Greek communities joined all over the world to mark the anniversary of the rail crash that killed 57 people. In light of claims of a government cover-up, how are these communities in South Wales fighting for justice?
Over one hundred people gathered in Cardiff city centre to mark the second anniversary of Greece’s deadliest train disaster.
The event was organised in protest of the Greek government’s handling of the tragedy that cost the lives of 57 people the majority being university students.
“They were going back to uni to carry on with their life, and now they are just gone, they don’t exist,” said Panoraia Kalpotharakou, 40, a member of the Greeks in Cardiff and South Wales, who organised the gathering.
“We are grieving the people most of them were uni students who were coming back from a bank holiday.”
The tragedy took place on 28 February 2023, as a passenger train carrying 352 passengers collided with a cargo train in Tempe.
To honour the victims, each of their names was read aloud, followed by members of the crowd lighting 57 candles and placed on the ground of Churchill Way outside the Capitol building.
For over two years many of the families affected have been waiting for answers from the government, with many paying for private investigations that uncovered more about the fatal incident than was reported by the Greek media and government.
Kalpotharakou said, “There hasn’t been any justice for the families of the victims who are trying to find answers… they can’t find anything. So, what we are seeking is justice.”
The protests are also intended to express people’s dissatisfaction with the Greek government’s handling of the accident, with many suspecting a nationwide cover-up and allegations of high-level political corruption.
Gerasimos Spyratos, 18, a student at Cardiff University studying psychology, said, “The government failed to protect its people and the system that prioritises power over human lives.
“Yet we continue to elect these leaders, we continue to allow negligence, corruption and indifference to define the societies we live in.
“We’d like to believe we live in the twenty first century, an era of freedom, progress, and justice but what good is this progress if it does not extend to the most fundamental duty of governance ensuring the safety of citizens.”
The Greek government has been accused of covering up many details towards the incident, including claims such as the cargo train carrying illegal hydrocarbon added to the fatal explosion, the disappearance of forensic evidence, and the missing 600€ million received to invest in its trains and train-line.
Since the incident only the station master has been found guilty and is facing multiple charges including involuntary manslaughter, however, many believe many political officials are also responsible and should face charges.
“They have political asylum, that’s another issue,” said Kalpotharakou. “Nobody can touch them nobody has been in prison for that crime apart from the one person who was on duty that night, none of the politicians went to prison.
“If it was in France or Canada people would have already been in prison for such a crime but not in Greece the land of democracy and justice anyone can do whatever they please.”
Other communities and campaign groups also came out in support and to stand in solidarity with the Greek community.
Joao Felix from the National Education Union said, “We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Greek people and the people of Greece fighting for justice.”
He said that it was due to those in power prioritising profits over its people and not the acts of a rail work failure that caused the crash and how the strikes in Greece are an example to us all in standing up for justice.
Many who participated in the protest held signs in both Greek and English that said ‘I have no oxygen’ the last words many parents received from their children as they called or left voicemails to say goodbye.
“They’re not going to silence us,” said Kalpotharakou. “Wherever there are Greeks we are not going to stay silent. We have nothing to lose, what are we going to lose, whatever it is to be lost we have lost already.”