#IMF report revelations for unsustainable #Greekdept leave eurozone countries without arguments against @PrimeministerGR

Euro zone countries tried in vain to stop the IMF publishing a gloomy analysis of Greece’s debt burden which the leftist government says vindicates its call to voters to reject bailout terms, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday to Reuters, as its exclusive report wrote

The Europeans were also concerned, the Reuters exclusive artcle further reveals,  that

the report could distract attention from a view they share with the IMF that the Tsipras government, in the five months since it was elected, has wrecked a fragile economy that was just starting to recover.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” an IMF source involved in the debate over publication said. “We are not living in an ivory tower here. But the EU has to understand that not everything can be decided based on their own imperatives.”

The board had considered all arguments, including the risk that the document would be politicized, but the prevailing view was that

all the evidence and figures should be laid out transparently before the referendum.

“Facts are stubborn. You can’t hide the facts because they may be exploited,” the IMF source said.

The document released in Washington on Thursday said Greece’s public finances will not be sustainable without substantial debt relief, possibly including write-offs by European partners of loans guaranteed by taxpayers.

It also said Greece will need at least 50 billion euros in additional aid over the next three years to keep itself afloat.

Publication of the draft Debt Sustainability Analysis laid bare a dispute between Brussels and the Washington-based global lender that has been simmering behind closed doors for months.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cited the report in a televised appeal to voters on Friday to say ‘No’ to the proposed austerity terms, which have anyway expired since talks broke down and Athens defaulted on an IMF loan this week.

It was not clear whether an arcane IMF document would influence a cliffhanger poll in which Greece’s future in the euro zone is at stake with banks closed, cash withdrawals rationed and commerce seizing up.

“Yesterday an event of major political importance happened,” Tsipras said. “The IMF published a report on Greece’s economy which is a great vindication for the Greek government as it confirms the obvious – that Greek debt is not sustainable.”

At a meeting on the International Monetary Fund’s board on Wednesday, European members questioned the timing of the report which IMF management proposed at short notice releasing three days before Sunday’s crucial referendum that may determine the country’s future in the euro zone, the sources said.

There was no vote but the Europeans were heavily outnumbered and the United States, the strongest voice in the IMF, was in favor of publication, the sources said.

In Brussels, the way the IMF communicated the findings was seen as confusing, misleading and politically unhelpful.

The European Commission had produced its own debt sustainability analysis, based partially on IMF data, which is less pessimistic in its scenarios and is one of the documents mentioned on the Greek referendum ballot paper.

Diplomats said the IMF’s publication of the study was a way of making clear it would only be part of any future loan pact with Greece if the Europeans included debt relief in the mix.

Germany and its north European allies have said the IMF’s presence is indispensable both to win parliamentary backing for aid for any euro zone partner, and to keep the European institutions honest. Berlin suspects the European Commission of being too soft on Greek efforts to wriggle out of reforms of pensions, taxation, public sector wages and labor law.

The European Central Bank, ( which has made Banks close in Greece as soon as the referendum was announced , we note)  the third partner in what used to be called the “troika” of bailout enforcers, is also keen to keep the IMF involved, the Reuters article writes.

For the How, When and Why the IMF draft document was exposed to public opinion and had to be revealed go to our Greek2m eye story

For the Reuters’ exclusive story click here

VISIT OUR Greek to me ! 24/7 News updates Special Home Page

on Greece Yes or No Updates

The Show-Me State Shows Us How to Combat #HumanTrafficking, Human Rights First

Passed unanimously on May 15th, the motion will create a unit consisting of “sitting Representatives, Senators, some members of non-governmental organizations, and a variety of other affiliated groups that would have input on the best way to combat the trafficking issue in Missouri,” said State Representative Elijah Haahr (R-Springfield). This entity will help raise awareness, recommend more effective legislative action, and perhaps most importantly, provide agencies and organizations with a central hub for data collection and sharing.

by the The Show-Me State Shows Us How to Combat Human Trafficking | Human Rights First.

Go to our coverage on Human tsunami in Mediterannean, and the Aegean islands on our Greek to me ! life cross borders page

 

Germany furious with Times report presenting facts that ex Greek government sent Syrian refugees to central Europe, under “secret deals”

                

 “I am deeply astonished. The new Greek government must reveal everything quickly and completely. Certainly, if the former Greek government did not act in accordance to EU law, this must be punished and prosecuted by the European Commission.”,

said Stephan Mayer, German Chancellor’s Angela Merkel representative  as soon as the Chancellor was informed for the Times, London report .

