Cyprus Mail www.cyprus-mail.com
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
€1
The Cyprus Mail wishes all its readers a Happyy Christmas. We will be back on Friday ay
BRITAIN
CYPRUS
Q Queen’s annual address to be a sscreened in 3D
What does Christmas mean to island’s teens?
7
3
Touched by all the generosity Island rallies behind the needy as more people plunged into poverty this year By Poly Panteldies
T
HOUSANDS of needy families across Cyprus have received help for the holidays as the public rallied behind a growing mobilisation in all districts to help those less fortunate. Local authorities, charities, schools, colleges, companies, volunteers, and the Church joined forces to ensure as few people as possible go without for Christmas, as unemployment continues to soar, and those who are working face a huge drop in their standard of living. All districts report an overwhelming response to pleas for help, and the public has responded with time, money or donations of foodstuff and clothing. In Limassol, over 240 families have received packages through the municipality’s community market scheme, which collects donated dried and canned food, household items and clothes. The packages are bigger this time of year than they normally are, because of the large number of people and companies who have responded to calls for help, the head of Limassol municipality’s social welfare department, Evie Tsolaki, said. “We have been able to offer bigger quantities of goods,” she said adding that a number of events throughout December have helped raise awareness among the people. Groups have formed
spontaneously, as people have responded “very warmly” to requests for assistance, she said. There have been cyclists touring the city, and “a group of friends playing guitar and collecting food for the community market,” she said. Companies, schools and universities, as well as individuals have all been pitching in, she added. On Boxing Day, the 240 families who are being helped will all gather for a festive meal, Tsolaki said. The Limassol Bishopric’s Stavros Olympios, who runs the Church’s soup kitchen as well as the pancyprian volunteerism coordinative council, also reported an increased willingness to help at this time of year. “It is touching how many people come and bring food to equip our volunteers’ centres,” he said, referring to a recent initiative to set up centres in each town where people can help the needy directly and with minimal fuss. “Now, because of the holidays but also because of the [financial] situation, more people are helping on the level of councils, the Church, everywhere,” Olympios said. “If they can’t afford to give money, they contribute in kind, also many are giving toys for children,” he said. “We hope this is not seasonal but continues throughout the year so these centres can function
TURN TO PAGE 6
God’s gender divides German government A MINISTER in Angela Merkel’s government has sparked a pre-Christmas row among Germany’s ruling parties by suggesting God be referred to with the neutral article “das” instead of the masculine “der”. Family Minister Kristina Schroeder made the comments when asked in an interview with German weekly Die Zeit how she explained to her young daughter the use of the masculine form for God. “The article is not important,” she responded, adding that it was fine to use “das” instead of the traditional “der” when referring to God.
NONSENSE
An elephant dressed in a Santa Claus costume performs for students ahead of the Christmas festival at a school in Ayutthaya province. The event was held as part of a campaign to promote Christmas in Thailand (AFP)
The remarks were immediately denounced by members of Schroeder’s own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). “This intellectualised nonsense leaves me speechless,” Christine Haderthauer, Bavarian social minister, told top-selling daily Bild. Stefan Mueller, a CSU lawmaker, said he was “bewildered” by Schroeder’s “inappropriate” comments. When pressed on the matter at a government news conference, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert backed Schroeder. “If you believe in God, the article is not important,” he said. “If you speak to God in a different way, the prayers are still heard.”