Two Greek social networks have refused to accept the European Citizen’s Prize for 2015 that is given European Parliament to honor citizens providing social aid where the states fail to do so. Giorgos Vichas from the Metropolitan Social Clinic in Athens and Kostas Polichronopoulos from the “Social Kitchen – The Other Human” refused to accept the Prize in order to protest the austerity polices of the European Union.
The two social networks were honored last Friday at the European Parliament Representation office in Athens in the context of national ward ceremonies.
“The refusal to accept the Prize is the refusal of Europe of austerity, which promotes policies and measures that lead to genocide in 2015, ” said Giorgos Vichas from the Metropolitan Social Clinic (MKIE) that provides uninsured citizens with free primary medical care and medication since 2011 together with a group of volunteers.
Criticizing the austerity cuts of 48% in health care since 2010, Vichas said that he cannot accept a Prize that honors the MKIE because “the austerity policies implemented and imposed in Greece are the result of pressure and blackmails by the IMF, the ECB and the EU” and that these policies have led more than 3 million impoverished and jobless citizens outside the health care system.”
Presenting statistic data about children, families and households living in dire conditions and without health care, Vichos stressed:
“This Europe, which wants to reward us, does not seem to be bothered by all these data, neither by the thousands of deaths of unsecured fellow citizens. […]
It would be hypocritical for us to receive a Prize when Europe closes its eyes to malnourished infants and the dead cancer patients, to mothers telling they have to live their families without electricity and water and minimal amount of food.”
Kostas Polichronopoulos from the “Social kitchen- The Other Human,” said that “I use food to talk with people and therefore I call for donations and participation, which is only a small sacrifice. ”
Social Kitchen “The Other Human” was established amid the economic crisis when Kostas Polichronopoulos saw people, mostly elderly, to pick up unsold and often rotten vegetables from the ground of farmers’ markets in Athens. An idea was born, an act of solidarity with those in need with respect to their needs and “Free Food for All”.
“The refusal of the EC Prize 2015 is also a small sacrifice for us,” Polichronopoulos told the representatives of the EP and several MEPs in Athens.
With the European Citizen’s Prize, the European Parliament honors the efforts of citizens to provide healthcare for the poorest, food aid, rescue, solidarity, education, the fight against radicalisation and the protection of LGBTI rights.
This year, the European Parliament honored 47 citizens and social networks across the EU. Too bad, the Greeks spoiled the fancy EP soup...
Appeal
Neither the Metropolitan Social Clinic nor the Social Kitchen accept money donations. But they occasionally make calls for items in to cover needs for the needy.
You may want to join the two social networks on Facebook:
Social Kitchen The Other Human
Metropolitan Social Clinic Ellinikon
and support them however and whenever you can 🙂
The austerity policies dont come from the EP though, they come from the troika(and various greek governments preceding the current one), which the EP is not a part of.
ouch! when I recall all these interventions of EP President Schulz and EPP’s Weber… BTW: I missed some solidarity for the Greek impoverished society by the EP parties.
Interventions such as this?
” …We only ever talk about cuts on social security, cuts on wages, when will start talking about that we need a tax system in europe that will ensure that not the small people in greece or germany …” m. schulz
As translated here on june 5.
You guys are too onesided, anyone not exactly at your position is seen as completly against you. Schulz and other socialdemocrats/socialist in and outside of ger have lobbied for more lenient bailout terms. Im not really interested in the national soverignity card, that argument i find outdated(by the same logic orban could be rightly be pissed of by comments about his fence). The real problem for left leaning people in ger and other places in justifying more lenient bailout terms/ a debt restructuring(which i still think is coming rather soon) to their voters is that just like in this blog/the comments the only solution put forth by consecutive greek governments is give us more money.
Greek debt is to high-> we need a haircut
in the meantime we have a huge deficit-> we cant have too much austerity so help us stay afloat for a longer time
banks go bankrupt-> give us money to rescue rich depositors
With some of this I agree with some I dont but the point is that up until now neither your government nor anyone writing here offers solutions. Instead you attack even the more greekfriendly politicians for not bending 100% to your views.
we are all victims of our subjective views, aren’t we?
true that
only thing to be done is to get exposure to as many different views as possible
Aha, so Greece was not a year without any money from lenders and what would be if Varoufakis wouldn’t have been so honest and give back the 10.9 billion (plus some ECB profits) and repay 17.5 loans and interest?
Ah yes, the EP. That bastion of political correctness where doing nothing is elevated to a very well paid art, talking nonsense is the norm and acting on anything, in any shape or form is not allowed. The most expensive talkshop in the world, capable of producing nothing but hot air. You are right stating that austerity did come come from there. What is however much more important is that absolutely no opposition to that austerity program came from there either. Not one iota of opposition to anything. Why? Because it is an impotent, castrated body of nobody’s costing a fortune while unable and unwilling to do anything, other than pay its “members” a ridiculous wage for talking BS…
Nice summary of doing nothing for a well-paid something. High time the EP redefines its role.
Hi. Sorry for this message but i would like to contact you personally but the Captcha-Code on the contact formular isn’t working.
sorry to read that. I probably have to ‘update’ the plug-in. contact me via email: keeptalkinggreece at gmail.com