WHAT THE GREEK MINISTRY OF TOURISM WOULD & WOULD NOT LIKE YOU TO SEE!

Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 BCE).

"Patriotic or national allegiance, when dealing with the suffering of animals, should not deter your positive actions for the good of the animals. They sadly live within the borders of inhumanity!" Marijo Anne Gillis

In spite of Greece's seductive focus on alluring images of pristine, sandy beaches, sacred antiquities and expensive, global, fantasy public relations campaigns, brutality exists in the shadows, the back alleys and the local garbage dumps where animals are tossed like putrid trash to die; suffering and alone.

Too many farmed animals are exploited and cast aside like vermin when their years of "production" have come to an end. Most Greek abbatoirs (slaughterhouses) are never examined by authorities for killing with compassion and animals for food are brutally slaughtered. Greek abbatoirs are a vision of hell.

Tormented, living and "dead" illustrations of cruelty and neglect are everywhere! Is it not time to call a spade a spade?

Obviously choosing not to lead by example, Greece has clearly pitched the prestige of her ancient and glorious past to the "dogs".

When we were discussing the situation in Greece, a very urbane, well traveled and intelligent friend in Australia stated: "Greece slips under the radar, but their conduct is every bit as bad as any third world country - Rwanda with Retsina, (a Greek national wine ) and Darfur with Drachmas!" - What a heartbreaking and disgraceful analogy!

Thousands of protest letters to Greek government officials from around the world have been ignored. A petition of over 80,000 signatures was scorned by a disinterested government. To put it bluntly, it appears that this European Union member state, until now, has given the compassionate world a collective "third finger" salute.

Greece's gross national product depends upon tourism. Please caution family, friends and associates to avoid vacationing and spending hard earned money in any venue with a proven record of brutality and neglect and the issue of neglect in Greece is horrifying. Turn your compassion and horror into an active, powerful force and a profound influence for change.