Cats gather outside a meat shop, which is now permanently closed, in the village of Pentalofos, Greece, March 29, 2024. The population of Orestiada, a crop-growing area bordering Turkey and Bulgaria, shrank 16% between 2011 and 2021, census data show; and the village of Ormenio used to be full of children, but now two thirds of the 300 residents are over 70. “We used to gather at weddings, at baptisms. Now we meet at funerals,” said Chrysoula Ioannidou, 61. “There are very few births.” REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki