Rallies are being organised in all the major squares in Greece and in particular at Syntagma in demonstration for the neglect shown by the government for the fires that burnt Greece.

It’s going to be a silent rally and they’ve asked for people to join the rally to wear black.

The rally is planned for Wednesday 29th at 7pm across all of Greece, in every city, in all the major town squares.

The satellite photo on the flyer shows the devastation that the fires caused in Greece during the weekend. The smoke reached the shores of Africa.

prof@skylproductions.com

This evening I have finally seen scenes from Antenna news of a Greek Air Force Super Puma helicopter in Frixa taking people away from the danger of the fire.  It’s great to see that the forces are involved, it just wasn’t so evident earlier this weekend.

There are also coach buses and more fire brigades that are being sent into towns to take the people away from the dangers of the fires.

The death toll at the moment is at 63.

It is now the 3rd day in the row that the fires have yet to settle and let the people rest and get some respite.

Let’s hope that the situation can just get better …

prof@skylproductions.com

Driving home from work this evening I was tuned in to ABC Radio and the 7pm news had just come on.  I  was surprised, rather pleasantly I must say, to hear that Australia is providing support to Greece for the devastating fires that have burnt the country.

John Howard had called Kostas Karamanlis to pass on his sympathies for the Greek losses, and the tragedy brought upon the country by the fires.  Australia has committed $3 million in aid to the Greek government and the Commonwealth will be discussing how else they can best provide Greece with other help with firefighters or other firefighting support.

It had occurred to me today, while at work, that it would be a good idea for Greece to approach a country such as Australia or the U.S. that have a lot of experience dealing with bush fires.  Watching Antenna news all weekend it just came across to me that Greece was struggling with the logistical side of dealing with it all.  There were towns where no one had come to them, not a fire brigade, no one to even tell them to evacuate, the safest way to leave etc.

Of course it’s very easy to judge from your armchair … and I want to make it clear that I am not judging, just what I had noted from what I’d seen the whole weekend of the extended Antenna news coverage of the fires.

Another question that sprung to my mind throughout the coverage … where was the army?  Surely they could have been deployed to the  remote areas to provide support to the people.  Again not judging, just noting what I saw on the news coverage.

At the end of the day, we just want the fires out.  We want peoples lives restored, their electricity, their water supply and hopefully a roof over their heads.  After that is assured, we can hope they are able to rebuild their livestock, their olive groves, farms … we can hope.

prof@skylproductions.com

The news today from Greek television and radio stations is tragic.

44 people have been confirmed dead across the country due to blazes burning across the country.  In particular, areas in the Peloponnese are still burning and putting many peoples’ lives in jeopardy.   The fire is threatening to cross from the state of Ileia to Achaia with strong wind forces making the situation even more difficult.  The wind is so strong that helicopters are unable to fly to the fires and give assistance from the air.  Only people on the ground and the few fire brigades are fighting the flames, in some cases people only have branches available to them to fight the flames.

Fires are not only in Ileia but also across Arcadia, Messinia and Laconia.  Accounts given by individuals seem to give a picture of despair and a desperate shortage of fire brigade services that could be able to be at every fire front.

One man interviewed by an Antenna reporter described the situation as “a battle for Greek people … this is Greece’s own 9/11″.

In Evoia people are going to the beach side to escape the fires that are encroaching on their homes.

There are also fires blazing in suburban east-side Athens on the slopes of Mount Ymittos.  There are accounts that a block of apartments had been on fire in the north eastern suburb of Papagou.

The President of Greece Karolos Papoulias visited the Peloponnese and in a discussion captured by an Antenna camera crew with PASOK leader George Papandreou, he made a statement that made a lot of sense.  He was in disbelief that so many fires could have started across so many places in Greece just by chance.

Personally I have to agree that these fires across Greece must be purposely lit and we can only hope that those responsible are caught and punished severely.  These fires have not only destroyed scarce forests but they will have a disastrous ecological impact on Greece.

With temperatures still rising and a heatwave in Greece, we can only pray that the situation is somehow, miraculously over very soon with no more human loss or casualties.

For more news click on the following links

www.in.gr
cosmo.gr