Dromologia on the road
On the road again this month is Dromologia, the homegrown version of the Big Issue. Rescued from a money shortage that has kept it off the streets since 2001, Dromologia has secured funding for the next two issues from the Cultural Olympiad. The magazine sells for 1.50 euros, of which 1 euro goes to the sellers, all of whom are homeless. It can be found in central Athens, outside cinemas, exhibitions and bookshops. The February-March 2004 issue of Dromologia has a cover story on Cesaria Evora, the singer from Cape Verde. Xenia Theofanidou writes about the International Network of street papers (INSP) which links newspapers and magazines for the homeless in 26 countries. Ioanna Sotirchou tells the story of a Greek initiative to help the Chiapas in Mexico by building a school. An entirely personal look at Athens, in black and white, through the lens of photographer Sevasti Drakouli, a guide to bargain shopping for food and clothes, listings of entertainment (most of it free), book and film reviews, an article about refugees (who they are and how they live) and views and poems by Dromologia workers make up the offerings in this issue. Lively, well-designed and serving a good purpose, Dromologia deserves more readers and support. It is to be hoped that the benevolence of the funding authorities will extend beyond the period of the Olympic Games and into the future, when the lot of the homeless and many others on the margins of society will still merit their attention, and ours.
