Hope in Greece (by Amy Muse)

Hope in Greece

Posted on July 29, 2013by valesoul

“People are getting INVOLVED — Folks are DOING something, and that is a magical thing to watch, and even more magical to be involved in,” my dear friend Martha wrote to me this spring from Athens.

The news of Greece, as you know, hasn’t been good. Austerity strategies are a cruel joke, based on false premises. Homelessness, drug addiction, prostitution are on the rise in Athens, as you can see captured in Angelos Tzortzinis’s heartbreaking photos.

Maybe this is all you’ve heard about Greece—one  wave after another of failed bailouts and government infighting. Maybe you’ve tuned out, writing it off as a hopeless cause. Beautiful country, great weather, hopeless politics, nothing to be done. Maybe, then, you need to learn about a remarkable crisis response in Athens: the Metropolitan
Community Clinic at Helliniko, a free clinic that has sprung up to help the unemployed, uninsured, and/or impoverished Greeks, immigrants, and others who are falling through the widening cracks in the system.

Volunteers bringing medicines to the clinic. Photo from the BBC.

(The space, may I add, is an inspired repurposing of a former American Air Force base.)

The clinic’s been catching some much-deserved media attention: this BBC News Magazine story, a visit from Naomi Klein (scroll down to 29 May 2013). But I know about it from Martha and her husband Mark, who have been volunteering there since its inception (read her quoted in the BBC story). Not the type of folks who sit soliloquizing while something is rotten in the state, they have been translating materials for the clinic’s website, sorting medicines for the storeroom, listening to patients’ stories, chipping in to pay for medicines to keep people going, providing good will and hope.

An authentic hope, as my colleague Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer puts it—one which “pays attention to problems as they actually are to the best of our understanding, even if problems are grave and solutions are demanding or uncertain.” Not the feeble wishful thinking, the “optimism disconnected from reality” that passes for hope in most of our public discourse (and private conversations, for that matter).

Outside of Greece we’re always reading about the high unemployment rate, especially for young people, who are depicted as futureless. In contrast, Martha sees their vibrant creativity at work: “The young people will save us.  There are so many new ideas, initiatives – young folks coming up with wonderful things – ranging from apps that can be used by free clinics to track medications to fun ads for Greek tourism.  Wonderful stuff.”

One of my writing idols Rebecca Solnit profiles the ways communities can rise up in crisis situations: the generosity that individuals show to one another, the calm they find together at the center of the storm. Instead of complaining about how the situation will never be ideal, we could be heroes  building on hope, knowing that “to be hopeful means to be uncertain about the future, to be tender toward possibilities, to be dedicated to change all the way down to the bottom of your heart.”

A logo photo from the clinic website.

In 1822 Byron wrote to his friend and banker Douglas Kinnaird, “the longer I live – the more I perceive that Money (honestly come by) is the Philosopher’s Stone. . . . I want to get a sum together to go amongst the Greeks or Americans [he meant South Americans] – and do some good.” He did just that: got a sum together and spent the last 100 days of his life trying to do some good in Greece.

I’ve recently returned from the International Byron Conference  at King’s College London.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/chs/events/Byron-Conference/index.aspx
International Byron Conference, King’s College London

At the home/office of John Murray, Byron’s publisher.

The conference theme was the politics of poetry (and poetry of politics), highlighted by a keynote address by Professor Roderick Beaton, whose new book Byron’s War narrates the trajectory of Byron’s life that led him from romantic young traveler and Romantic poet to statesman working for the Greek cause.

Much of what Byron faced in 1824 he would in 2013: petty bickering and mutual undermining between factions who should be working together for a common solution, economically-interested meddling from European leaders who wanted their own piece of Greece, quiet indifference from the many. The venture, then as now, was fraught with uncertainty: are you funding the right people, is your money being used effectively? Will any lasting good come from this? And what precisely do the words “right” and “effectively” and “good” in this situation mean?