The Times revealed Tuesday, February 24, that Mr. Samaras’ government made a secret deal with a group of Syrian refugees in December offering them official residency papers and travel documents in return for information on people-smuggling gangs. About 200 people have so far been issued with the documents, and most have since left to claim asylum in other EU states.

Syrians who managed to reach Greece have told the Times of London newspaper that they convinced Athens to provide them with official residency papers. Once they had these, they were able to book flights to northern European countries more generous to migrants.

“The arrangement suited both parties, it is alleged. The Syrians did not want to settle in Greece, because the economy was in crisis and there were few jobs. Unlike Germany, it does not promote a policy of family reunification, where migrants can bring relatives to live with them once they are settled.”

Germany’s politicians reacted with fury, The Times said.

                                        

How it started

About 840 Syrians took part in a 24-day sit-in protest in Athens demanding the right to travel to other European countries. They were initially told that they would have to claim asylum in Greece.

Later, the government quietly reversed its position and told them that they would receive the documents that recognised them as legitimate asylum seekers in Greece. They received two sets of papers: a Greek residency pass and Greek travel documents.

With official Greek residency papers, Syrians have been able to book a flight to Germany, rip their papers up during the flight and claim asylum once they land in Germany.

Under EU law, asylum seekers must remain in the first country they arrive in and can be deported back to that country if they travel to other member states.

However, countries that are popular with migrants, such as Germany, Denmark and Sweden, cannot send the newcomers back to Greece because deportations to the cash-strapped country have been suspended since 2011 to help it cope with its own problems.Last month Germany extended its suspension on sending asylum seekers back to Greece by another year. 

Abu Obei, one of the organisers of the Syrian demonstration, said: “When we started protesting in late November, the government [told us] that our only option was to claim asylum in Greece. But after 24 days a member of the government came to us and said we could work out a deal.”

“Refugees come to Greece as a transit point,” said Ahmed, a Syrian who has been in Greece for almost a year after crossing illegally from Turkey. “They want to travel on from here, so the thing everyone wants to avoid is having their fingerprints taken. If that happens, they can be deported back to Greece.”

                   

Yannis Panousis, the new Greek minister of the interior, said that he was unaware of any sh uch deal, but pledged to investigate the claims.

Greek to me ! has early raised the story of governmental papers provided under “unknown status” to “unkown status immigrants” that cross seas and find themselves in Greece on search of a better life.

Last summer, since June 2014, Greek to me ! exclusive story of immigrants , unknown if ever were medically checked-during the error Ebola days-  were travelling by the approval of the ex Greek government to unkown destinations, but by papers issued by the Ministry of Interior Affairs in Greece, has raised flag for the travellers’ health safety .

An official question by the Independent Greeks ex- MP Vassilis Kapernaros was made on Parliament, but no answer was given.

Greek to me ! brought the story back again on late December 2014, by the Norman Atlantic Disaster, were, as it was revealed, an unknown number of immigrants were travelling by the ferry, -which might be close to 200, according to the Italian Prosecutor- for which the Greek government never said a word .

Go to our Greek to me Pages,   and stay 24/7  informed for the Cross-Road Greece

                                                

The Greek to me ! team

Source: the Times

These Greeks do read the drafts before signing them! Tsipras strongly condemned the “multiple agreement draft versions” handling of the failed Eurogroup .

We don’t make not even a single step back from our promises to the Greek people, we start straight away from tomorrow on our structural reforms for the people bleeding from loans, unemployment and poverty,

Tsipras just said on the Parliamentary meeting of the governing party, SYRIZA, (where he proposed the New President of Democracy)  showing his unshakable decision to fulfill his commitments for a national rescue program, by especially focusing on the most vulnerable groups,  Alexis Tsipras emphasized on this statements, some hours after the failed eurogroup agreement of yesterday, The red lines of this government,  Alexis explained, are the No to the “extention”  of the previous Memorandum, and the availability of this government to relieve, as possible, those parts of the population who are bleeding on emergency situation from the Memorandum policies

“The replacement of the one draft with the other, on the Eurogroup yesterday”, underlined Alexis Tsipras, “is the proof  that some parts of the eurozone want to undermine any resolution between Europe and Greece.”

