Announcement of the workers at the “Kivoto” of Chios: “We have given our souls for the children”

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The workers stress that “abuse of minors (physical, sexual or otherwise) is absolutely condemnable by any sane person” and state that they are at the disposal of the authorities

A group of police officers from the security sub-directorate of Chios went earlier today to the facilities of the Ark structure, in Aipos of Chios, as part of the control of the finances of the Ark of the World, in all branches throughout Greece

Yesterday, the workers of the “Kivotos tou Kosmos” structure in Chios – father Antonio’s place of origin – issued a statement commenting on the latest developments surrounding the matter and the allegations of child abuse that have come to light.

The workers stress that “abuse of minors (physical, sexual or otherwise) is absolutely condemnable by any sane person” and state that they are at the disposal of the authorities if required.

At the same time, they note that “like the rest of the world, they, too, await the results of the investigations by the prosecuting authorities and the judiciary”, noting that they will respect the judgment of the Justice, while respecting the presumption of innocence of those involved.

In addition, they point out that the complete and absolute leveling of the Ark’s work is sought, adding that in Chios, the workers have even laid down their souls for the children.

Finally, they wish success to the new administration, calling on society to offer the maximum possible help to this particular M.K.O..

The announcement in detail

“Following yesterday’s post on social media, we announce and clarify the following:

Of course, we workers in the structure of Chios have also received knowledge (through the press, as well as the rest of the public opinion) of the complaints concerning abusive behavior towards guests in the structures of the Ark of the World throughout Greece.

As far as we know (also from the press) an investigation of the case by the judicial and prosecuting authorities is underway. Obviously, we are also waiting for the results of this investigation and will respect the judgment of the Justice, whatever it may be and whoever it concerns, respecting, at the same time, the presumption of innocence of those involved. On the other hand, the abuse of minors (physical, sexual or otherwise) is absolutely condemned by any sane person and for this reason the object of our work in the structure, all these years, among other things was and is to heal the wounds of children who they had already faced life’s toughest face before arriving at our structure. For this reason, we declare (once again) our willingness to contribute to the judicial authorities’ investigation in any way that may be requested of us.

However, we note that during the last few days, in the electronic press and on the internet, a complete and absolute leveling of both the work of the Ark as a whole and the tireless efforts of the thousands of volunteers and workers who were employed or offered their services from time to time is underway in the Ark of the World, moved (at least the vast majority) by the purest of intentions. In fact, this leveling usually takes place under the type of “anonymous testimonies” in the media without even accommodating the opposing point of view or giving the possibility of a response from any victims.

We, the workers in the structure of Chios, throughout all the years of its operation, have even given our souls for the structure and the children who were accommodated in it. We perform our difficult duty all too often at enormous personal and mental cost to ourselves and our families. Our motivation to frame the structure (and indeed, initially, in a voluntary framework) was our sincere concern for the fate of these children.

For us, the most essential mental reward of our daily struggle is the creation of lifelong relationships with the majority of children housed in the structure, which, in fact, often continue even when our children leave the structure and spread their wings in society.

Undeniable witnesses of our efforts and the real living conditions of the children in our structure, are the hundreds of people who spent time every day in our structure, especially before the COVID19 pandemic, and became partners in the work of the structure (volunteers, suppliers, teachers, doctors, psychologists, social workers, cleaning staff, donors, sponsors, visitors, etc.) who on the one hand obtained the best impressions of our work and on the other hand very often submitted useful comments to further improve the conditions (which we always transferred to the management of the organization).

Finally, because our main concern remains the children and their fate in the wake of this sad event, we wholeheartedly hope that the new management of the organization, which was announced by the competent authorities, achieves the best possible management of the structures for the good of the children and their smooth psychopedagogical development. We wish the new board of directors every success in its work and we call on the Greek society to help strengthen the Ark and under its new operating framework, whatever it may be, since the final beneficiaries of this contribution are the children themselves and not just anyone management body.

In the medium term, we hope that the process of deinstitutionalization and the promotion of the institution of underwriting will finally progress on the part of the State, in a substantial way, since the axiom remains in force that no institution and no welfare structure, however organized and staffed and if is, it cannot replace the warmth and love of a real family.

Chios, 23/11/2022

Yours sincerely,

The workers of the Aegean structure of the Ark of the World”

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