That’s shocking! Primary school children would faint due to hunger in downtown Athens in the year 2011! Primary school teachers union from the districts of Ampelokipi-Erythros-Polygonon close to the centre of athens issued a horrifying statement about the economic situation of the pupils. There are cases of children fainting during the classes due to starvation, the teachers state, and also a case of a jobless parent, father of three, who committed suicide.
Speaking to news portal NewsIt, teacher Dimitris Margiolis confirmed not only the shocking news adding that children go to school with holes in their shoes:
“Ten days ago we were shocked to learn that a father of three of our pupils committed suicide. He had been jobless for the last 6 months. Recently we learned that even during the last spring, pupils in a secondary school in the Kypseli district fainted and the doctor diagnosed ‘starvation’. We see children coming to school with hole sin their shoes. They have to proper shoes for the gymnastic classes. In school canteens the number of pupils buying something decreases day by day. Some pay on credit… We should set up a network as we did for the children of Iraq, Palestine and Yugoslavia. It is our duty not only to educate children but also to protect them form impoverishment”.
The First Association of Teachers of Primary Education of Athens, together with parents and residents of Ampelokipi-Erythros-Polygonon will stage a protest on October 15th 2011, at 11 m at the square of Panormou Metro station to raise awareness of the economic impasse of many families in the times of strict austerity.
Shock causes communication primary school teachers in Ambelokipi-Red-Polygon, who talk about suicide unemployed parent pupils by school district, but also cases of faint young students who were suffering from starvation in schools …
PS I do remember very well the cases of fainting hungry children in the primary school classes in … Baghdad in the early 1990’s. What happened to the “Denmark of the South” as Greek PM heralded after winning the elections of 2009?
Still Able to Think Positive?
Wow, that’s so sad. What can we do to help? Is there a fund set up for people to donate? I don’t give money to beggars but always get a few extra cheesepies/koulouri when leaving the bakery near the house and pass it out to anyone who I see begging in my path. It’s not much but hopefully it helps a few.
not any funds for donations yet (?). However as the issue became very big we might see some reports with more clues about it. Thank you so much for wanting to help 🙂
I’m sure most Greek teachers probably help in the classroom when they can because what else can they do. If you were teaching children day after day and you saw hungry kids in your class, I’m sure you would bring food in because it would make you feel so sad. It would be so psychologically depressing to teach a class and know the children are hungry and not to do something. But, the salaries are not much for teachers, so there lies the dilemma. Maybe each school could just have a collection point and ask parents, other teachers, community leaders, and the church to provide whatever they can to the school and then distribute it the kids in the class to eat during break time. Maybe this is oversimplified, but wouldn’t be that hard to organize on a local level.
With all the “I won’t pay” etc groups, why not a “I won’t let kids starve” group. Maybe there is someone out there savvy enough and wealthy enough to step up for this.
I understood that these were individual case. We don’t worry. If the austerity measures continue in this fast track, soon the UNICEF will take care of the Greek children.
Greece, you are pathetic and impudent
Fundraising? Fundfounding?
Try it here, a list of the greek communities in Germoney
http://www.ellasnet.de/griechische-adressen/griechische-vereine-gemeinden/
Someone has to kick their ass to join the fight …There’s 500000 Greeks living in Germoney/Austria!!!
And here he is the profiteer of the day, just like “Engel & Völkes” – who are desperately hoping the prices of real-estates on Rhodos and elsewhere are going down, down, down – the other way round: Selling german real-estate to frat greek cats:http://www.berliner-kurier.de/kiez-stadt/beutezug-der-griechen-millionaere—griechen-kaufen-berlin,7169128,11000922.html
(btw. german laws against tax evasion from abroad are not existing, only people in Germoney get trouble)
Know what?
The ‘megali idea’ of the european politicians goes like this:
Go, Greece, Go bankrupt
‘cuz i need to buy a
cheap greek island
for my retirement
– just like Philipp Rösler
who wants to retire with 40….
Of the EU there are funds to member countries in order to provide children in schools with fresh fruit and vegetables.
Greece has not requested? Perhaps it is still possible!
I find now unfortunately only German information (because I do not know what that means in English …;-) ):
http://www.network-kmu.de/go/tgl/db/news/_auto_7364808.xhtml
And if we readers can do something … please Info!
It is a shame what happened! I keep my fingers crossed for all of us that there will be better days soon!
as I said, there are jsut individual cases, vut i think if the phenomenon will affect bright masses of the population then something will need to be done on institutional level.