Greece: consequences of the fire north of Athens
In Greece, nearly 100,000 hectares of forest burned down in ten days.
AFP - ANGELOS TZORTZINIS
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Nearly 100,000 hectares of forest burned down in ten days following a series of violent fires across the country.
North of Athens, the Parnes mountain range and several surrounding villages were thus engulfed in flames.
Meeting with an inhabitant who lived in the heart of nature and who now finds himself forced to live with a neighborhood which has been partly burnt down.
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With our correspondent in Athens,
Joël Bronner
"
For me, it is not burning that it smells but death, as if it were a scene from a horror film
" Vangelis Katsanos, 34-year-old engineer, had evacuated his house in Thrakomakedones, miraculously saved from the flames thanks to a neighbor who stayed behind. A few meters from his home, however, the thick forest of yesteryear has given way to a majority of bare and charred trunks.
“
Here, in theory, it is a national forest, a protected area.
As you can see, not much is left.
In this direction, you can see that with a few exceptions everything you see on the horizon is black.
Nothing is the same.
I used to take my dog for a walk to the village of Varibobi there.
Now I don't think I'll ever do it again.
It's a real heartbreak.
"
Scent of scorched earth
To listen to Vangelis, it is not only the forest that has burned down, but life itself that has partly disappeared.
"
There's nothing left, not even all those maddening insects with their buzzing."
When they were there I couldn't stand them, but now I miss them.
"
Now the buzzing of insects has been replaced by the sound of the wind, which seeps through the bare branches.
And which still carries a stubborn scent of scorched earth.
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To read also: Greece: anger rises after the series of devastating fires
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