“There is no way back to the Greek life of humiliation,  vassalage,  and depression”, Alexis said . “We will serve our commitment to serve the dignity of the Greek citizen, which concerns any European citizen’s  dignity of today and tomorrow”.

But what’s the story with this draft , that was rejected by Athens as an ‘unacceptable’ European deal ?

“The draft was  “away from what it had been agreed so far. Under these circumstances, Athens sees no way that “there could be an agreement tonight.”

the  Greek Finance minister Varoufaksi stated at the international press briefing just after the eurogroup.

The draft  statement which Greece rebuffed suggested that the Greek authorities should give their “firm commitment to refrain from unilateral action and will work in close agreement with its European and international partners, especially in the field of tax policy, privatization, labour market reforms, financial sector and pensions.”

Greek officials grumbled that Mr Varoufakis was presented with an unacceptable text as soon as he walked into the room. This is the text

It is a “text not consistent with what has been discussed and agreed upon so far,” the Prime Minister’s office said by a non paper  :

“The insistence of some circles to implement the new Greek government Memorandum is absurd and unacceptable. The implementation of the Memorandum program was off the table at the summit. Those who restore it, they are wasting their time.

“Under these circumstances there can be no agreement today.” (in.gr)

Yianis Vaoufakis underlined on his statements after the Eurogroup that he rebuffed this specific draft statement put to him by Mr Dijsselbloem as the meeting got under way . But he would have signed a text put to him before the meeting by Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s economics commissioner.

As  Varoufakis explained, Mr. Moscovici had asked to meet the Greek Finance Minister before the eurogroup meeting, where he had shown him another version of the statement on which Mr. Varoufakis had agreed .

This is the first version of the Moscovici draft

You can check the similarities and differences, especially on the paragraph3 of the two drafts “The Greek authorities should give their “firm commitment ….pensions” is put afterwards on the Dijsselbloem draft.

 Mr Varoufakis strongly  denounced that Mr Dijsselbloem had refused to discuss a proposal from the executive European Commission that would have given Athens a four-month breathing space in return for the new government holding off on major policy changes.

But , wow! there is second version, also, of the Moscovici draft , as Paul Mason twitted later yesterday, commenting that it was even more improved pro-Greece

The meeting broke up less than four hours after the Eurogroup of finance ministers began talks with the aim of breaking the deadlock over the Greek bailout, three weeks after left-wing party Syriza swept to power in the general election.

But this was not the first time that a multiple version of a eurogroup draft leads Greece to leave the meeting without signing it . Last Wednesday the Greek Finance Minister also refused to sign an agreement draft , “that was trapping this government to fully accept the Memorandum as it were this gov’s responsibility,” and also “trapping this government to sign an extension”, MP of the governing party Mitropoulos had stated, who is a well informed lawyer on his field, after “decoding” the first Eurogroup trap.

And now , what? “The best way forward would be for the Greek authorities to seek an extension of the program,” Mr Dijsselbloem told a news conference.

Mr Dijsselbloem spoke of a need to rebuild trust and and  he emphasized: “Would a new programme look very different? I don’t think so. The rules and regulations talk about strict conditionalities. It would still be about fiscal sustainability.”

Arriving in Brussels earlier, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was “sceptical” about the possibility of a deal. “What I have heard so far has not strengthened my optimism. It seems like we have no results so far,” he said. “I’m quite sceptical. The Greek government has not moved, apparently.”

Alexis, change it all! Tsipras phenomenon chokes the German austerity, which “is chocking the eurozone”

     

In Rome, thousands of Italians marched on Saturday calling on the Eurozone to “Give Greece a Chance”.

