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UNHCR Chief’s visit to Lesvos refugee camps “extremely disturbing”

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UNHCR Chief’s visit to Lesvos refugee camps “extremely disturbing”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, described his visit to Greece’s refugee camps in Lesvos as “extremely disturbing”.

His account of his visit via social media showed the UNHCR Chief to be particularly moved by his experience, saying the conditions were “unacceptable” and he supports “urgently” moving people (particularly children travelling alone) to the mainland.

His trip to Athens held the intent of discussing improving the situation on the islands with governments, municipalities and civil society, to better integrate recognised refugees into Europe.

Though, he showed a lack of support for the current government’s new legal responses. He noted that “patience and hospitality is now less visible than before”, in regards to Greece’s handling of the crisis.

The current New Democracy government believe the refugee crisis is a response to the previous Syriza government’s “open door policy” toward arrivals. The current government has listed most recent arrivals as “economic migrants” rather than refugees. Under the EU-Turkey deal which was signed in 2016, negotiations were put in place to support Syrian refugees who were considered “asylum seekers”. Now, 95% of refugees to Greece are from Afghanistan, which allows Greece and Turkey to abandon their commitments to the EU-Turkey deal, and not class non-Syrians as asylum seekers, despite the fact that they may well be.

Greece has put plans in place to shut down overcrowded refugee camps on islands like Lesvos, and replace them with “holding centres” to process new arrivals. A holding centre is the equivalent of a detention centre, whereas the “hot spots” currently set up on Lesvos allow asylum seekers to roam freely while they are being processed.

Grandi condemns this decision “I made clear to the government that UNHCR policy is against detaining asylum seekers,” Grandi said.

Greece has called upon the European Union a number of times to assist in a more cohesive plan regarding the refugee and migration crisis.

Grandi also agreed that “Europe has to get its act together”.

The new European Commission President, Usula von der Leyen promised to present a proposal to revamp the EU’s migration policies in 2020.

Greece speaks out in support of Albania and North Macedonia joining EU

The Greek Herald
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Greece speaks out in support of Albania and North Macedonia joining EU

As a consequence of French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision in October to call for a temporary hold on EU accession discussions for Albania and North Macedonia, Greece has been able to claim a new role in regard to two of its northern neighbours, one of public advocacy.

Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias was able to reiterate Greece’s full support for the EU accession prospects of North Macedonia, during his visit to Skopje on November 26th.

Dendias emphasised that this depends on Skopje implementing important reforms and on an alignment with the European acquis during eventual accession negotiations.

“I share North Macedonia’s disappointment about the 28 EU member states not reaching a positive decision on starting accession negotiations,” Dendias said and added that “on our part, we have done all we could towards reaching a positive decision on this issue, in coordination with our EU partners.”

He added, “we have a joint future if we act in good faith. Greece supports the EU accession of North Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries. This is our common goal. Starting talks will be a significant step forward, and it’s one of Greece’s main goals.”

Dendias revealed that he invited both his Albanian and North Macedonian counterparts to a working breakfast with EU foreign ministers’ on December 9.

Bilateral concerns

Briefly visiting Skopje on November 26 and meeting with Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, Dendias noted that relations with North Macedonia had “dramatically improved” since the Prespes Agreement was signed in June 2018, ending a decades-old dispute between the two neighbours.

Dendias added that “some issues” of the controversial deal ratified earlier this year, such as an agreement on trademarks, needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, and explained that Greece was focused on ensuring full implementation of the details of the agreement. Operational level meetings on trademark issues and on the opening of new border crossings are planned to start shortly.

In response, Dimitrov said that he also saw the need for full implementation of the terms of the Prespes Agreement and went on to refer to Greece as a “strategic partner, neighbour and friend” of North Macedonia, noting that both countries must take advantage of the new possibilities opened up by the accord.

When asked about the April 2020 national elections in North Macedonia having a potentially negative impact on the Prespes Agreement, Dimitrov said it must be implemented despite any and all elections, as it had become part of his country’s legal system and accordingly could not be challenged by anyone in North Macedonia.

While in Skopje Foreign Minister Dendias also met with North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Earthquake diplomacy and Washington’s eye

Dendias left Skopje hurriedly to stop briefly in Albania, expressing sympathy for the earthquake victims and helping to initiate a now massive Greek contribution to the international earthquake relief effort. Dendias visited Durres, near Tirana and close to the quake’s epicentre, the same day that the city had been hit with a 6.4 Richter tremblor.

Washington is surety watching these interactions. It is still unknown whether President Donald J. Trump will reschedule his postponed September meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, but Greece’s positive engagement with its neighbours should increase the possibility that this will happen soon.

Sourced by: New Europe

Athens becomes leading city holiday destination

The Greek Herald
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Athens becomes leading city holiday destination

According to a recent report by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation, Athens is becoming a leading international city break destination.

