Support for families as fires continue in Greece
31/08/2007
Wildfires that have been causing devastation across southern Greece for the last week have claimed at least 63 lives and left many thousands more homeless. Greek authorities’ requests for emergency assistance have been heeded by many EU countries, and firefighters continue to try and bring the flames under control.
The Peloponnese has been particularly badly affected and many villages have been abandoned to escape the fires. In a country where almost half the land is covered by forest, this summer’s exceptionally dry weather has proven to be disastrous. Locals and opposition party MPs have criticised the government for failing to prevent the catastrophe and for an inadequate response once the fires had started.
Stergios Sifnios, SOS worker in Greece, spoke about the situation, “I can describe it only with one word: disaster. The situation in these areas is unbelievable, just burnt forests and houses. There are more than 400 houses blasted by the fire, more than 3,000 people need help. These people mostly need accommodation, water, psychological support and financial support to rebuild their lives.
“One 80 year old lady told me, ‘OK, we are old enough; we have no future, but please take care of the young ones so they have a future’”.
The three SOS Children’s Villages in Greece were fortunately not affected by the fires, but SOS Children has begun emergency relief programmes to support families in need. A small number of families will be accommodated in the villages, while a specialist support team of social workers and psychologists is poised to begin work with families in those areas affected by the fires.
Relevant Countries: Greece.