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TGH Exclusive: “Australia is a target market for tourism in Greece” says President of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Industries

The Greek Herald
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TGH Exclusive: “Australia is a target market for tourism in Greece” says President of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Industries

By Ilias Karagiannis.

Tourism contributes the most to Greece’s economy and Gross Domestic Product. For this reason, The Greek Herald seeks to investigate, through a series of exclusive interviews, where Greece’s tourist season is heading this year and whether the long-term horizon seems ominous.

First up for this exclusive series is the President of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Industries (SETE), Giannis Retsos. He speaks seriously about how tourism will be “at the forefront of the battle for the recovery of Greece.”

“I believe that tourism, despite the severity of the crisis, will endure,” Mr. Retsos, a graduate of the Athens Law School, told The Greek Herald.

As CEO and one of the main shareholders of Electra Hotels & Resorts, which manages five hotels in Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes, Mr Retsos has been leading the Greek tourism business in recent years in a collective effort to improve it. The main question we asked him, as it is on the tip of everyone’s tongue recently, is whether the 2020 tourist season is lost.

President of SETE, Giannis Retsos, says tourism will be “at the forefront of the battle for the recovery of Greece.”

“The first difficult phase of the pandemic is over. With the effective management of the health sector, but also the timely support measures, we remained protected and the country strengthened its reputation abroad,” Mr Retsos explained.

“At SETE, we all worked during this time with realistic and substantial interventions, in order to find effective solutions. We will continue to do this in the near future, with the same sense of responsibility.

“The latest government announcements have moved in the right direction to restart businesses, protect jobs and reduce data and major losses by 2020. There are still areas for significant improvements and initiatives.

“In the coming months, other interventions will certainly be needed, as well as an immediate response to all the unbalanced factors that will arise. Tourism, especially after the total opening of the borders on July 1, 2020, will once again be called to be at the forefront of the battle for the recovery of Greece. “

The tourist product and its positive promotion abroad:

The summer of 2020 will be strange for everyone in Greece. Hygiene protocols will gain the leading position from the sun and the sea. Doesn’t this mean that the tourist product should also be changed? We asked the President of SETE.

SETE President, Giannis Retsos, is a strong advocate for Greece’s tourism sector.

“Because there has been a lot of talk about our core product, the sun and the sea, even before the spread of the pandemic, no one is saying that this model should be abandoned but that it could take on other dimensions. In any case, tourism cannot operate with an autopilot,” Mr Retsos told The Greek Herald.

“For the next day after the crisis, the formation of directions and the implementation of actions will continue to be in demand, with the preparation of a strategic plan with a vision. At the level of our “tourism brand,” today, man remains the number one value for our country and is the comparative advantage that differentiates us from the competing destinations.”

Posts about Greece’s positive management of the pandemic are also evident on a daily basis abroad. Will this positive correlation with the ideal management of the pandemic give an advantage to Greece?

“Indeed, Greece has a lead over its competitors in the positive climate that has been cultivated abroad all the last few weeks, in relation to the management of the health issue. However, I believe that it will not be capitalised this year and I think that is not the expectation. This year will be a very difficult year. Obviously, if we recover any losses, it will be a significant development. The goal will be to capitalise this lead we have acquired for next year and in the coming years and I believe that the campaign that is planned for Greek tourism and for our country will move in this direction,” M Retsos said.

Changing the model and Australia as a target market:

For Greece, tourism is its oxygen. It contributes about 25 percent of GDP directly and this year’s season, which is full of doubts, is starting to create unspeakable fears for a bigger than expected economic recession.  Many argue that Greece’s productive model needs to change and not rely so much on tourism.

Mr Retsos tells The Greek Herald that “Australia is a target market for tourism in Greece.”

“You know, when you’re in a “battle,” you don’t have the time or the opportunity to design new production models. If you will, this is a very big debate, in which I could agree on the level that a modern western economy cannot be based solely on tourism or for the most part, on tourism. But since tourism today, as you rightly said, contributes to 25 percent of the country’s GDP, we must do what we can to support it. Beyond that, without wanting to look optimistic, I believe that tourism, despite the severity of the crisis, will endure. In recent years, in the last decade, it has built solid foundations and has the infrastructure to go through the difficulties in the long run,” Mr Retsos said.

