Fire in the village of Mati

As I mentioned in my last report, I have been looking for a room near the airport from last Friday to Saturday and from yesterday to today (campsites are rare here; there is one - poorly rated) to pick up Dani from the airport and take her back at 5am this morning.

I found the 'Flower Garden' guesthouse online. When I took the first walk with Kiran on Friday evening, I was shocked to see the many charred, empty houses and wondered where I had landed. Without thinking too much about it, I had a conversation with Kirsten (the guesthouse owner) in the evening and she told me that there was a terrible fire on July 23, 2018. She, like many others, could only escape into the water, and there were many more deaths than the approximately 70 people (which the Greek government is sweeping under the carpet - only the people reported missing were officially declared dead) and that poorly built power lines (which sparked due to a storm) were probably the cause of the fire.

Across from the guesthouse is an almost empty field with charred trees. Kirsten believes that these trees urgently need to be cut down as they would burn easily. But nothing is being done here either. There are only two houses left in the street. The other residents either no longer live here or have lost relatives in the fire and therefore do not want to return.

I don't remember hearing about it last summer. But when I google, I find reports and videos.

This place and its people are deeply traumatized. That is probably why it has a place in this blog.