"Those who suffer have no other consolation than hope," he wrote William Shakespeare and there are not a few smart people who "step" right there in order to gain multiple benefits themselves. The "trade of hope", after all, is not an unknown concept. We have seen her many times "star" in sad (even outrageous) cases of deception.
Such a case became known in history as "the water of Kamatero". The "ingredients" of fraud are few and far between. A lawyer who could convince those who heard him speak, a good "tale" and especially a disease that at that time seemed but also invincible. THE cancer.
Kamateros was able to deceive many before being convicted of fraud, but this story left a big black mark on the "criminal record" of the Greek press, which (with a few notable exceptions) played the game of the barren lawyer in order to sell hundreds of thousands of cards every day. .
The rogue Kamateros and his "miracle" water
In early February 1976, Greece heard the name George Kamateros. He is a 36-year-old lawyer at the time, who did not announce that he had discovered the cure for cancer.
Kamateros claimed that in one of the springs of Kos, an island from which he came, he discovered a radioactive rock, which he dissolved in water and in this way prepared Ilion, the water that healed from incurable diseases.
This unthinkable claim in just a few days takes on enormous proportions. The lawyer starts and brings to Athens from Mr. by tanker the "miracle" water and begins the trade of hope. Sometimes in tubes of powder that had to be dissolved in water, sometimes ready in bottles of water, he charged the trade of hope for 20 drachmas each.
With each passing day, the hysteria over the water of Kamatero grew. Wherever the accommodation took place, scenes of insanity unfolded with hundreds of desperate people flocking to get a bottle of water that would give them the coveted health.
It was such a disaster that Kamateros even used her stadium AEK to share his water. To serve the people, two doors of the stadium were opened. The 14 from which they entered and the 13 from which they left! Among the ordinary people who stood in line for water, according to reports at the time, were five AEK footballers (Skrekis, Papadopoulos, Ravousis, Dedes, Stefanidis) who were eagerly waiting for their turn to come. By early noon Kamateros had sold out.
And then he filled the next tanker and went to the next neighborhood, to sell out there as well. And the trade of hope continued.
The black page of the domestic media and the tragic consequences
It is more than obvious that Kamateros could hardly achieve much on his own. Unfortunately, in the spread of fraud played an important role Media. The vast majority, after seeing the sales skyrocket, chose to play the "game" of Kamatero and with daily headlines, they not only maintained the fraud but also gave it the necessary legitimacy.
It is indicative that some of the newspapers even sold half a million sheets a day! A typical example is that "Apogevmatini" of March 16th was published with a circulation of 300.000 sheets and was sold out of the kiosks all over the country within a few hours!
Titles such as "cancer defeated" or "and ministers got water" or "water stops cancer growth and boosts immunity" were commonplace. The newspapers also hosted statements from celebrities who confirmed that the water was miraculous. Among them the Gisela Daly who thought (without ever being medically confirmed) that she was suffering from throat cancer and could not sing and that after drinking the water she was fine and very healthy!
At the head of the "crusade" in favor of water were historical newspapers such as "Ta Nea" and "Afternoon». On the other hand, the following did not fall into the trap: "Kathimerini", "Eleftherotypia", "Estia", "RadicalAnd "Dawn".
Taking advantage of the mass hysteria, Kamateros and his associates did not hesitate to urge patients to stop the medication they were receiving because it did not work if they took it at the same time as the "miracle water"! Result; The parents of 18 children who were hospitalized with leukemia and malignant tumors at the "Aglaia Kyriakou" hospital, stopped the classic treatment and gave the children the water of Kamatero. As a result, one of the children died and the condition of the others deteriorated.
The end of Kamatero's action and suicide
Feeling invincible, Kamateros even began to make political plans for his future. The countdown, however, began with the death of the child. The voices of the scientists began to be heard louder, while one by one the newspapers that supported him began to recede.
"Tomorrow I will make him blind to see his light. Everyone here at the same time. If the blind man does not get well, shoot me with a revolver. But because it will happen, all together then we will go to Parliament "Let's talk to them about the power of Ilion", Kamateros had said at a rally and this alarmed the political world of the country that asked the authorities to start "looking" for the case of Kamateros.
Naturally, as soon as the state took the case seriously, the fraud was revealed. Analyzes showed that this water not only did not have something miraculous, but was also dangerous, as it contained 35-38% radioactivity.
The issue reached the Parliament, became the subject of parliamentary scrutiny after a question by the President of the ECHR, Elias Iliou and took its course. Justice. On March 30, the Athens Public Prosecutor's Office prosecutes anyone responsible for the preparation and disposal of material dangerous to public health.
The trial of Kamateros and his associates will take place in mid-October when the fury had stopped and the atmosphere was completely reversed. Kamateros, at the end of the process, is sentenced to a redeemable eight-month imprisonment and a fine of 8.000 drachmas, and the shipowner - economist and key collaborator of G. Gratsos to also redeemable imprisonment of 4 months and a fine of 5.000 drachmas.
After his trial, Kamateros went abroad for a long time where he engaged in various (unsuccessful, since they were not… miraculous) operations. He returned to Greece about 22 years later and lived on his island. There, around 10 in the morning of May 6, 1998, Kamateros committed suicide inside his brother's shop in the center of Kos town, due to the huge debts he owed to individuals and banks.