A senior prosecutor in Greece has ordered a preliminary investigation into press reports claiming that two children were sexually abused at the Agia Sophia Children’s Hospital in Athens.
The investigation was launched following a hospital employee filing a complaint about a paramedic. This paramedic was accused of “committing inappropriate sexual acts” to two children aged 6 and 8 years old.
In one case, the child was in a state of light narcoses and was waiting for a medical examination.
Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias confirmed the news on Twitter, stating that the case file is being transferred to the prosecutor. The Ministry of Health has also stated that there is no tolerance for such incidents.
Για το περιστατικό στο Παίδων «Αγία Σοφία»: Ο φάκελος διαβιβάζεται αμέσως και αρμοδίως στα χέρια του εισαγγελέα. Το λόγο έχει η Δικαιοσύνη.
The hospital management was accused by multiple media outlets of covering up the incident. They allegedly failed to inform the police and instead conducted an internal investigation following the second incident.
The alleged suspect has been reportedly suspended since last Thursday.
So far, a Sworn Administrative Examination has been carried out at the hospital.
More than three million Greeks live below the European poverty line. Nearly 700,000 children up to the age of ten don’t have enough money to buy a snack at school and 500,000 people currently depend on soup kitchens for their daily meals.
These were some of the revealing data presented by Social Entrepreneur and Founder of Wise Greece, Melina Taprantzi during the first Greek Australian Dialogue Series online conference for 2021, organised by the Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Paul Nicolaou.
In attendance were people from across Australia, among them former member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and former leader of the National Party in NSW, George Souris. The opening and closing statement for the evening were provided by Board member of HACCI NT, Magdaline Coleman and President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Bill Papastergiadis respectively.
‘Trying to prove Greece is Wise’
“For the past seven years I’ve been trying to prove that Greece is wise,” said Social Entrepreneur and Founder of Wise Greece Ms Taprantzi, explaining how the idea for the social enterprise came about.
“We started in 2013 when people in Greece were searching in bins to find a decent meal. We were in the middle of the worst financial crisis that Greece has faced in its modern history and unfortunately now we have another crisis to face,” she said.
The organisation has received multiple prestigious awards and in late last year, Taprantzi was honoured with the SDGs and Her award, as one of the 7 women worldwide, whose activity significantly contributes to the achievement of the Global Sustainability Agenda 2030.
An organisation with a double mission
“At Wise Greece we have products from small food producers from all over Greece. We sell their products in various stores in Greece and abroad and we turn our profit from the sales into food supplies for people in need,” Ms Taprantzi said explaining the organisation’s purpose.
“We have a double mission. We help small family owned- businesses, which are the backbone of Greek economy while providing high quality food supply to orphanages, soup kitchens and to Greeks who live under the poverty line.
Some of the products Wise Greece offers are ouzo cocktails, smoked sea salt, mushroom spoon sweet, postcards with herbs as well as award winning moussaka and Greek salad spreads.
“Greece doesn’t only produce olive oil, olives and honey anymore,” Ms Taprantzi said, explaining how social enterprises can be a viable way of doing business while giving back to society.
“We have managed to create a sustainable business model that can actually work. Greek producers need hope especially due to this ongoing crisis and this is what we are trying to do,” she concluded.
The Greek community of Sydney gathered on Wednesday night to enjoy the launch of Peter Prineas’ new book Wild Colonial Greeks at the Mytilenian House.
The book launch kicked off with a small introduction to the book by Associate Professor Nicholas Doumanis from the University of New South Wales, where he described ‘Wild Colonial Greeks’ as a “great pre-history” of the Greek community in Australia.
This introduction was followed by a conversation between Prineas, the Associate Professor and Dr Antonis Piperoglou, where the author described the research behind his new book.
The book launch was enjoyed by all. Photo: Eleni Elefterias.
The book takes readers on a journey through colonial Australian history as Prineas looks to uncover the first Greek arrival to Australia.
