Julien Grivel, the Swiss dentist who treated the Hansenites of Agia Varvara, on “Take Your Time” | 14 Mar. 2025

Voice of Greece and the show “Take Your Time” with Prokopis Agelopoulos hosted the great Philhellene and exceptional scientist and person, Swiss dentist Julien Grivel. Grivel is the central figure in the documentary film by Stavros Psillakis, “Sculpted Souls,” and was in Thessaloniki these days to attend the film screenings as part of the competition section of the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival.
From 1972 to 1998, Julien Grivel visited the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Agia Varbava during the summer and worked on the teeth of Hansen’s disease patients. He shared significant moments with these people, alongside his wife Christiane, who helped him, and through these experiences, he came to know and love Greece much more. On the show, he talks about his memories of Agia Varbara, the reason that brought him close to the Hansen’s patients, how this encounter changed his life, his visits to Crete, Elounda, and Spinalonga to pay his respects, as he puts it. He ended the conversation with a promise: our next meeting would be at the studio of Voice of Greece.