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NEWS
OCV
ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
www.thenationalherald.com
May 2-8, 2015
1
TNH Staff
HALC & AJC
Panel about
Cooperation
TNH/THEODORE KALMOUKOS
The Greek-American community of New England celebrated Greek Independence with passion
and messages of solidarity with Greece, but without their Metropolitan. Parade weekend was
also the occasion for a number of honors bestowed upon TNH for its 100th anniversary.
ATHENS – Hopes for a deal on
Greece’s bailout rose after Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras said he
expected an agreement could be
reached within two weeks and
the European Union reported a
pick-up in the negotiations.
Greek stocks rose and its sovereign borrowing rates dropped,
a sign that international investors are less worried about
the country defaulting on its
debts in coming weeks.
The European Union said
that Greece’s talks with its creditors were “being made more EU
Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said the pace
of talks has “intensified” since a
weekend meeting of Eurozone
finance ministers, where Greek
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis came under intense pressure from his colleagues.
That led to Varoufakis effectively being sidelined after
Tsipras shook up the negotiating
team ad brought in Euclid
Tsakalotos, Minister of International Financial Relations and a
close ally to Tsipras, to lead the
talks.
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
BOSTON, MA – Beneath partlycloudy skies in Boston, the 21st
annual New England Greek Parade was held on April 26 with
ethnic passion and joy.
Just like the start of the New
York Parade in New York on
March 29, a not-widely-reported
incident occupied the attention
of the police department. The
police cordoned off the area in
front of the landmark Boston
Public in Copley Square, along
the Parade’s route. TNH inquired and learned that while
there was no bomb threat,
someone in the area was behaving strangely.
Present at the parade was
former Massachusetts Governor
Michael Dukakis, Petros Galatoulas, the president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of
Greater New York, which organizes the Parade on Fifth Avenue, and Karyn Polito, LieuGovernor
of
tenant
Massachusetts.
“This is a great day for New
England," and added she was
pleased to be able to represent
Massachusetts’ Governor Charlie Baker and the state government and “to celebrate Greek
culture and the contributions of
Greek-Americans to Massachusetts. They work hard and are
good family people.”
Polito noted that she is Greek
“by marriage” and said “I have
a fantastic Greek husband. Our
children are Greek and I appreciate what my family does to
celebrate their heritage.”
Dukakis said that "this parade makes me remember my
childhood and celebrating
March 25th." When he was
asked about the situation in
Greece, Dukakis replied “as I
have said in other interviews,
austerity will not solve the problem…President Obama is trying
to say to the Europeans that
their policies are not helping
Greece.”
He said the new Greek government is doing exactly what
it needs to do, but that it must
also fight tax evasion and corruption.
The Parade commenced with
the roar of police motorcycles
and Chief of Police William B.
Evans told TNH he was thrilled
to be there “to celebrate Greek
Independence Day. It is always
a good day for the city and I am
happy to see so many people…
celebrating their Greek heritage..”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who
was a Grand Marshal, arrived
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 11
Six Years in Prison for Fr. Adam Metropoulos
Fr. Adam Metropoulos in court in Bangor, ME where he was
sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison for sex crimes. He was found
guilty on four counts of sexual abuse of young boys.
Kotzias Meets US, UN Officials, and Community Amb. Tsilas
By Constantine S. Sirigos
and Demetris Tsakas
NEW YORK – Nikos Kotzias, the
Foreign Minister of Greece, met
with U.S. and UN officials as
well as leaders and members of
the Greek-American community
during a four-day visit to New
York and Washington last week.
Kotzias said the visit was creative and constructive and exceeded expectations based on
his past experiences, despite
feeling that the atmosphere was
somewhat “strange” when he
first arrived.
On the afternoon of April 24
Kotzias visited the Archdiocese
of America and that evening he
was the guest of honor at a re-
ception at the nearby Greek
Consulate.
He also met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, with
whom he discussed hopes for
progress in the upcoming new
round of Cyprus talks, and with
Matthew Nimetz, UN Special
Representative for the dispute
between Greece and FYROM.
The foreign minister also met
with Stanley Bergman, president of the American Jewish
Committee (AJC) and David
Harris, its executive director,
with whom he discussed
progress in relations between
Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
Present with Kotzias at the
meeting with Archbishop
Demetrios of America were
Michalis Kokkinos, the General
Secretary for Greeks Abroad,
Ambassadors Michel Spinelis
and Katerina Boura of Greece,
and Amb. George Iliopoulos,
Consul General of Greece.
Archbishop Demetrios said
“we had a very nice exchange
of ideas. The foreign minister
touched on the fundamental
concepts of Hellenism and Orthodoxy in a proper and beautiful way, especially the notion of
spirituality as a central element
in the lives of people and communities, and in the life of our
nation.”
