At a poignant gathering in Volos, Maria Karystianou, representing families affected by the tragic Tempe train accident, delivered a powerful message of resilience and demand for justice. The event, held on April 20th, focused on the theme "Tempe 2023-2024: This crime should not be covered up," drawing a large audience at the TEE Magnesia hall.

Karystianou, alongside Eleni Vasara and the father of Gerasimos Jason Georgiadis, the sole survivor from the first carriage, addressed the deep societal and systemic flaws revealed by the disaster. “On February 28, 2023, all of our lives changed,” Karystianou stated, highlighting the profound impact of the event on the community and the nation’s trust in its leaders.

She criticised the state’s response to the tragedy, describing it as a mix of negligence, impunity, and arrogance, entrenched within a culture of corruption perceived as chronic pathology by experts. The leaders’ attempts to dismiss or gloss over the systemic issues further alienated those affected.

Karystianou expressed a collective frustration with the status quo, where citizens are told to doubt their own perceptions and accept a diminished quality of life as normal. She condemned the authorities’ cynicism and called for a radical restoration of dignity and justice.

Concluding her speech, Karystianou vowed that the victims’ families, supported by the community, would convert their grief and anger into a force for change. “Dignity is not a party issue, it is a human right,” she asserted, emphasising the non-partisan nature of their demands for accountability and reform.

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