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World News Posted: January 18, 2023 @ 6:10 pm |
The Rescuers Who Saved Lives Go On Trial in Greece
In March 2017, the National Technical Rescue Unit (NRUI) of Greece was called to assist a nine-year-old girl trapped in a building in Veroia. The rescue team found her trapped in a well in the basement of the building. Members from the NRUI unclothed themselves and entered the well. They were soon confronted by a massive eight-meter-long manhole that forced them to go underground for about 30 meters to reach their target. It took three hours for them to reach the girl and hoist her out of the well. She was then rushed immediately to a local hospital in Drapetsona where doctors discovered she had been living there since December 2016 and had not seen daylight for six months. The girl had been kept as a domestic servant by two men who were arrested on charges of human trafficking after they explained how they had lured her with promises of work at an agricultural farm but instead locked her up, starved her, and forced her to clean their homes every day. There are believed to be many more cases similar to this one across Greece where young children are being trafficked so people can have access to cheap labor within their homes or properties, oftentimes under-the-radar locations like cellars or wells, where they cannot call out for help or seek assistance from law enforcement officers or anyone else because it is not considered “civilization” if someone is left homeless or uncared for inside their own home and/or property.
The Rescue Team Finds the Child After a three-hour operation, the NRUI team finally managed to reach the girl, who was trapped in a well in the basement of an old building in Veroia. The girl was hoisted out of the well and rushed to the hospital. When the NRUI team entered the old building, they found a spacious basement with a well, water pipes, and a staircase leading to a door. The girl was inside the basement, sleeping on a mattress next to the well. When the rescue team entered the room, the girl woke up and was initially startled, then ran to them and hugged them. The girl told the team that she had been trapped in the well for six months. The rescue team tried to awake the girl’s two “owners,” who were arrested as part of the case, but she did not want to identify them. The girl had been kept as a domestic servant by two men who were arrested on charges of human trafficking after they explained how they had lured her with promises of work at an agricultural farm but instead locked her up, starved her, and forced her to clean their homes every day. There are believed to be many more cases similar to this one across Greece where young children are being trafficked so people can have access to cheap labor within their homes or properties, oftentimes under-the-radar locations like cellars or wells, where they cannot call out for help or seek assistance from law enforcement officers or anyone else because it is not considered “civilization” if someone is left homeless or uncared for inside their own home and/or property.
The Rescue Continues After the rescue, the girl was taken to a local hospital in Drapetsona for a medical checkup. The girl was in good health and was given the option to stay in the hospital until her family came to take her home. The girl told the rescue team that she was from the Rethimno Prefecture in the south of the country and that her two “owners” were her uncle and aunt. She also told the team that she had been kept in a basement for the past six months and that she had never been allowed to leave the house. It was unclear whether the uncle and aunt had been charged or convicted in the case. The girl said her uncle and aunt had locked her up in the basement after she had run away from home. She had not been allowed to see the outside world or communicate with anyone except the rescue team members. The girl was eventually taken to her parents, and they requested that the rescue team members not contact them again. The girl said she did not want to return to her uncle and aunt because they had locked her up and starved her. The girl said she was now living with her parents in her home in Rethimno.
The aftermath of Successful Rescue The successful rescue of the 9-year-old girl from a manhole in Veroia was a rare event in Greece and received widespread media coverage. It also came at a time when the country was trying to extinguish the manhole fire that had broken out in many parts of the country and resulted in the death of several people and damage costs to the economy of tens of millions of euros. The girl was taken to a local hospital in Drapetsona for a medical checkup and was given the option to stay in the hospital until her family came to take her home. The girl told the rescue team that she was from the Rethimno Prefecture in the south of the country and that her two “owners” were her uncle and aunt. She also told the team that she had been kept in a basement for the past six months and had never been allowed to leave the house. It was unclear whether the uncle and aunt had been charged or convicted in the case. The girl said her uncle and aunt had locked her up in the basement after she had run away from home. She had not been allowed to see the outside world or communicate with anyone except the rescue team members. The girl was eventually taken to her parents, and they requested that the rescue team members not contact them again. The girl said she did not want to return to her uncle and aunt because they had locked her up and starved her. The girl said she was now living with her parents in her home in Rethimno.
Conclusion The rescue team members of the National Technical Rescue Unit of Greece, who successfully rescued the 9-year-old girl trapped in a well in Veroia in March 2017, are proud of what they accomplished and of the job they did. But they are also aware of the dangers they face on a daily basis, with some of them having been injured in the line of duty and others retiring from service, having reached the end of their bedside, and being forced to find another job due to injury or age. But for these men and women, the rescue of the 9-year-old girl from a well in Veroia was anamazing accomplishment and a great triumph for the country. They are all heroes for their service to the nation, but especially for the rescue of the 9-year-old girl from a well in Veroia in March 2017 when they showed that the current system of rescue works and that people and the rescue team members of the National Technical Rescue Unit are doing a good job under difficult circumstances.
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