Truckers count cost of Greek roadblocks
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 28, 2009 00:00
KULATA, Bulgaria - Hundreds of furious truckers counted the cost to their business yesterday as they endured another day queuing at the border between Bulgaria and Greece, blocked for a week by Greek farmers.
"We are stuck here alright... But what good does it actually do those drunkards out there? How do I help them milk more money from their government?" Tsvetko Kotsev, a Bulgarian trucker, told AFP.
Transporting machinery from Hamburg in Germany to Athens, Kotsev was one of over 200 truckers stuck on the Bulgarian side of the border, which has been shut for over a week by Greek farmers protesting low food prices and demanding more government aid for their farms.
Hundreds more were stranded at Promahon on the Greek side, most of them loaded with Greek citrus fruit that was already spoiling.
Already missed delivery
Kotsev said he had already missed his delivery deadline after spending two days in the jam and had no hope of reaching his destination anytime soon.
"Machinery won't spoil but waiting just kills me. I cannot even sleep anymore, always keeping one eye open in case there is some movement in the line," he said.
Bulgaria's two other crossings into Greece, at Ilinden and Kapitan Petko Voivoda, further east, have also been shut for most of the past week.
"I already gave up any delivery deadlines," George Gregor, a Dutch driver, shrugged, puffing cigarette smoke out of the side window of his tanker. "Even if we pass through here, we are set to run into more trouble at highway blockades on the road to Athens."
His load was due in Athens last Friday, and he had already spent five days waiting at Kulata, he said.
"I carry potentially hazardous chemicals but they still won't let me through... Cattle and perishable foodstuffs are the only ones given priority," he added.
To prevent accidents, those around Gregor kept a truck's-length distance from his vehicle.
Up in the front lines, spirits seemed a little brighter, as Sasa Lapcevic from Serbia brushed his teeth under a huge roadside billboard featuring a perfectly-tanned girl, her hair ruffled in the sea breeze and the slogan "Visit Greece."
"I wouldn't go if I had the choice," Lapcevic grinned, pointing to the billboard.
Lapcevic also said he was shipping accumulator batteries and machinery to Athens from Slovenia and could not go via Croatia and Macedonia as he lacked the necessary legal documentation to travel outside the European Union.
But he complained he was running low on food and water.
Food leftovers, empty water bottles, cigarette packs and all kinds of wrappers dotted the low shrubbery along the four-kilometer line of trucks yesterday.
Authorities dispatched a small team of unemployed to pick up the rubbish however and several yellow chemical toilets were put along the road for the truckers to use.
Transporting machinery from Hamburg in Germany to Athens, Kotsev was one of over 200 truckers stuck on the Bulgarian side of the border, which has been shut for over a week by Greek farmers protesting low food prices and demanding more government aid for their farms.
Hundreds more were stranded at Promahon on the Greek side, most of them loaded with Greek citrus fruit that was already spoiling.
Already missed delivery
Kotsev said he had already missed his delivery deadline after spending two days in the jam and had no hope of reaching his destination anytime soon.
"Machinery won't spoil but waiting just kills me. I cannot even sleep anymore, always keeping one eye open in case there is some movement in the line," he said.
Bulgaria's two other crossings into Greece, at Ilinden and Kapitan Petko Voivoda, further east, have also been shut for most of the past week.
"I already gave up any delivery deadlines," George Gregor, a Dutch driver, shrugged, puffing cigarette smoke out of the side window of his tanker. "Even if we pass through here, we are set to run into more trouble at highway blockades on the road to Athens."
His load was due in Athens last Friday, and he had already spent five days waiting at Kulata, he said.
"I carry potentially hazardous chemicals but they still won't let me through... Cattle and perishable foodstuffs are the only ones given priority," he added.
To prevent accidents, those around Gregor kept a truck's-length distance from his vehicle.
Up in the front lines, spirits seemed a little brighter, as Sasa Lapcevic from Serbia brushed his teeth under a huge roadside billboard featuring a perfectly-tanned girl, her hair ruffled in the sea breeze and the slogan "Visit Greece."
"I wouldn't go if I had the choice," Lapcevic grinned, pointing to the billboard.
Lapcevic also said he was shipping accumulator batteries and machinery to Athens from Slovenia and could not go via Croatia and Macedonia as he lacked the necessary legal documentation to travel outside the European Union.
But he complained he was running low on food and water.
Food leftovers, empty water bottles, cigarette packs and all kinds of wrappers dotted the low shrubbery along the four-kilometer line of trucks yesterday.
Authorities dispatched a small team of unemployed to pick up the rubbish however and several yellow chemical toilets were put along the road for the truckers to use.