Kotzias said the gathering
was characterized by pragmatism, spiritual joy and intellectual vigor, and he thanked
Demetrios for a discussion
“filled with love and respect.”
“SLEEP ON” HIS MESSAGES
During the reception at the
Consulate, Kotzias presented an
overview of his visit, saying he
presented Greece’s perspectives
to the Americans and that he is
confident that after sleeping on
the issues they will have a better
grasp on matters.
Amb. Iliopoulos expressed
the honor and joy he felt in welcoming Kotzias and Kokkinos
and told them he and his staff
have been encouraged by their
presence to continue their efforts to engender unity and generosity among Greek-Americans
NEW YORK – The Hellenic
American Leadership Council
(HALC) in cooperation with the
American Jewish Committee
(AJC) presented a panel discussion on Greek-Cypriot-Israeli cooperation and the deepening of
relationships on both sides of
the Atlantic at Cyprus House in
Manhattan on April 22.
The panel, which was moderated by Nikolas Katsimpras,
HALC Senior Fellow, featured
David Harris, Executive Director, AJC, Dr. Aristotle Tziampiris, the author of the newly released book, The Emergence
of Israeli-Greek Cooperation,
and Cyprus’ UN Ambassador
Nicholas Emiliou.
Endy Zemenides, HALC’s Ex-
BILL PETROS
AHEPA National Banquet Returns to Washington, SNF Honored
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) was presented with the Archbishop Iakovos Humanitarian
Award at AHEPA’s 41st Biennial National Banquet in Washington, DC on April 29. (L-R): Vasilis
Tsamis, SNF’s CEO, Amb. Vasilios Kaskarelis, Sr. Advisor to the SNF Board, AHEPA Supreme
President Phillip Frangos, and Stelios Vasilakis, SNF Dir. of Programs and Strategic Initiatives.
TNH Staff Writer
Continued on page 7
Continued on page 3
TNH Staff Writer
For subscription:
By Constantine S. Sirigos
CHICAGO- Of all the many cultural institutions Greeks brought
with them to North America
none will prove more lasting
than their efforts at permanently
establishing in this nation the
Eastern Orthodox Church. To be
sure, Greek immigrants did not
accomplish this goal alone, nor
were they even the first among
the various branches of the Eastern Orthodox faithful to do so.
Yet it is also clear, to any who
attend church even on an irregular basis that we are now every
much in a period of transformation. Two issues occupy the conversations Greeks have among
themselves concerning church
the ever growing presence of
converts and the current total
Continued on page 6
By Steve Frangos
Continued on page 9
Reminisces
and Inspires
NEW YORK – The delicious dinner served at the inaugural
“Trailblazers Dinner Series” of
the Association of Greek American
Professional
Women
(AGAPW) honoring Ambassador
Loucas Tsilas for his 50 years of
public service was a mere intellectual appetizer for those who
cannot wait for the distinguished public servant to write
his memoir – an end toward
which he was presented the
symbolic gift of a pen.
The informative and entertaining talk over dinner and
dessert proved a delightful experience in the private dining
room of the new Limani restaurant at Rockefeller Center. Dr.
Elena Frangakis-Syrett moderated the discussion and Dr.
Aphrodite Navab was the
event’s Emcee.
Retiring after his successful
15-year tenure as the Executive
Director of the Onassis Foundation (USA) following a distinguished career as a Greek diplomat, Amb. Tsilas is now a
professor at Queens College.
The ambassador offered fascinating observations about the
lives of diplomats – the consensus of a brief discussion about
the origin of the word was that
it is related to “diploma” and
pertains to the documents ambassadors present when they arrive at their posts.
He said a diplomat’s function
can be summed up in one word:
understanding, and one activity:
“the effort to understand and be
understood.”
When a diplomat arrives in
a country, his job is to observe
and understand what is going
on there and to explain and give
The Possible
Future(s) of
Orthodoxy
TNH Staff Writer
718.784.5255
Tsipras said in a television interview that he expected a deal
would be reached by May 9, in
time for the next Eurozone
meeting.
Greece has to repay the International Monetary Fund a total of almost 1 billion euros by
May 12. It is expected to have
enough money to make that, if
it manages to raise as much as
it hopes from a move to grab
cash reserves from local entities
like hospitals and schools.
But it faces bigger repayments in June it will struggle to
honor without more bailout
cash.
Breidthardt refused to elaborate on reports of the sidelining
of Varoufakis as the prime contact in the bailout talks beyond
saying ministers were happy to
talk to any Greek representative,
“as long as they have a mandate
to negotiate.”
