‘People are fighting the fires alone’: Locals recount devastating scenes as Greece blazes destroy homes
It is sad to think that just a few days ago a family lived happily in the burned shell of the house we are now looking around in the village of Limni on Evia Island.
That next door the same family ran a business built over 40 years. Now, the son of the family, Pablos Garyfallou, stares with incredulity at what he is seeing.
The village was one of the first to be evacuated during a week of devastating fires here. Pablos took his parents to safety and has returned to see what is left of the home they had to flee.
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Residents battle to save homes from flames
Everything is destroyed. The fire that swept through Limni was ferocious and Pablos says the emergency services were only preoccupied with getting people out, not saving property. He says more help should have been sent.
He tells me: “Maybe there were some people here but but it was only about the evacuation. It was not to take care of the houses. It was just to take the people away and save lives. Only one plane came over to tackle the fires.”
He says people in many villages are unhappy. Forced to flee their homes, they expected the emergency services to protect their properties. He says when his father learned of what became of what he worked so hard to create he simply cried.
And Pablos now worries what will happen to Evia. He says: “I think lots of people will leave the island. It’s not a small piece of Evia that has burned, it’s half the island. And who is going to pay for all this? We can’t pay, that’s for sure.”
That’s a question so many who have made their lives on Evia will now be asking. So much has been destroyed here and so much is still in jeopardy.
‘Only one plane came over to tackle the fires,’ says Pablos Garyfallou, who did not want to show his face
From the village of Gouves we watch flames threaten a house on a hillside. There are no firefighters there to try to halt the fire. No plane overhead to drop water.
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A timelapse video has captured wildfires burning in the north of Evia, Greece’s second largest island.
Instead three men, local residents, are using the only tools they have at their disposal to try to protect the property. Buckets of water.
Their efforts appear futile, but while we watch they are the only ones trying to do anything. And that makes the residents of Gouves angry.
‘The people are fighting the fires alone. The forest is all burned out,’ says John Zisis
John Zisis is also watching. He tells us: “The people are fighting the fires alone. The forest is all burned out. The houses were saved so far because people fought for them. Only people. Nobody else.”
The truth is the emergency services have been overwhelmed on Evia. Support has now come with firefighters arriving from other nations but the scale and duration of the disaster has defeated all efforts.
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Greece wildfires: Sparse resources to fight
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has now apologised, saying what has happened on Evia “darkens the hearts of us all”. He went on to say: “I apologise for any weaknesses that existed.”
Those words are likely to ring hollow for many on this island who believe much more help could have and should have come.
World
Myanmar frees more than 6,000 prisoners as country marks anniversary of independence from Britain
More than 6,000 prisoners have been released in Myanmar as part of an amnesty to mark the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain.
The head of Myanmar’s military government has granted amnesties for 5,864 prisoners from the Southeast Asian country, as well as 180 foreigners who will now be deported, state-run media said.
The freed inmates included just a small proportion of hundreds of political detainees locked up for opposing army rule since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar’s military takeover in February 2021 was met with a huge nonviolent resistance, which has since developed into a widespread armed struggle.
A released prisoner waves after leaving the jail. Pic: AP
The freeing of prisoners began on Saturday and in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, buses took detainees out of the Insein Prison. Many were met by loved ones who eagerly held up signs with their names.
If the freed inmates break the law again, they will have to serve the remainder of their sentences alongside any new ones, the terms of release state.
In another report, MRTV television said government leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has also reduced the life sentences of 144 prisoners to 15 years.
Family members held signs with their loved ones’ names as the buses appeared. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
All other inmates’ sentences have been reduced by one sixth, apart from those convicted under the Explosive Substances Act, the Unlawful Associations Act, the Arms Act and the Counterterrorism Law – all laws which are often used against opponents of military rule.
According to rights organisation the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 28,096 people have been arrested on political charges since the army takeover, and 21,499 of those remained in jail as of Friday.
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Released prisoners are hugged by loved ones and family. Pic: AP
Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, told journalists those released include about 600 people prosecuted under a law which makes it a crime to spread comments that create public unrest or fear, or spread false news.