It’s easiest to do nothing. But Byron, and Martha and Mark, and countless unsung volunteers, put their philosophers’ stones to good use and sprang into action. Byron’s death in Greece galvanized a movement, and a mythology. Martha is more sanguine: “we will survive and will come out of this different, utterly changed, and pretty much the same.”

Source: http://valesoul.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/hope-in-greece/

P.S. by Martha and Mark:

Mr. Byron, you must have been surprised at hearing your name mentioned in the same sentence with ours – instead of the usual Romantic poets. We were surprised ourselves, because Niko, Eleni, Christo, Lefteris and so many other hard working volunteers weren’t mentioned either. No room you see – there are more than 200 of us. And the doctors! No doctors, no clinic. Ninety doctors and therapists – no room for their names either. Amy is a scholar and knowledgeable about Greece; she has been visiting Greece and writing about it for years. She has written a fair bit about you as well.  So, if you take our names as a stand in for hundreds of volunteers at MCCH, we are very pleased to share the sentence with you. Wish you could show up one afternoon. We’d love to show you around and hear what you have to say.

Ministry of Health Voucher Program: Of What Value?

Helliniko 21 August 2013

PRESS RELEASE

Ministry of Health Voucher Program: Of What Value?

The unemployment rate is 28% and the workforce of the country is just 4 out of 10 Greeks.  At this moment, the Ministry of Health springs on us a voucher program for health.  This is an attempt to impress the public and cloud the picture of the true tragic situation of the hundreds of thousands of uninsured citizens.

The new program, as announced, is a drop in the ocean.  It will serve 100,000 uninsured.  According to press reports, the true level of uninsured is more than 3.5 million (including previously insured shop owners and free-lancers who have closed their shops and businesses together with their dependents). 

We believe this new program, which is expected to last only two years, is glaringly inadequate for the following reasons.

1.      It doesn’t cover all the uninsured.  And it has limits and ceilings, according to region, on doctor’s visits (three visits to take place within four months). 

2.      It doesn’t cover secondary health care, i.e. hospitalization or specific treatment protocols

3.      Pharmaceutical treatment and medication is not even mentioned.

4.      It does not specify if this plan covers all the instances of tests and treatment that a patient may need.

We believe that there are multiple questions that the Ministry of Health must make clear.

1. What will happen to the uninsured-indigent-unemployed cancer patient who needs chemotherapy?
2. What will happen to the uninsured-indigent-unemployed pregnant woman who must have prenatal tests and a place of safe delivery?
3. What will happen to the children with serious illnesses who require hospital treatment whose parents have no insurance cover and cannot afford to pay for hospitalization?  And what about the medications they might need?

The famous voucher program that we have waited for so long says absolutely nothing about these situations.

Mr. Minister, you must give a solution to our fellow citizens whose lives are in immediate danger because they do not have free access to the public health system.

We believe it is important to mention that this particular “initiative” of the Ministry of health refers to the revised memorandum of July 2013.  In the 234 pages of this memorandum (which you can read here: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/occasional_paper/2013/pdf/ocp159_en.pdf ) fewer than 3 pages (33-35) are devoted to the health sector in Greece.  Specifically, on page 35 in one paragraph, it states that this program will last two years and has a budget of 46 million Euro. 

After five years of crisis and three years of economic memoranda we continue to ignore human need in favour of a tidy balance sheet.  The humanitarian crises that we are experiencing will have tragic repercussions on us all.  Think about it.  More than 5.1 million of our fellow citizens (just under half the population) live under the poverty level.  There are 1.4 million officially unemployed.

The Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko has been pleading with the government for more than a year and a half.  We want to government to deeply reflect on the sinister consequences of their policies for poor citizens.  The constitution of the country has been blatantly violated; human rights have been disregarded.  The recent resolutions regarding public health advocated by the European Council – especially for the countries hard hit by the economic crisis, are our guides. (read here: http://mkie-foreign.blogspot.gr/2013/07/blog-post.html )   

After all the misery sustained by the people, even now, instead a public health system that is universal, the Ministry of Health is hastily adopting another frustrating bureaucratic plan that still leaves out most uninsured patients.  By referring to funds from ESPA (The National Strategic Reference Framework) and misinformation to the public, the Ministry of Health is hoping to impress us with an aspirin, when a much more radical cure is needed.

