A different kind of women's day, with care and support for women serving sentences and hoping for a ”second chance“. The “Pierre de Coubertin” committee of the Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon in collaboration with the National Olympic Academy, the International Olympic Truce Centre and the Association of Olympic Games Participants visited the women's detention centre in Thebes.
The President of the Modern Pentathlon Federation, Dora Pallis, in a speech to the prisoners, spoke about the values of Olympism and the philosophy of the Pierre de Coubertin Committee and sport and its benefits to mental and physical health.
That was the purpose of today's visit: To help them feel the joy of participating in a team sport, to understand the concept of equality, and diversity, as well as to relax and escape from their everyday life. .
The sports activities were carried out by the Olympic champion Irini Aindili (1st Vice President ESOA), Maria Karpathaki world champion of tae kwon do and Police Officer A, Deniz Panagopoulou, Director of ETHNOA and tennis champion, Grigoris Hasatourian, Olympic Handball Champion and IOCOE Ambassador and Nektaria Konstantinou, Physical Education Teacher and coordinator of the action. The event was covered by Ms. Spyridoula Irida Spanea, journalist of ’Kathimerini“.
An action that, according to the director of the women's detention center of Eleonas, Mr.Makri, was taking place for the first time and with a unique response from the women detained there. ”Thank you for your cheerfulness. You gave us a lot of joy and made our day» was the conclusion of the detainees. .
We closed with the planting of an olive tree by the Director of the Prisons and all the participants in the action, as a symbol of Peace and solidarity and with the promise that the action will continue. We hope that in our next visit, with the care of the women, our “olive tree” will have grown...
We would like to thank the Secretary General for Anti-Climate Policy Costas Papapathanasiou for his support.
