Greece is burning .... again

(photo by Manos Fragioudakis, from here )

Today is the fourth day that firefighters have been battling fires that have been raging northeast of Athens. The fire started in Kalamos, a coastal holiday spot some 45 km (30 miles) from the capital. It has spread to three more towns, damaging dozens of homes and burning thousands of hectares of pine forest. A state of emergency has been declared in the area and some towns have been evacuated.





(photo from here )

It is proving very difficult to put the fires out, as the high winds keep changing direction and on Tuesday Greece had to ask for help from its European partners.

The whole of Athens is covered in a cloud of smoke. Satellite pictures show that the smoke has reached Crete and has moved on to the Libyan sea.

The effects of the fire are felt here even though we are 30 miles away. For the last three days our terrace has been covered with a thin layer of ash, and everything smells of burning. If you are an asthma sufferer, like I am, it's terrible: my chest is incredibly tight, and last night, I had a three-hour long coughing fit that prevented me from sleeping, despite the fact that we had all the doors and windows shut. Today, I am trapped in the house, so I am writing this post, frequently interrupted by fits of coughing.

(photograph from here )

The toll on firefighters is horrendous. This photograph of an exhausted firefighter has gone viral in Greece, an illustration of  the courage, bravery and stamina of these professionals that keep Greece going in the summers.

(photograph by Petros Gianakouris from here )

Water-carrying planes and helicopters are an essential tool for fighting fires in the summer.

So, why do these fires happen? Some are wildfires, but a lot are a result of arson carried out by arsonists who are paid by big business and developers who want to build on the land that has been destroyed. But, surely, legislation could solve this problem? you may ask. Indeed! All that is required is legislation that prohibits building on land (fields, pastures, forests) that has been destroyed by fire. The corrupt and incompetent Greek State cannot even resolve this.

...

But this is not all. The fire in Attika is one of 90 forest fires that have broken out in Greece in the last four days. The Peloponnese, the islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia are also burning. A state of emergency has been declared in Zakynthos where 14 active fire fronts exist at the moment. Arson seems a certainty as 9 different fires erupted in one place, with four of these breaking out very close to each other at midnight. Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said: 'it's arson following an organised plan. There is no doubt about it'

The environmental cost is immeasurable, not least for all the wildlife that is destroyed. This photograph of a firefighter rescuing a small bird has also gone viral.

A follow-up to the Greek fires

A journalist friend of ours wanting to write a report on last week's fires asked us if we wanted to come along, so we set off for Helioupolis. The Hymettus mountain, which you can see in the distance in this photograph, was our destination, the place where the fires erupted last Friday.






We reached the area where a member of the fire fighting team, an off-duty policeman, died. This is the boundary between the residential area and the mountain - remarkably, the houses were left unscathed

but not this caravan - even though it looks undamaged, except for the windows that were smashed by the force of the fire,

the inside is seriously damaged.

The burning smell was overwhelming: it will probably remain for the whole of the summer

until the autumn rains clear the atmosphere.

 

Two bee keepers who were smoking out the bees have been arrested, but the residents are convinced that it's the work of arsonists. 

 

 

 

We then moved on to the Helioupolis Volunteer Fire Protection hut. There were three vehicles stationed there, including a fire engine

volunteers and fire fighters were washing and cleaning the hoses.






These huge water barrels are permanent features in this area.




 

The devastation all around us is heart breaking

but again, fortunately, the houses were unharmed by the fire.

 

We then drove on to the Karea area, to visit the nunnery of Saint John Prodromos.

 

The flames surrounded the nunnery, and the nuns had to abandon their home, but we learnt that they had returned on the day of our visit.

this was such a depressing sight!

 

We talked to a man who was taking his dog for a walk. He told us about the human chain that was formed to bring water from the nearby supermarket all the way up to the mountain. Most of the wildlife, the partridges, hares and foxes managed to escape, he told us, but not the tortoises - hundreds have been found scorched by the flames.  So much misery and the destruction of a whole ecosystem!