Varoufakis has been blamed
by several officials as the main
cause for the lack of progress in
the bailout talks. At a Eurozone
Boston’s Greeks Hail Independence
By Constantine S. Sirigos
[email protected]
$1.50
Greece Feels the Heat,
Moves toward Reforms
To Unblock Loan Flow
Mayor of Athens
Spoke on Gov’t
At Columbia Univ.
Continued on page 10
anniversary
cv
Kaminis’
Lightning
Quick NY
City Trip
NEW YORK – Even during a crisis, Greece – and even some of its
politicians – can rise to the occasion and present the world with
examples of good governance.
Athens’ Mayor Giorgos
Kaminis was invited by Columbia University to speak last week
about transparency and corruption in government at a conference titled “Global Cities: Joining Forces Against Corruption.”
“I was honored to be invited
and what I heard was very interesting – I hope others found
what I said to be interesting,”
he told TNH, about the trip that
followed his 2014 visit when he
received an award and more
than 1 million euro for his city
from Bloomberg Philanthropies
as the winner of its 2014 Mayors
Challenge.
The Bloomberg award and
funding was for the initiative
known as “Synathina, a Public
Platform for Engaged Citizens.”
Mayor Kaminis met with
Archbishop Demetrios on April
24 and he also had the opportunity to speak with some of the
many people he came to know
while he lived in New York,
where he was born, but not as
many as he would have liked
during what he called a “lightning-like” trip. He told TNH he
planned to rectify that during
his next visit.
Kaminis also said that he
briefed the archbishop “about
what we are doing, including
cooperation with the Church.
Even though it is something we
should always be doing, in these
times it is absolutely necessary.”
He also highlighted his meeting with Panos Adamopoulos,
the president of the Athenians’
Society, which he thanks for its
moral support and material contributions to the needy of
Athens. “Any time we have
asked for something, the Society
has helped us,” he said.
Kaminis, encouraged by
Demetrios, who stood nearby,
said he very much wants to
meet with the community’s
thriving professional and young
professional groups during his
next visit.
Regarding initiatives to help
businesspersons – and especially
young entrepreneurs – to start
and grow their firms, the mayor
said there is a disposition to
move forward in Athens, and
more generally in Greece.
th
1915-2015
A wEEKLy GREEK-AMERIcAN PUBLIcATION
VOL. 18, ISSUE 916
100
COMMUNITY
2
GOINGS ON...
HELLENIC HAPPENINGS FROM COAST TO COAST
TNH Staff
BAKERSFIELD, CA
Here on the East Coast,
Greek Festival season usually
doesn’t kick in until around midMay, but in Sunny California the
St. George Greek Orthodox
Church in Bakersfield got things
underway this past weekend
with its feast of food, drink, and
dance, apropos of the timing as
the Feast Day of St. George was
on April 23.
The enthusiastic parishioners
told the local ABC News affiliate
that their community is quite diverse, as it includes not only
Greek Orthodox, but worshippers of that denomination
whose roots are in Russia and
the Middle East.
Chris Schoell remarked that
the Greek dancing – of which
there was plenty – is not just for
fun. She explained how in Ancient times, Hellenic soldiers
would dance in order to prepare
themselves for war.
GROSSE POINTE, MI
Anna Clark, has written
Michigan Literary Luminaries, a
book about the state’s great
writers, and she begins by mentioning Grosse Pointe native Jeffrey Eugenides the author of
Middlesex, a 2002 winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for fiction. As
Clark describes in the Preface,
Eugenides “follows Cal, an intersex narrator of Greek descent
who grows up in Detroit in the
1960s and ’70s. Middlesex is a
sprawling and exuberant multigenerational saga that explores
gender identity alongside explosive race and ethnic dynamics.
A busy novel that draws from
Greek mythology, Middlesex
also finds Cal’s grandmother
working for the Nation of Islam,
which was founded in Detroit,
and Cal in a relationship with
someone called Obscure Object,
which references the film That
Obscure Object of Desire. Like
Cal, this is a novel that refuses
to be pigeonholed. It is neither
this nor that.”
Eugenides is in esteemed
company, as two distinguished
authors included in Clark’s compendium are Ernest Hemingway
and Joyce Carol Oates.
CANTON, OH
On “a breathtaking Saturday
evening at St. Haralambos Cultural Center” in Canton, OH, as
the Akron Beacon Jounral reported, nine Greek-American
“lovely young ladies dressed in
sparkling white gowns” graced
the 47th Annual Daughters of
Penelope Debutante Ball.