On Sunday protests took place in London, Madrid and other European cities, but also continents, -USA -Australia & Canada-  demanding the Greek Breath of Dignity

Angela Merkel’s conservatives in Hamburg, on Sunday, we underline, suffered the worst election result since WWII Anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looked set to win its first seats in a regional assembly in west of the country, by the CDU loss of 22 percentage points in the election – one of its worst ever regional results. Looking more closely,

                  

Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Hungary were the EU member states where poverty and social exclusion increased the most during the economic crisis, according to the European Commission’s Annual Review on employment and social developments in 2014

As regards Greece, in particular,

• the percentage of the population on the verge of poverty or social exclusion increased from 28.1 pct in 2008 to 35.7 pct in 2013, while
• serious deprivation of basic goods increased in the country from 11.2 pct in 2008 to 20.3 pct in 2013. Also,
• long-term unemployment in Greece rose from 3.7 pct in 2008 to 18.6 pct in 2013, while
• the employment rate of the economically active population (25-64 age group) dropped during that period from 61.9 pct to 49.3 pct.

                 

Greece, by the way, according to a  Parliamentary Budget Office report, is the only EU country not to have implemented a guaranteed minimum income and is among the most sluggish in adopting programmes to address social inequality and aid citizens living in extreme poverty and social exclusion,

This is despite the fact that six in ten citizens are living in or at risk of poverty, the PBO report (pdf) said.

• The shocking report of the Parliamentary Budget Office for the economic situation of Greek households has revealed that
• approximately 6.3 million Greeks (some 58.3% on a total population of around 11 million according to the census of 2011) are threatened by poverty leaving
• 2.5 million Greeks below the poverty line,
• and 3.8 million in direct danger of crossing the poverty line.

“The demand for social responsibility on the part of citizens is pronounced but what the state offers is characterized by fragmentation and administrative problems.

Thus the social safety net is characterized by inefficiency, while at the same time there are no expectations that income loss due to the economic downturn will be replenished in the near future,” the report  had stated, back in September 2014, when Samaras’ government was reigning

But the thriving Tsipras election since then,  changed a lot, yet in his first 20 days in government: expectations, the pubic feeling and much of the reality the austerity on pro and anti-austerity playgrounds

In southern Europe, popular opposition has been mounting against the fiscal austerity measures demanded by Germany.

                       

” Tsipras government gives other leaders, particularly Renzi and Hollande, strong support in their negotiations with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel to loosen the purse strings,” explained Luca Fantacci, an economist and the author of Saving the Market from Capitalism. “And this is beneficial not only for Greece, but for the whole eurozone – which is being choked by austerity.“

 

Since last November, both Italy and France have been pushing EU institutions for fiscal expansion. Meanwhile, both countries have been breaching the eurozone’s Growth and Stability Pact, which requires member countries to keep budget deficits below 3 percent of their GDP.

 

“In strictly economic terms, there is a widely shared view that expansionary fiscal policies are in the interest not only of Greece, but of Europe as a whole,” Fantacci said.

“The problem [for Italy and others] is how to make them politically viable. It shows that the current form of the monetary union is untenable.”

 

  

According to the European Commission review, in Greece, Spain, France and Italy the percentage of the transition from part-time to permanent job status was among the lowest in the EU during the economic crisis, while in Greece and Portugal, 25 pct of the people working part-time within a year were jobless or inactive.

Participation in education was a victim of the economic crisis, according to the European Commission, which in certain countries remained unchanged during the crisis (Greece, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia) or was reduced (Poland, Hungary).

                             

“Good afternoon comrade!”, a Russian bridge to Alexis, by Putin himself . Help might be so crucial, indeed

 Since the first three days of Alexis Tsipras election. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told CNBC that Russia would consider giving financial help to debt-ridden Greece. Siluanov said Greece had not yet asked Russia for assistance, but he did not rule out an agreement between the two countries if Greece came asking.

“Well, we can imagine any situation, so if such petition is submitted to the Russian government, we will definitely consider it

Some days later, on the peak of Greece’s negotiations with European authorities, -actually, on the same day and time of the ctitical meeting of the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble, Vladimir Putin called Alexis, teasing more Berlin by his -on- the- side involvement  in the European play.

Informations leaked to several Greek media describe Alexis’ surprise when he picked up the phone,-not because he was not expecting it, ( the PM’s office was officially informed of president’s Putin intention to call the Greek PM), but because he heard Vladimir saying in Greek

“Καλησπέρα σύντροφε !” (Good afternoon, comrade), According to the same sources, Alexis answered ” Kαλησπέρα φίλε σύντροφε!” ( Good afternoon friend comrade)

Oficially, as the State NERIT Tv reported, Putin called Greek Prime Minister to invite him to Moscow on May 9th 2015, an invitation welcomed by Alexis, and which, by the way, is not an accidental invitation date for the Greek PM to visit Moscow.