In Australia, the Greeks of the diaspora are a constant for tourism in Greece. According to the President of SETE, Giannis Retsos, in his exclusive interview with The Greek Herald last year, there were 340,000 arrivals in Greece from Australia.

“Australia is included in the list of 29 countries that Greece will open its borders to for tourists from June 15. The list was formed after a study of the epidemiological profile of the countries of origin of tourists. In Australia in particular, the development of the pandemic was extremely controlled, with a low death rate per 100,000 people. Obviously, then, as a country, it is a target market for Greek tourism, as there are also great ties with the Greek community,” the President of SETE explained.

“In 2019, we had about 340,000 arrivals from Australia, while travel receipts exceeded 370 million. Certainly, the possibilities are many through a plan that will include both the Greeks of Australia and the Australians, in order to exceed these figures in the coming years.”

But although Greece will open its borders to tourists from Australia on June 15, many Australians are still unable to leave the country. This is a dilemma which will hopefully be resolved in the near future.

READ MORE: Greece to accept tourists from Australia and 28 other countries as of June 15.

Opinion: Rural paper shutdowns must not force community news into extinction

The Greek Herald
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Opinion: Rural paper shutdowns must not force community news into extinction

The coronavirus has taken a hefty toll on Australians. Thousands of businesses forced to close; many of those in rural areas of Australia, who already suffered from one of the worst droughts and bushfire seasons in Australian history.

Community newspapers have been the source of life for these rural areas. The Ballina Advocate, Byron Shire News, Lismore Northern Star and Tweed Daily News, all keeping their local community members informed and connected.

All of the papers listed, are now being forced to close as of June 29, leaving hundreds of journalists without jobs.

News Corp announced it is shutting almost all of its regional and community newspapers from June 29. Photo: Echonetdaily

The recently announced closures are the third wave of community newspaper shutdowns. News Corp Australia announced in April it will stop printing 60 of its community newspapers nation wide, including Brisbane News, the Central Coast Express Advocate, the Manly Daily and the Blacktown Advocate.

Also in April, Australian Community Media, which publishes 170 community titles, announced it’s suspension of dozens of their non-daily newspapers.

“It is terribly sad to lose the Advocate. It has been an important glue for the Ballina community,” said Ballina Shire Councillor Keith Williams this morning, speaking to Echonetdaily.

This sad loss was echoed by Ballina Shire Councillor Jeff Johnson who says that “The Advocate was full of local news stories and is how lots of people in Ballina source their local news.”

Local newspapers keep communities together

In almost every community, the newspaper is the first recorder of news.

“To say you don’t need newspapers because you’ve got the internet is like saying you don’t need farmers because you’ve got a grocery store,” Nevada Press head publisher Peter Wagner shares.

“The closure of so many mastheads represents an immense blow to local communities and, coming off the back of hundreds of previous regional closures during this period, it underlines the seriousness of the crisis facing regional and local journalism,” MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy said.

Just as all papers are providing a needed public service to their own communities, The Greek Herald has been serving their close-knit Greek Australian community.

Read More: New Greek Herald home delivery: All you need to know!

The Greek Herald has been operating for 94 years and in that time, has been dedicated to delivering news to the Greek community.

“We have developed this newspaper with our community, its organisations, associations but also with every Greek individually,” Greek Herald publisher Dimitra Skalkos said at their official relaunch party.

“The Greek Herald has been there throughout history, and is itself a part of history.”

The Greek Herald continues to print six days/week, offers digital subscriptions to our members, as well as making articles accessible for free on our website and social media platforms.

We have adapted to the changes necessary to continue to serve the loyal Greek community in Australia. We are not here just for the community, but we are here because of the community.

As long as the Greek community exists in Australia, The Greek Herald will be by its side.

Greek ambassador admits travel by tourists to Greece from Australia is ‘impossible’

The Greek Herald
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Greek ambassador admits travel by tourists to Greece from Australia is ‘impossible’

Following Greece’s open invitation to Australians to enter their country, it was thought that Australians would be rushing to the travel agency to buy the first ticket out. Yet it is now understood that this travel to the Greek motherland is actually impossible, until Australia changes it’s policies.

The Greek government last week confirmed Australia was one of 29 countries deemed safe to allow tourists to enter from without quarantining from 15 June.

Yet Greece’s ambassador to Australia, George Papacostas, warns that if Australians take up this generous travel offer, then they would actually be breaking Australian law, unless they have a special exemption.  

