- Joined
- Apr 26, 2011
- Messages
- 12,357
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- 113
In Athens, mothers who have been forced to give up or sell their own children to survive........as usual, the Church does nothing even though it has enough money to pay off the entire Greek National Debt !
One toddler attending a nursery school where the fees had always been paid by her mother, was recently abandoned in with a note saying: ‘I will not return to get Anna. I don’t have any money. I can’t bring her up. Sorry.’
Once a month, 30-yr-old widow Kasiani Papadopoulou takes the bus from Athens for a 20-mile journey to see her two daughters and son. Kasiani had to give them away a year ago when her money ran out and she was unable to pay for their food, her rent or send them to school with shoes or books.
At the charity home where the three are now cared for, the children excitedly shout ‘Mama’ as they run to greet her. A few hours later, it is time to say goodbye, Kasiani is always close to tears. The youngest, Melissa and Markos, cling to her before she leaves to go home alone.
‘At Christmas, at Easter, on their birthdays, I am always so sad because I do not see them. But I’ve done what is best for my children.'
‘I cannot count the number of doorbells I have rung of government departments, asking officials to help me and my family. They make promises but do nothing. They have no money either. Our country is in crisis.’
Maria Tsivra, 37, a divorcee and mother of a five-year-old girl called Juliana who needs routine vaccinations and fortnightly doctor’s appointments to treat a throat infection. Maria used to work in a bakery but lost her job more than a year ago, as the crisis started.
‘The bakery was facing more taxes and had less customers. I was a victim like thousands of others.’ she says in a solemn voice.
She and Juliana are staying in a friend’s house. She has no national insurance and no money to pay £40 for an appointment with a private doctor. ‘I cannot afford for Juliana to see the doctor or get her medicine. I need help, but not as much as some who are selling their children on the streets.’
She tells of a friend, a single mother who lived in a charity shelter with her baby daughter because she had no money and the State would not help.
‘She could not afford to keep her own child and gave her away to a couple who did not have a family of their own. These kinds of things are happening now in Greece. There are many who are suffering and I wonder what the future holds for children of my daughter’s generation.’
The fate of Greece is changing fast. Soup kitchens are commonplace. The destitute wander the streets.
Even charities, including the one running the complex for 55 children where Kasiani Papadopoulou’s three now live, have been forced to hand over some of their donations to the empty Greek state coffers.
Already, one in five adults is out of work, a fifth of Greek firms have closed, the standard of living has fallen by 20 per cent in two years.
In the suburbs of Athens this week, two smartly dressed elderly men went through rubbish bins at the side of a busy road. One said that their state pensions had been cut to £220 a month. He said: ‘We are looking for anything we can sell.’ ( already happening in S'pore)
One toddler attending a nursery school where the fees had always been paid by her mother, was recently abandoned in with a note saying: ‘I will not return to get Anna. I don’t have any money. I can’t bring her up. Sorry.’
Once a month, 30-yr-old widow Kasiani Papadopoulou takes the bus from Athens for a 20-mile journey to see her two daughters and son. Kasiani had to give them away a year ago when her money ran out and she was unable to pay for their food, her rent or send them to school with shoes or books.
At the charity home where the three are now cared for, the children excitedly shout ‘Mama’ as they run to greet her. A few hours later, it is time to say goodbye, Kasiani is always close to tears. The youngest, Melissa and Markos, cling to her before she leaves to go home alone.
‘At Christmas, at Easter, on their birthdays, I am always so sad because I do not see them. But I’ve done what is best for my children.'
‘I cannot count the number of doorbells I have rung of government departments, asking officials to help me and my family. They make promises but do nothing. They have no money either. Our country is in crisis.’
Maria Tsivra, 37, a divorcee and mother of a five-year-old girl called Juliana who needs routine vaccinations and fortnightly doctor’s appointments to treat a throat infection. Maria used to work in a bakery but lost her job more than a year ago, as the crisis started.
‘The bakery was facing more taxes and had less customers. I was a victim like thousands of others.’ she says in a solemn voice.
She and Juliana are staying in a friend’s house. She has no national insurance and no money to pay £40 for an appointment with a private doctor. ‘I cannot afford for Juliana to see the doctor or get her medicine. I need help, but not as much as some who are selling their children on the streets.’
She tells of a friend, a single mother who lived in a charity shelter with her baby daughter because she had no money and the State would not help.
‘She could not afford to keep her own child and gave her away to a couple who did not have a family of their own. These kinds of things are happening now in Greece. There are many who are suffering and I wonder what the future holds for children of my daughter’s generation.’
The fate of Greece is changing fast. Soup kitchens are commonplace. The destitute wander the streets.
Even charities, including the one running the complex for 55 children where Kasiani Papadopoulou’s three now live, have been forced to hand over some of their donations to the empty Greek state coffers.
Already, one in five adults is out of work, a fifth of Greek firms have closed, the standard of living has fallen by 20 per cent in two years.
In the suburbs of Athens this week, two smartly dressed elderly men went through rubbish bins at the side of a busy road. One said that their state pensions had been cut to £220 a month. He said: ‘We are looking for anything we can sell.’ ( already happening in S'pore)