Russia celebrates the 9th of May as the Victory Day to mark the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War.

As reported by the Greek Media, the phone conversation took place at 1:30 pm when the Varoufakis-Schaeuble meeting was scheduled to conclude and the press conference to start.

Putin and Tsipras reportedly talked about “all issues”.

                               

In a statement issued by the Russian Presidency, Putin and Tsipras talked about the Ukraine and “other international issues, among them the South Stream and the Turkish Stream pipelines.

Also the Russian Foreign and Defense Ministers have invited to Moscow their Greek counterparts.

As a high-ranking Greek official had  htold media, wrote te  keeptalkinggreece blog,

“Greece wants to broaden the spectrum of intense negotiations and the pressure tools towards German intransigence.

The high-ranking official said also that the conversation took place after Putin’s request, who shows strong interest for the moves of the Greek government.”

The Emergency Response Measures and Guidelines of the Greek CDC for the illicit immigrants’ Entrance Points and Reception Centers in Greece

• The Circular
Updated guidelines for the prevention of Ebola virus at the entrance points of the illegal immigrants in Greece has set the New Circular released by the General Secretary of Public Health, that is addressed to the staff of all the First Reception Centers and the Immigrants’ Detention Centers , the Coast Guard, the Greek Police, border guards and all the personnel involved in the procedures of the management of the illegal immigrants newcomers .
By the Circular, they’re described in detail all the preventive measures that are required, by clear and simple instructions,, primarily for the direct identification of the origin country of the incoming immigrants, and also for the necessity of making obligatory the immediate medical evaluation.

The Medical Screening Teams in the Detention Centers and the First Reception Centers, are required to complete a Screening Sheet with the travel history of the new coming immigrants , IN DETAIL, from the immigrants’ origin countries, and down the routes of trafficking that brought them to Greece. By this procedure any immigrants that might derive from West Africa .it is obligatory to be tracked

In case migrants have to be put into compulsory attendance for 21 days, the Medical Screening Team is asked to send daily to the Greek Center of Disease Control, (HCDCP/KEELPNO) a completed special form for the “Daily Statement of New Entrants Persons Affected countries. “

• Special Training and education Program

.
A special Training, Information and Education Program is carried step by step and to all the Aegean islands and the border areas as to urgently shield biologically the the country from Ebola virus

The intensive Program which has started since the mid of October , is implemented by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDCP) at the entrance gates of the country,
with particular emphasis on the North Aegean islands, Dodecanese and Evros, where mostly illegal immigrants arrive. These days the Program is taking place at Rhodes island, the premier arrival point in terms of numbers , since the summer months of 2014.

The Greek CDC (HCDCP) stressed in a statement that, the information and training of the existing staff at the entrance points of illegal immigrants and the Detention Centers is considered essential for the preparation and shielding of the country from possible Ebola case introduction involiving all the staff of the Immigration, Citizenship and Identity Centers, the, Security Forces (Police, Coast Guards) , Regional Asylum Offices, Border Guard Service, as well as health professionals involved in the reception, management and treatment of new entrants people without legal documents.

Below is the Program of the Training and Information with indicative dates as it is developed and organized by the General Directors’ and the Presidents’ office of the Greek CDC by the Zoonoses Department of Epidemiological Surveillance and Intervention Office of the Greek CDC( HCDCP/ KEELPNO), and is implemented with the cooperation of local stakeholders
1. Region of Northern Aegean (EE Lesvos and Lemnos, Samos and Ikaria EE, EE Chios)
On 11/18/2014:
• GN Mytilene “Vostaneio”

• Health Centers Antissa, Kalloni Plomariou, Polichnitou,

• First Reception Centre Lesvos
• Identification Center of Lesvos Greek Police
• Central Port of Mytilene
• Police Department Lesbos
• Regional Office Asylum Lesbos

On 19/11/2014

• Samos General Hospital “Agios Panteleimon”
• Health Center Karlobasioy
• First Reception Centre Samos
• Central Port Samos
• Police Department Samos
• Center for Immigration Citizenship and Identity Greek Police Samos

