On the morning of July 23, 2018, nothing foretold that it would be a day unlike any other. In the afternoon of that day, the fire that entered Mati would cause a national tragedy of global proportions - as it is the second deadliest fire on the planet in the 21st century, after the one in Australia in 2009 with 180 dead.
In the inferno of that day, which began because a 65-year-old man decided to burn dry branches in 8 Beaufort winds, in a chaos of confusion and disorganization, mishandling and lack of coordination, 104 people would lose their lives horribly and hundreds more would be physically scarred. -as burned- and mentally, since to this day the sounds of the fire that consumed everything, the screams of the people who were burning next to them, echo in their ears.
Six years later, the people who lived that horrible day do not feel vindicated. Not only because there was no plan to evacuate the area, no rescue plan, nor for the show given to the television cameras by the members and officials of the government at the time - who "didn't know" about dead people - while victims had been found under burnt cars, on the road, in their houses, in the sea and, most of them, in the plot of horror, on Demokratias Street where 26 charred people were found. But because no one came forward to bear the responsibility.
That is why, after the end of the trial, in which 21 of the 6 defendants were found guilty (who were released, since the suspended sentence of 5 years imposed on them can be redeemed for approximately 40.000 euros), the relatives of the victims erupted . Some moved towards the chair and the accused, others threw chairs, others shouted "shame", others cried. After the reactions to the first court decision with the lenient sentences, the last hope of the relatives of the victims and the survivors is the Court of Appeal. With the risk of the statute of limitations being visible as the case must have been decided irrevocably, i.e. by the Supreme Court, by 2026, the 21 defendants have sat on the bench of the Three-member Court of Misdemeanors, being tried from the beginning. Yesterday, the sixth session of the Court of Appeals for the fatal fire in Mati, was spent on the arguments of the defense attorneys on the admissibility of the prosecutorial appeal brought against the first instance decision by the Athens Appeals Prosecutor's Office.
Aerial view from Mati the day after the deadly fire
Memorial events
Meanwhile, in Mati today everything stops and everything revolves around the commemorations of the sixth black anniversary planned by the Association of Relatives of Death and Burns of 23/07/2018, "so that the crime" of that day is never forgotten, as states. The eerie horror, the unspeakable pain, the fear, the mourning, all come alive again.
At 9 this morning, a Memorial Service will be held in the Holy Church of Agios Ioannis, in Neo Voutza and, half an hour later, 30 High Priestly Memorial Mass, in the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, in Kokkino Limanaki, officiated by the Most Reverend Archbishop of Mesogaia Mr. Nikolaos.
The relatives of the victims are demanding justice
The members of the Association, in their announcement about the events, state that today "six years have passed since the greatest national tragedy in our country after World War II: the deadly fire that struck eastern Attica, plunging 5 settlements into mourning (Mati , Neo Voutza, Kokkino Limanaki, Ampeloupoli and Provalinthos) as well as all of Greece" and "three months from the insulting to the memory of the victims and the pain of the burns the Court's decision during the trial of the case in the XNUMXst degree, as a misdemeanor and not as a felony." They declare their belief that they will be vindicated and call "to meet and walk again, in the places of Martyrdom and on the road of fire".
The program of events includes:
At 18:30 p.m., at the Memorial of the Victims in Neo Voutza, a trisayo will be held followed by the Invocation of our 104 dead. Anyone who wishes may leave a flower in their memory.
The following is the path of everyone, from the Monument, on the road of fire, to the N.A.O.M.A. in the eye.
At 20:00, the main event and triathlon will be held at the Naval Sports Club in Mati (N.A.O.M.A.)
At 21:00, walking from N.A.O.M.A. to the martyred Argyra Akti, 104 floating lanterns and flowers will be left in memory of the victims and white balloons for Evita and the 11 children, who did not have time to grow up. On the Argyra Akti, in the union of the two Municipalities, Marathonos and Rafina-Pikermiou, the event started by the daughter of a victim will also take place: 104 floating lanterns are left in the sea: "to travel them in memory of the people who drowned , in memory of the people who waited in the water with their flesh burning for help that came too late, the people who cooled by the water, the people who never reached the water, the people who were stranded and had no water."
The Municipality of Marathon, with its announcement, has requested the businesses "based in the area and especially in the places where events are held, as well as along the route from Neo Voutza to NA.O.MA and Argyra Akti, to participate in the mourning, if not by keeping their shops closed during the above-mentioned hours, at least by observing the appropriate atmosphere of respect and quiet, as befits the memory of the deceased victims". Some of them have already announced that they are participating in the mourning and will remain closed.
Source: protothema.gr