We remain firmly committed to the fight to open the public health system to all without exception.

The Odyssey of the Uninsured and Indigent Patient

Helliniko 20 June 2013

PRESS RELEASE

The Odyssey of the Uninsured and Indigent Patient

Every day volunteer community clinics receive urgent appeals from uninsured and indigent patients for care and for medications, since without this support the alternative can lead to death.

Increasingly typical is the adventure of a 52 year old uninsured cancer patient who was diagnosed in the emergency care section of the Metaxa Cancer Hospital with metastatic cancer of the kidney.  Because of the critical condition of the patient she was operated on immediately – fortunately the hospital did not charge her for this.  The patient was instructed to continue her therapy with a medication – SUTENT of 50 mg – a particularly expensive medication which the hospital did not have available.  And for that reason, the patient came in contact with MCCH. 

An small Odyssey started immediately to secure this medication.  The cost was exorbitant for the simple interested citizen who wanted to help.  The cost to hospitals (the lowest cost) for one box is 3,800 euros and the patient needed two boxes – for a total of 7,600 euros.  It was impossible to believe that a young woman would be left completely without help, to die.  We issued a public appeal for this medication which is what we do in such cases.

And here is the marathon result:  twelve pills were found through community services at Metaxa Hospital, ten pills were found at the Volunteer Community Solidarity Clinic of Thessaloniki, a pharmacy from central Athens contributed 30 pills and pharmacists of the World gave us two boxes of 25 mg each, to complete the therapy.  In addition, we were informed that a public hospital (which didn’t want its name made public for obvious reasons) had set aside 40 pills of 25 mg – but finally they were not needed.

In this case, the crisis was met by the constant search of the volunteers from two community clinics and the Community Services department of Metaxa Hospital, and thanks to the social awareness of pharmacists as well as other citizens who rushed to the telephone and promptly communicated with The Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko.

We have to admit that we abhor such a shockingly cool reaction to the needs of this patient who was forced t undergo an epic odyssey to find the drug that would extend her life - a life that NO ONE has the right to truncate just because she is uninsured!

We wonder what our Minister of Health, Mr. Andrea Lykourentzos, would do if a relative or friend of his were in a similar situation.  Would he simply let them die, or would he send them to a volunteer clinic to search frantically up and down to find the necessary medication?  Won’t the Ministry of Health stop beating about the bush and finally give us all an unambiguous answer – as clear as a bell.  What will happen to the thousands who stagger about without insurance?  Do we decimate them all?  Does the bell have to toll slowly but unrelentingly for every single one of them?  Won’t someone please answer this vital question? 

Is there no public prosecutor in the whole country to point his finger, cry out “J’accuse” and investigate WHO is at fault that so many people perish?  In this country today, does nothing remain standing?

Naomi Klein at MCCH

29 May 2013

Press Release

Naomi Klein at MCCH

On Tuesday, 21 May 2013 Naomi Klein, the well known journalist and author visited Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko.  She was accompanied by her husband, filmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis.  Our guests spoke with volunteers and patients; they were there to learn about how the clinic was structured and functioned.  They also wanted to record and film the results of the austerity measures versus the right of all to have access to public health services.  Mr. Lewis is working on a new documentary on the destruction of the middle class; Ms Klein is gathering material for her new book.  She was visibly moved after speaking to our patients.  She described the clinic as a pillar of resistance in the attempt at levelling human value. 

On leaving she urged volunteers to continue in their efforts to maintain solidarity with those in need with the same enthusiasm and promised to return to MCCH on her next trip to Greece.

We Thank You

The response to our call for assistance for a seven-year old child is really touching.  The child has a complicated condition and was in need of expensive medicine to be given over the coming year.  Within a week of our plea for assistance we have had phone calls, and been sent messages from dozens of people.  And responses came not only from Greece but also from abroad, though our message for help was only in Greek.  We have met the needs for this child for the year.  And so many, who are themselves facing very serious economic problems, still want to give even 10 to 20 euros!  For us the offer of a few euros is of the same - if not more - value towards the coverage of € 735 per box that this product costs.

