As the Greek government and its creditors are locked in talks ahead of a deadline for the country to meet a £1.6bn debt repayment, an online crowdfunding campaign started by a London shoe shop worker is aiming to break the impasse by collecting a Greek bailout fund of his own.
Thom Feeney, 29, launched the campaign to raise the money, calling on all Europeans to “chip in a few euro” and end the standoff. As of Tuesday afternoon more than €250,000 (£177,000) had been pledged from almost 15,000 people, or around 0.01% of the total amount. By Tuesday night it was edging towards half a million euro.
Indiegogo, the crowdfunding site which is hosting the campaign, went offline temporarily on Tuesday, perhaps creaking under the weight of generous donors coming to Greece’s aid. The page had been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter.
Despite offering dubious perks for big donations – €3 for a postcard of Alexis Tsipras, or a bottle of Greek wine for €25 – Feeney is adamant the initiative is not a joke.
“I can understand why people might take it as a joke, but crowdfunding can really help because it’s just a case of getting on and doing it,” he said on its website.
“I was fed up of the Greek crisis going round in circles, while politicians are dithering, this is affecting real people. While all the posturing is going on, then it’s easy for the politicians to forget that. I just thought, sod it, I’ll have a crack.”
He confirmed that, as yet, no Greek or other European leader had been in touch regarding the offer. All donations will be refunded if the target is not reached within seven days, Feeney said.
