Why I joined the demonstrations spurred by the rail disaster

Because although taking to the streets to express your grief, your anger and your questions may not bring back the young faces you saw in the photos that were published when devastated relatives were seeking for their loved ones, at least in that way you feel that you mourn them as if they were all our children.

Because my children, if they were in Greece, would have taken part in the demonstrations. I wanted to be there for them. So that they will never forget that saying, "Call me when you get there," not only expresses a parent's love for their child; it also expresses endless pain and grief.

Because I am sure that my dead father would be proud if he could see me from up there.

Because I neither fear nor resent walking alongside people with whom we may not agree on much, but I know that, at times like these, the few things that unite us are stronger than the...