Persecution

Schools across the country are being supplied with stamps carrying the "Stop Bullying" slogan by the Hellenic Post (ELTA) on the occasion of the recent release of the commemorative series of stamps "Children and Stamps," which is dedicated to putting an end to the problem of bullying at schools.

The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC) was officially launched Wednesday in Washington DC.

The organization aims to "expose and combat the persecution of Christians around the globe," according to a statement it released.

We hear so many predictions for the way that the world might be changing for the better in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is currently a genuine hope that humanity will learn so many significant lessons from the ills of the way we currently live, consume and run our societies.

Conflict and disaster forced more than 33 million people to flee within their own countries last year, putting them at greater risk amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, monitors said on April 28.    

The closure of universities as part of the first round of restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month has prompted some Greek students to vote in favor of online classes in the event that faculties are forced to close again, for instance if minority groups decide to hold sit-ins.

The head of the history and archaeology faculty at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University, Basil Gounaris, said he fell victim to bullying on the campus grounds on Friday, claiming that a group of youths surrounded him in his car, jeered at him and prevented him from leaving.

Experts underlined the need for a more targeted approach to bullying, particularly at school, at a seminar organized by the Hamogelo tou Paidiou (Child's Smile) charity at the Education Ministry on Friday.

Given the situation in Syria and for different reasons in numerous other places from Afghanistan to Iraq, the already difficult problem of the migrant/refugee crisis is fast emerging as a long-term challenge.

Will anything change at the First High School of Vyronas in eastern Athens after a 17-year-old boy was viciously assaulted by six fellow students while defending his sister from bullies on the afternoon of February 10? The teenager ended up in hospital for taking a stand and demanding an explanation from the other boys as to why they were picking on his younger sister.

Education Minister Niki Kerameus yesterday condemned the attack on Monday on a teenager by fellow pupils at a high school in Vyronas, eastern Athens. 

"The Ministry of Education will be relentless toward such behavior," Kerameus said during a visit to the school. She said a team of psychologists and social workers would be sent to the school.