Three Maltese women who have lived in Greece for decades talk to Kurt Sansone about the woes afflicting their adopted home land.

Margaret Mantzourani is Maltese and after 34 years living in Greece she is thinking of returning to Malta to escape the financial hardship that has plunged her adopted home country into social turmoil.

Married with one child, Mrs Mantzourani, 55, tells The Times that Greece has become too expensive, apart from the fact that Malta is "much safer".

"We are considering moving back, at least temporarily," she says, insisting the austerity measures have hit people hard and created uncertainty.

Her family has become more careful about its expenditure as incomes have been slashed and taxes raised to make good for years of public sector waste that saw Greece saddled with unmanageable debt.

"There is a high level of uncertainty about what the future holds since the International Monetary Fund may come tomorrow and say the measures are not enough," she says, giving away the fact that the IMF has become somewhat of a household name for many Greeks.

She says corruption is mostly to blame for the sorry state of public finances and expresses her disappointment at the recent news that 75 tax inspectors had never filed their personal tax returns.

Mrs Mantzourani says uncertainty, frustration and anger are rife because it is the middle class, workers and pensioners who are suffering the brunt of the austerity measures.

Pensioner Marise Samara, 62, concurs with her assessment. Mrs Samara, married with two children, is Maltese and has been living in Greece for 40 years.

Having worked as a bank manager she admits having a very good pension. However, the austerity measures have forced her family to adopt a different lifestyle.

The pension cuts and the special tax on takings approved by the Greek government will see her income drop by €11,000 a year.

"I am feeling the pinch and it will mean a lifestyle change but there are many more people who are worse off because of lower incomes," she says.

With VAT going up to 23 per cent from 19 per cent, the introduction of higher rates on water and electricity bills and scrapping the system of being paid 14 salaries a year instead of 12, Greeks have been rudely awakened to a harsh reality.

What first appeared as a drive to curb civil service wages and pensions turned out to be an all-encompassing austerity programme requested by the IMF and the EU, Mrs Samara says.

She explains that her family has cut down on the number of times they eat out and also resorted to buying daily needs from Lidl supermarket, which offers cheaper prices.

Living in the suburbs south of Athens, she avoids using her car, opting instead for a €263 annual card that gives her access to public transport services.

The going for all Greeks has got tough and each family has its own story to tell. With unemployment hitting the ceiling, especially among young people, Maltese-born Rita Negka is concerned about her daughter's future.

Having lived in Greece for 29 years, Mrs Negka, 55, says her eldest daughter is preparing to get married but a cloud of uncertainty hangs over those plans.

The 80-year-old company her daughter works for has seen sales drop by 50 per cent creating a sense of unease among employees.

"Unemployment is very high. My friends' children have been looking for a job for months and they are qualified. The situation has created hurdles for couples making marriage plans or thinking of taking out a bank loan to buy their house," she says.

Her family has also resorted to cost-cutting with a more careful approach to shopping and car use.

"We are trying to save on water and electricity, making sure that we switch off the light when leaving the room and being very careful with watering the garden," Mrs Negka says, admitting that the austerity measures were needed to avoid a total collapse of the economy.

She is hopeful the situation will improve in two or three years' time, a feeling shared by Mrs Samara, who sees a silver lining in the whole affair.

"I am positive the measures will help us come out of this mess earlier than we thought. To look at the positive side of things, the price of property has come down," Mrs Samara says, admitting she is positive by nature.

Strikes and protests that have turned violent at times have subdued the melodic notes of the Greek bouzouki as the idyllic vision of the sun bathing on the pristine white buildings loses its lustre.

Malta's ambassador to Greece Richard Vella Laurenti admits the embassy has lately been receiving calls from Maltese travelling to Greece for business or holidays asking about how safe the country is.

"We advise them not to go to the centre when a general strike or a demonstration is announced. Recent events have shown things can get really bad during the protests but later on they seem to quieten down and life gets back to normal," he says.

Greek society was badly shaken, he adds, with the death of three bank employees when their place of work was burnt down by some demonstrators.

Mr Vella Laurenti says another general strike held last week did not attract the same crowds for fear things could turn sour again.

A harsh reaction was to be expected as the Greek good life came to an abrupt end and the music of clinking glasses filled with ouzo, a typical Greek aperitif, stopped playing.

"Many are beginning to understand that these measures are absolutely necessary if they want their country to overcome the crisis," Mr Vella Laurenti says of the sense of resignation most people are coming to terms with.

With a mountain of debt and the eyes of all eurozone countries well trained on the Greek government's actions to correct the situation, it will probably take more than one ouzo shot to drown the harsh reality.