"THE CEILING HAD A HUGE HOLE WITH IRONS HANGING'' SHOCKING TESTIMONY OF A FRIEND OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS IN THE APARTMENT BUILDING - Filenews 12/4 by Ioanna Mantziipa
The girlfriend of the 27-year-old Nigerian, one of the victims of the double tragedy that unfolded early afternoon on Holy Saturday, spoke exclusively to Filenews and described the miserable conditions that prevailed in the apartment building which collapsed. This is Joanna Georghadji, probably the last person to speak to the 27-year-old, before he died tragically under the rubble of the apartment building in which he lived with other compatriots.
Joanna and Stanley had been friends for over two years and were part of the same marathon runner preparation team. Every Saturday, as he tells us, they went to the Running Club together. Stanley, who came to Cyprus from Nigeria in search of a better future, did not drive and Joanna always took him with her, as their homes were close to the same area.
"Today (yesterday) I went and picked him up from the house and then left him, around 1.00 in the afternoon. Ten minutes passed and he texted me, thanking me for taking him home. Then the bad thing happened," said his girlfriend, shocked by the tragic events. "I was calling him on the phone, but he wouldn't answer me."
Joanna describes the conditions in Stanley's apartment: "All I know is that last year, when I went to his house, he said, 'Come and get yourself some water after the run.' I always told him no, because I saw the apartment building in bad condition. One day, I went to his apartment and the ceiling was punched, with the irons hanging in the living room. I said to him 'Oh my goodness, how do you live like this?' and he replied 'When you are black in this country, this is how you are treated.'"
Joanna also mentions that Stanley and his roommates had informed the landlord of the apartment's poor condition: "They had told the landlord that the ceiling had fallen and there was no electricity. They used candles to see. His bed was a mattress of old clothes. They had told the owner, but he did nothing. As soon as he opened the door, the ceiling had a huge hole, with irons hanging in the living room and cement falling."
As for his roommates, Joanna stated that the 27-year-old lived with other Nigerians and that they all paid their rent normally: "Stanley worked for a company that installed photovoltaics and was legal in Cyprus. They paid their rent normally and were formal. No one told them that they had to leave, because of the danger of the building."
His friend, moved, emphasizes the character of the 27-year-old, saying that he was a man who respected Cyprus, loved Cypriots and did everything. "He paid his rent on time and wanted to be right. I know that, in the apartment, he lived with two other people. He always told the children that they should pay on time. To understand his character, he did not leave the moment the building collapsed, because he wanted to help others. Raphael (a person who was taken to a private hospital) who conveyed them to me when I called him, was very upset."
Stanley, according to Joanna, worked but also helped his mother and six siblings: "His mother used to tell him, 'Come back, son, we've missed you,' and now the poor girl will find out that her son died in this horrible way. God, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry, I'm shocked."
"Today, when we were leaving the run, because they had a party there, he said to me 'Aren't we staying half an hour longer?' and I told him that I was in a hurry and I had to leave to go home because they were waiting for me. He replied 'It's okay, I'll come with you'. If we stayed half an hour longer, he might have escaped and I feel very bad."
Finally, Joanna points out with emotion: "It is very tragic that these people come to our country for a better future and experience all this. We are all human, I have nothing else to say."
