The unbelievable happened but nobody is surprise if one lives in Greece: Residents and visitors of the island of Evia who were ordered to evacuate due to fires had to purchase tickets to board on ferries and get on the mainland.
It needed a lot of complaints and denouncements to media, Live on TV, for the Shipping Minister to activate.
Hours later, Shipping Minister Giannis Plakiotakis issued an order that movement of people and vehicles from the ports of Aidipsos and Apokampos are free of charge.
We are told that the ministry of maritime affairs has ordered the ferry companies not to charge for the tickets from now until further notice as people keep leaving the island of Evia from this port.
📷 Daphne Tolis @IbtGd @InesdLC pic.twitter.com/NiyNO8lsP2
— Daphne Tolis (@daphnetoli) August 8, 2021
Still hours later, the spokesman of the Greek Coast Guard announced the news on TV thus adding that allowed to travel from Arkitsa port and GLyfa to north Evia are only those assisting in the fire fighting.
Now the activation of three ministers, Interior, Infrastructure and Civil Protection, is needed to allow highway free of charge tolls for all the evacuees trying to reach relatives and friends for accommodation.
*thumbnail picture circulating on social media
It just shows how unorganized and chaotic everything is. It’s not thievery, it’s ignorance and unpreparedness. Maybe the state needs some lessons in disaster preparedness.
It was a mistake and was corrected. I’m sure you can find many more errors and magnify them. But look at the big picture. As for the preparedness, you have now idea how dificult is to evacuate people in these conditions, and doing that with no deaths in the civilians. It would be difficult in any country, and much more so in a country like Greece, with scatered houses and villages in the middle of forest areas. So, good job. I am sorry to disappoint you …
Unbelievable
People in distress who are ordered to evacuate to save their lifes and the ferries have the nerv to demand tickets!!! First I thought you must be joking but apparently not. As you wrote, unbelievable!!!
“…preparedness”
I don’t think there is a Greek equivalent of this English word? When I returned home for a visit at Christmas, after coming to live in Greece 24 years ago I answered questions about what life was like here with the sentence: “Greeks plan Christmas on Boxing Day.” I haven’t seen anything since to change my mind.
They should be ashamed of themselves.😡