Ruim een jaar geleden schreef ik hier dat de sluiting dreigde voor de Metropolitische Kliniek van Hellinikon (MKIE), een vrijwilligerskliniek onder leiding van hartchirug Georgios Vichas, die afgelopen januari nog op de verkiezingslijst van SYRIZA stond (in september was hij daar niet meer te bespeuren). U kent de kliniek wellicht ook van mijn boek, waar ik een hoofdstuk wijdde aan het initiatief. De kliniek is ondertussen nog steeds open en het initiatief van Vichas werd in Europa geprezen. In die mate zelfs dat de Europese Commissie op 10 september 2015 besloot om MKIE een prijs te geven: de prijs van Europese burger van 2015.

De kliniek weigerde de prijs in ontvangst te nemen: de politiek die wordt opgelegd door diezelfde Europese Commissie, als onderdeel van de trojka, heeft er voor gezorgd dat er op dit moment 3 miljoen Grieken geen ziekteverzekering meer hebben, aldus de woordvoerder van MKIE. Als antwoord op de “eer” die de kliniek kreeg, werd het volgende antwoord aan de Europese Commissie gestuurd:

Op basis van het instituut Prolepsis (van de stichting Stavros Niarchos – overleden reder en oligarch), heeft de verarming van de Griekse bevolking geleid tot het volgende:

• 6 op 10 leerlingen in de scholen van Athene hebben onzekerheid of ze eten zullen hebben of niet.
• 61% van de leerlingen hebben een ouder die werkloos is, 17% komt uit een gezin waar niemand werk heeft.
• 11% van de kinderen heeft geen ziekteverzekering, en 7% heeft ooit meer dan een week zonder elektriciteit gezeten in 2014, terwijl 3% nog steeds in een huis zonder stroom zit.
• 406 scholen in heel Griekenland hebben voedselhulp gekregen in 2014 om hun 61.876 leerlingen eten te geven.
• 1.053 scholen hebben een aanvraag gedaan om dit schooljaar via het programma “Dioatrofi” van het instituut Prolepsis voedselhulp te krijgen voor 152.397 leerlingen, terwijl op dit moment slechts 15.520 leerlingen in 150 scholen die hulp krijgen.
• Ouders hebben over heel Griekenland 42.727 enquetes in 23 prefecturen in het hele land waaruit blijkt dat 54% van de gezinnen in voedselonzekerheid leeft, en waar 21% honger heeft.

Op basis van studies van het Bureau van de Rijksbegroting van het Griekse parlement, komen de volgende cijfers naar voren:

• 3,8 miljoen Grieken hangen rond de armoedegrens die op dit moment ligt op 432 euro per maand per persoon).
• 2,5 miljoen Grieken leven onder de armoedegrens (233 euro per maand per persoon, wat gelijk staat aan extreme armoede).
• wat betekent dat 58% van de Grieken, of 6,3 miljoen mensen, rond of onder de armoedegrens leven.

Hier ziet u de video waarin de MKIE de prijs weigert:

Overigens is de Metropolitische Kliniek van Hellinikon (MKIE) niet het enige Griekse initiatief dat de prijs kreeg aangeboden van de Europese Commissie. Ook Konstantinos Polychronopoulos, ofwel Ο Άλλος Άνθρωπος, de andere mens, die ik ook in mijn boek opvoer, stond op de lijst van Brussel. Ook Konstantinos heeft de prijs afgewezen om net dezelfde redenen. Ook hij ziet het orgaan dat hem de prijs wil uitreiken, als de oorzaak waarom hij doet wat hij doet.

Of men daar in Brussel van heeft wakker gelegen, weet ik niet. De afgevaardigden van de kliniek hadden de prijsuitreiking graag gebruikt om hun standpunten duidelijk te maken, maar gezien MKIE de prijs weigert, zal dat niet gebeuren. Sylvie Guillaume, ondervoorzitter van het Europese Parlement, wil de prijsuitreiking gebruiken om de genomineerden in de bloemetjes te zetten, en wil er geen andere agenda mee dienen. Wat dan weer leidde tot een boze reactie van de persverantwoordelijke van de kliniek, die ik hieronder in zijn totaliteit weergeef. Aan u om er conclusies uit te trekken, mocht u dat nodig vinden.

From: Christos Sideris <christos.sideris@gmail.com>
Date: 10 October 2015 at 21:06
Subject: Re: Your decision to refuse the European Citizen’s Prize
To: sylvie.guillaume@europarl.europa.eu
Cc: DGCOMM-Citizen’s Prize <CitizensPrize@europarl.europa.eu>, Μητροπολιτικό Κοινωνικό Ιατρείο Ελληνικού <mkiellinikou@gmail.com>

Dear Ms. Sylvie Guillaume,

Thank you for your email informing us that due to our refusal to accept the European Citizen’s Award, we will not be allowed to take part in the event in Brussels, simply because as you say in your email «The event and the ceremony is a special occasion, intended to honor all the winners (47 this year) and should not be taken over for another purpose.».

This other purpose that you mention obviously has to do with the reasons why we have refused the award in the first place and we can only assume that you do not want them to be known to the rest of the participants at the ceremony.  It is indeed ironic, since you happen to be a Women’s rights activist and especially because of your political background you should have been given a lot of insight into the struggle of the most vulnerable parts of our society to survive, that you of all are denying our right to express our opposition to the neoliberal policies which are applied in our country since 2010.  It is these neoliberal policies which have created the circumstances that have led 3 million Greek people being cut off from any kind of health care, driving a lot of them into total despair and in many cases death and even pregnant women having their babies kept as collateral by public hospitals until they had money to pay (BBC article http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18073793). It is because of these hard and cruel policies, that our community clinic- as well as 40 more on a national level – have been created in the past 4 years.
The facts which you do not want to be heard on the 14-15th of October in Brussels are the ones mentioned in our press release titled Metropolitan Community Clinic of Elliniko rejects the European Parliament Prize where we explain why we have rejected the award, you can read it here below:

+++

«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.»

+++

These are the facts Ms. Guillaume that you and your colleagues do not want to be publicly known.  It is because of these kind of attitudes that we turn our backs on you and we do not want to receive this prize.

We do hope that your rejection of our attendance at the ceremony is picked up by French journalists and your derogatory attitude towards us – the 300 volunteers that have offered free primary health care, medicines and baby food on more than 46,000 occasions in 4 years – gets known to the French people.

Best regards,

Christos Sideris
communications officer of the Metropolitan Community Clinic at Elliniko