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GREECE, A DREAM VACATION ?
or the DOORWAY TO HELL?
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A Memoir Published in Europe in the Fall of 2003
It was 7 am on a clear, crisp morning in early November. The sun was brilliant. I took a deep breath and felt a shudder course through my body. After all these years of living in Greece; I was still enamoured with the majesty of the Aegean sea, the alluring scent of gardenia and the lush profusion of deep, magenta bougainvillae. I stepped onto the jetty, from our yacht, moored at a small, natural marina on one of the most beautiful islands I had ever seen.
I whistled for my childlike brood of rescued canine "children" and called their names repeatedly. How odd! No response. Not a sound; just the waves gently slapping the shore and the ultra sweet melody of a choir of early morning birds.
I walked briskly towards the beach and stopped dead in my tracks. What I saw, pierced my heart, paralyzed my mind and shattered my soul.
My four beloved dogs, Principissa, Queenie, Drakoumen and Spithaki, were sprawled, motionless on the sand. They were leg tied together, in a circle and had been deliberately shot to death. My tiny rescue Spithaki had a small American flag shoved down her throat. Their eyes were open. Fresh blood, pain and fear shrouded them in a blanket of death.
At this very moment I vowed to my God and the universe that I would obtain justice for their deaths and for every animal that died in my arms during the fifteen long years I struggled to create change in this very brutal venue. I vowed that I would memorialize every animal that crossed over to a final peace and would bring tribute to every animal that would be cursed to be born, to exist and to die in Greece. |
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The very next morning, after owning and successfully running an extremely lucrative tourist industry; being an incredibly loving, patient wife to Niko and step mother to my beloved "daughter" Natasa; I escaped the island, left 15 horses, a menagerie of helpless animals of all species, dumped on my property by locals and tourists, my husband, my daughter and a multi-million dollar enterprise. I fled to Athens with my beloved Twinkie, Perky, Pinky, Ebony, one suitcase and just a little over $1000.00 USD. I fled with tears running down my face and an icy cold blast of sorrow in my heart.
I was so naive, so trusting, that I never thought to ask to have my name added to our businesses or on the deeds to our homes.
I remained in Athens for four months with my best friend Shey, a Canadian, married to a very famous Greek soccer player; ignoring my husbands pleas for me to return. When he would fly to Athens in search of me; Shey and her husband Yiorgos would hide me and the animals in his parents home.
Without a backward glance, accompanied by my beloved animals, a shattered spirit, and my faith in God and His "Son", Jesus Christ quite wounded, I left for America.
Returning to America was culture shock! My parents, strict in the old European sense refused to help me stating: "You made your bed, you lie in it"!
In order to survive in New York City, I worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, 60 to 72 hours a week in an extremely intense Medical Center Burn Unit; moonlighting at times in Bellevue Medical Centers' emergency room - a veritable nightmare of twisted bodies, minds and the occasional miracle. Daily physical exhaustion did not keep me from adoring every moment of my work, ministering physically, emotionally and spiritually to those in need.
Once my finances were in a semblance of balance, I quickly filed for divorce; from the man - from the country. The lingering visions of animal suffering and their brutally agonizing deaths are palpable to my core and will not vacate my mind.
Deliberate animal abuse and willful neglect are raging everywhere. I have traveled most of the world, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, most of Europe, North Africa, South America, and the "old Russia", and I have reached the conclusion that the human animal is by far, the most savage, the most dangerous! What a tragic discovery.
Poisoning, beating to death, shooting, hanging, drowning, stabbing, burning, deliberate starvation and far worse are a way of life for the animals of Greece and most of this world.
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I lived in Greece for fifteen long years; in Athens and on an astonishingly breathtaking island situated in the Northern Aegean. My Greek is fluent. I speak, I read, I write, I cook and yet, I am unable to comprehend the Greek mentality and their proclivity towards savage brutality.
My personal history with Greece spans three decades and some; beginning while I was a university student. That history is peppered with the visions of unimaginable brutality and the innocent, vulnerable souls that took their last breaths as I held them tightly in my arms, comforting them as they surrendered to the Mercy of Death.
For years, and at this very moment, I pray to JESUS for MERCY for these poor animals. I beg GOD to erase the heartbreaking and horrifying visions of animal cruelty and willful neglect that are indelibly imprinted in my heart and mind.
I am not able to forget and so I wage war; war for those who have no weapons and no leaders and will continue to do so, until the moment I DIE and then, GOD willing, from "BEYOND".
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I am in daily phone contact with Greek friends, journalists, highly placed Greek government officials and the few animal activists unafraid to "fight".
The 2004 Athens Olympic Games, an event intended to unite the world in camaraderie, good will and international sportsmanship has only served to perpetuate a flourishing practice in Greece - the merciless, mass slaughter of tens of thousands of abandoned dogs and cats. These are innocent, abandoned creatures barely able to stagger through the streets of Athens and the greater Attika area in desperate search of food, shelter and human kindness.
So, the Cradle of Civilization/Devastation remains under fire as the Greek state and her municipal governments continue to ignore the international animal protection movement's outcry over abject neglect and the brutal violence perpetrated against animals by some Greeks, non-Greeks and government entities.
Sadly, the nationalistic thrill of ancient history revisited and the promise of cash registers "chinging" in the "bottom line" at the Olympic Games preclude any shred of compassion or humanity.
I have been SUED for "defamation of character, slander and libel, which are criminal offenses in this absurd country, in the High Court of Athens - subsequent to my television exposes, my acerbic articles and international BOYCOTT campaigns. So for the crime of telling the truth, producing a film documentary, detailing the atrocities and sharing photographs, internationally - there are two active WARRANTS for my ARREST in Greece. How ludicrous, yet, I believe that it proves that I have done my job well! |
"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals
as they now look upon the murder of men.
"Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Musician, Engineer, and Scientist"
FOR ME, THAT DAY WILL NOT COME A MOMENT TOO SOON!
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