International foreign arrivals in Athens were up by 9.6 percent in October, which means 49,000 people more than last October. This means 563,580 travellers came to the Greek capital last month alone.

Experts say Athens’ popularity is on the rise due to factors like good weather, its stunning archaeological sites and museums, and the city’s world-renowned hospitality.

Surveys show Athens among this year’s most distinguished cities for tourism in Europe, and competitive prices compared to rival cities only serve to make the Greek capital more appealing.

Over the first 10 months of 2019, Athens had 5.7 million overseas. Back in 2012, this number was just 2.5 million for the entire year.

Sourced via Argophilia

Iran and Greece discuss energy cooperation

The Greek Herald
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Iran and Greece discuss energy cooperation

The Iranian ambassador to Greece Ahmad Naderi and the Greek Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis met on Friday to discuss cooperations between Iran and Greece.

The two officials discussed ways to expand cooperation in different fields, especially in energy.

The Iranian envoy said that there are plenty of grounds in environment and energy sectors which can enhance bilateral ties, highlighting that exchange of economic delegations, sharing of experiences in establishing solar farms, and management of water resources can be further discussed between the two countries.

The Greek minister also said that his country has closest ties with Iran among other EU states. He noted that one cannot neglect Iran’s grandeur and history, adding that Greece is ready to play a constructive and positive role to solve various problems.

Sourced via MEHRNews

Greek is the second fastest disappearing language in Australia

The Greek Herald
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Greek is the second fastest disappearing language in Australia

According to a report by the ABC, the Greek language is the second fastest disappearing language in Australia, behind Italian.

According to census data, in 2001 a total of 263,487 people spoke Greek as a second language in their homes. As of 2016, this number dropped to 237,583, which is almost a 26,000 person drop. Judging by statistics, this gap is only set to widen.

Antonia Rubino, a senior lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Sydney says, “there are some factors that have helped the Greeks maintain their language more [than the Italians].” Italian has become a drastically disappearing language with the number of people speaking Italian in their homes dropping over 81,000 in 15 years.

Dr Rubino says these factors include, “the lack of this distinction between dialect and standard Italian.”

“Many post-war Italian migrants spoke dialect as their first language, and often did not pass on Italian to the second generation,” says Dr Rubino.

“The Greeks also had the church,” she says.

ABC NEWS: JARROD FANKHAUSER

The Greek Orthodox church is central to the family and has played a major role in the transmission of culture and language, whereas “Italians very often attended the local Catholic church which was mainly in English,” she says.

Though, Greeks are not too far behind Italians when it comes to language loss.

Statistically, it only takes three generations for migrant families to lose the language they came with, according to the ABC’s report.

“Australia is in many ways a graveyard of languages,” says Ingrid Piller, professor of applied linguistics at Macquarie University.

“Like the US, we’re an English dominant country where language diversity is not valued”, according to Dr Piller.

“Australia is one of the most multilingual countries in the world,” says Ken Cruickshank of the University of Sydney.

Yet, language education is not seen as a high priority and “languages are not part of the core curriculum in any state apart from Victoria in the primary schools,” he says.

In fact, he says, “we come lowest of all OECD countries in the provision and uptake of languages”.

“The result is that a bilingual child has a five in six chance of losing their heritage language by the time they finish high school”, according to Dr Cruickshank.

This statistic suggests that multilingual children often become monolingual throughout the education in Australia, as the education system does not encourage language learning.

According to the ABC report, there are two ways people can lose the languages they speak.

Firstly, linguistic colonisation, which happened to many Indigenous and minority languages that have been forgotten throughout history.

Secondly, via linguistic assimilation, where migrants lose their native languages as they are predominantly influenced by the dominant language in the country they live in.

Senator Sinodinos addresses USA-China relations ahead of US ambassador role

The Greek Herald
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Senator Sinodinos addresses USA-China relations ahead of US ambassador role

By Zoe Anastassiades

The Hellenic Club and HACCI NSW hosted an event at The Hellenic Club, Beta Bar, to honour the appointment of The Honourable Arthur Sinodinos, as the first Greek/Australian Ambassador to the United States.

All proceeds of the event went to The Cancer Council Australia and St Andrews Theological College.

Master of Ceremonies John Mangos moderated the event and welcomed The Honourable Arthur Sinodinos to address the attendees.

The Consul General for Greece Christos Karras, Hellenic Club President Nick Hatzistergos and HACCI NSW President George Mavrakis all spoke highly of the Ambassador’s character and rapport across party members.

Nick Hatzistergos described the Ambassador’s intellect, “as downright scary.”

Arthur Sinodinos, born in Newcastle and the son of Greek immigrants studied a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Newcastle and notably was Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Howard.

Mr Sinodinos worked across various offices in Australian government.

