Category: Radio
4
Date: 23.07.2004
Printable version
At least 14
men have been killed and 180 construction workers have been injured
in Athens as the city prepares to host the Olympic Games.
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The true death toll could be as high as 40, a 大象传媒 Radio
4 investigation reveals.
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Speaking on Radio 4's investigative programme, Face
The Facts (Friday 23 July, at 12.30pm), Lampis Nikolaou, the President
of the Greek Olympic Committee, admitted that the deaths and injuries
were far greater than any other city to have hosted the Olympics in
recent years.
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One person died in the construction of the Sydney Olympics
and two people died in the construction of the Barcelona Olympics.
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He comments: "The human price is very high for
me but I cannot tell you if 40 or 36 or 35 or 34.
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"I know that people are dying. This is something
that I regret very much but in every country, in every workplace, accidents
happen and people die."
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Face The Facts presenter John Waite finds that
a haphazard approach to health and safety has contributed to an Olympic
tragedy.
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He also discovers that the Greek people have been shielded
from the true extent of the human cost to hosting the Olympic Games.
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George Theordorou, the General Secretary of the Greek
Construction Workers Union, says: "I'm sure there will be many
more deaths."
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He believes the actual death
toll resulting from Olympic construction work could be closer to 40.
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"Men are being forced to work long shifts, up to
14 hours a day everyday, in very hot temperatures and under constant
pressure to complete construction work in time for the Olympics,"
he says.
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"Most have no hard hats or safety boots and if
they complain they're sacked."
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Relentless pressure to complete construction work in
time for the August Olympics has led to one injury or death every two
days, a source tells the programme.
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Greek opposition MP and lawyer, Liana Kanelli, tells
Face The Facts that Greece had seven years to prepare but that legal
wrangles led to delays.
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She says: "There wasn't a brick laid for the first
three and a half years. This is a Greek tragedy that we will have to
face after the Olympics."
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John Waite visited some of the 39 constructions in and
around Athens accompanied by Tom Mellish, Head of Safety for the TUC.
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"Why aren't the inspectors all over these sorts
of sites," he says.
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"You can see the debris; you can see the disorder...
the lack of organisation. These sites aren't organised. They aren't
being managed properly.
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"You get down to some of the detail then you get
some real howlers for health and safety."
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Spyros Capralos, Secretary General at the Greek Ministry
of Culture, told John Waite that he could not confirm how many people
had died constructing the games.
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"We have accidents in the streets; we have accidents
everywhere on a daily basis and we don't talk about this.
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"But we have taken all the necessary measures that
we don't have any accidents in the preparation of these Olympic Games.
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"We have managed to do a lot in a very short period
of time and I don't know other statistics for other countries or for
other cases but I think that we have first class facilities, well built
and I think that overall the result is a good result."
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