One candidate, who is referenced multiple times throughout the book, is a Greek from Corfu named George Manuel, who was living in Australia in 1823. This was six years before the arrival of the seven pirate-convicts currently considered to be Australia’s first Greeks.
After the conversation, attendees, which included Greek consular official Mr George Lizidis and Dr Antonis Piperoglou, were treated to a lovely performance by Jim Tsolakis of the Hellenic Choir and Felicia Harris of the La Boite Perfoemance La Boite Performance Space.
Food and drink was also available for purchase through the night from the Mytilenian Brotherhood’s bar.
The Greek community of Sydney will be able to attend a Greek Festival over the coming weeks, after the event was officially launched last night at the Grand Roxy in Brighton-Le-Sands.
There were a number of political officials and leaders of the Greek community in attendance at the event, including the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Hon Alex Hawke MP, Member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos MP, Member for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis MLC, Member for Oatley, Mark Coure MP, Member for Rockdale, Steve Kamper MP, Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Christos Karras, and Katia Gkikiza the Trade Commissioner (Australia) Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs as well as Independent City of Sydney Councillor Angela Vithoulkas.
PHOTO (L): Member for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis & PHOTO (R): Member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos MP, Photos by: Vasilis Vasilas
Minister Hawke, who was representing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, gave a small speech detailing his pride in his Greek heritage and also acknowledged the hard work of the Greek community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On behalf of the Prime Minister and the government, it’s my job tonight to say thank you to the Greek community for all the work you’ve done in the last year during the pandemic,” Mr Hawke said.
PHOTO (L to R): Independent City of Sydney Councillor Angela Vithoulkas, Consul General of Greece in Sydney Christos Karras and Katia Gkikiza the Trade Commissioner (Australia) Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs. PHOTO by: Vasilis Vasilas
“I couldn’t underscore how important it is that you’re going ahead with the festival this year, telling the story of Greek migration and staying together as a community.”
Member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos MP, who was representing NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Acting Minister for Multiculturalism, the Hon Geoff Lee, also gave a small speech detailing how, as a Greek Australian MP, she’s proud the NSW Government has been able to support the Festival with $100,000 over four years.
Sponsors Louie and Sophia Antoniou, and Jim and Effie Cospetas, Photo by Vasilis Vasilas
Throughout the night, guests were treated to a sit down dinner with Greek music as a backdrop.
The 39th Greek Festival of Sydney, organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, will be open to the public from Friday.
The cities of Melbourne and Sydney have announced a number of exciting initiatives to mark the bicentenary of Greek Independence Day this year on March 25.
Randwick City Council, Sydney:
The City of Randwick in Sydney will be celebrating Greek Independence Day this year after proud Greek Australian and Randwick City Councillor, Alexandra Luxford, passed a motion at a council meeting on February 23, 2021.
As part of the motion, banners will be flying throughout the community, while Council will also raise the Greek flag and hold a civic reception.
“A civic reception is being held to acknowledge the big contribution the Greek community has made to Randwick City over the many years,” Ms Luxford wrote on Facebook.
The Councillor was born in Sydney to Greek Australian parents, former Randwick City Council Mayor, John Procopiadis and Iris Procopiadis. Ms Luxford was elected to Randwick City Council in September 2017, where she immediately became Deputy Mayor for the first year of the council term.
Melbourne:
Victoria’s Multicultural Affairs Minister, Ros Spence, has announced a grant of $200,000 to support Greek communities holding celebrations to mark the bicentenary of Greece’s independence in 2021.
The grant, which is part of the Multicultural Festivals and Events (MFE) Program, will see the Greek Community of Melbourne, as well as other Greek communities in the state, pull off a variety of events, parades and festivals over the coming months – both virtual and in-person.
Melbourne’s top landmarks will also be lit up in blue and white to commemorate the Greek bicentennial this year.
“We know that multicultural communities have faced unique challenges as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” Minister Spence said.
“This funding will support Victorians of all backgrounds to celebrate and preserve their culture, whilst ensuring the health and safety of all Victorians remains a priority.”