The Journal further reported:
“Mary Griveas and Maria
Dr. Maria Asteriadou on the piano while her husband, Kurt
Nikkanen, plays violin.
Jeffrey Eugenides is featured
in Anna Clark's book about
Michigan's "literary luminaries." As Ernest Hemingway
and Joyce Carol Oates are also
on the list, Eugenides is in
great company.
Bourlas co-chaired the event,
where the young women debuted in front of 250 attendees.
“Flora Anderson and her son,
John, of Anderson Florists designed the beautiful flower-filled
stage for the presentation, while
Anita Rossi and Anastasta
Grammendis added lighted tall
vases of flowers as centerpieces
at each table.
“Linda Natale, president of
the Daughters of Penelope, wel-
comed everyone and noted their
chapter is the only one in the
country presenting a debutante
ball.”
The nine debutantes, the
journal reported, are:
• Anastasia Mariana Bourlas,
daughter of George Bourlas and
Effrosene Bourlas, Lake High
School
• Stephanie Marina Bourlas,
daughter of George Bourlas and
Effrosene Bourlas, Hoover High
School
• Elizabeth Anne Fladung,
daughter of Patrick and Christine Fladung, Hoover High
School
• Anna Milica Grunder,
daughter of Michael and Dina
Grunder, GlenOak High School
• Kaitlin Angelina Kaye,
daughter of Frank and Olga
Kaye, Hoover High School
• Elaina Michele Koutras,
daughter of John and Gina
Koutras, Perry High School
• Alexandra O’Connor,
daughter of Michael and Barbara O’Connor, Hoover High
School
• Emily Rae Quinn, daughter
of Louis and Jennifer Giavasis,
GlenOak High School
• Nicole Irene Tank, daughter of Brad and Alexandra Tank,
Jackson High School.
(L-R): Violinist Kurt Nikkanen, Pianist Maria Asteriadou, and
Committee co-Chairs Ann Kraras, Sharon Whitman, and Despina Denne.
St. Nicholas Benefit Concert at RACC is a Success
By Constantinos E. Scaros
READING, PA – The St. Xenia
Philoptochos Society of Sts.
Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Reading, PA
had a goal: to raise $100 per
member
–
approximately
$11,500 – for the rebuilding of
the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox
Church at Ground Zero. Chapter
President Despina Denne happily announced to TNH that
thanks to a Benefit Concert held
on April 26, over $20,000 has
been raised – and the fundraising effort will continue throughout the rest of the year.
The event, titled the St.
Nicholas National Shrine Benefit
Concert, took place at the Miller
Center for the Arts of Reading
Area Community College
(RACC), organized by a committee of 20 led by co-chairs
Denne, Ann Kraras, and Sharon
Whitman. The concert featured
internationally-acclaimed artists
Maria Asteriadou (pianist) and
her husband, Kurt Nikkanen (violinist), who both graduated
from the prestigious Juilliard
School.
The Greek-born Dr. Asteriadou teaches at both the Manhattan School of Music and
Kutztown University, Denne told
TNH. She has received numerous awards, including first prize
at the Maria Callas International
Piano Competition.
Nikkanen is the Concertmaster with the New York City Ballet Orchestra and maintains a
private teaching studio in New
York City, Denne added. He began playing violin at age 3 and
made his Carnegie Hall debut
at 12. The duo performed an extraordinary musical “journey
through time,” which included
compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Yannis Constantinidis, and George
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
Gershwin. The event ended
with a catered “Meet the Artists”
reception.
The rebuilt church will be
known as the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero,
and will be visited by the millions every year who come to
see the September 11 memorial.
Additional donations may be
made payable to “Philoptochos
Society” and sent to:
Sts. Constantine & Helen
Church
Attn: St. Nicholas Shrine
1001 E. Wyomissing Blvd.
Reading, PA 19611
Welcome Spring with The National Herald
n MAY 2
PORTLAND, OR – The HellenicAmerican Cultural Center & Museum, 3131 N.E. Glisan Street
in Portland, is proud to announce the exhibition of Katherine Pappas-Parks, "Treasures of
Age: Carriers of Memories Past
and Present." Opening reception
Saturday, May 2 6-8PM. Katherine Pappas-Parks is an accomplished artist whose Greek culture has shaped her artistic
vision. The other-worldliness,
surrealism and intensity in her
landscapes have their roots in
her experience of being raised
in a Greek immigrant home. Her
artwork is influenced by the art
and traditions of ancient Greece
and Byzantium and by folklore
and superstitions of a culture
connected to the land in a way
that has remained virtually unchanged for over 3000 years.
Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United
States. She currently displays at
the Walter Wickiser Gallery in
New York City.
n MAY 15-17
ANAHEIM, CA – Join us for Orange County's premiere Greek
Festival, the OC Greek Fest! Experience the flavors, sights and
sounds of Greece and enjoy the
very best of Greek food, music,
dancing and culture right here
in Orange County at St. John
the Baptist Greek Orthodox
Church, 405 N. Dale Street in
Anaheim. Friday, May 15
through Sunday, May 17: Fri 310PM; Sat and Sun, Noon10PM. Free parking behind WalMart at the Buena Park Mall;
free shuttle service to and from
the Buena Park Mall to the festival grounds. Live music; Traditional Greek dance performances scheduled each day;
Authentic Greek foods, appetizers and homemade pastries;
Greek wines, beer, spirits, and
coffee. Great shopping at our
outdoor marketplace; dozens of
unique vendors; Carnival rides
and games for all ages; Complimentary guided tours of our
Greek Orthodox church scheduled each day.
LITTLE ROCK, AR – Join us this
year at the Annunciation Greek
Orthodox Church, 1100 Napa
Valley Drive, in Little Rock from
Friday, May 15 through Sunday,
May 17 for our annual Greek
Festival! Fri and Sat: 11AM9PM, Sun: 11AM-3PM. The Annunciation's International Greek
Food Festival is the largest ethnic Food Festival in the state of
Arkansas! Every year our Festival sponsors a number of AR
charities and celebrates the diverse cultures of our Little Rock
community. It features a
scrumptious medley of Greek
and Mediterranean menu favorites, including gyros, calamari, pastitso, sourouta, Greek
pizza, and much more. All of
this mouthwatering cuisine can
be enjoyed at the Festival or
picked up at our Drive Thru.
The Festival will again feature
our popular Old World Market,
offering specialty foods such as
falafel, Greek olive oil, hummus,
dolmathes (stuffed grape
leaves), cheeses and the popular
Pete’s Famous Salad Dressing
that is handmade and bottled at
the parish. Frozen dinners to go,
pastries, Russian collectibles,
fine jewelry and an array of imported gift items from around
the Mediterranean will also be
available in the Market. In addition to great activities for children to enjoy throughout the
grounds, our huge stage highlights our famous Greek dancers
along with performances from
a wide array of other international entertainment. Our Festival also features our very popular Old World Market, that
includes our famous handmade
Baklava along with a wide array
of other pastries together with
a unique shopping experience
that highlights imported gift
items from around the world.
Free admission, free parking
and free trolleys to and from the
Church grounds! As in years
past, one of the most wonderful
parts of the International Greek
Food Festival is YOU, our
friends! When you visit the Festival with your family and
friends, a good time is guaranteed. In addition, you can make
new friends at the Festival by
enjoying a wide array of international entertainment while
reveling in all of the food &
shopping available. You can
even learn more about your
neighbors by taking a tour of
the Annunciation Church and
discover the rich history and tradition of the Orthodox Christian
faith as well as enjoy the largest
collection of Byzantine iconography in Arkansas!
MAY 16
MANHATTAN – The Orpheus
Foundation and Kyrenia Opera
present the 90th Birthday Celebration of Mikis Theodorakis on
Saturday, May 16 at 8:30PM at
the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 W. 67th
Street in Manhattan, featuring
Betty Harlafti, acclaimed interpreter of Theodorakis’ songs and
a permanent member of his ensemble. The Opera Orchestra
and Chorus is directed by Constantinos Yiannoudes. For tickets and other information, contact
the
Center
at
http://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org.
n MAY 22-24
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Opa, opa,
opa! The annual New Orleans
Greek Festival is Memorial Day
weekend. This event is filled
Greek food, music, culture and
fun for kids and adults alike.
New Orleans's connection with
Greece dates back to the mid1800s when large numbers of
Greeks immigrated here, bringing along their storied culture
and traditional heritage. The
Greek Festival celebrates that
culture and heritage every year
on Memorial Day Weekend at
the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Cathedral (1200 Robert E. Lee
Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70117),
which is on the banks of Bayou
St. John. Free off-site parking
and shuttle service is also available. FOOD: Kali Orexi! This
popular phrase means "Bon
Apetit" or "good appetite". In
other words - you better come
hungry. Trying a gyro sandwich
is a must. The Goatburgers,
which is a hamburger the Greek
way, are also delicious. For
dessert, try a Loukoumades,
which is like a beignet topped
with honey and cinnamon. For a
caffeine fix, pick up a Frappe (no
relation to Starbucks), which is
basically an iced coffee. MUSIC:
Every year, people come together
to perform and dance to traditional, live Greek music. Kostas
Kastanis will be playing this year,
and guests will have the chance
to learn the Zorba and other traditional dances out on the
Bayou. SPECIAL EVENTS: For all
the runners out there, the annual
Greek Festival Walk/Run will
take place that Friday! Participants can either choose to
walk/run one mile or 5k. Cash
prizes will be given to the winners. Registration is open until
the day of the race. The 1 mile
participants start at 7 PM and
the 5k starts at 7:20PM. Back
this year by popular demand is
Toga Sunday! Anyone wearing a
toga gets free admission. There
will also be a Best Toga contest
with some great prizes. Fun For
The Whole Family! Kids will love
the Athenian Playground, which
includes a number of fun things
to do. Families can rent a canoe
and tour Bayou St. John, or
climb Mount Olympus. There’s
also a bounce house for the
younger ones. Once you tire out
the little ones, check out the
Agora, the outdoor marketplace
with Greek paintings, jewelry
and other souvenirs.