Read More: Greece suspends flights to Qatar after 12 test positive, including two Greeks from Australia

Speaking to The Guardian, Papacostas also acknowledged that while arrivals from Australian airports are exempt from quarantine, this route is technically impossible. With no direct flights into Greece, Australians would be forced to transit through Qatar, UAE or Asia – which are on the airport blacklist – would void Greece’s quarantine-free offer.

A Department of Home Affairs spokeswoman echoed Papacostas’ statement, stating that Australian citizens could only leave the country if they had a travel exemption, and that tourism was not a category for a travel exemption. However, it appears if an Australian dual-national attempted to exit Australia on their foreign passport, they would not be required to provide proof of their exemption at an airport.

Paleokastritsa bay, Corfu island. Photo: Visit Greece

Papacostas said he “would like to stress that Australian citizens or permanent residents cannot leave Australia” to travel to Greece as part of its tourism push, but said he was now exploring “any kind of bilateral cooperation with any country to facilitate the travel” of Australians to Greece without quarantine once the border ban was lifted. 

Peter Collignon, a professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, said Greece’s tourism push was premature, and flagged a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 if Australians evaded border closures and travelled to Greece. 

He said the risk is heightened because Greece’s testing regime is not as strong as Australia’s, and noted Greece’s lenient inclusion of other countries on the quarantine exemption arrangement.

Read More: Greek tourism minister says all foreign visitors welcome

“I would be worried about going to a place where there’s not been the same amount of testing as Australia. You’ve got to assume both the guests you’re with and people in your hotel could be carrying Covid-19. 

“Countries thought to be containing this relatively well, like Germany, still have 600 cases a day,” he said of German tourists, who will also be allowed into Greece.

“We can’t even go to Queensland now, let alone Greece,” Collignon said, also noting the financial risk travellers would be exposed to without travel insurance. 

Arthur Sinodinos providing consular support to two Australian journalists attacked by police in U.S. riots

The Greek Herald
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Arthur Sinodinos providing consular support to two Australian journalists attacked by police in U.S. riots

Australian ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, has been requested by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to provide support to two Channel 7 journalists who were attacked by riot police in the United States.

The two journalists, live on the Channel 7 Sunrise program, were among the members of the news media covering the demonstration as President Trump threatened a crackdown on protests.

Shortly before a 7 p.m. curfew went into effect in Washington, officers in riot gear and National Guard soldiers started to disperse the crowd.

An officer slammed into an Australian camera operator, Tim Myers, with a riot shield, knocking his camera to the ground. As Mr. Myers and his colleague, the reporter Amelia Brace, started to run, another officer appeared to swing a baton at Ms. Brace’s back.

When Ms. Brace came back into view, she said: “You heard us yelling there that we were media, but they, they don’t care.”

Brace said later: “I actually managed to get a rubber bullet to the backside and Tim got one in the back of the neck so we’ll have a few bruises tomorrow but we’re perfectly safe”.

Mr. Sinodinos said in a statement to that he was providing consular support to the two journalists, both of whom are Australian citizens.

“We are providing consular support to the Australian citizens involved and my team will continue to check on their wellbeing,” Arthur Sinodinos said.

“I understand that Channel Seven will make a formal police complaint asking to have the matter investigated.

“We are in discussion with the State Department and they have offered assistance to identify where the complaint should be targeted.

“Australia is always supportive of people’s right to peaceful protest and we encourage all involved to exercise restraint and to avoid violence.”

Read More: Archbishop Elpidophoros condemns ‘unjust slaying’ of George Floyd after police officer charged with murder

The Australian Prime Minister demands an investigation into how police officers treated the two Australian journalists.

A spokesman for Channel 7, Craig McPherson, said in a statement to The New York Times that the attack on Mr. Myers and Ms. Brace was “nothing short of wanton thuggery.”

Demonstrators had gathered outside the White House to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis.

Greece suspends flights to Qatar after 12 test positive, including two Greeks from Australia

The Greek Herald
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Greece suspends flights to Qatar after 12 test positive, including two Greeks from Australia

Greece on Tuesday suspended flights to and from Qatar after 12 individuals on a plane from Doha tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The individuals were on a flight carrying 91 people from Doha to Athens that landed on Monday. Tests were carried out for the novel coronavirus and the passengers were taken to a quarantine hotel, authorities said.