On March 4, 1827, Georgios Karaiskakis fought back after an attack by the Ottoman warlord, Mehmet Recit Pasha, in Keratsini, north of Piraeus, and inflicted heavy losses on him.
To mark the day of this important victory, we take a look back at how events played out.
The Battle of Keratsini:
Georgios Karaiskakis sensed that any fall of the “Castle of Athens” (the Acropolis) would have adverse effects on the course of the Greek Revolution, which was already at a critical point after the fall of Messolonghi on April 10, 1826) and the successes of Ibrahim in the Peloponnese.
From Elefsina, where Karaiskakis was situated, he considered it necessary to occupy the area of Keratsini to secure his back from the sea on the one hand, and to open a road to the Acropolis through Daphni and Eleonas on the other to relieve the besieged.
Georgios Karaiskakis was a hero of the Greek Revolution.
He believed that this route would ensure the protection of his army from the enemy cavalry, while having the coastal Keratsini as a base could provide more easy access supplies from the nearby ships.
On March 2, Karaiskakis arrived in the area with his men and organised his plan. Pasha, who was besieging the Acropolis, went with 800 men to spy on Karaiskakis as soon as he was informed of his arrival in Keratsini.
Pasha occupied a hill on the southern hill of Korydallos and set up two cannons. On the same day, he got involved in fights with Karaiskakis’ men, without any particular result.
On March 4, Pasha repeated the attack with a much stronger force, which, according to some historians, consisted of 3,000 infantry and 400 cavalry (other sources state a higher number: 4,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry).
Initially, he turned to a fortified Metochi, defended by Tousas Botsaris, Gardikiotis Grivas and Nikolaos Kasomoulis, with their few men. After shelling it, he prepared around noon for the final assault.
Seeing the urgency of the situation, Karaiskakis attempted a distraction, however, Pasha realised and divided his forces in two. The heroic resistance of the defenders defeated the Turks, who were later forced to flee when the cavalry of Hatzimichalis Dalianis appeared, which caused them heavy losses. At the same time, reinforcements arrived from neighbouring Kastella, completing the defeat of Pasha’s army.
The losses of the Turks were significant for the force they deployed. The death toll rose to 300 and the injured to 500 men. The Greeks lost 3 men, while about 25 were wounded.
Greek tennis player, Maria Sakkari, had a swift day at the office at the Qatar Total Open on Wednesday, ousting Madison Keys, 6-2, 6-2 in 68 minutes to claim her spot in the elite eight.
Sakkari faced only a single break point in the match, which she saved, as she picked up her second win in two meetings with Keys.
Sakkari claimed a superb 77 percent of her second-service points to bolster her service prowess during the match, and she broke Keys four times en route to victory.
The Greek star will now face Muguruza in the quarterfinals.
Keys was playing her season-opening event this week after a five-month absence from tournament play. Despite her loss to Sakkari, Keys still comes out of the tournament with a Top 20 win after her upset of No.6 seed Belinda Bencic in the opening round on Tuesday.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife Brigitte will attend Greece’s annual celebrations on March 25 to commemorate the bicentennial of the country’s War of Independence in 1821, according to Ekathimerini.
As the anniversary coincides with the European Council meeting on March 25-26, it is expected that Macron will attend the celebrations in Athens and then fly to Brussels for the summit.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had invited Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Charles to the celebrations in October last year, as representatives of the countries which fought against and defeated the Ottoman Navy in the Battle of Navarino on October 20 in 1827.
Since then, a Kremlin spokesman said that Putin has no plans to visit Athens, with Prince Charles’ response still uncertain.
The number of new recorded COVID-19 infections reported by the Greek health authorities continued to rise exponentially on Wednesday, reaching a new record for 2021 of 2,702.
The National Organisation for Public Health (EODY) also reported 40 new deaths over the last 24 hours with the total now reaching 6,597.
The numbers of intubated patients in ICUs increased slightly to 431. The average age of intubated patients is 68 years old, and 84,9% have an underlying condition and/or are aged over 70. From the beginning of the pandemic, over 1,376 patients have been successfully discharged from Greece’s ICUs.