n NOTE TO OUR READERS
This calendar of events section
is a complimentary service to
the Greek American community.
All parishes, organizations and
institutions are encouraged to
e-mail their information regarding the event 3-4 weeks ahead
of time, and no later than Monday of the week before the
event, to [email protected]
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Does it bother you that many of Greece’s current leaders,
including the Prime Minister, do not wear neckties?
Please
email
your
response
to
[email protected]
We may publish some responses as Letters to the Editor in
a future issue.
E
LD
TH
NA
TI O
E
N AL H
RA
100
th
anniversary
1915-2015
1
For advertising opportunites contact: [email protected] or
call at: 718-784-5255, ext. 101
book · worm. - noun
1. One who spends much time reading or studying.
2. Any of various insects, especially booklice and
silverfish, that infest books and feed on the paste
in the bindings.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English
Language, 4th Edition
The National Herald Bookstore
(718) 784-5255
[email protected]
COMMUNITY
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
3
Amb. Kounalakis’ Memoirs Published this Week
TNH Staff
Eleni
Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis was the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from January
7, 2010 to July 20, 2013. From
the date of her appointment, she
was the highest-ranking GreekAmerican in the Obama Administration, until April 24, 2013,
when Sylvia Mathews-Burwell
was appointed Director of the
Office of Management and Budget (and the following year, appointed Secretary of Health and
Human Services).
Her memoir, to be released
May 5, is titled Madam Ambassador: Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties, and
Democracy in Budapest. From
the Publisher’s notes: “Have you
ever wondered what it takes to
be a US Ambassador? In Madam
Ambassador (May 5, 2015) we
follow Eleni Kounalakis—
mother of two, first-generation
American, and first-time diplomat—as she finds herself posted
in Budapest.
“A charming and entertaining tour guide, Kounalakis sees
the world of international relations through fresh eyes. With
Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis
no background in diplomacy
(Kounalakis had previously
worked as a property developer), she endures a grueling
vetting
process in which she’s asked
if she’d ever cheated on her husband or sent an embarrassing
email, and attends ambassador
‘charm school,’ a two-week intensive training session with
other prospective diplomats. But
when she finds herself at the
helm of a medium-sized US
Embassy in a former Soviet
satellite nation, she realizes that
nothing could have prepared
her for the realities of this new
life in Hungary.
“With startling candor,
Kounalakis recounts the triumphs and gaffes of her newlypublic life. Along with glamorous dinners and meetings
comes the strain of fitting in.
Her husband, a respected journalist, finds that he’s discouraged from attending gatherings
organized by the diplomats’
spouses club, traditionally seen
as women’s events. “Kounalakis’
children, accustomed to American-style discipline, are surprised at the realities of their
new school. But Kounalakis
meets all challenges head-on,
and is soon welcoming a parade
of visits by high-ranking U.S.
government officials including
Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi
and Hillary Clinton.
“Part foreign policy memoir
and part all-American story,
Madam Ambassador is a thoroughly entertaining and inspiring example of leadership.”
Kounalakis has a long and
distinguished career in politics
and academia. She and her husband, Markos Kounalakis,
founded two university chairs in
Hellenic studies: the Markos
and
Eleni
Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis Chair at Georgetown
University, and the Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis Chair in honor of
former Greek Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis at Stanford University. The couple also
established the Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis lecture series at the
Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars.
For her near-decade of service as Trustee of the World
Council of Religions for Peace
(WCRP),
Kounalakis
was
awarded the medal of St. Paul
by the Greek Orthodox Church,
the highest honor the Church
bestows on a layperson.
A staunch Democrat who
was a delegate to the National
Convention
four
times,
Kounalakis has been a strong
supporter of Hillary Clinton and
has already begun helping – by
having a fundraiser in her home
– for Clinton’s 2016 presidential
bid.