Those who tested positive will be in quarantine for 14 days, and those who tested negative will remain in quarantine for seven days, the civil protection ministry said.

Those who tested positive include nine people from Pakistan with Greek residency papers, two Greeks travelling from Australia and a member of a Greek-Japanese family. The suspension will be in place until June 15.

Greece has reported a low number of COVID-19 cases compared to many other European countries, and began a gradual easing of a weeks-long lockdown on May 4. By Tuesday, it had reported 2,937 cases, and 179 deaths.

Sourced By: Reuters

Childhood lessons set the tone for Peter V’landys’ career trajectory

Andriana Simos
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Childhood lessons set the tone for Peter V’landys’ career trajectory

When rugby league resumed play over the weekend, players largely had one man to thank – Peter V’landys.

Over the past two months, the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission pushed on to resume the competition on May 28 despite facing opposition from politicians, health officials and more recently, referees.

While these public debates have seen V’landys’ profile pushed into the public spotlight in recent months, the former Keira Boys High School student has been on a steady trajectory to the top of the sports administration world for much of his career.

A former Chief Executive of the NSW Harness Racing Club and the current CEO of Racing NSW, a role held since 2004, V’landys has long been highly regarded within the sporting industry.

V’landys’ career in Australian sport began with his work in harness racing. Source: The Australian.

But if you go back even further, those who knew the child of Greek migrants while he was growing up in Wollongong, believe he was always destined to become one of the most powerful men in Australian sport.

“Peter ran some businesses when he was pretty young, he ran a restaurant in Wollongong, he went to Harold Park and ran harness racing,” St George Illawarra recruitment manager, Ian Millward, told the Illawarra Mercury.

“I remember when he got that job I thought it was a big job, but he didn’t just do well, he was very successful. Obviously he hasn’t been a one-trick pony.”

Millward’s ties to V’landys run deep. The pair grew up in the same street, they both attended Keira Boys High School and they played rugby league together for Wests Illawarra.

V’landys eventually went on to pursue a career in business, getting his commerce degree from the University of Wollongong. However, he recognises that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the experience of playing rugby league.

“One thing rugby league does is it creates friendship and mateship. I was now one of them, it brought me into the fold. I was no longer the wog,” V’landys said.

“When you’re a young kid, that’s important. Self esteem when you’re growing up is important, so playing rugby league was very important for me.

“If I hadn’t, god knows where I would’ve ended up. My confidence levels would’ve been bad, my opportunities and chances would have been substantially less.”

V’landys wants to repay the rugby league sport for everything it taught him during his childhood years. Source: Illawarra Mercury.

Given the way rugby league helped a young V’landys gain popularity in the classroom and laid the platform for a successful career, the ARLC chairman always had a desire to give back to the sport that gave him so much.

“I wanted to play for Australia, wear the green and gold. It made me determined to be someone and I wanted rugby league to help me get there,” V’landys said.

“I never got there. My parents, being migrants, they didn’t think rugby league was a career. So I went to uni and got into business, took a different path.

“But I never forgot what rugby league did for me. When the opportunity to pay it back came, I took it up. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s purely to repay the game.”

Sourced: Illawarra Mercury.

Greek tourism minister says all foreign visitors welcome

The Greek Herald
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Greek tourism minister says all foreign visitors welcome

Greece is preparing to admit tourists from all over the world this summer but will be adhering to the advice of health experts to ensure it remains a safe destination in terms of coronavirus exposure, the country’s tourism minister said Tuesday.

“Every tourist is welcome. … This has been a very stressful year for everyone, and the refilling of the batteries is the call of the day,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said. “But of course, we will have to wait for the experts, for the international bodies, to say when this is safe to do so,”

“We don’t want to put at risk the people that visit us. And, of course, our population,” Theoharis told The Associated Press in an interview.

The government imposed a lockdown early in Greece’s coronavirus outbreak, a move credited with holding infections to a level considerably lower than many other parts of Europe. Greece had a total of just over 2,900 confirmed cases and 179 deaths as of Tuesday, with no new virus-related deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours. Eleven people remained intubated in intensive care units.