READ MORE: The Greek Herald’s EXCLUSIVE Interview with Arthur Sinodinos

The event included a Q&A section where guests had the opportunity to question the Ambassador on his new role, what he hopes to achieve and how he will maintain Australia’s relationship with President Trump.

Whilst the Ambassador knows “our power is much greater together than apart” he is not naive to the difficulties he will face with current trade tensions between the United States and China.

Mr Sinodinos said: “Some of the rules are being undermined.”

However, the Ambassador vowed to work diligently with the United States Government and the community in, “continuing to persuade people about trade and openness,” and “actually meet some of the people that have been affected by change.”

Mr Sinodinos plans to utilise his Greek heritage as he makes his way to the White House next year, as he said: “We carry around in our bones thousands of years of history and the main ingredients of democracy.”

Which will no doubt be useful when negotiating with President Trump.

The Hellenic Club, HACCI NSW and all the guests in attendance were able to raise $8,220 for The Cancer Council Australia and St Andrews Theological College.

South African woman dead in Greece: Family cannot afford to repatriate body

The Greek Herald
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South African woman dead in Greece: Family cannot afford to repatriate body

The family of Sarah Masango are concerned that the costs of repatriating her body back home to KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga, will escalate the longer her remains stay in a morgue in Greece.

Masango died of TB on November 14 and it would cost her family R71 000 (over $7k AUD) to bring her body back to South Africa as the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has said it would not be able to pay for the mortuary storage bill and transportation because the deceased was not a government official.

The mortuary bill is believed to be rising daily.

“My sister was staying in Sunnyside, Pretoria, before leaving for Greece with her boyfriend in 2014,” explained Gilbert, the deceased’s brother.

“We got the information from the South African Embassy in Greece about her death, and we couldn’t believe it.”

“What sunk us further into despair was the news that we had to pay for her body to come home,” he said.

The South African Embassy had notified the family that Masango was hospitalised on October 28, before she passed away about two weeks ago.

“I have been everywhere, looking for help from different government departments or everyone else willing to assist,” said Gilbert.

The costs of repatriation are in Euros and include body storage fees, handling fees, transportation of the coffin, zinc protection, clothing material and a shipping container, among others.

“I raised this girl, and now she is in a foreign land and we cannot even get the chance to bury her,” said Masango’s aunt, Nomalanga.

Dirco spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said: “Unfortunately, the government’s policy doesn’t allow any monetary assistance to any family, whose members are either in distress or have has passed away while outside of South Africa.”

He advised South Africans to visit the department’s website to check their consular services so as to understand what to do in cases where their family members pass away while abroad.

Sourced via The Star.

Top 5 picturesque places in Greece to visit in the winter

The Greek Herald
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Top 5 picturesque places in Greece to visit in the winter

Greece may be renowned for its stunning beaches and 40 degree summer days, however you’d be silly to think that Greece doesn’t have some, if not many of the prettiest winter destinations on the planet.

I know you’re thinking how we could possibly limit it to only 5 locations, and we’re wondering that ourselves, but we believe the places shown below truly encapsulate Greece’s natural beauty through the winter conditions.

Lake Plastira

Image By: discovergreece.com

One of the biggest artificial lakes in Greece, this landmark of the Karditsa region is one of the most peaceful and untouched winter locations on this list. The snow provides a beautiful white setting to an already picturesque lake, making it feel like a Christmas getaway. The 70km road around the lake’s perimeter (yes, we know how long that is as well) is a never ending montage of beautiful images to share with your friends and family, or simply enjoy for yourself. Due to it being so massive, you can see all it has to offer it in two or three days. One recommended route is to begin at Kalivia Pezoulas, near the centre of the lake, then visit two of the loveliest villages in this corner of Greece, Neraida and Filakti.

Kastoria

Photo by: greece.com

The second lake town on this list, the town and lake of Kastoria is a must see Greek winter location. Listed as a “Natural Monument of Outstanding Beauty” by the Greek Cultural Ministry, the snow peaked limestone mountains with green pine trees poking from underneath, accompanied by the outstretched village and thinly frozen over lake, make this winter paradise have everything a tourist could want. Located in Northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia, the town is globally recognised for its beautiful Byzantine architecture and fur manufacturing, which is sure to keep you warm in the chilly winter.

Zagori

Located in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, this Greek winter location stretches across 1000 square km of densely forested, mountainous landscape punctuated by deep gorges, pristine rivers, waterfalls and caves. Very difficult to reach due to its mountain location, this stretch of land is perfect for adventure seekers looking to experiences Greece’s natural landscape and stunning rock formations. Specifically, the Vikos Gorge, regarded as the kingdom of the river and the eagles, is a unique geological phenomenon that is 1,100m wide and 900m deep and is regarded by many as an experience to remember. If mountain climbing isn’t on the top of your list however, the 46 stone-and-slate built villages (the Zagorohoria) are still a truly magnificent sight to behold.

