As of May 2016

Unfortunately, just because you don’t read anything about the economic crisis anymore doesn’t mean it has been magically disappeared. People here struggle with this every day and hopelessness is spreading everywhere. That’s why I strive to support the children and young people in Ikaria in particular and to offer them an alternative to frustration and a lack of prospects. This is only possible with your help!

My latest fundraising project is called “Sport gives hope”

In short: The project supports the sports club “Diagoras”. It helps the youth in Ikaria out of hopelessness through games and sports. The economic crisis almost wiped out the club. Despite considerable difficulties, the board members, parents and club athletes have worked together to improve the existing facilities in recent years. The EU and its desk murders: Unfortunately, all these efforts were not enough and last year all sporting events were stopped. According to the latest strict EU guidelines, all sports facilities are legally subject to European standards and their facilities are subject to technical standards. This means that they must meet the prescribed requirements in order to receive an official permit to use them. In German: spectator stands, spectator toilets, changing rooms, shower facilities, athletes’ toilets, referee room, emergency room, fire protection and disabled toilets! “Diagoras” collected around 3,000 euros on their own initiative and we were able to support them with 4,000 euros. The construction work has started!

Of course, I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart on behalf of the sports club for this money coming from all of you! It shows once again that practiced solidarity can have a lot of positive effects. Read more about the project below.

Of course this amount isn’t enough, but it’s at least a start! We keep collecting.

Sport plays an important role, especially in times of crisis. For children and young people, it offers a contrast to the oppressive everyday crisis in which the adult world is suffocating. If you type “youth unemployment in Greece 2016” into Google, you’ll get a shocking 48%! This means that one in two young people is unemployed! That is the reality, even here on Ikaria.

Sport always offers an opportunity to get together, to cheer for the team and to fight together. It compensates for much of the frustration over the hopeless situation in the country and has become an important social outlet. Sport instead of drugs or violence.

Friendship, cohesion, respect and pride are feelings that threaten to disappear in a bankrupt nation. Sport allows people to immerse themselves in another world for a short time and forget the harsh reality; it connects and gives a feeling of normality.

The ancients already knew this. In the summer of 1933, some truly visionary villagers from Raches founded the sports club “Diagoras”. It is one of the oldest in the prefecture of Samos. At that time they thought it was time, alongside the daily hard fight for survival, with the few resources available, to bring sport and the Olympic idea to the isolated settlements of Ikaria. Imagine 1933 at a time when basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supply did not even exist in the villages. During the following decades marked by world war, civil war, persecution, famine and Chunta, the Ikariots’ love for the sport has never waned.

Once again we are living in times of crisis, unemployment, poverty and a lack of prospects characterize today’s generation and the club once again has a very special role to play. The numbers also speak for this. There are around 200 athletes of all ages enrolled (10-45 years), who systematically compete in the sports of football (men/youngsters/junior/women), basketball (junior mixed), and even motorcycling (men/women mixed). are committed. All these sports take part in the Samos Prefectural Championships.

Nikos (name changed) was 8 when he lost his father and his life changed in an instant. His parents lived in a small stone house where Niko’s father and grandfather were born. It was a simple life, but the garden, the animals and the warmth of the community of the small village gave the family everything they needed to survive. That day his world collapsed. The boy changed a lot over time. He seemed withdrawn and quickly became aggressive at school. A “conspicuous” child, as they say in German. Maybe in Germany he would even have been classified as an ADHD child, but in any case he would have been taken to a child psychologist. But there is no such thing here.

It just so happened that the village football coach took care of the boy, as he had done with many children who had something wrong at home. At first he just left the boy alone. Run along, play along, give a pat on the back every now and then. A wink from the trainer was worth a thousand words. Over time, it became clear that Nikos really had talent. He was as quick as a weasel and scored many goals with his team, which were cheered wildly by all the spectators. Step by step the boy returned to life. The solidarity of the team, the warmth, the successes and shared defeats gave him back the strength that the loss of his father had taken away from him.

I know many people with similar fates and our sports club is always an important part of people’s everyday lives. Many children and young people have fought for the “Diagoras” under extremely difficult conditions and some have even made it to national and Balkan-wide levels.

I have known the “Diagoras” club for 30 years because Pantelis, my husband, was there from the beginning. He played football himself for years, today Konstantinos our son has followed in his footsteps and Pantelis trains the very little ones. We have been supporting the club on a voluntary basis for years, just like everyone else. Diagoras is a matter of the heart.

I also experienced the gravel field where if you fell, whether in athletics or soccer, you would suffer injuries similar to those caused by a motorcycle fall. Like being pulled over the apple grater. Later we sowed lawns and pampered them every summer. We have been organizing large concerts with well-known Greek musicians every summer for years to raise money. However, the economic crisis almost wiped out the club. There are simply no financial resources for simple things like sports equipment and materials for the children. Despite considerable difficulties, the board members, parents and club athletes have worked together to improve the existing facilities in recent years. The Agios Dimitrios sports field was enlarged, natural grass, a small basketball court was built and a short skill track in the mountains for our motorcyclists. We invested in lighting the sports field and basketball court so that you can play in the evenings when it is cooler and built a security fence around the facilities.

But unfortunately all these efforts were not enough and last year all sporting events were stopped. According to the latest strict guidelines from the European Union and the Greek government, all sports facilities are legally subject to European standards and their facilities are subject to technical standards. This means that they must meet the prescribed requirements in order to receive an official permit to use them. In German: spectator stands and spectator toilets, changing rooms, shower facilities and toilets for the athletes, referee room, emergency room, fire protection and disabled toilets! As long as the club does not receive official permission to use the sports field, neither official training sessions nor games may be played. The sports teams that want to take part in official competitions must therefore have their training and home base in Ag. Take Kyrikos or even Samos into account. The economic crisis heralded the financial death of the association, as the children’s parents could no longer donate money. Nevertheless, everyone continues to fight. “If we give up,” says association board member Andreas Kochilas, “it is as if we were giving up our lives and the future of our children.”

I landed in Zurich/Kloten yesterday evening. I had a window seat and saw the illuminated villages and cities below me as I approached, and of course, sensitized by working on this article, I immediately noticed the lights of the countless sports facilities below me. So many, so big, even in smaller towns! How easy and natural sport is for everyone.

Then thoughts flashed through my head: what if we found a partner club? Especially in these absurd times, promoting friendship and differentiating between politics and people are so important! The Olympic idea: “to settle the war in order to hold sports competitions together”. Would this perhaps be the right time for a DE-CH-AUT-GR friendship? Sport brings people together. Sport creates solidarity, integrates and creates a common vision. Do you have any idea? Are you in a club yourself or do you know someone? Reading the news makes me sick! Who else understands what is going on here in Europe, before our eyes? I refuse to join in with the general exclusion and callousness!

Let’s create new visions together!