Despite living thousands of kilometres from the motherland, the Greeks of Australia were and remain shocked by the fatal railroad tragedy, which occurred on the evening of 28 February near Tempe, Greece.
In the wake of the unspeakable devastation, students of the Greek Orthodox College of Saint Euphemia in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, expressed their pain with a symbolic gesture; at the same time offering prayers for the repose of the souls of the departed.
On the school’s basketball court, students unfurled a large Greek flag and painted 57 broken hearts on the asphalt, signifying the number of lives lost in the disaster, according to Greek authorities.
At the same time students arranged themselves in such a way that from above their bodies spelled out the abbreviation RIP, rest in peace.
“Fifty-seven broken hearts representing the 57 innocent people who lost their lives in the train disaster in Greece. Rest in Peace!” the school wrote in a post on social media.
“We may be on the other side of the world, but our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible event.”