As wildfires that have claimed more than 70 lives continue to rage in Greece on Tuesday, Montreal’s Hellenic community is watching with sadness.
Marie Griffiths-Daperis, the host of MG Live on Mike FM Radio, was born in Athens and came to Montreal as a child. She described the fires as a devil stomping on Greece and said the community is concerned not only for the ongoing situation, but for how the country will recover.
She pointed to the Greek government’s tenuous financial situation as something that could hinder recovery efforts.
“We have 1,500 homes that were burned. They’re looking for bodies in 1,000 burned cars. We don’t have the planes we used to have since we joined the European Union,” she said. “The financial situation deteriorated. They don’t have ambulances, they don’t have fire trucks. Where are they going to put all these people now? Where are they going to live? What are they going to eat? Who is going to take care of them?”
More than 400 firefighters have been deployed to combat the fires which have wrought devastation in tourist towns nears Athens. The Greek government declared three days of mourning for the victims on Tuesday, with the prime minister saying the nation is going through an unspeakable tragedy.
Greek Consul General in Montreal Nicolas Sigalas said he and his staff spent part of the night on the phone.
“We were calling our friends, we were calling our family, we were calling people to know that everyone is okay,” he said, adding that assistance efforts are underway.
“They are collecting goods and money and whatever they can – medicines – in order to help people in Greece,” he said.
Greater Montreal Hellenic Community Executive VP Andreas Crilis called watching the tragedy unfold "devastating."
He said aid will be sent, but until the damage can be assessed, it's unclear what form that will take.
"We don't know exactly what the needs are for the locals in Greece," he said. "As a community we'll be able to mobilize our members and our people once we have an idea what the immediate needs are."
Crilis said his organization has been in communication with local officials and leaders in Greece via Montreal's Greek consul general.
"If there are families here that have families there that have been affected, they can call the community and they can ask for assistance and we'll see how we can help as a community," he said.
Contact Montreal's Greek Consul General here.
Contact the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal here.
- With files from The Associated Press
