Votanikos: Water
Published by deviousdiva July 20th, 2006 in Roma.I have a fair amount to say about my second visit to the Roma settlement in Votanikos so I've decided to make it into a series of posts rather than one long one.
Part One: Water
On this occasion we were greeted by a large number of sad looking dogs, barking rather half-heartedly but enough to make me stop and wait. One of the men shouted at them and they backed off, slinking into the corners they had appeared from. "Don't worry, they're friendly" he called out and waved us towards him with a big smile. I think the look on my face gave away my total lack of experience of this type of living situation. The arrival there was just as overwhelming as the first time.
It's filthy.
The community has made a considerable effort to clear the rubbish from the immediate vicinity of their homes but everywhere you look there are more piles.
It's dusty. The high winds in Athens this year causing more misery. While I was there, strong gusts of wind blew thick clouds of dust across the whole camp. It gets in your eyes, in your hair, in your clothes. It hurts. I knew I would be walking away in an hour or so. I would be going home.
It's smelly. Just try to imagine this. This community is living on a rubbish dump in makeshift shacks built from bits and pieces discarded by other people. There is no water. Not even one tap. Any water that they need has to be collected in plastic containers and brought into the camp. For washing. For pots and pans. For laundry. For everything. Everyone and everything is dirty. Because it is impossible for anything to be clean. There is no toilet. There is no electricity. I believe they have one of two generators which power some lights in the evening. There are an estimated 100 families living there, approximately 500 children.
Just try and imagine that.
And I would bet that the worst we could come up with wouldn't come anywhere near the reality of living there.
The last time I wrote about the camp I stated that it was worse than some of the poorest parts of Soweto, South Africa that I visited 12 years ago. And this is why.
Water.
In the township, for all its poverty and problems, there was water.
This was the main issue for all the people I talked to. This friendly group of women and girls talked with me at length about their situation. They told me how ashamed they were that they had not been able to wash the pots from lunchtime yet because they had no water. When I asked them about school they said they would be too embarrassed to send their children with dirty clothes and hair. When I asked them what was the main thing they wanted, they all said water. They told me they didn't want a handout. All they wanted was a tap. They would pay for the water that came out of it. I have thought about that since then.
Is providing clean, safe water considered a handout? I believe that every human being has the absolute right to have access to water. No exceptions. For those of us who can afford to pay for it, we pay. For those who cannot, it should be provided free. Perhaps there are some people banging their heads on their keyboards right about now due to my "radical leftie" statement. I can guarantee that those people who feel that this idea is wrong-headed have NEVER been to a place like this.
Tomorrow: Eviction
Wow, that’s sad. I remember years ago when the American base was here at Hellenikon, I went with a military friend of mine to a camp (not sure where) and we handed out blankets, etc and it was a bit scary because as the blankets and supplies ran out, they were a bit hostile.
But, these folks seem nicer. One question, are they illegally squatting? If so, that’s why maybe they can’t get water. If not, then that truly is sad and something should be done.
Have you ever thought of contacting Yvette Jarvis of the Athens City council. She’s an African American lady who has lived in Greece for over 20 years and is well connected in the community and I’ve met her a few times during Athens fairs etc and she really cares about the community and may be able to help.
HEY 1000 words plus two great pics x 1000 words apiece 3000 words total .
One question, are they illegally squatting? If so, that’s why maybe they can’t get water. If not, then that truly is sad and something should be done.
Should human beings be denied water under any circumstance?
No, they shouldn’t be denied water but maybe the zoning doesn’t allow water to be placed in an area off the planned areas. For example, even in the USA, if a bunch of homeless folks take up refuge in a vacant lot, I don’t think the authorities would install a spicket for water.
thank you for talking about this… it is really sad and makes me quite angry. i look forward to reading the rest.
and just to be clear on my views, water is a resource everyone is entitled to. it is not meant to be privatized entirely to exclude others.
In Athens there are taps for the stray animals. How can there be no water for people? Why does it have to be a complicated question of land rights and zones? It’s done all the time for outdoor festivals and events. It doesn’t have to interfere with future plans for the area. A temporary tap. It’s that simple.
Yes, that’s a good idea Diva. A temporary tap. Now, who can do this? Who will do this? I don’t have any way to do this? Do you? Maybe someone can? I mentioned Yvette Jarvis. Maybe she can help?
Sorry to disapoint you.Yvette was asked by Greek Helsinki Monitor to deal with this a a city council members from the opposition last year. We never heard if or what she did.What DD has yet to mention is that the visit was organised with the candidate mayor Alexis Tispras from Synaspismos. He is the first politician to step foot there.Previously only UN experts, US Embassy human rights experts, OSCE and Greek Ombudsman persons step foot in there.The UN and US have duly reported on that.The OSCE and Greek Ombudsman may have said a thing or two but saw only 10% of the families living there whihc means they just went there for the foto op.Greek Helsinki Monitor does need help with anyone willing to pay from time to time a visit to them so as they know someone cares.Illegal evicition is possibly imminent if we are not closely looking throughout the summer.
Well, it sounds to me like they need an advocate. Someone who can go to the water company and say "these folks need water resources in their area, how do we go about getting it?"Now, it isn’t the exact same situation, but we built our houses up on Hortiati on land that wasn’t developed yet - which meant my in-laws had to get water brand new on the property (I don’t even think there were pipes yet at first). So I think it *can* be done - just someone needs to help faciliate the process somehow, find out what is needed and how it can be done.Of course, what would be better would be for the Greek government to set aside an area, complete with water and electric capabilities, for the settlements to build their houses on. An area where they wouldn’t be evicted.
I will be doing a post on the people who were on this visit as part of this series.
Good morning, I came by your blog by your comment on my blog at http://sunnyspot.wordpress.com
I am a real estate agent working in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California. Recently a friend and I travelled to Tijuana, Mexico to visit the Mother Teresa Center, http://motherteresa.org/ (my friend is a documentarian, I was assisting her with a project).
Father Brian took us for a tour of the surrounding community and it looks very much like the pictures in your piece. People are living on a hill of what could have been a garbage dump (not sure if that’s the case here). People build homes from whatever scraps they can find. I video taped the tour as we drove around in Father Brian’s SUV, fascinated. I wondered, who owns this land, do they have water, are there schools for the children, any medical clinics? They had businesses too, restaurants, auto mechanics, etc.
A friend of mine said that this is something that happens all over the world and your post confirms this. I wonder if advocates for these groups from all over the world could somehow organize and pressure all governments/communities to give land, water, energy to these groups of people. Organize on a global scale.
Hi Maggie, I am glad you emailed me after you left this comment ! I hadn’t commented at your site so I was sure it was spam until I read the rest.
I am very happy to welcome you to my place and hope you will be back and you will tell us about your experiences too!