Sep 11 2008
The Battle Rages On
August 2nd, 2008: Domvraina Upper Square
A meeting by ‘The Committee Against the Destruction of our Environment’ was convened to address the Industrial Zone of Thisvi. About 100 people were in attendance. The meeting was informative, emotional, and frustrating all at once
The committee, led by Dimitrios Mixalis, began with statements by each of the members on the board. Each member delivered a statement outlining subjects such as: the environmental effects of the new industrial zone, the effects on the villages, and the political stagnation that has been realized in the Municipality of Thisvi.
Many great points came out of the meeting. All who presented did so with passion, and fortified their points with empirical information based not on personal gain, but mined from their own scientific backgrounds. The committee is made up of scientists, not politicians.
It is also significant to point out that the Chemical Engineer Mr. Panteloglou returned to deliver yet another impassioned speech warning the villagers of the impending environmental catastrophe. His tirade against political maneuvering and imminent danger rattled the crowd, and the entire village.
Present at the discussion was the Mayor of the Municipality, Konstantinos Kobanis. Most of the attacking statements of the night were directed against him. He was offered the microphone to defend his administration’s actions. The mayor began by stating that the current situation the village has found itself in is a direct result of previous mayors’ negligence. He managed to refute many of the committee’s comments in his own way. Most of his answers were aimed at deflecting blame from himself. The microphone was left open for questions from the public, and it was clear that most villagers did not believe the mayor’s statements.
Several people in the audience began to deliver comments that ranged from direct personal attacks on the mayor, to well-spoken and thoughtfully engaging commentary on the future of our villages. One thing is clear - people are not buying the political games the mayor is delivering to them any longer. The reaction of the crowd to the mayor made this very obvious.
Elikona.com unfortunately does not have video of this event; however, we are attempting to obtain a copy to add to the site. Please stay posted, and engaged in the forums. And do not forget to sign our petition if you care and love the land of your fathers.
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Dear Panagiotis,
I read your description of the meeting in Domvrena and since I was there, in the panel, I have to make some comments. First of all, you have rather underestimated the number of people gathered there. There were about 250 (and maybe 300 at the maximum). The problem is that it was mostly people from the village of Thisvi and other parts of Viotia engaged in other committees as members of Symparataxi Vioton. Most inhabitants of Domvrena kept themselves ostentatiously away and quite few of them came just to spit out provocative comments. It is sad, but it’s the truth.
Secondly, the committee is not made up of scientists in the sense that not all of the members have university degrees in science and, of course, more than that, they don’t have to in order to be members. Moreover, the problems that the committee was created to confront are rather social and political in their nature: what kind of development dictates such an environmental destruction? Who gains from it? Why have not only our villages but Viotia as a whole been selected to end up as industrial dustbins? How come that a considerable number of locals accepts that and certain relations of material and political dependance on the capitalists of the Industrial Zone are created?
The information we got is not only “empirical” and it’s not “mined from our scientific background”. Knowledge is power, we all know that and it is a hard job to obtain it through many channels. So, it is not a prerequisite to be an expert in a scientific field to become a member of a committee, to carry out a research and to fight against the destruction of the environment and not of course of our environment (as far as I am concerned, I am not a localist, although I was born and lived in Thisvi until the age of 15).
I would also like to add that the committee has no leaders, so it’s not led by any particular person. We try to have an equal basis of participation however difficult it is given the factors of time availability, experience and initiatives that determine each one’s actions.
I totally agree with you that we are not politicians. The committee was not created to run for municipal elections or promote someone to take Kovanis’ place. Such political ambitions or plans should not concern members of committees which were made to fight against specific problems around the environment. Of course, each one of us has his/her own political views that determine the way he/she sees the situation.
I should also inform you and other compatriots that before the 2nd of August, in Saranti, on the 19th of July, another successful meeting organised by the committee took place with more than a hundred people attending it.
Last, after the 2nd of August there followed a very successful event in Vathi, near the port, on the 23rd of August. There was a huge media coverage, several TV channels referred to it, a lot of people attended it (again the composition was the same: the vast majority was from Thisvi, several people came from Prodromos, a lot from other places of Viotia or Athens, some from the other side of the Corinthian Gulf, but few from Domvrena) and the struggle was pushed forward. Almost 300 people went in a convoy into the port after having gathered at the square in Thisvi. There, after some presentations by members of the committee, followed a call for action: many of the participants responded enthusiastically to the committee’s call to tear down (part of) the illegal fencing by the companies! After that, a dj set party followed and the whole thing ended late in the night.
For a more analytical description you can have a look at the Symparataxi site http://symparataxi.blogspot.com/,
as well as at some other sites I surfed in the Internet:
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=902338
http://www.skai.gr/master_story.php?id=91639
and a lot more.
I can send you more photos if you are interested. The event was the action I was referring to in my letter which was posted on Elicona.com (and remained, unfortunately, unanswered to our disappointment). You should know that your cooperation, generally, is very important and we will be glad to keep in touch.
Thanks
Katerina Mastrodimou
A member of the committee (and a primary school teacher)
Geia’sou Katerina:
Thank you for posting, I’m glad to see people are reading from Hellas! You are right, I believe I may have underestimated the number of people there. The plateia was rather full, so I believe your number is more accurate.
Another issue which you are also correct on, is the fact that most of the attendees were not from Domvraina, and were from surrounding areas. This is perhaps the must frustrating part of our struggle. I do not know whether it is because they genuinely do not care, or whether they are truly for the industrial zone.
I realize not all members of the committee are ’scientists’ in profession or degree but most (I believe you can confirm this better for me) work in analytical fields, and are in turn, more understanding of scientific evidence against the industrial zone (more so then a politician who can conveniently deny these facts). This is the point I tried to make, I was not clear enough.
So far I have only posted on this meeting. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the July 19th or August 23rd events because I was not in Greece to attend. If you can forward more information that would be wonderful. I know the August 23rd event was very eventful, and any videos that you may have would help us convey the happenings better.
Katerina - I ask that you please join our forums so that these conversations are more visible to the community - you are a great asset in our struggle along with the committee, and we thank you!!