Greek Minister of Tourism, Harry Theoharis speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at his office in Athens, Tuesday, June 2, 2020.  (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Lockdown restrictions have been gradually eased to the point where life is almost back to normal. But the country is heavily dependent on tourism, and the government has been eager to attract foreign visitors and help shore up the economy, which is only just emerging from a brutal decade-long financial crisis that wiped out a quarter of the GDP

Authorities are now faced with the delicate balancing act of promoting Greece as a safe, attractive destination while ensuring that visitors don’t trigger a new outbreak.

One illustration of the gamble involved came Tuesday, when authorities announced that 12 passengers on a Monday flight from Doha, Qatar, had tested positive. Greece’s Civil Protection Agency said it was suspending flights from Qatar until June 15.

Currently, all arriving passengers to Greece are required to undergo tests and to pend the night in a designated hotel until the results come through.

People walk in Zappeion, in Athens, Monday June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

“The point is not to stop every economic activity in order to help the health situation, but it’s actually to find this balance, and for that, you need your health experts to guide you,” Theoharis said.

One of those health experts, epidemiologist Gkikas Magiorkinis, told the AP that given current trends, the coronavirus outbreak in Greece was “in a trajectory of elimination. If we did not have other imported cases, it would be a matter of a month at most” for the virus to be stamped out in the country.

But new cases will almost certainly arrive when Greece opens to tourists, he said.

“Yes, we are worried because we know that globally the epidemic is a result of people moving around the world,” Magiorkinis said. “The question is how fast we will be able to contain the incoming cases. Because it will happen. There is no question that we will have incoming cases.”

Hotel worker Mailinda Kaci cleans the windows in a restaurant area at the Acropolian Spirit Hotel in central Athens as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on Monday June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The government has outlined a two-part schedule for jump-starting tourism. As of June 15, visitors will be able to fly into Athens or the northern city of Thessaloniki. Direct international flights to regional airports, including on islands, will be allowed from July 1.

Greece last week announced that visitors from 29 countries would be subject to random coronavirus testing and no quarantine, rather than the compulsory tests for every passenger and quarantines that currently apply. The announcement angered some nations, including neighboring Italy, that were not included.

However, the government later clarified the measures referred to flights originating from specific airports rather than countries. Greece, it said, is basing its decisions on a European Aviation Safety Agency list of airports with high risk of coronavirus transmission.

Visitors can still fly to Greece from those airports, but will be subject to compulsory testing, and either a seven-day self-quarantine period if they test negative for coronavirus, or a 14-day supervised quarantine if they are found positive.

“Perhaps it was a misunderstanding that we’re blocking entire countries or anything of the sort. This is not what we intended to convey,” Theoharis said.

He said the European agency’s list of high-risk airports was subject to change and airports could be removed as their regional public health situations improve. For example, Rome’s international airport is not on the EASA list, he noted.

“We’re not actually blocking countries, but airports. And, you know, that shows that this is not about specific passports or nations,” Theoharis said.

Sourced By: Associated Press

Greek beach named safest post-COVID beach in Europe

The Greek Herald
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Greek beach named safest post-COVID beach in Europe

According to European Best Destinations Organization (EBD), Greece’s beautiful Monolithi Beach in Preveza in the region of Epirus, is the safest beach in all Europe.

The beach was selected based on criteria such as a low number of people infected by the coronavirus and the total stretch of the beach, with Monolithi Beach stretching 22 kilometres long. The beach was also applauded for it’s close proximity to three hospitals, along with being 10 minutes by car from the international airport.

An 80 meter wide strip of sand residing by the Ionian Sea, Monolithi Beach and Preveza region is regarded as the only summer destination in Europe with such large beaches, Tornos News reports.

Halikounas beach in Corfu also ranked fifth on the list released by the EBD. A more secluded beach, Halikounas was regarded as remote enough to remain less dangerous to infection, while being close to medical care and transportation.

The full list of safest Europe beaches is as follows:

1. Monolith, Preveza

2. Comporta, Alentejo, Portugal

3. Hel peninsula, Poland

4. Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal

5. Halikounas, Corfu

6. Ghajn Tuffieha, Malta

7. Meia Praia, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal

8. Jurmala, Latvia

9. Nida, Lithuania

10. Binz, Rugen, Germany

The Darwin GleNTi’s 32 year history has been showcased in a stunning video timelapse

Andriana Simos
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The Darwin GleNTi’s 32 year history has been showcased in a stunning video timelapse

The Darwin Greek GleNTi Festival has been running since 1988, making it the longest running cultural festival in the Northern Territory. It’s renowned not only for its traditional Greek food, but also for its Greek dancing performances where dancers wear costumes handmade in Greece.

