TIRED AND run down after four days without food, seven divorcees who are on hunger strike outside parliament yesterday spoke of their frustration with the system that has let them down so badly.
Eleni Hadjicosta’s husband died in 2009 leaving her with €700,000 worth of debts and four children to educate in the meantime. “We’re taking part in this hunger strike because we want justice,” said Hadjicosta adding that she had to mortgage her inherited home because of her husband. Her husband also forced her to sign as a guarantor on their first loan.
The women taking part in the hunger strike all find themselves in the same boat. They all signed as guarantors for their husbands, got divorced and are now being chased by the banks for their ex husband’s debts.
Another woman Eleni Georgiou said the welfare office was demanding she pay them back €11,000 because they discovered her children had a couple of fields in their names, even though Georgiou said she had declared the property when she claimed benefits.
“We asked them to come and look at the fields as we knew we wouldn’t be entitled if we had property but they didn’t want to,” said Georgiou.
Georgiou had initially applied for benefits as her husband had suffered a heart attack, and she also could not work due to health problems. The welfare office were contacted but were not able to comment on the subject.
The woman began their hunger strike last Saturday against the government’s failure to act against the banks that are forcing women to pay their ex husbands’ debts. The Association handed over a petition to the presidential palace appealing for their help.
Some of their demands include legislation preventing banks from confiscating the property of a divorced woman due to an ex husband’s outstanding debts, that all property of divorced women already confiscated be returned, and for divorced women and their children to be exempted as guarantors.
In addition they want compensation if none of the above can be achieved. They also want children to be exempted from their father’s debts even if they have signed as guarantors since they may have been tricked by him.
As well as the financial aspects, the women on hunger strike also demand an end to psychological violence and threats towards divorced women and their children.
“We’ll stay here until we die,” said president of the Association Loulla Savvidou. “We are honourable women and we’ll stay here until we are given back our dignity, which we can only get through the courts,” added Savvidou.
