Fire fund up to 151 mln euros
A fund for citizens who lost their homes in the fires that ravaged much of the country in August has amassed 151 million euros, according to former Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, who has supervised the repository. «This is the product of the generosity of more than 88,000 of our fellow citizens who have donated between 10 euros and 15 million euros each,» Molyviatis told Skai Radio. Of the savings, 100 million euros will go toward rebuilding burned homes, Molyviatis said, adding that the new houses will be built «according to specifications that, we hope, will make them better than those that were burned,» he added. The former minister stressed that «every last euro» will go toward aiding fire victims. Meanwhile, Kathimerini has learned, much of the humanitarian aid amassed by citizens has not necessarily reached those who really need it. An Athenian couple, who asked to remain anonymous, told Kathimerini that they managed to gather 70,000 euros’ worth of goods – ranging from towels and carpets to other household items – but claim to have been misled by local authority officials about which areas are most in need. One village in Ancient Olympia that they visited, with a truck full of boxes, turned out to have been less hard-hit than they had been told. «They assured us that 112 homes had been burned but when we got there we saw that seven homes had been destroyed, one of which was a villa,» said a volunteer, who identified himself only as M.S. The delegation that visited the unnamed village in Olympia was also disappointed that the distribution of the aid had not been better organized. Witnesses said that the goods were all spread out on tables at the local school and were being distributed to all and sundry, indiscriminately.
