Filenews 30 December 2023 - by Despina Psilou
Flickering lights, gleaming decorations and gold dust are not normal for all citizens. Some do not have food in their kitchen, others live without basic furniture. Hundreds are on their knees from high prices, with their meagre salary not enough by the end of the month. "People are not coping", underlined to "F" the president of the Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council (PSE), Elias Demetriou, on the occasion of the completion of the campaign "Adopt a Family at Christmas".
He said they helped about 5,000 families, twice as many as usual, making this the worst year in a decade since they launched the initiative.
"We offered help throughout the week, after Christmas. It was the second extension, as it had been preceded by another one until December 20." Things, he underlined, are more difficult this year. "Unfortunately it is worse every year," he said, adding that there had been an increase in needs last year, while it seems that people are going through even more difficult times from the haircut of 2013, but also from the pandemic.
''here is a noticeable increase in appeals for help and people's need for goods. We attribute this to the wars that have broken out, to the high prices recorded and to the shrinking of classes. The middle class tends to disappear, which is reflected in the goods that come to us. A small business that gave us ten, today will give five. So is the ordinary citizen, who cannot help with the same comfort."
For the first time this year, Mr. Demetriou noted, they followed a new strategy during the campaign, aiming to decongest the volunteer corps and prevent thousands of citizens from resorting to them. "We asked our member organizations to list needs that exist so that people can reach out directly to them. We supported 80 organisations, which then helped around 3,200 families. At the same time, we helped around 1,700 families in the volunteer corps."
This is a serious increase, Demetriou noted. "In other years there were around 2,000 families. This year we are almost at 5,000. The number has doubled. It's the first time he's climbed this high."
However, Mr. Demetriou stresses, in most cases they are not unemployed citizens but low-paid. "They get €700, €900, €1,000, salary. People don't come out. It cannot cover the needs of rent, electricity, telephone. Some have mortgages, they have small children. What will these people pay first?" he asked.
Misery, as Mr Demetriou points out, is next to us. There are houses that have nothing in the refrigerator or even that do not have a mattress to sleep on. "A gentleman refused an invitation to a Christmas luncheon, and after much pressure admitted that he had no second pair of trousers, apart from the pierced one he was wearing."
However, he notes, people don't feel comfortable talking about the difficulties they're going through, let alone asking for help. "We got a call from a lady who refused to tell the volunteers her details (despite the assurance that they were confidential) and preferred not to receive help. Someone also called on behalf of three families, who took it upon himself to take them to them."
There is no shame in asking for help
People should not be ashamed to ask for help, Demetriou said, adding: "No one is to blame for their difficulties. After all, it is a pity that their children are deprived of a festive table, a sweet, a gift. It is not a shame. On the contrary, you ask for help that the volunteers will offer you with love, with the wish that you will soon be back on your feet."
However, he said, even the state services refer families in need to volunteer corps, since this way they will receive help, avoiding bureaucracy. "Instead of the State being at the forefront, it is a helper of the process," he underlined, adding that they are in dialogue with the state mechanism, however, he said, there are long-standing gaps.
