation, which is not able to replace the old people. The young are less and less skilled Ö the young generation lives in an environment protected by their parents .. . They've had a too easy life."
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Claudia Bernardi, 32, unemployed, holds Ph.D degree
- Italy
- "I don't understand that after 13 years of study I have to [wait tables or work in a cafÈ] again. I'm too much qualified, and maybe even too much smart to sweep the floor after having one degree, and one Ph.D. So maybe, I'm qualified for other work."
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