In crisis-hit Greece, some people suffer silently. In the empty four walls of their homes, isolated from the society, the poverty victims feel the pain of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Their plight is revealed the moment things have reached bottom. The drama of a family was exposed when one of the children fainted in school right in front of the school director.
The 17-year-old girl collapsed right in front of the school director in one of the high schools in Patras, Peloponnese, on Wednesday morning. The scchool personnel found out that she had not eaten anything in the last three days.
Local media report that the family has two more children aged 10 and 14, the mother is unemployed and the father had left them long ago.
The school director called on local organizations and citizens to make food donations for the family in need.
Local non-governmental organization ΦΩΤΕΙΝΟ ΑΣΤΕΡΙ (Shining Star) published the poverty incident on its Facebook page making public two phone numbers for anyone who would like to help the family.
- mobile: 6981044800
- landline: 2611122497
On the website of the humanitarian organization that helps children in need up to 16 years old, there is also a Donations page with an IBAN.
Poverty is widespread and such phenomena are not rare.
Such phenomena that pupils and students collapse due to starvation occur often since the economic crisis erupted, aid workers told media.
“Due to her age, the girl was ashamed to say she fainted because she was starving for three days,” F.A. officials said noting that there have been dozens of malnourished students in the broader area.”Younger children speak more easily about their problem,” secretary Nikolakopoulou said.
She reckoned of another incident where the organization was called to help five families whose children were in a local kindergarten.
There are 420 families the organization helps and some travel from the mainland to Patras in order to get food and clothing.
Among the worst cases is a family where both parents are hit by cancer and are unable to financially sustain their minor children.
Another case was a family consisting of a father and a minor child in kindergarten age, who had no home and were living in a car.
“The kindergarten informed us about this two-member family,” F.A. president Christos Spiliotopoulos said adding “luckily enough, within 15 days a company that offered the father a job was found.”
Some schools had an aid program distributing free breakfast or snack to students. But the demand is much bigger than aid organizations can cover. Poverty is here in Greece and affects more than 33 percent of the society.
Yes the govt needs to help the poorest of society.
State housing and food stamps would be a good start.
But the Greek state spends 80% of its money on pensions and salaries so they don’t have money for much else.
Thank you for not blaming Schauble when writing this article by the way!
This is Greece’s problem to solve.
And according to news reports, the Greek ministry did not apply for the massive food aid budget that was allocated to Greece for giving out free healthy food in schools. It tells us something about the priorities of the Tsipras regime (i.e. the same as Pasok and ND, and it doesn’t include children or people in terrible financial condition). The feeding of starving children should not come from charities or NGOs: this is the responsibility of the State.
The Greek govt is not organized enough to ask for EU aid.
Imagine, the state is technically bankrupt, and can’t even bother to ask for money to feed needy people!
The future in GR is looking good!
If you walk along Riga Fereou in Patras you get a picture pretty far different picture, at least at first sight. But from time to time you see a full family wandering to nowhere with their bags, some people begging in the street, you here about some children abandoned, a young girl who jumps through the bridge…
I’ve been living in Patras for fourth months recently and that’s what you can see. Hard times of pain, suffering, tears,…
*sigh* and *cry*
Austerity kills. Imposed austerity leads to lower social benefits and pensions. Since 60-70% of a country’s GDP depends on consumer spending and considering that Greece cannot externally devalue and therefore needs to internally devalue leading to lower wages, there is no way to break this negative cycle. Especially when you have in mind that Greece needs to pay off these so-called bailouts.
And the little traitor bas**rd talks to his Quislings about growth around the corner…
But make no mistake: it is not that these sods are disorganised to claim money available for meals at schools. THEY DON’T WANT TO DO SO! Their paymasters from the 4th Reich tell them to move on with the elimination of the locals (genocide) so that the land empties fast.
Remember their motto: the land empty and for free. I do not exaggerate, unfortunately.