This year, however, the festival was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and this devastated Darwin’s Greek Australian community and the hundreds of interstate travellers who make an annual trip to the Territory for the festival.

But as luck would have it, in came Georgia Politis, the GleNTi’s official photographer, who developed an innovative solution – to create a timelapse video of the festival using footage dating right back to 1988. While it couldn’t replace the atmosphere of the physical festival, many people were still overjoyed its history was being collated into a kind of digital video archive.

  • A traditional Greek souvla is always cooking at the Darwin GleNTi. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.
  • Greek dances are a hit with crowds at the GleNTi. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.

“The initial plan for this short GleNTi film actually came about in 2018, when I began photographing and filming the GleNTi professionally. It was the 30th anniversary and we had 30 years of tradition and spirit to tell. I wanted to show it to the world… I wanted to remind people of where we came from, and show its history to those who were not aware of what it looked like through the years,” Georgia tells The Greek Herald exclusively.

“While I had created a temporary 30 year welcome film, it actually took me two years to gather enough footage from people, as well as gathering my own, to create something memorable which I completed this year.”

Two years seems like a long time to produce a video which runs for three minutes, but Georgia says the creative process was her “favourite part” as she could “share a part of Darwin’s legacy and history in a visual form” which Darwin’s Greek Australian community could “share and enjoy.”

History of the Darwin GleNTi

Ever wondered how the Darwin GleNTi has changed over the years? To mark what would've been its 32nd anniversary this year, organisers released this heartwarming video showcasing its strong history of Greek heritage, culture and food. Video by: Georgia Politis – Darwin Christening, Wedding & Portrait Photographer

Posted by The Greek Herald on Monday, 1 June 2020

“It was a very difficult but satisfying task, from trying to get the footage from the community, to getting hardware and software to convert VHS to digital format. I even had to borrow a VHS player and order a specific device from the United States in order to get the footage properly,” Georgia says.

“Creating the GleNTi film itself in my programs took around two to three months, as I had to individually watch all the clips I had and start cutting them down to the best moments for the film.”

But all her hard work paid off, as the film has already been watched 4,500 times since its release on Facebook and is continuously being re-shared.

In fact, the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia, Nicholas Poniris, said the video was very “well received” by members of his Community.

Greek dancing costumes for performers at the Darwin GleNTi are handmade in Greece. Source: Georgia Politis Photography.

“The reaction was huge and the video was very well received. For many people, it brought back memories they forgot over the years. It got people talking about the GleNTi,” Mr Poniris tells The Greek Herald.

“Recording historical and anecdotal information, image and film is very important to leave a positive legacy, which will lead to the longevity of events and festivals showcasing Greek history, culture, traditional costume, music, dance and food to the greater community.”

All important aspects of a Greek person’s identity which will once again be on display next year, when the Darwin GleNTi festival is back at its best.

“GleNTi 2021 will be special. We’re well into the planning stages and are excited to host this iconic event,” Mr Poniris teases.

Stay tuned!

South Australia’s Greek community joins in the state’s bushfire recovery efforts

The Greek Herald
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South Australia’s Greek community joins in the state’s bushfire recovery efforts

In the last two years, both Greece and Australia have been significantly impacted by deadly fires that have not only claimed the lives of hundreds, but have also contributed to the unprecedented destruction of ecosystems.

As bushfire clean-up in South Australia has reached its end, it’s now more important than ever for local communities and organisations to come together and help rebuild the affected communities recover as fast as possible.

More than 450 fire-affected properties across South Australia have now been cleared, with over 25,000 tonnes of waste removed.

Aiming to support South Australia’s bushfire affected communities, the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA) managed to raise more than $10,000 through a radiothon with radio host 5EBI. Donations came through the churches and contributions of other donors like the Hellenic Worker’s Educational Association PLATON.

According to GOCSA’s press release, the money has now been distributed in equal amounts to the bushfire victims on Kangaroo Island, the bushfires in South Australia, as well as towards the South Australian District Fire Service.

South Australia’s Rhodian Associations also raised a total of $8000, which they intend to deliver to affected communities themselves.

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