By Nicolas Bard

Far from the modern urban centers of Greece, on the border of Evros with Turkey, in a small hut on the river Delta. Artemis Papakostidou, also known as the “Lady of the Delta”, with her husband Captain Nikola, and on a daily basis raises the Greek flag with pride and tears in the eyes.

As she characteristically says in his camera “where there is Greece in SKAI”, she has made a promise to herself that “as long as her legs hold her, she will raise the flag.”

For her and her husband, as well as for many other fishermen, the Evros Delta is their home. They live there, they work there, there they have built memories and there they still dream. Of course, the decision to live in such a remote place, far from a big city, has many difficulties, but they have learned to fight and not give up easily. They give the present to the Greek border and keep an area alive that is in danger of being deserted…

About a year after the first visit of Mrs Artemis’ home, things have improved slightly. Upon her own request to the Prime Minister, she acquired photovoltaic, new electrical installation and a new refrigerator.

Until recently the house had only a generator and she was forced to carry the ice. Nowadays the daily routine has been significantly facilitated, but many problems still exist.

One of them is that there are many who are trying to expel fishermen from the area and their huts, thereby running in the courts, so they can maintain their lives, and make a multi -faceted trials that “kneel” them economically. And even though they experience all these difficulties and obstacles they never stop smiling, hoping and warmly welcoming those who reach their huts.

For them the day begins very early in the morning, before it even dawns, and after drinking a Greek coffee, they go up to boats and go for shrimp and gossip. In the evenings that are over from their jobs, they all gather together drink, eat and say the news of their day. Like a large family who have nothing to split with each other. After all, what unites them is much more and their authentic Greek soul makes them “one” at the edge of the border.

We may think that Evros is the end of Greece, but in fact it is its beginning, and it is precisely the platform of all Europe. The state should not forget the people who are there and must support them in order to keep the flame of Hellenism alive to the most remote point of the map, to the most remote hut of Evros.