“We live a painful process because we are constantly trying to prove the self-evident. All quadriplegic boys of military age go through this process. We decided to make it public so that someone becomes aware and the laws change.”

With these words, mother of the 18-year-old quadriplegic boy describes the surreal and beyond imagination situation he has been experiencing in recent days. The child, which has a KEPA certificate for 100% disability received a note a few days ago ranking in the army.

The family’s only son turned 18 last December and now the family is invited once again to go through the Commission “to prove the obvious”, as the mother typically says.

“My objection is that, since I have the KEPA paper with 100% disability for the child, why doesn’t Recruiting automatically accept these supporting documents? Why do I have to go through the whole process again with the Municipality? Why doesn’t KEPA directly and officially send its decisions to the Military offices of each region? Why do we as parents have to go through all this over and over again?’

Countless because they torture the mind and soul of two parents who are entangled in the gears of the Greek bureaucracy. They ask for realistic and convincing answers to the question “when will the services of the state begin to cooperate with each other?”.

In fact, as she explains, the tragic irony is that in recent years the situation has improved as in the past parents were obliged to transfer their quadriplegic boys to the… Naval Hospital of Chania to go through a Commission and obtain the necessary certificate of exemption from the conscription obligation.

“Now things are a little better but they are asking us to go through a time-consuming and difficult process and we are not the only ones, thousands of families are in the same position” explains the mother.

The same problem with the IRS

Of course, the labyrinthine procedures of the Greek government are not limited to the Military. “And to the Tax Office we have to present the KEPA paper every year to prove that our son cannot work and has zero income” analyzes the mother with indescribable dignity and calm, even though the sob of despair, the complaint can be seen in her voice.

Mobilization of the Mayor of Agios Nikolaos

The family lives in a small village in the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos and yesterday the Mayor Mr. Antonis Zervos contacted them and asked us to send him the KEPA decision electronically and all other supporting documents required. “He will introduce the Committee and let us know when they will come home to see the child. We thank him for that.”

It is noted that the Committee consists of the Mayor of the area, a doctor of the Hospital and a military officer.

“The KEPA of Agios Nikolaos were perfect, they came home, they served us, but it’s a case that concerns thousands of people, we just don’t talk and we don’t show up. We want to be heard,” concludes the mother.