These days should be days of grief. A year has passed since an 11-year-old schoolchild left the gym near his house in Veria, northern Greece, and never came back.

These days are days of shame for the Greek state. Despite the personal interest that the President of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias, showed in the case, despite the mobilization of the judiciary and police authorities, and finally despite pressure from the Greek public and media, there is still no answer to one very simple question: Whatever happened to Alex Meshivili?

The failure to investigate the case is an embarrassment to all the institutions that have been entrusted with ensuring public safety. A great number of testimonies have failed to shed light on the disappearance of a small child in a provincial town. How safe can the average Greek feel?

Greek society demands an answer. Is there any state official capable of giving one?