NAR for the Communist Liberation
The catastrophic fires in Evia, but also in Attica, the Peloponnese and many other areas will be remembered as another crime of the Mitsotakis government.
Greek society is provoked by the government’s audacity and by the fact that at the time when people were struggling helplessly to save their lives and their homes, statements of the following like were being made: “the government was prepared and acted in a coordinated and an exemplary manner”, while at the same time the responsibilities for the wildfires were attributed to climate change, high temperatures and strong winds.
It is hypocritical for the government to hide behind the climate change. The heatwave is indeed a result of global warming, but the latter is caused by the destructive priorities and goals of our current economic system (short-term profits over everything). The Greek government loyally serves this exact system.
In fact, our lives and nature are being sacrificed on the altar of profits. The cause of these disasters are the austerity measures that Greek governments have been putting into practice during the last decade (privatizations, budget cuts in the sectors of public health, education and services), measures that have affected the fire departments and in general all of the services that are related to the protection of nature.
Forecasts warning us of prolonged heatwaves have been around since last week. The speed of the wind when the fire broke out in Attica and Evia was only 2 Beaufort and the fire could have been extinguished immediately upon its start. The government, however, instead of preparing for the obvious and being on alert in order to protect the forest areas and the settlements near them, preferred to advise us not to consume unnecessary electricity and water, after it has disbanded every public service that is related to fire protection and firefighting.
This year’s budget provided for the fire brigade was just 1.7 million euros, out of the 17 million requested by its services, while at the same time the government spent 5 billion euros to buy warplanes and frigates. The government prioritizes Rafale fighters and frigates over aerial firefighting equipment and water vehicles. In a country where hundreds of thousands of acres are burned every summer, the number of firefighters is just 16,500 (with over 4,000 vacancies) and of these, more than 1,700 are out of business planning either because they serve the fire protection of private airports or even the call center of Covid 19 Services. The average age of firefighters is over 40 years, and the government refuses to make the positions of the seasonal firefighters (who are hired every summer), permanent… even though these seasonal firefighters cover “permanent and ongoing needs”.
Of course once again hear many “bravos” again for the heroic work of the firefighters, as we heard for the health workers a while ago, but the truth is that the contractors will remain contractors, the hunger wages will remain hunger wages, and as far as the means provided to them go, most vehicles are old and unsuitable. Out of the 3,300 vehicles (just 1,950 aquifers), 40% are over 20 years old and 30% are between 10 and 20 years old. And the challenge is even greater considering that for the police, only in 2020, the government implemented one of the largest armaments programs, with the receipt of 1,453 new vehicles, with Greece being at the top of the list of EU countries with over 500 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants.
The privatizations cause as much damage as the budget cuts do. The “release of energy” also brings the risk of a black out. The infamous industrial Renewable Energy Systems (RES), the wind turbines that destroy the mountain peaks, can cover only 5% of the demand. And the Energy Exchange, where the electricity market is now being gambled, can mean an increase of up to 70% in tariffs.
Once again, the lives of refugees do not matter to the government. The racist Minister of Immigration, Mitarakis, mocks those who demand the evacuation of Amygdaleza refuggee camp, at the same time that the fire threatened the lives of 2000 refugees who were being held there (with their only “mistake” is that they do not have papers).
The wider Varybombi – Kryoneri area in Attica is a “magnet for attracting investment” due to the use by the Ministry of Culture of the former royal estates in this area. The budget is estimated at 97-130 million euros, with the Ministry of Culture requesting 49 million from the Recovery Fund, the rest will be sought with the cooperation of the State and private individuals. The “problem” was that a large part of the land was forested…
We are fighting against the government of Mitsotakis, which does not pay a penny for the lives and health of ordinary people and whose laws are the flammable matter that burns the forests to hand them over to the “investors”.
The only solution to this crisis is our own struggles to abolish the environmental laws and to insure mass and permanent recruitment/ hirings, the generous funding of forest protection and forest firefighting services but also of the sectors of health, education, municipalities, welfare, insurance and in any service that is critical for the needs of society. We need to escalate these struggles in order to end the reign New Democracy’s criminal government and the destructive system it serves.
Full and immediate compensation of all those affected, the disasters in agricultural and animal production. Immediate support from the state for as long as the consequences of the disasters last.
Immediate measures for reorganization of fire protection. Fire protection is a social good, no privatization. Reconstruction of the forest service and transfer of forest firefighting to the Ministry of Rural Development and not to the Ministry of Public Order. Mass recruitment of permanent staff in the fire service and forest services. Renewal of firefighting equipment, especially in vehicles.
Expenditure on fire protection and social needs, not on bloody surpluses and equipment. Stop the reduction of fire protection funding in the name of memoranda, fiscal “discipline” and various EU measures
Complete management and overall protection of forests, with an increase in the state budget for fire protection projects. Unified Forest Firefighting-Forest Protection Agency with emphasis on prevention.
Measures that will ensure that the land in the burned forest areas will not be used for different purposes. Protection from business and contracting interests. Radical reforestation program by the state with social and labor control.
