Protest demonstrations to protect public health

As the process of sorting and removing inert materials from the animal remains at the Goggakis site drags on—while awaiting the start of the full clean-up operation—residents’ patience has run out. Those who were able to have already left the area, planning to return only once the unbearable stench subsides.

Both local groups and trade unions in Alepou are organising protest rallies on Monday evening. Residents will gather at 4 p.m. at the turnoff to DEI, while union members plan to rally outside the municipal council hall at 7 p.m.

The initiative for the protests was launched by the Workers’ Centre, which is coordinating its efforts with several organisations, including ADEDY (the civil servants’ federation), the Parents’ Association, and others.

The organisations accuse both the central government and the local authorities of negligence and indifference toward the public health risks caused by the massive accumulation of decomposing animal remains at the destroyed Goggakis facilities.

“For two weeks now, we’ve been living next to thousands of tons of rotting fish and meat — with all the obvious consequences for our health. We are breathing in the decomposition and its toxic byproducts. The residents here are living through a nightmare, and our children who attend nearby schools — in Potamos, Alepou, the local high schools, the 9th and 11th primary schools, and the kindergartens — are exposed to these dangerous substances every day.

The groundwater is also being contaminated, and rodents have become disease carriers. The Medical Association of Corfu has issued a warning, stressing that we are breathing toxic and carcinogenic substances and that public health is now in immediate danger for everyone,” reads a statement from the Parents’ and Guardians’ Association of the Municipality of Central Corfu.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS