Wednesday, January 21, 2009

AFP - Greek anarchists pay for senior's torched kiosk

Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

THESSALONIKI, Greece - Two months after her kiosk was torched in local riots an elderly woman from Thessaloniki has received an unlikely cash gift from anarchists to rebuild her life, a press report said on Tuesday.

"As anarchists, we felt we should support a fellow human victimized by blind violence," an organization calling itself Anarchist Initiative said in a statement sent to Eleftherotypia daily.

The anarchists set up a special bank account to support 74-year-old Harikleia Ananiadou and collected 13,000 euros ($18,000 US) for the cause.

"We gave what we could, even beyond our means, because we know that it would be difficult for her to make a new start at her age," initiative member Panagiotis Papadopoulos told Angelioforos daily.

"It was an act of solidarity to a woman who could be our mother," he added.
Ananiadou's kiosk burned down in November during clashes between youths and police on the sidelines of a street demonstration.

The government recently announced compensation packages for business owners who suffered damage in the wave of violence that swept the country in December following the fatal shooting of a teenage boy.

But Ananiadou says she missed out because her kiosk was gutted a month earlier.
"I received only empty promises (from the state) ... I feel very fortunate that these boys came along to help," she said.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1197837

No comments: