Mass candlelit demonstrations in Greece

Mass candlelit demonstrations in Greece

At 8pm on Saturday 26 June, animal welfare workers and other citizens protested silently outside town halls in over 30 towns and cities throughout Greece. In Athens and Thessaloniki protesters gathered outside several town halls. Participants wore black and tea lights sketched out the word STOP on pavements all over Greece.

Below is a report from someone who attended the protest in Ioannina

"It's hard to describe in words how you feel when the animals you have been feeding for weeks or months on the road suddenly disappear because some unknown person has poisoned them. Sadness, yes but when it happens again and again, it is anger that drives your reactions.

The tourist season in Greece has begun and so have the poisonings and it was poisoning in Kos and Lesbos that prompted a demonstration to draw public attention to a barbaric and cruel pastime that is used daily, all over Greece, to kill animals.

In Ioannina, in an addition to the silent protest, over 75 protesters marched through the centre of the city, stopping Saturday night traffic and drawing crowds of onlookers. Students from the University of Ioannina were well represented and made up a large proportion of the protesters. This was in response to the poisoning of animals at the university earlier in the month. Unfortunately the poisoning continues despite the protests.

At 9pm, the protest closed with a prayer and a plea was made to the authorities to punish and prevent those who poison animals. Local authorities were asked once again to implement the sterilization programmes for stray animals that the law requires of them."

The Prayer

And I too have been left alone and helpless to wait for the end.
With all our strength,
We release ourselves from every fear,
Experiencing this cruelty,
Our sadness keeps on growing and increasing,
For some quite special and wonderful souls,
That have travelled without any danger,
But they have faced death in a really atrocious and humiliating way,
That they have become lightning and thunder,
To remind us that this must come to an end
And then, they all became shiny stars, like they all deserve to become.

I cannot stand the thought that some souls leave this world so vainly and cruelly,
Because there are some disgusting creatures who decide the end of these souls.
I scream but nobody listens,
There is nothing else I can do,
I leave all my hopes in a divine power,
Because it is the only power that can ensure that justice will be done
And maybe the world would become a better and more bearable place to live in.

Pictures from Ioannina

Updated: 8th July 2010