Vatican City, 4 September 2007 – The Catholic Church in Greece, which numbers just 50,000 people of a total population of 10.7 million, is pulling together to come to the aid of people left homeless, landless, and destitute by the fires that swept across huge swathes of the country in August.

"The Catholic Hierarchy of Greece is calling upon all of its local parishes, however few we may be, to set up a funds collection this Saturday and Sunday to be distributed by Caritas Hellas to victims of the fires," said Father Marco Vitale, the parish priest of Patras on the north coast of the Peloponnese. The town lies just 100 kilometres north of some of the worst-hit areas in Ilia, Messinia, Arkadia, and Ahaia. Areas on the island of Evia to the east of Athens were also left a charred waste.

"We are just a small community of 1000 Catholics here, but we are mobilising along with Catholics across the country to do whatever we can," Father Vitale said.

Caritas Hellas, the national branch of the Caritas Confederation in Greece, has sent assessment teams to the most severely affected areas. The organisation is presently gauging the best way to compensate for gaps in the aid being provided.

"Tomorrow, we will be sending a truck with 18 tonnes of maize to Evia, as a first step to help people there, who have lost so much," said Antonios Groullero, Secretary General of Caritas Hellas.

What might surprise, however, is that the maize is destined for the villagers' livestock.

"The government response is providing sufficient food and shelter for the people in these areas. But we have to remember that these villagers make a living off of their animals and fields. No one thinks about giving food to the farmers' sheep and cattle, which are their life-line," said Mr. Groullero.

"If their animals die, they lose their way of making a living and getting back on their feet," he said.

In the town of Nea Stira on Evia, the municipal authorities have already provided Caritas with a letter detailing the damages. Some 90,000 hectares of agricultural and forest lands have been burnt and 20 houses destroyed. Farmers lost 600 sheep, 500 bee box hives, herds of cattle, 4000 mature olive trees, vineyards and lemon and orange groves. In addition, many archeological sites have been damaged, which will affect the livelihoods of people working in tourism.

Nationwide, an estimated 200,000 hectares of land have been destroyed and at least 64 people killed by the fires.

This Friday, Caritas workers and volunteers will be meeting with various municipal authorities in the Peloponnese to assess how Caritas can help there.

"We want to make sure we bring help to the people who really need it, including the elderly and the handicapped, in addition to the poorest villagers who have nothing left," said Mr. Groullero. "We also want to speak to the local people, because we can't always assume that someone is listening to what they have to say. We as the Church want to really listen."

Caritas Hellas will also be launching a project to help people overcome the psychological trauma of the disaster. For those who have lost their homes, Caritas is helping to provide temporary shelter in Catholic schools and other Catholic institutions, and it will help once reconstruction is underway.

In a statement sent August 31, Caritas Hellas calls the fires tragedy "a catastrophe of a magnitude that is alike to that of the Second World War."

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations present in over 200 countries and territories.

Nancy McNally, media officer
Tel: +39 06 69879752
Mobile: +39 334 2344 136
mcnally@caritas.va
www.caritas.org