Mount Pellon

Photo by: discovergreece.com

A village surrounded by dense trees, this winter getaway is perfect for enjoying some peace and quiet while having the view of a lifetime. Villages Portaria and Makrinitsa consist of stone fountains, churches, quaint homes and cobblestone paths, which when topped off with crystal white snow create the perfect feeling of happiness and enjoyment. If your looking for something more exciting in the mountain, the ski resort gives you the opportunity to rise down the mountain while having the perfect view of the Aegean.

Kalavryta

Image by: https://enastronkalavrita.wordpress.com

One of the most popular tourist destinations on this list, Kalavryta is a must-visit for ski-lovers with it’s massive snowy mountains and ski resort. At an altitude of 2,340m, the Mount Helmos ski resorts provide a great view over the Peloponnese district, with lakes and small villages stretching out along ground level. Also unmissable for people hoping to see some breathtaking natural scenery is the Cave of the Lakes, located in Kastria village about 17 km away from Kalavryta, where stone and water compose a mysterious atmosphere inside a dimly lit cave.

Roger Federer and Tsitsipas produce biggest age gap in ATP Finals history

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Roger Federer and Tsitsipas produce biggest age gap in ATP Finals history

The ATP Finals in London closed the official ATP season two weeks ago, with Stefanos Tsitsipas claiming the title in front of the better-ranked and more experienced rivals. The young Greek is the sixth-youngest champion of the elite ATP tournament and the seventh debutant with the trophy, becoming the fifth different winner in the last five seasons.

For the second time in the previous three years, the ATP Finals legends Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (they shared 11 titles between 2003-2015) failed to reach the final, with Stefanos ousting Roger in the record-breaking clash in the 50th edition of this event.

Namely, the 21-year-old Greek defeated the 38-year-old Swiss 6-3, 6-4 in the encounter with the biggest age difference between two rivals at the year-ending tournament in its reach history that goes back to 1970. It was the fourth clash between Federer and Tsitsipas in 2019, with the young Greek prevailing in the fourth round at the Australian Open and Federer who bounced back at his favorite events in Dubai and Basel.

The Swiss reached the 16th semi-final at the ATP finals from 17 appearances following that rock-solid victory over Novak Djokovic in the last round-robin match but it wasn’t to be for him against Stefanos who sealed the deal in an hour and 36 minutes to advance into the final on his ATP Finals debut.

In Melbourne, Tsitsipas repelled all 12 break points to mount the pressure on Federer, repeating that in London as well after erasing 11 out of 12 break opportunities offered to Roger, securing three breaks from four chances to seal the deal in straight sets and stay on the title course.

Stefanos had the same number of winners and unforced errors, forcing more than 30 mistakes from Federer who also sprayed almost 30 unforced errors, unable to stay in touch with the rival in the shortest points up to four strokes that determined the winner.

Sourced by: Tennis World Foundation

Unvaccinated eight-year-old child dies of diphtheria in Athens

The Greek Herald
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Unvaccinated eight-year-old child dies of diphtheria in Athens

An eight-year-old ended was diagnosed with diphtheria at Children’s Hospital a few days ago, a disease really “forgotten” in Greece and Europe, thanks to regular vaccinations.

Given that this is the first case of this infectious, and even fatal, disease that has been recorded in Greece for the last three decades, the criticality of the vaccine situation is perceived.

The child was reportedly raised in the Mother Infant Centre and has been raising a foster family for the past three years.

According to hospital sources, the 8-year-old had received only two of the doses of the combined DTaP vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Also, it had not been vaccinated for any other infectious diseases, as the National Vaccination Program in our country states. According to the national vaccination program, a child up to the age of 12 should have 6 doses of the vaccine in order to have full coverage.

The fact that the child had only taken two doses explains, according to experts, the “ease” with which the child became infected with the toxic diphtheria toxinobacter.

Diphtheria pneumonia is a disease of the upper respiratory tract characterised by a sore throat, low fever and adherent membrane covering the tonsils, pharynx and/or nose. It gradually makes it difficult to swallow or breathe, even causing suffocation. The toxin produced can even cause serious complications such as heart failure and paralysis.

In the case of the unvaccinated 8 year old, the bacterium easily invaded the body. The child reportedly had the symptoms recorded. His parents took him a few days ago, to a private hospital, concluding that he had laryngitis. Doctors demanded that the child be admitted, but the parents refused. A few hours later they took the 8-year-old to the oncologist Paidon, where he was immediately intubated.

After two days in the Intensive Care Unit, the tests arrived, which showed that he had been infected with diphtheria colitis.

EODY say, however, that research is ongoing to determine which diphtheria strain affected the 8-year-old boy, to determine if he would be covered by the vaccine he should have done.

It should be noted that adults should also be vaccinated for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis every ten years.

Sourced by: Protothema

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