On 21/11/2014

• Skylitseio General Hospital of Chios
• Health Center Pyrgi
• Central Port of Chios
• Police Department Chios
• Center for Immigration Citizenship and Identity Greek Police Chios

On 25/11/2014
• G.N.- Health Center Lemnos
• Port Myrinas- Lemnos
• Police Directorate Limnos

On 11/27/2014
• General Hospital – Health Center Ikaria
• Health Center Evdilos
• Central Port Ikaria
• Police Department Ikaria
2. Regional Section Evros

On 11/24/2014
• University Hospital of Alexandroupolis
• 216 KICHNE Alexandroupolis
• Centre for Health Feron
• Regional Office for Southern Evros Asylum
• Police Directorate of Alexandroupolis
• Border Guard Services of Lucky and Feron

On 26/11/2014
• General Hospital Didymoteichou
• 219 KICHNE Didymoteichou
• Health Centers Soufliou, Orestiadas, Righteous
• First Reception Centre Orestiadas
• Police Department Orestiadas
• Center for Immigration Citizenship and Identity Greek Police Ebro
• Border Guard Services Didymoteichon Orestiadas, silk, Carp, New Vissa
3. Regional Section Dodecanese:

On 12/02/2014
• General Hospital of Rhodes
• Health Centers and Archangel Emponas
• Regional Office Asylum Rhodes
• Police Directorate Rhodes
• Central Port of Rhodes

On 12/03/2014
• Vouvaleio General Hospital – Health Center Kalymnos
• Police Department Kalymnos
• Central Port of Kalymnos

On 04/12/2014
• State Hospital – Health Center Leros
• Police Department Leros
• Central Port Leros

On 08/12/2014
• General Hospital – Health Center Kos
• Health Center Antimahias
• Police Department Kos
• Central Port Cos

Ebola safety in Greece, illicit immigrants, the feces and the scary gaps

The Entrance Gates of Greece at the airports will be recruited by additional health personnel, fully updated on Ebola Emergency Response by the Greek Center for Disease Control, while Travelers arriving in Greece from Ebola hit countries, or countries “suspicious” for potential Ebola transmission will be asked to fill a “contact history” questionnaire on their arrival, as to be first screened for potential Ebola infection.
According to their contact and travel history, travelers will be allowed to enter Greece, or will be further medically screened for Ebola virus, and in case of infection, will be quarantined.

On a broad Emergency meeting of the Greek Ministry of Health on Friday, October 10, with all the stakeholders involved in the Prevention and Response of Ebola epidemic, the Greek CDC (HCDCP/KEELPNO), and the Emergency Operation Center, it was decided that preventive measures for Ebola virus should be intensified, and that extra special caution should be given on the awareness of people who come in contact with the immigrants, NGO workers, illicit immigrants’ populations, and immigrant groups.

No further information on the possible risks for Ebola contamination through the illicit immigrants’ populations was announced after the meeting, even though the latest updated scientific facts of the epidemic, do show important gaps on Greece’s Safety on the Prevention of Ebola, by the thousands of illicit immigrants, who extensively  live and interact with the local population on the Aegean islands and in the Greek cities.

On Thursday, October 9, the new Maire of Mytilini, Lesvos island, Spyros Galinos, sent a furious letter to three ministers in charge, expressing the deep regrets of the local population for the governments’ unacceptable indifference for the hundreds of illicit immigrants, who remain, unchecked for infectious diseases, settled at Mytilini port, as soon as they step out of the traffickers’ boats, many of them from origin countries hardly hit by Ebola, and so many other infectious diseases.

But the most scary version of this story in Greece is just starting to be revealed. On Lesvos island, specifically, there is an open issue with the sewage dumps that are not properly evacuated, on the exact points of the illicit immigrants’ shelters. On the same moment, throughout the town of the island, wells of the sewerage system remained during the whole summer not properly  sealed, stinking all over the city a repulsive stench .

How responsible to the Global Health Village, the Greeks, and the travelers and tourists, could this situation, by the authorities’ indifference, be?

The latest updates by the US Center of Disease Control emphasize on the strict guidelines by which the body of the first Ebola victim in the US has to be buried.

