A visit of ST class to the Frontier Station of Evzoni

On Thursday 11-10-2002 we made our first educational excursion, for the new school term. We sat out at 8:30 for the Frontier Station of Evzoni. During the journey we sang, played and danced. We also admired the landscape, which was very beautiful. We saw the fields and a lot of birds. Since there had been a lot of rain lately there were small ponds of water in the fields with ducks swimming in them. This really impressed us because we are not used to such scenes since we live in a city. We reached the Frontier after an hour. We got off the bus and soon the police governor of the station came and introduced himself. He would be our guide. At first we saw the various services in the station: The police department, the customhouse, the banks and the post office. There was also a canteen where you could drink some coffee, eat a sandwich or even buy a souvenir of Greece.

The police governor explained that the work of the police officers is to check the passports of those who intend to pass the borders. Citizens coming from countries that aren’t members of the European Union should have a visa. The visa is a document the Greek Embassy publishes (it exists in each state) and this allows the citizens to visit our country. There is segregation between the citizens of the European Union and the other states. For the citizens of the European Union the checking isn’t so strict and there is a special entry for them.

The customs officers check all the cars and the lorries. There is a special entry for the lorries and the checking is stricter for these. They check the merchandise of the lorries and the luggage in the cars and the buses. What really impressed us was the fact that they opened the bonnet of the cars and searched it using torches in case they found something illegal. We were told that some people try to take in Greece illegal stuff such as drugs and weapons. There is also a specially trained dog to detect drugs and explosives. Unfortunately we did not meet this dog!

In the banks a foreign citizen can exchange money for euro. Before the use of euro things were more complicated but now they are easier and simpler. Then the sergeant of the Greek Outpost came accompanied by two soldiers to take us to the neutral area. The neutral area is a piece of land that belongs nowhere. It is between the two customs that is to say between Greece and Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. There is a watchtower and the Evzone who stood still keeping his arm. He wore the summer uniform. The sergeant told us that in the Outpost we could also see the wintry uniform as well as the uniform they have for the parades and the feasts.

In a distance of three hundred metres appeared the Frontier Station of FYRΟM and on a hill the Military Outpost of FYRΟΜ. We were shown the pyramids in the nearby hills. The pyramids are made from cement and have an altitude of a metre and a half, they are white and they are scattered in a distance of one kilometre from one another. Each one has a certain number and all together make the conceivable line of borders. In the neutral area there is a shop called DUTY FREE. We were not allowed to go there because only people who leave Greece can use it. We learned however that it sells things like cigarettes, perfumes, drinks, clothes, and jewellery. Everything is cheaper there because it is tax-free.

We saw the area around and then the sergeant came and told us that we would visit the Military Outpost. He had to take an authorization from the Division first. We entered Greece again and we made our way to the hill where the soldiers’ outpost stands. On our way there we met the frontiersmen. They move in their jeeps round the mountains in case someone tries to enter the country illegally.

We walked for five minutes and reached the soldiers’ Outpost. The soldiers welcomed us and took us into their outpost. However their dog wasn’t happy to see us and barked all the time. In the Outpost there were eighteen soldiers. We saw the sergeant’s and the soldiers’ rooms as well as the kitchen, the dining room and the visitors’ room. The visitors’ room was very beautiful. There were couches and a lot of photographs on the walls. Also there was a showcase with the Evzone’s uniforms.

Unfortunately it was time to leave. We went to the coach to take our bags in which we had our sandwiches. We were all hungry! Finally we got on the bus and returned to our city after a wonderful day excursion.