Press report

Metropolitan Community Clinic of Elliniko rejects the European Parliament Prize

The European Parliament has taken the decision to grant us the Prize of The European Citizen for 2015, as a symbol of recognition for our four year struggle for a fairer society for the unemployed – uninsured people that have been neglected by the Greek state during the Greek crisis. This struggle is for the three million people in Greece without social security, without employment and in utter poverty, as a result of the politics of austerity being imposed by the IMF together with the European Central Bank and the European Union .

For us and for the most of the Greek people, Europe is our home. A home full of people of understanding and solidarity. This is the Europe that we believe in and wish for. Much to our regret, we come across a Europe lost in bureaucratic cogwheels and banking interests. Much to our dismay, we see that Europe’s top priority is to find billions of Euro for private banking while, at the same time, a fifty per cent budget cut is being imposed on Greek Health Care System, in relation to year 2009.

According to Prolepsis Institution Data, the massive impoverishment of a large portion of the Greek people led to:

6 out of 10 students in 64 schools of Athens have urgent nutritional needs

61 per cent of students in 64 schools have one unemployed parent whereas 17 per cent of the families, have no working parent at all.

11 per cent of the students are uninsured and 7 per cent of them, have lived for a week without electricity during 2014. 3 per cent lived in a house with no electricity whatsoever.

406 schools in Greece received financial aid in order to fulfill basic nutritional needs for 61,876 students.

This year 1,053 schools have applied for a food aid program called “Nutrition” so that 152,937 students can be covered for their basic nutritional needs. To date only 15,520 students have been approved.

42,727 questionnaires have been filled-in by parents to 23 prefectures in the country, and 54 per cent of the families need food aid. 21 per cent live in hunger.

Based on a Study of The Budget Office of the Greek Parliament :

3,8 million Greeks live very close to the poverty level (432 euro per person)

2,5 million Greeks live under poverty level (233 euro per person, per month, which means extreme poverty). These data mean that 6,3 million Greeks, ( 58 % of the population, live close to or under the poverty level.

The Europe that wants to grant us this award doesn’t seem overly concerned by this nor by the thousands of deaths of our fellow uninsured citizens, the number of whom will amount to an avalanche very soon since new budget reductions are on the way, as a result of the Memorandum agreement, most recently signed by the government that cuts a furthers 933 million Euro for the Greek Health Care System.

For us it would be utterly hypocritical, to receive such a prize when Europe pretends not to see the undernourished babies, the uninsured cancer patients that end up dead, the stories of famished families, the people that live without food, water, electricity and food for another year.

Our representative and co-founder, George Vichas says : “The thousands of uninsured patients, the dead and the living, stand amongst us, and look us in the eye. And their look, kept on us, will not allow us to receive this prize”.

We do not turn our back to Europe or to the European people who have shown great solidarity. We feel compelled to turn our back to all the institutions and their politicians, who treat people as numbers in accounting files, the European Parliament included. This attitude is a shame on the European civilization and has to stop immediately. When that day comes, we would be most pleased to receive this award.

Today at the Greek office of the European parliament we have tried to explain, in detail what living in Greece without social security means. We cannot accept this award because our patients continue to live on or under the poverty line, and with every indication that the situation will worsen. During our next visit to Brussels we will attempt a public awareness campaign regarding the Memorandum and the austerity politics, imposed in Greece. It is of utmost importance that this award will only be carrying across a message an urgent need for a more humane attitude of greater solidarity amongst the European citizens.

(Extract of the speech given by the members of Metropolitan Social Community Clinic of Elliniko, during the award prize-winning ceremony that stood at the European Council on Friday, 11/09/15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvFuV-t02Mc

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CLINIC AT HELLINIKO

Working Hours

(MONDAY – FRIDAY 10:00 – 20:00) and (SATURDAY 10:00 – 14:00)

CONTACT PHONE NUMBER: +30 210 9631950

ADDRESS: Inside the old American Military Base, 200m away from the Traffic

Police of the Municipality of Helleniko, next to the Cultural Center of

Helleniko

Post code TK16777, Elliniko, Attiki, Greece

Website: https://www.mkiellinikou.org/en/

Email: mkiellinikou@gmail.com