“Twenty-year-old Andreas, 18-year-old Angelos, Michalis, George, students, all of them helped their fellow passengers to get out of the burning train”
The “Heroes of Tempe” and “Ref. Checkpoint” are the winners, from Greece, of the European Citizen Award 2023, according to a decision of the competent Committee of the European Parliament, which is also published in the Official Journal of the EU.
This year’s Prize was awarded to a total of 38 initiatives undertaken in EU member states, including the above two in Greece, which “contribute to European cooperation and the promotion of common values”. Specifically, as stated on the official website of the European Parliament, the Prize is awarded every year “to projects organized by individuals or organizations, which encourage mutual understanding and closer convergence between people in the EU, cross-border cooperation that builds a stronger European spirit and EU values ​​and fundamental rights’.
The proposal for the awarding of the Prize to the “Heroes of Tempe”, i.e. “all those who at the risk of their lives highlighted and served solidarity as the supreme value of the EU in the tragic accident of Tempe”, was submitted by the MEP of the ND and the EPP , Maria Spyraki.
As Mrs. Spyraki emphasizes in her relevant announcement, “the twenty-year-old Andreas Alikaniotis from Byron and Ilia, the eighteen-year-old Angelos Tsiamouras from Ierapetra, Crete, the twenty-year-old Michalis Klapsis from Leipsos, students, George, who chose to stay away from publicity, a carpenter on Mount Athos, all of them passengers on the fatal Intercity 62 train, which was carrying more than 350 passengers and crashed in Tempe, are just some of the “Heroes of Tempe”».
“Injured, with self-sacrifice and risk to their health and physical integrity, they helped their fellow passengers, including small children, the elderly and people with health problems, to get out of the burning train, breaking the windows and evacuating the carriages, and then the rescue crews helped, saving dozens of human lives.” highlighted in the announcement.
Ms. Spyrakis, after her proposal for the Award was approved, said: “The “Heroes of Tempe” are just some of our fellow citizens who “love responsibility” and prove it at the risk of their lives. They went above and beyond what is humanly possible in order to save dozens of their fellow passengers, setting a shining example for all of us in the European Union.”
According to his official website “Ref. Checkpoint”, “the new member of the Checkpoints family, the prevention and sexual health center for refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers” offers “free, rapid and anonymous HIV testing, sexual health counseling in 9 languages ​​(Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Dari, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and English) and linkage to health units”.
In Cyprus, the Award was presented at the annual Pride Festival.
According to data from the European Parliament’s official hub, 216 projects were involved this year “on various topics, such as the creation of a human rights sculpture park in a school, the creation of a book of EU songs, a solidarity initiative that was created by a group of volunteers, who help their fellow citizens affected by catastrophic floods, and much more”.
It is recalled that “individual citizens, groups, associations or organizations can register their participation with their project or propose another project for an award”, while MEPs “can also propose a project for an award”.
Source: Skai
I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years, and my work has been featured on many different news websites. I am also an author, and my work has been published in several books. I specialize in opinion writing, and I often write about current events and controversial topics. I am a very well-rounded writer, and I have a lot of experience in different areas of journalism. I am a very hard worker, and I am always willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done.
