Astoria Greeks Can Only Watch As Homeland Burns
BY LIZ GOFF

Greek Americans packed cafes and coffee shops throughout Astoria on August 26, sharing stories of home while watching broadcasts reporting a modern-day Greek tragedy.

Some 85 fires fed by gale-force winds tore through forests and villages in Greece last weekend, burning perilously close to Athens and killing 64 people at last count.

"This is hell on earth," said Stathus Pathoulos, 73, who watched as flames ravaged a string of mountain villages near his hometown of Zaharo in Southern Greece.

The Greek government declared a state of emergency and called on people to help fight the fires. More than 500 soldiers were called up to assist exhausted firefighters in the areas hit worst.

"People are desperate to save their homes, but they are without equipment," said Kostas Stamatis, 38. "They're using garden hoses with little water power to try and save their homes. This is outrageous."

Authorities evacuated hundreds of people trapped by the flames in 26 villages, while frantic residents called television and radio stations begging for help, saying their homes were surrounded by flames.

Ancient ruins were at risk of being destroyed by the fires. Firefighters who made a desperate effort to battle a blaze that threatened to destroy Olympia, home of the original Olympic games were able to hold off flames through Monday, August 27.

Government officials said seven individuals were being questioned for setting the blazes. A reward of 1 million Euros ($1.6 million) for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in setting the fires has been offered. Experts said some of the fires might have been caused by temperatures that soared over 100 degrees for days at a time this summer. This has been the hottest, driest summer in decades in the region.

Seventeen countries worldwide, including eight European nations, among them Italy and France, sent firefighters and military units to help battle the blazes, which sent flames shooting 100 feet in the air in some areas. As a precaution, more than 300 tourists, most from France, were evacuated from hotels in Southern Greece, officials said. Firefighters and rescue crews found the bodies of fire victims along roads and in fields, cars and houses in Southern Greece, among them the body of a mother with her four children huddled around her.

"You want to run to help," said Stamatis. "But even if we were able to get there, what would we be able to do? There is no equipment. There are no hoses, there is no water pressure and there is no place to run. No one can stop the winds, and if they don't change direction or stop, Greece will burn."

Few Greek homeowners have fire insurance- indeed, few have homeowners' insurance- so are left homeless and without possessions when their houses burn. A source at the Greek Consulate in Manhattan said that on Monday night thousands of people in Athens rallied in protest at officialdom's seeming inaction.

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said, "This is an indescribable national tragedy, and my pain and my anger are as deep as yours."