There has been no suggestion the releases include that of Myanmar’s former leader Suu Kyi, who – now aged 79 – is serving a 27-year sentence after being prosecuted for a number of politically-tinged charges.
Aung San Suu Kyi. File pic: Reuters
Most of the foreigners being freed are Thai people arrested for gambling in a border town, the spokesperson added.
It is not uncommon for Myanmar to mark holidays and significant occasions with prisoner releases.
The country became a British colony in the late 1800s and regained independence on 4 January 1948.
Drive an hour outside China’s commercial capital Shanghai, and you’ll reach Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory.
It manufactures almost one million Tesla cars a year and produces more than half of all its cars worldwide.
But with US president-elect Donald Trump preparing to move into the White House, the relationship between his new buddy Elon Musk and the leadership of China‘s Communist Party is in sharp focus.
Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory. Pic: Lex Ramsay
Shanghai has been the key to Tesla’s success, largely thanks to the city’s former Communist Party secretary, now China’s premier, Li Qiang.
Chief executive of Shanghai-based Auto Mobility Limited, Bill Russo, says: “Qiang is China’s number two person. His position in Shanghai made everything possible for Tesla.”
He added: “In 2017, China adjusted its policy guidelines for the automotive industry to allow foreign companies to own their factories in China.
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Musk, Trump and China explained
“Tesla signed its deal in 2018, broke ground in 2019, and started producing the Model 3 in 2020.”
The factory opened at breakneck speak and in record time.
In April, Musk met Qiang in Beijing, later posting on X: “Honoured to meet with Premier Li Qiang. We have known each other now for many years, since early Shanghai days.”
Elon Musk met Chinese premier Li Qiang in Beijing in April 2024. Pic: AP
The Musk-China ties go all the way to the top.
When China’s President Xi Jinping visited the US in November 2023 he met Musk, who posted: “May there be prosperity for all” – echoing the language often used by China’s government.
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Inside a Tesla showroom in Shanghai. Pic: Lex Ramsay
Musk has previously weighed into the debate over the status of Taiwan. Two years ago, he suggested tensions could be eased by giving China some control over Taiwan.
This comment incensed Taiwan’s leaders.
Chinese commentator Einar Tangen, from the Taihe Institute in Beijing, says: “If Musk had said anything else, he could face action against the Shanghai plants. He’s not going to endanger that. He’s playing both sides for his own advantage.”
What’s in it for China?
Musk needs China, and in the months to come, China may need Musk.
He could act as a well-connected middleman between the Chinese Communist Party and Trump, in the face of a potential global trade war.
“Like it or not, we are living in a world where China is the dominant player in the race to an electric future,” says Russo.
Musk pioneered the EV industry in China, but is now struggling to compete with local car brands like BYD and Nio.
Elon Musk’s support helped propel Donald Trump to a second term in the White House. Pic: AP
The relationship between Musk and Trump could become volatile, but for now, Musk stands to benefit.
“Donald Trump has never had a problem giving exceptions to friends,” Tangen says.
“It fits his personality, that he can grant pardons and give favours to the people and companies he chooses.”
Musk ‘the pioneer’
Musk is well regarded as a pioneer in China and most people speak of him highly.
Strolling along the Bund waterfront area in Shanghai, Benton Tang says: “Tesla really impacted the entire industry here.
“It pushed people to develop and improve the quality, the design and especially the price.”
Chinese vehicle manufacturers like BYD provide stiff competition for Tesla. Pic: Lex Ramsay
Interest in the Musk family has also gripped China’s online community.
His mother, Maye Musk, frequently visits the country, where she has a huge social media following as a senior-age celebrity fashion icon and endorses several Chinese products including a mattress brand.
Her book, A Woman Makes A Plan, has been translated into Chinese and is a bestseller here.
Maye Musk. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, as the countdown to Trump’s inauguration gains pace, the spotlight on the president-elect’s coterie of advisers intensifies.
In the middle of the glare is Elon Musk.
China waits to see what that will mean for them.
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