According to CDC documents, only people trained in handling infected human remains and wearing proper safety gear should touch or move any Ebola-infected remains. Handling and transportation should be kept to a minimum and an autopsy should be avoided unless absolutely essential.

The body should not be washed or cleaned in any way and should be wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination. Following the removal of the body, the hospital room should be thoroughly disinfected. So long as the body is safely shrouded in plastic, any transport drivers do not need to wear protective gear.

Once the body arrives at the mortuary, the agency does not recommend embalming. The shrouded body should be placed directly into a hermetically sealed casket by trained mortuary personnel wearing head-to-toe protective gear. The remains should then be immediately buried or cremated.

If Duncan’s body is to be transported back to West Africa, the family will need to comply with the regulations of the country of destination, and will have to be coordinated in advance with U.S. health authorities.

Ebola Preparedeness on the Alert in Greece, Epidemic Risk for the Country considered still small .

Isolated building has been prepared to ‘host’, as appropriate, virus outbreaks
A fully ecquiped Isolation Intensive Unit has been set on the Alert on Amalia Fleming Hospital in Athens Greece, to host any possible Ebola cases that might appear in Greece.
Contrary to the devastated Public Health Sector, and the Public Hospitals in Greece that are hit hard by the austeriy measures, the Emergency Preparedeness for Infectious Diseases in the country remains on top scientific international level, and top priority for the Greek Health authorities, coordinated by the Greek CDC, as to better protect the Global Health village . This, in Greece, has a historical background and a

Moreover, the group of health workers who will face the potential Ebola cases in Greece has been defined, and health workers are continiously trainned by day-to-day scientific updation as to better respond on possible cases handling, and better prevent any further infections

Scientific Guidance for health professionals have been issued by the Greek CDC (HCDCP) since the early days of August,and also Ebola protection Guidelines for Travelers of international flights and especially for Travellers to and from the infected Countries.
The President of the Greek CDC (HCDCP) Tzeni Kremastinou has seriously taken into consideration the Alert and Error level of the Ebola outbreak, as to early and straight address the risks to the public, and and has coordinated since July a special team of experienced professionals for the Emergency Response. Despite the seriousness of the Disease and the hard conditions of the Greek Pubic Health System the president of the Greek CDC has expressed her confidence that if any Ebola cases enter the country, they will be handled medically adequate at most .

Up to now, three cases in Greece have been identified as suspected, but have been later proved to be malaria infections and not Ebola, all of them concerning foreign travelers. Two of them, men, had recently traveled to Lagos Nigeria, and the third one was of a woman with recent travel history to Congo . Relatives of all three cases have been adequately traced before the final negative to Ebola/positive to malaria results, assured the Chief in Emergency Response for Ebola of the Greek CDC, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Sotiris Tsiodras
By the latest and continuous risk assessments of the international health organizations,
Greece’s risk for Ebola epidemic is characterized so far as small, due, mainly, to the lack of direct flights to and from the countries where the disease is endemic.

 

Syrian Exodus drowing into Aegean waters , another tragedy . 7 Syrian migrants and two children drown off Greek island, two still missing  

Mar 19, 2014

 

                      

 The bodies of seven undocumented migrants, among them  two children, were discovered in the Aegean Sea on Tuesday, March 18,as by the local news and the Greek Shipping Ministry was announced.

Authorities said they had recovered the bodies of seven immigrants, including two children, who drowned overnight when a boat sank in the eastern Aegean Sea, 2,8 miles of Lesvos island,  after travelling illegally from nearby Turkey.

The Merchant Marine Ministry said eight other people were rescued near the island of Lesvos. Two of the dead were found in the water off the coast of the island, while the other five were recovered from their semi-sunken boat. The mayour of the island , Dimitri Vounatsos, empahsised , talking on air, that the sea was calm, but the boat sunk accidentally due to panic induced among the migrants’ group when they were approached by greek coastguard.

For one and more days, the authorities have been still searching for two more migrants believed missing from the boat. Three coast guard vessels, a helicopter and private boats were involved in the search.

The migrants’ nationalities were not immediately known,according to the Greek news and the Associated Press, but the mayor revealed some hours later that they were Syrians.

