Greek students have had a rough winter in extremely cold classrooms due to the lack of heating resources, resulting from local authorities who are simply unable to cover the unbearable cost of heating oil. The organization Open Society Foundation, founded by the great American investor George Soros, offers donations worth millions of euros in oil so that children can sit in a warm classroom.
Schools in the 2 biggest municipalities of Greece have been lucky enough to have their oil tanks filled thanks to Mr. Soros’ donations.
The municipality of Thessaloniki has accepted up to 90 tons of oil since March 2013, for schools and other institutes. The municipality of Athens follows with a total of 40 tons of oil. Next in line is the city of Naousa, considering that students have to take lessons in polar temperatures. The mayor of the town, Mr. Tasos Karampatzos, despite the reactions and disagreements on the parents’ side, has already contacted the Foundation and asked for an oil supply that would cover the needs of the region’s schools.
Parents in Naousa were not the only ones who disagreed with the financial support of Mr. Soros. During a meeting of the municipality of Naousa’s finance committee, the majority had reservations on accepting the funds because of Mr. Soros’ position favoring FYROM.
Mr. Veniamin Karakostanoglou, member of the finance committee of the municipality of Thessaloniki, mentions that according to a letter from Mr. Soros’ Foundation, there was a proposition from the Foundation’s side to cover the cost of schools’ heating oil. “We discussed it in the committee and we decided to accept 90 tons of oil for the schools and some other institutes. My opinion we can indeed accept the offer while still remaining suspicious of Mr. Soros gesture, since he has made at least some controversial comments over FYROM’s name. This is the reason why we should be cautious towards him and his will to help,” stated Mr. Karakostanoglou.
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