Tharros today report on the increasing risks that the organisation of  electricity theft creates for people living in Messinia. We translate the article below: – 

The scourge that endangers people’s lives

The phenomenon of electricity thefts in Messinia – and especially in the areas around Kalamata, where there are Roma camps – has been repeatedly highlighted through a report by “Th.”, as it is a threat that endangers human lives and property.

Last year in August, after repeated fires in the area of Agia Triada, near a Roma camp, there had been countless reports of the large scale of this issue. In fact, at that time, the Mayor had stated that he would appeal to the Prosecutor.

However, the situation has not changed at all and it was also proven in the fire the day before yesterday in Aspropoulia, with the Disaster Response Team of Messinia screaming and again the alarm sounding.

The improvised cables with hooks set up daily for the illegal supply electricity and their spread in the fields, constitute “death traps”, not only for the the residents themselves, but also for the firefighters and volunteers who are called upon to operate in conditions of suffocating smoke and uncontrollable Flame.

The method is well-known: cables descend directly from pylons, often with improvised hooks made of bent hooks or pieces of copper, and then cross estates, waters, and roads. The connections are rough, often naked and exposed, posing an immediate risk of electric shock. There are many times when farmers, with their tractors and cutters, have accidentally cut such cables in their fields – incidents that, by pure luck, have not led to tragedy to date.

The picture, as described by firefighters and volunteers who have rushed to fires, is revealing: hundreds of meters of cables hanging from columns, sometimes wrapped in trees, sometimes buried in the ground or even pass through watery spots, to end up in shacks within Roma settlements.

A photo a thousand words
The most worrying, of course, is not only the financial burden of electricity theft, but the danger to human life. The situation continues to this day. Despite the constant complaints, tolerance and inaction have turned the problem into a timeless “time bomb”.

This danger is also confirmed by the recent dramatic testimony of the Group of Disaster Response of Messinia (OAC of Messinia), which on Wednesday was called to assist in the fire in Aspropoulia. The volunteers, in a post that accompanied the photo we publish, clearly described the danger they face on a daily basis:

“See the danger that both professional firefighters and firefighters face on a daily basis? volunteers, trying to contain fire incidents that have starting from cases of power theft in camps. We find cables everywhere. Then we inform HEDNO, the power is cut off and entire areas. They are left without electricity, so that we can enter the incident. If the HEDNO is delayed, the risk of the fire escaping is enormous, with scattered cables.

Make reason for the negligence of the authorities, which they characterize as “criminal, provocative and timeless”, underlining that the issue is not only about illegality or the economic damage, but above all the public safety.

By Vicky Vetoulaki