Sea tragedies occur quite often in the Aegean Sea, as thousands of migrants attempt to enter Greece illegally from its neighboring countries each year.During the past weekend the Greek coastguard detained 64 undocumented migrants off Lesvos island’s coasts 

From the early start till October 2013, 4,409 migrants attempted to enter Greece through Lesvos island, which stands just six miles away from mainland Turkey,  the BBC reported on a video documetnray. Of those, 2,600 were arrested on Lesvos island and were held on the detainnee center. “Non-Syrians stay for around 25 days there  before being given papers that order them to leave Greece within a month. Syrians, due to their country’s civil war, are released more quickly and allowed six months in Greece” adds the BBC 

 But after Polio striked  since November 2013 as an epidemic cluster on Syria children, the WHO and the ECDC orderd extra vigilance  and caution for the European countries importing Syrian refugees, and that means, primarily Greece, and mostly Lesvos.   By the  BBC report, “Lesvos Aegean island, the Greece’s third largest, a place of extraordinary natural beauty – but now one of Europe’s key immigration frontier” as the BBC notes, “holds the first spot on the European immigration inflow “. And it is there, local authorities reports say, where the half, and more, of the immigrants entering Greece on the latest months are Syrians and Syrian families.

It is now the Greek CDC,(HCDCP), under a nightmare surround of a Health system crumbling to pieces day by day due to austerity measures, which is called to shoulder this world’s Urgent responsibility, and it’s not the first time for Greece.  It is , though, the first time in Modern world, that a country impoverished on such a level Noone OF the modern world still can imagine, to hold the Unbearable of protecting the safety of the Global Health Village, while nobody From this country -except the very experts- at least cares for that!……. 

“Due to the special peculiarities of our country, such as the immigration and  the refugees inflow from  areas as Pakistan Afghanistan, Nigeria and recently Syria, where polio is endemic“, the Greek CDC announced, “surveillance on Poliovirus has become more than ever urgent, as it is the urgent need for the strengthening of  immunization programs  in  populations with low vaccination coverage, as the Roma, gypsies and illicit immigrants.” 

It is less than five years ago, when Greece was proud for its Public Health shield, that could, really guarantee for the biological safety of the guarding Gate of the West , a Gate that this country happens to be since thousands of years, as a geographical spot. 

Even by embracing the thousands of illicit immigrants since the start of the millenium, Greece was managing to withhold critical epidemics, like also the pandemic, by Alert Action Plans, scheduled and elaborated by the Greek CDC, and by even paying for the expensive therapies of the immigrants whener -and for whoever of these was found infected by communicable diseases (such as the HIV since the very early days ). And, indeed. Greece was standing proudly towards the New era of the Global Public Health Alert, which happens to light up now in the around  Greece area, in  Eastern Mediterranean, were nations, cultures and human masses merge on these days in a flammable pot. Greece holds the scrap of this melting pot, the 90% of the illicit immigrants who enter Europe,( by FRONTEX 2012)  on the crossroads of East and West , North and South, but by keeping also the keys of Europe, and the guarantee of Public Health Safety on behalf of Europe towards the West. And here comes the Polio .

The Greek CDC (HCDCP), -by any cost that political efforts demand to convince a chaotic and paralysed state by its governors, as Greece is at the moment- has maximised since October 2013 the National Alertness and Preparedness efforts to prevent an outbreak of polio in Greece, which will enter Europe on the same moment.  Epidemiological , laboratory and environmental surveillance of poliovirus have been strengthened on parallell with the intensification of  immunization status monitoring of infants, children , adolescents and adults, and the completion of their vaccination against polio, in both the general public and the special populations with low vaccination coverage, such as gypsies, mobile populations, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

 Also, the Greek CDC has informed by all the up-to-date documentation, following the Global Travel Health Principles, the ambassadors of countries where polio is endemic for the need to vaccinate their citizens in order to obtain visa  to enter Greece. The Greek CDC (HCDCP) also issues Guidelines on vaccination for travelers to and from countries considered high risk on poliovirus.

Besides, the Greek CDC ( HCDCP) has already  introduced  since March 2013 the  polio vaccine  in the scheduled action of  the  immigrant reception centers at the northern land frontiers of  Greece, Evros and Aegean islands, of course.

 Still, it remains a lot to be done to avoid an Armagedon. To learn why Greece’s Armagedon is in the air(!), go to our full story of Greek to me !

by moodhacker, greek2m.org