Human tragedies, personal stories of horror, despair and pain of those who survived the fiery hell of the Mati fire, rank the trial of the guilty in a deadly fire among those processes that can rarely be carried out. Every day during a trial, one story is more difficult than another, as witnesses literally take a stand to describe what the human mind cannot comprehend.

Ariadni Kalegiannaku, who lost her son, parents and brother in the hell of fire, shocked the audience, in which, when a total of eight witnesses testified yesterday, only sobs and silent screams were heard.

The witness stated that the tragic outcome of the death toll was not only due to poor coordination and gross negligence, but also due to fraud. “These people,” he said, “were called to protect the lives and property of citizens, and yet they behaved so inhumanly and left their fellow citizens at the mercy of God. On the altar of their personal ambition, they burned my child, my parents and my brother. If they put an eight-year-old child in charge of this, he would have done it much better, not them,” emphasized the woman, who lived for good luck, and she and her husband, who then took over the testimonies. .

Anastasios Alexopoulos, clearly charged, described how when his child was finally identified among the dead, he went so far as to ask the funeral home to take a picture of his burned body because he couldn’t bear it, he couldn’t accept what had happened. The unfortunate child, along with his grandparents, fell into the trap of a fiery flame, and they all tragically died. “Eventually they ended up in a field and burned to death like mice. Why did they let the world burn? Why; Why; Why;”.

“There Wasn’t One”

Maria Avramidou testified her grief at the loss of her family, who lost their mother, sister, son-in-law and nephew, and she miraculously escaped, as did her daughter, because they left – by accident – earlier than the burning zone. “Before that, it seemed to me that I live in a state close to us,” the witness said, “but that day there was no one. I wouldn’t want someone innocent to be blamed. However, as a mere excuse, I contend that whoever did a bad job should be punished for all the lost souls. We are the living dead. Our life has changed. I cannot accept the fact that my people are left alone, helpless. My daughter and I live by chance,” the witness said.

She was followed by the witness post of her nephew, who lost his brother, two parents and a grandmother. The child was lucky because he was outside of Athens. Yesterday at the trial next to him were his friends, and the audience stood up as a sign of respect for the memory of his parents, brother and grandmother, who died in a fiery hell. Dimitris Katsoulakis, 22, is shocked as he talks about how he tried to find his family and the pain of losing his family that defined his life for the rest of his life.