Coordination comes too late for farmers
Following the unprecedented destruction wreaked by fire, which dominated television coverage for more than a week, channels have finally returned to normal. Sports programs with rambling soccer discussions, pre-election debates that drag on into the early hours, advertisements for private colleges and back-to-school goods. But the burnt land has not been forgotten. «If the State is listening, then we request some coordination,» an elderly man said on a recent news program. «Were the efforts to extinguish the blazes coordinated?» reporters asked fire-stricken citizens. Most replied «no,» even though they do not have an overall picture. But they do have a grasp of their own misfortune. Was there any coordination when the State disbursed 3,000-euro aid payments to fire victims? Elderly people, farmers and city-dwellers – many of whom had not suffered losses in the fires – all rushed to get a taste of the honey. Are they to blame for trying to get a slice of the cake or is it the fault of the State for making the cake so accessible? But even gypsies, many of whom have been condemned for fraudulently seeking benefits, ultimately «coordinated» themselves and are now returning their unlawfully collected payments. Residents of fire-ravaged villages had lived in harmony with nature for centuries. Then the fires came. A middle-aged farmer and his elderly mother, whose home in Livadaki, Gortynia, was destroyed by fire, showed an Alpha channel reporter the tent in which they now live. «Why are you living in a tent?» the reporter asked. «Where are we supposed to go? To a hotel?» the farmer remarked. «I have 80 sheep – is there a hotel for sheep?» Unfortunately there isn’t. There are some «hostels» in Attica where people can leave their pets when they go on holiday; but there are no such hostels for livestock. Efforts at «coordinated support» are now being made ahead of elections; fire-stricken citizens are receiving payments and the regeneration of burnt areas is under way. But the deep wounds will take time to heal. Meanwhile, fears have migrated from the countryside to cities, where people are worried about price hikes for agricultural products. «We’ve been wiped out, we’re finished,» the owner of a small oil-press in Ileia told a news reporter. And he is just one of many. Many believe that olive oil, a staple of the Greek diet, will soon became a luxury item as prices are expected to rocket. When we were young, we snubbed oily dishes prepared by our mothers as «poor» food. Now corn bread is sold at delicatessens and traditional cookies will be baked with cheap sunflower oil.