There were 394 new Covid admissions in Greece’s hospital over the last 24 hours, a daily increase of 36,33%. The daily average of daily admissions over the last week has been 304 patients. ICU capacity for Covid cases is at 63,62%.
Attica, Greece’s most populous region, remains at the epicenter of the pandemic with 1,269 new cases. The healthcare system in the region is also under the most strain. The northern port city of Thessaloniki follows Attica in new cases with 314, and Achaia in the northwestern Peloponnese is third with 178.
Health authorities carried out 54,553 tests over the last 24 hours (24,435 PCR tests and 30,118 rapid antigen tests) with positive results on 4.95% of these tests.
Health Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, attributed the spike in infections to the spread of the coronavirus variant that first appeared in Britain.
New anti-virus measures announced:
In an address to the public on Wednesday, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, Nikos Chardalias, announced a series of new coronavirus measures.
These new restrictions further limit the movement of Greeks as the country tries to suppress a rapidly increasing transmission rate amongst its citizens.
Since the beginning of the lockdown in November, Greeks have had to send an SMS to a toll-free number declaring their purpose for leaving the home.
The reasons for movement include exercise, shopping for essential items, going to the bank, helping someone in need, and going to the doctor or pharmacy.
From now on, in every region of the country, regardless of transmission risk, citizens leaving the home for essential purchases and bank transactions will be limited to establishments in their neighborhood within a 2-kilometer radius.
Additionally, those who go out for exercise must only do so on foot or on a bicycle. Therefore, those who drive to a certain area for exercise will be in violation of the new restrictions.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck central Greece on Wednesday, sending people rushing from their houses but drawing no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage.
One man was injured by falling debris and fire fighters had to rescue six people from collapsed houses in Mesochori, including a tetraplegic man, according to state-run broadcaster ERT.
The quake, which was felt across Greece and as far as the Balkans, struck close to Tyrnavos, a town about 230 km north of Athens, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The USGS said the magnitude was 6.3, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) put it 6.2, revising earlier reports that suggested the tremor was as much as 6.9.
The Athens Geodynamic Institute reported that the quake struck 16 minutes after noon, at a depth of 10 kilometers. It was followed by three aftershocks measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale (12.19 pm), 4.2 (12.26 pm) and 4.9 (12.34 pm).
“I have never experienced anything like this before, I immediately left the house,” a citizen in Larissa region, in central Greece, told ERT state television.
Damage is seen on a house after an earthquake in Damasi village, central Greece, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras.
Nikos Gatsas, mayor of the town of Elassona which lies north of the epicenter, told ERT that walls of old houses had collapsed in nearby villages. One village school in Damasi had also sustained minor damage. All pupils had been evacuated from the building and there were no injuries.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wrote on Twitter that he had contacted the Director of the primary school in Damasi, Grigoris Letsios, and thanked him for looking after the students.
“He and his colleagues, during the earthquake, evacuated the school with its 63 students in an exemplary manner. I congratulate them and thank them for their professionalism and composure,” Mitsotakis wrote.
Local residents gather at a soccer field after an earthquake in Damasi village, central Greece, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras.
Greek authorities activate earthquake plan:
Greece’s civil protection agency has activated its earthquake plan for addressing the consequences of earthquakes – dubbed Engelados.
The strategy means the fire department, Greek Police (ELAS), the ambulance service (EKAV), Special Disaster Unit (EMAK) and local health centers will remain on alert until the effects of the earthquake are evaluated.
A number of EMAK drones are flying over the affected area to map any landslides or building collapses.
Damage is seen on a church after an earthquake in Mesochori village, central Greece, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras.
Turkish Foreign Minister conveys solidarity over the phone to Greek counterpart:
Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, called Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on Wednesday to express his country’s solidarity to Greece following the strong tremor.
Cavusoglu also expressed his country’s readiness to offer support, if the need arose, it added.
Present during the conversation was also Georgia’s Foreign Minister, David Zalkaliani, who also expressed his solidarity and support.