Ambassador Loucas Tsilas Reminisces and Inspires at AGAPW Dinner
Continued from page 1
a profile of his own country and
its interests.
While a nation’s strength
rests on its armed forces and
economy, Amb. Tsilas said its
cultural resources should not be
underestimated. Among his regrets is that Greece never committed – even in good times –
sufficient funds to promoting its
rich cultural profile. “In Washington, DC you need a strong
budget, and we never had one.”
On the other hand, he was
thrilled to have been able to promote Hellenism at the Onassis
Foundation though generously
funded events and academic
programs of high quality
throughout the Western Hemisphere, thanks to the generous
support from its Board under
official as he was about to board
a plane to Athens to brief the
new Greek leader about the status of Greece-U.S. relations.
Shocked that Tsilas was leaving, the American said, “Don’t
you know you are on the verge
of war with Turkey?”
Washington knew what
Athens apparently did not, that
Turkey was preparing to attack
Greece, and Amb. Tsilas felt he
had to personally convey what
he knew to Simitis.
Greece had not realized that
Ankara interpreted Athens’s actions not as a defense of Greek
sovereignty, but as an attempt
to extend its territorial waters
from six to 12 miles, an act
Turkey had declared to be a casus belli that would trigger an
attack.
“Developments were so rapid
Amb. Loucas Tsilas, who recently retired as Exec. Director of
the Onassis Foundation (USA), chats with AGAPW founder and
president Olga Alexakos at Limani restaurant in Manhattan.
the leadership of Antonis Papademetriou.
While diplomats revel in
sumptuous dinners and receptions, he said the substance of
diplomacy is to “make or preserve peace, create conditions
for the promotion of your country’s interests, and to create the
basis for mutual understanding
and benefit.”
The consequences of failure
can be immediate and catastrophic: War.
Sometimes, even presidents
and prime ministers don’t realize they are on the brink of destruction.
A horrific war almost broke
out between Greece and Turkey
over the tiny islet of Imia in
1996. Although some observers
believe Turkey’s then-premier
Tansu Tsiller tried to take advantage of the transition to a
new government in Greece
(Costas Simitis had just become
prime minister) to squeeze concessions from Greece, Tsilas sees
it as an example of potentially
deadly misunderstandings.
A series of incidents culminated in Greeks and Turks alternately raising their own flags
on the uninhabited islands.
In the midst of the crisis,
whose danger was apparently
not fully grasped by Greece, Tsilas was stopped by an American
that…despite hotlines between
the two capitals… only America,
with its satellite reconnaissance
technology observing Turkish
forces, grasped what was going
on,” and was feverishly working
to prevent a clash he said
One of his saddest experiences
was having to attend the funeral
at Arlington National Cemetery
of Richard Welch, the CIA employee who was murdered by November 17, but among the many
positive elements of his career
was seeing how much Greece
and Greek culture was appreciated around the world.
“Hellenic principles are part
and parcel of Western Civilization and are universal,” he said.
He spoke of charismatic people who he met – especially Nelson Mandela and a young Fidel
Castro in 1970, and President
Bill Clinton – and those who
were disappointing, like Mikhail
Gorbachev.
There were also moments of
personal insight. Tsilas said that
while a career in foreign service
is rich with glittering events and
political action, diplomats also
struggle with the mundane – as
parents they are especially concerned with the lives and education of their children as they
adjust to frequent moves to very
different places. Ambassador
and Mrs. Tsilas have a son and
a daughter.
The bittersweet reality includes opportunities to make
countless many friendships, only
to lose most of them and maintain the rest only by great effort
across the miles and time zones.
Amb. Tsilas concluded by expressing his appreciation for
AGAPW’s acknowledgement of
his wife, Penelope (Penny) Tsilas. Ambassadors’ wives play important roles and Tsilas smiled
as he said “In Washington I was
known as Penny’s husband.”
He said they are both proud
to have been a supporter of the
organization from the beginning.
Nikos
Papaconstantinou,
who just retired from the Greek
diplomatic service, spoke
warmly of his work with Amb.
Tsilas. “I call him my ambassador; he will always be my ambassador.”
Alexakos invited guests representing the Onassis Foundation to speak about Amb. Tsilas’
leadership. Dr. Maria Sereti,
who was his Director of Educational Affairs for 10 years,
called him an inspiration and
said “this is his essence: he is an
amazing combination of idealism and pragmatism.”
Amb. Ioannis Vrailas, Deputy
Head of the EU delegation to
the UN, said Amb. Tsilas “was
not just a legend or a role model
but a constant source of inspiration, ahead of the times, an
outside the box thinker.”