 

 

 

 

 

We walked down the shady avenue away from the nunnery mourning the devastation that has been wreaked in the area. 

 

 



 

On the way back we stopped at an ATM as our friend wanted to withdraw her daily allocation of  60 euros. Contrary to what the media would have us believe, there are no long queues at the ATMs. We have been in Greece for over a week and not once have I seen more than one person at an ATM. People confirm this - yes, at some specific locations, at specific times, there are sometimes people queuing for money, but on the whole, there is no panic, no desperate scramble for money. The exaggerated, panic-inducing reports from the Greek and world media, are just not true.

How much more can Greece take?

We have been in Athens for six days now, and life has shrunk: the political situation of the country has dominated our thoughts, our reading, our discussions, our communication with friends and family, and in my case, my sleep. I am experiencing the situation as being in trauma, and the thought of what lies ahead fills me with dread.

The deal that was agreed in principle between Greece and its creditors on Monday means never ending economic, political and social depression in Greece. Greek assets totalling 50 billion euros are to be held as a hostage to ensure the Greek government carries out the draconian measures demanded by the creditors.  Every 'red line' the government had maintained has now been crossed, from pensions cuts to VAT increases, whilst the pace of spending cuts mandated guarantee continual misery.

The leaders of the Eurogroup, European Commission and European Bank have dogmatically followed economic prescriptions which have nothing to do with making people's lives better. They are concerned with protecting the interests of their own financial sectors. European leaders have employed the myth that Europe's taxpayers are funding the unsustainable lives of the Greek people. However, Jubilee Debt Campaign has shown that at least 90% of the 'bailout' funds to Greece have not gone to Greece at all, but to shore up the European banks that lent the money in the first place. They stand to make between 10 billion and 22 billion euros profit out of lending to Greece. The 'bailout', in other words, is a bailout of the banks, not of Greece. Whilst bankers are off the hook, taxpayers in Europe are notionally placed on it. The events in the last week have shown how this is a political, not an economic problem, aimed at subverting a left wing government and ensuring everyone dances to the neoliberal tune of the EU.

European leaders have been hell bent on humiliating and destroying a government which has dared to expose them. Now the Greek government is committed to attempting to implement its side of this economically catastrophic deal which will turn this crisis into a total catastrophe for Greece. Worse still, the deal contains two measures that strip Greece of its sovereignty. Firstly, the 50 billion of government assets which will be held as surety against the country's future 'good behaviour'. Secondly, the deal demands that the Greek government 'consult and agree with the Institutions on all draft legislation in relevant areas with adequate time before submitting it for public consultation or to Parliament'. Total loss of sovereignty, and Greece becoming a colony. This is the kind of deal forced on a nation defeated in war; no wonder that Yanis Varoufakis has compared it to a 'second Versailles treaty'.

As we were driving back home this afternoon, our hearts sank. This is what we saw. A huge cloud over the Hymettus mountain, moving slowly towards the sea. Strong winds and high temperatures fanned the fire: we could not see the source, but we knew it was over Helioupolis, a district very near where we live.

 

Listening to the news when we got home, we found out that the fire was indeed in Helioupolis. A local playground has burnt to the ground and the flames have surrounded the local church.

 

 

 

We read on the online version of Kathimerini that 'wildfires burned through rural land on the island of Evia near Athens and in the region of Laconia in the Peloponnese where one fire-fighting aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing... State television reported the fire's front was over 15 km long and one health centre in the region was preparing to evacuate patients. A police source said a 58-year-died after inhaling fumes and suffering respiratory problems'.

Six hours after these photographs were taken by Elisabeth, we can still hear the fire-fighting helicopters droning over our flat, going back and forth as they fly to the sea to fill up with water.

How much more can this country take?



Update, two hours after originally posting:

There are 52 fires raging all over Greece. Experts are confirming that it's the work of arsonists.