Thank You!  There are no words to describe how wonderful you make us feel with your heart felt response! 

The agonizing dilemma for uninsured patients: death or debt

Helliniko 10 May 2013

PRESS RELEASE

The agonizing dilemma for uninsured patients: death or debt

On 26 April 2013 a patient was admitted to the People’s Hospital of Athens.  He was uninsured and had a very low income.  The patient had been diagnosed at MCCH with an aneurism in the aorta of the abdomen (7.25 cm).  The doctors of our clinic insisted that he be admitted to the emergency hospital on duty in spite of the patient’s reservations because of his lack of insurance and his financial situation.  They insisted because of the impending danger that the aneurism would burst and be fatal.  Upon his entry into the hospital, it was considered that he was in URGENT need of an operation – which followed immediately.  We had informed, in writing, the directors of the hospital about the condition of the patient and asked whether he would be charged.  In answer to this, we received document number 5075/26-4-2013 which referred to K.Y.A 13949/05 (FEK B 1747/30-11-2006).  It stated that if the patient did not belong to that group, the patient could not be exempt of hospital expenses.  Because the hospital has still not given a clear answer as to whether the patient will be charged or whether the bill will be added to his tax debt (with the ensuing consequences of imprisonment, confiscation, etc), we have to publicly ask the direction the People’s Hospital the following:

A:  Is FEK B’ 1747/30-11-2006 still valid, even after all the memoranda that have been applied in the country?

B:  If it is valid, then according to its articles, a patient who is uninsured and with an income below 6,000€ is treated without being charged.  So why are you referring to charges for his treatment and of the need to inform the tax office of his “debt”?

C: If in the future we send other uninsured patients with serious problems, are you going to go by the same interpretation of the law and will you refer the expenses to the tax office?  If your answer is affirmative, we would like to share our experience at this Community Clinic and let you know that a lot of patients confronted by such a dilemma – death or debt – choose death rather than face a huge debt that they can never manage and therefore risk having to face imprisonment.

Finally, you mighty ladies and gentlemen who hold the reins, and the responsibility, of pubic hospitals in an increasingly impoverished society – to the point of choosing death over life - you people will have to select whether you’ll back Creon or Antigone.  And we remind you that, over the years, humanity has naturally opted for Antigone, and not Creon

A visit from the United Nations to the Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko

Helliniko 03 May 2013

PRESS RELEASE

A visit from the United Nations to the Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko

On April 27, 2013 Mr. Cephas Lumina, an independent expert from the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN visited MCCH.  Mr Lumina is studying the social consequences of rigid austerity policies imposed in Greece.  These policies are pushing an increasing number of people into “extreme poverty.”

During his visit he determined that a major problem is the lack of health coverage for uninsured and unemployed patients.  Doctors discussed with him their deep concerns for uninsured patients.  They may find community clinics such as ours for primary care, but if a patient needs further hospitalization or major surgery, they will have to pay for these services.  If they cannot pay, this debt will be transferred to their tax bill.  Non-payment of these debts carries legal implications – perhaps even as far as imprisonment.  The volunteers of MCCH provided Mr Lumina with specific cases they have documented of this lack of coverage including cancer patients who have suffered irreversible damage to their health. Finally Mr. Lumina asked us whether there are proposals from the state for the coverage of uninsured citizens.  MCCH’s Dr. George Vichas told him that various solutions are being explored.  One example is a proposal to establish a special fund with the revenues coming in from medical services provided to citizens of other countries.  

MCCH strongly disapproves of the inability to process check-outs in state hospitals from 15:00 hours until the next morning.  This results in money lost in the hospitalization of citizens from other countries who are insured; money that would help cover the needs of uninsured citizens.

Mr. Lumina informed us that it will include all his findings in his report, which will be conveyed to the Greek Government.