Nearly everything is gone in parts of Greece
Posted: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 12:52 PM by Sam Go
Editor's note: Maria Menounos filed this blog entry after her very moving and personal report on the Greek fires that affected her family. Watch video of her TODAY report here.
by Maria Menounos, NBC contributor
Saturday August 25, 2007. I was on set producing a short film when I got word from my mother that Greece was on fire. I immediately went online to seek out as many details as possible. I quickly realized the magnitude of the disaster as it was the top story all over the world. My mother frantically tried to reach family in Greece while many more calls from concerned family members in the States poured in. My Uncle Taki was visiting Greece and witnessed his and my mother's village burning. He was able to save their home but unfortunately others weren’t as lucky.
I immediately knew I had to be there. Most people know me for my work in entertainment news, maybe some occasional acting roles, and my dedication to my charity work. The truth is I studied journalism because I was the girl who wanted to chase the fire trucks. My heart bleeds for people during tragedies and always has. It kills me to just watch the news on television. I want to be there to help in whatever way I can. My first job was at Channel One News. It was an unbelievable opportunity to travel the world and to cover stories that were important to the world. I visited an impoverished South Africa and covered the Aids epidemic. I visited El Salvador the day after being ravaged by a massive earthquake. There, I not only reported on it, I dug in and assisted however I could. I made sandwiches for rescue workers, and tried to comfort families who lost loved ones. Because I speak Spanish, the people of San Salvador begged me to contact their families in Miami and other places to let them know they were alive. And so I did. This is why I love what I do.
I know its tough to listen to the news. It can get depressing. I knew I could be the difference between people caring about this disaster in Greece, and them overlooking it. I knew I had an advantage being Greek and speaking the language. I also have my family there to help in any way they could. I got the call from my Executive Producer Jim Bell and within three hours I was on a plane to Greece to cover the tragedy for “the Today Show.”
Photo: Looking at what's left. Maria with her family in Greece after the fires. Click photo to watch video.
It was interesting as I haven’t covered breaking news like this for a few years. All of a sudden, I didn’t know what to pack or what to expect. How dangerous will this really be? Having asthma, I knew I needed to pack as many inhalers as I possibly could, just in case. I also purchased face masks for myself and my crew as well as eye drops for everyone. I packed up enough clothing to last me in case the fires got worse and I needed to stay longer. I traded my high heels for my Nikes and off I went.
I expected to arrive in Athens and be able to see the fires from the plane. That didn’t happen. I expected to see active flames en route to the Peloponese region. There weren’t many. I did meet many Greek people along the way who warned me about how sad I would get when I saw the devastation first hand. And I did. Instead of raging fires, I saw blackened ashy mountains. Landscapes once green and lush-burned. Burned homes and desperate people. Pictures, and video footage really do not do it justice. The toughest part of my job there was the limited time we had to shoot and the limited time we had for the actual story. Its tough to convey everything you want. That’s why I’m writing this blog.
I can tell you that we drove from 3:30 a.m. out of Athens heading to the Peloponese region. Even in the darkness you could see the greenery, some 650,000 acres of farmland, had been reduced to ash. As day broke, it was too much to believe. Miles and miles, for hours and hours, all we saw was black and ash. EVERYTHING is gone. From time to time we’d see thick smoke still going strong. It felt like a scene out of a movie or how you would describe hell . If you watched my story on the Today Show or the Nightly News you saw my family’s home was a casualty. But they are just one of so many homes lost. What is especially tragic is that for most of these people, they not only lost their homes and all of their worldly possessions, they also have lost their livelihoods. Many of them were farmers who depend on the land and their livestock-- now, it's suddenly destroyed. Many are calling this the biggest disaster to hit Greece since World War II and its not over yet.
Since my trip, some fires continue. Floods are now a big concern. I know we have our own problems here in our country, but if this story touched you I hope you will reach out and help.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has established a relief fund. Checks can be made out to “Greek Fire Relief Fund” and sent to:
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St.
New York, NY 10075-0106
Donations are also being accepted via the web at http://www.goarch.org
