Maria Karra is one of the founders of AMKE Emfasis Foundation, a non-profit company that was born during the financial crisis. While some stabilisation has been evident from the first very harsh effects of this crisis, the need for assistance is multiplying rather than diminishing. Natural disasters are the ones that leave the deepest marks on the social fabric, with Emfasis volunteers insisting on the quest for healing even two years after each “blow” of nature. Now at Emfasis, despite the valuable cooperation with “Global Insurance”, although it has multiplied its forces, one will quickly find that they are far from strong in the face of the magnitude of the problems caused by the climate crisis.Speaking to "Kiriakatiki Apogeumatini” Maria Karra underlines the unseen crisis of homelessness or climate change:”At the moment, there are so many cases that occur in a short period of time, making it difficult to identify the cause. We have displaced populations due to military conflicts, political instability in certain areas, and other reasons. The term climate homelessness, climate refugee, is a term that is still being processed today. The official terminology has not yet been established, as until now there was insufficient documentation,” he will say at the outset, but he will add: “I think it is a matter of months to reach a result. I am protesting both at European and global level, at the United Nations level. Nations, in order to formally recognise the problem and finally have the appropriate support framework in place“.

“There is ferment both at European and global level in order to formally recognise the problem and finally have the appropriate support framework in place.”

But why is this important? Maria Karra, through her experience in Greece, explains how aid to those affected reaches them weakened and unclear, resulting in either their abandonment or their decision to leave their place behind:”From the Mati fires and on, through the actions of Emfasis to help the fire-stricken, we experience the phenomena not only in the moment they develop, but in the long run. Their effects are still lived on for months after the time point “before” of the disaster. What is clear is that assistance to the affected person is not recognised in a specific and clear context. It is a labyrinth of directives and legal frameworks, channelled in a “broken telephone” manner from the central state to the periphery and from there to the Local Government., emphasizes.

The paradox of Thessaly

Emfasis volunteers, starting with the screening center, as it has been installed in the basement of the “Ydrogios Insurance” facility in Kallithea, act within 48 hours of the occurrence of the phenomenon. But now they are closing a year of action in Thessaly. As a result of the destruction wrought by “Daniel”, they strive to be on a daily basis next to the residents of the region and there they detect the strangeness and failure of the framework of support for the affected. “For example, the Municipality of Karditsa has taken part in the provision of housing allowance or the provision of temporary housing to those affected. Several of them have a “satellite” family on the island of Trikala or in the island of Larissa. If they decide to find housing either with their relatives or in another area because of a more economical choice, then they lose the right to help.”stresses Maria Karra, in order to underline the need to establish a specific framework and condition for the climate homeless or refugee.

It is noted that Emfasis and “Ydrogios Insurance” have been cooperating since December 2019 through the program “We do not pass by - We support the vulnerable population in emergency situations”, a collaboration that culminated in the era of “Daniel” and also in the fires in Varnavas, Attica.

The messages coming from the most responsible organisations are anything but encouraging. According to the International Monitoring Centre for Internal Displacement (IDMC) in 2022 alone, natural disasters caused a record 32.6 million IDPs, 98% of whom were displaced due to weather-related hazards such as floods, storms wildfires, forest fires and droughts.

According to the UNHCR, data on cross-border movements as a result of disasters are less, but we are aware that 70%. All refugees live in countries adjacent to their country of origin. According to UNHCR, the aforementioned figure of 32 million displacements represents an increase 41% compared to 2008 levels.

Author: Spyros Darsinos

Source:parapoltika.gr

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