Greece marks 8 years since Mati wildfire that killed 104, with memorial march and calls for justice

Commemoration events

A trisagion was held at the Victims' Memorial next to the church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in Neos Voutzas, led by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Kifissia, Maroussi, Oropos and Marathon. Short addresses were given by the Metropolitan, by Emy Krokidi, president of the Neos Voutzas beautification association, and by Giorgos Kairis, whose wife died in the fire. The crowd then walked the 'road of fire' from the memorial to the Nautical Athletic Club in Mati (NAOMA), where the central memorial event took place and the names of the dead were read aloud. The reading of the names of young children, including an unbaptised six-month-old infant, a five-year-old, nine-year-old twins, and others aged eleven and five, drew the strongest emotion. After each name the crowd shouted 'Immortal'. White balloons were released into the night sky over Mati.

Eight years since the day the unthinkable became harsh reality for our place, we do not forget. It deprived fellow human beings of their families in the most unjust way, changed forever the lives of those who escaped the deadly fire, and left in all of us a great void in the heart and an as yet unanswered 'why' in the mind. We honour the memory of the victims with respect, emotion and a sense of responsibility. We will never forget them.

The 2018 disaster

The fire began at 16:41 on 23 July 2018 in the Ntaou Penteli area, north of the central square of the settlement. Initially it moved towards Dionysos, burning low vegetation. About an hour later weather conditions changed dramatically: winds strengthened abruptly, shifted eastward, and the fire spread uncontrollably. Within minutes the flames crossed Ntaou Penteli, passed the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator, and headed towards Rafina, Neos Voutzas, Kokkino Limanaki and finally Mati. By around 18:15 the fire had already reached the sea, having swept everything in its path. Twenty-six people were found dead in a field next to the sea where they had sought an escape they never found. Nine more died after jumping into the water to flee the flames, and a 13-year-old girl was killed when she fell from a coastal cliff trying to escape.

Ongoing pain and legal battles

Relatives say the wounds remain open. The Association of Relatives of the Dead and Burn Victims of 23 July 2018 in East Attica speaks of 177 victims, a figure that includes the 57 people who suffered serious burns and a further 16 dead who are 'expected to be identified' once a mass grave at the Nea Makri cemetery is opened. The association has taken legal action over the matter. Ten people were convicted for the disaster, and four of them are serving prison sentences. High compensation sums have been awarded, but relatives stress that no amount can replace the lost lives or close the holes in their hearts.

A survivor's story

Kallio Anagnostou, president of the relatives' association and herself a burn survivor, was on holiday in Mati with her child, visiting grandparents. She described how the fire entered the house before they realised the danger, forcing them to flee into the street where they were burned.

For us, not even a day has passed. It is as if it is eight minutes after or eight minutes before it broke out. I was sleeping with my little child in my arms. We were staying in Mati. We lived abroad and had come here on holiday, to see grandma and grandpa. The fire came into the house and unfortunately we realised it when it was already inside. We had to take an extreme decision at that moment: stay inside or leave. When you see flames inside your home, you will not stay. You are forced to go out. And we went out and we burned there. In the street. Because by the time the fire reached us down there it had turned into a tsunami.

Anagnostou spent over a year in home care in a sterile environment with severe restrictions because of the extent of her burns. She said she could not return to her life abroad and that her body now dictates her existence.

I no longer control my body. My body controls me.

Calls for accountability

In a statement, the relatives' association said the anniversary is not only a day of honour but a constant reminder of the value of every life and the duty of institutions, the state and society not to overlook it. The legacy of the 104 victims, the statement said, is the responsibility to defend human life, truth, accountability and solidarity, so that no society becomes accustomed to loss and no such tragedy is ever experienced again. The evening concluded with a march from Poseidonos Street to Argyra Akti, the narrow coastal spot where many had sought refuge eight years earlier.