The mayor of Athens, Costas Bakoyannis, spoke to SKAI 100.3 and Pavlos Tsimas about the action to raise aid for Ukraine, organized by “All Together We Can” in collaboration with the Attica Region, the Athens Medical Association and 10 Attica Municipalities.
“I think we all feel the need to do something. Do not be content with mere symbolic actions or symbolic movements but somehow help. To help in practice. This is something I receive very strongly from the city. Well, practically next Tuesday at the City Hall of Athens, here in Kotzia Square, we will gather as much humanitarian aid as possible which in cooperation with “All Together We Can” and the Attica Region we will send to Ukraine. At the same time, we have already prepared a plan with which we are ready to allocate the camps of the Municipality of Athens to Agios Andreas for the accommodation of refugees. “Obviously not only their hospitality but also their food and medical care, because you see that a million people seem to have left Ukraine,” he said.
In fact, he mentioned that the kindergartens of the Municipality of Athens have already decided to register the children of Ukrainian refugees who will come to Athens. “I can not imagine the nightmare of a parent or a child undergoing this ordeal. “We have to be by their side and of course the Friendship Clubs of the Municipality of Athens will open in the neighborhoods so that we can also collect aid from there to send to Ukraine”, he pointed out.
The mayor of Athens spoke of a tsunami of solidarity from one end of Europe to the other, noting that this is not just a war in Europe, but against Europe.
“It simply came to our notice then. The whole world community has been mobilized, activated. After all, it’s the first war that could be described as online. We all watch him closely. Let’s say this because many times we are miserable and whine. That Athens faithful to its traditions has been lifted to the height of the circumstances. Yesterday at the Municipal Council of Athens and I say it with great pride beyond parties and ideologies, he managed with the widest possible consensus to agree not only on a resolution on peace, democracy and international law. A resolution that also the correlation, obviously, with the Cypriot tragedy, but also to agree on what the Municipality of Athens must do from now on “, he added.
Asked about the possibility of this war continuing for a long time and evolving into a huge humanitarian tragedy, which is constantly producing and if Athens can adapt to these conditions, Mr. Bakoyannis said that we all pray for the best but prepare for it. worse. “Athens has gone through very difficult times in the last 10-12 years. It has proven to be a resilient city, but this cannot be done by chance. It can only be done with a plan and we are currently emphasizing two things. First, on energy security. In other words, we see a huge increase in prices, corresponding to the increases in households, and the increase of the Municipality of Athens, exceeds 40%, and we are particularly afraid that we will face a food crisis, in the sense that we will see a very large increase in food. That is where obviously the social services of the municipality, the “tools” that we have at our disposal must come forward, to ensure that none of our fellow citizens will be left behind, will not be lost, if you will, by the “radar”.
At the same time, he underlined that “we have made a great effort in the last two years, despite the pandemic and against the pandemic to heal the wounds, to close the” wounds “of the city. Now comes another crisis, which I believe we can deal with, as long as we act on a plan and with caution. “There is no need for hasty, superficial actions or fragmentary movements.”
Regarding the approval of the plan for the creation of a stadium at the Botanical Garden, he commented that “it was a historic meeting of the Board. We made a historic decision. We approved the three contracts, which are the “cornerstones” of our overall effort. We have, as you know, a very large development program, which creates two supra-local poles, one at the Botanical Garden with an arena – the best stadium in Greece, a stadium whose stands will see the Acropolis – up to 40 thousand seats, and At the same time in Alexandras we gain a “lung” of green, an “lung” of oxygen, which can be connected to Koundouriotika, in a densely populated area. We are on a very good path “.
Asked if all obstacles have been overcome, Mr. Bakoyannis stressed that it is very reasonable to have mistrust, suspicion and cynicism, because endless announcements of double regeneration have been heard for almost 20 years. “We are now moving from theory to practice. We have a very high degree of certainty and a very high degree of maturity. It is an extremely well done project and you will see the preliminary works in a few months in the area of Eleonas. That, I think, will be the best answer to those who believe that this elusive dream of recent decades will continue to remain elusive. “Now we are talking about a plan that is completely realistic, absolutely feasible,” he concluded.
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