Amb. Tsilas holds degrees in
law and economics from the
University of Athens, and a Master’s in Political Science from the
State University of Louisiana,
New Orleans. He began his career as an attorney in Athens,
Greece in 1963 – Mrs. Tsilas is
also an attorney – and entered
the Foreign Ministry in 1965.
He served as Greece’s Ambassador to America during a
critical period when relations
improved and his numerous
high level positions in Greece
included membership on the
committee which organized the
successful bid for the 2004
Athens Olympics.
Among the dignitaries –
speakers regretted the list was
too long to mention all of them
– were Amb. Vassilios Philippou,
Consul General of the Republic
of Cyprus in New York and his
wife, Anthi Philippou; Nikos Papaconstantinou, Director of the
Greek Press Office and his wife
Marina, Nancy Papaioannou,
President of Atlantic Bank and
the Hellenic American Chamber
of Commerce; Dr. Kathryn Yatrakis, Dean of Academic Affairs,
Columbia
University;
Dr.
Thomas Papathomas, Dean Rutgers University; and Dr. John
Xethalis.
One of the highlights was a
performance of a Mikis
Theodorakis song by Soprano
Flora Kyrou.
Alexakos invited Mrs. Tsilas
(L-R) Dr. Maria Sereti, Penelope Tsilas, Aspa Bitis, and Marianthe Rouhotas. The Ambassador’s
wife paused for a photo with past and current Onassis Foundation (USA) staffers.
PHOTOS: MARIA TOLIOS
Ambassador Loucas Tsilas (4th from R) holds court as the featured speaker at AGAPW’s “Trailblazers Dinner Series” on Apr. 23. AGAPW founder Dr. Olga Alexakos is 3rd from R.
to close the event and she chose
to praise AGAPW for promoting
networking among Greek
women. She also urged the
community to teach the younger
generation to be sensitive to
what is going on in Greece. “In
these hard times we must stick
together,” she said, quoting the
ancient aphorism “I ishis en ti
enosi – there is strength in
unity.”
COMMUNITY
4
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
Greek Independence Ceremonialized at the Massachusetts State House
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
BOSTON, MA – Vasilios (Bill)
Kafkas, the president of the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of New England set the
tone for the annual celebration
on Greek Independence Day at
the Massachusetts State House
when he said "today the GreekAmerican community in New
England begins a series of celebrations to honor Greece, the
Heroes and Heroines of 1821,
and all who fought for freedom.”
He thanked the leaders of
Massachusetts for hosting the
event that was originated by former Governor Michael Dukakis
and added that the Federation,
in cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
must continue the tradition “because such celebrations bring us
into closer cooperation with institutions, with friends, and their
philhellenes. Greece and Hellenism need friends and philhellenes and every day we try to
do more and we must do more,”
to support Hellenism.
Kafkas also declared how
proud and honored members of
the community feel to have
Greek-American public servants
like State Senator Bruce Tarr,
and
state
representatives
Theodore C. Speliotis and Diana
Diana DiZoglio.
After speaking about the
challenges and threats faced
Greece and Hellenism today, he
emphasized how important it is
to convey “to our children and
our grandchildren the values of
the Greek nation with works, not
mere words."
Kafkas also praised Ethnikos
Kyrix-National Herald – he noted
the Governor of Massachusetts
would soon do the same at a
special event – for “the services
provided for 100 consecutive
ABOVE: The Federation presents a plaque to the National
Herald.
(L-R)
Dimitrios
Mattheos, Iphigenia Kanara,
Antonis. H Diamataris, Bill
Kafkas, and Miltiadis Athanasopoulos. LEFT: At the Gala
dinner of the Federation of
the Hellenic American Societies of New England are Antonis H. Diamataris and Litsa
Diamataris, Andrew Gitchel,
Eleni Kalmoukos, and Angeliki
Kalmoukos.
years to Hellenism.” He congratulated Publisher-Editor Antonis
H. Diamataris and thanked his
family and the newspaper’s staff
for their contributions. “Of
course we here in New England
have Theodore Kalmoukos, who
informs us daily and sometimes
hurls fire at us in order to keep
us on the path of Hellenism and
our Orthodox Faith.”
An 8th grade student, Lily
Faulkner of the day school of
Holy Trinity of Lowell, who won
a competition related to the celebration of the Greek Revolution
of 1921, read from the floor of
the State Senate her essay titled
"Ioannis Kapodistrias and the
creation of the Modern Greek
State.”
Fr. Theodore Barbas, chancellor of the Metropolis of New
England, offered the benediction. He represented Metropolitan Methodios, who chose to
travel to Constantinople to attend a Divine Liturgy at the
Monastery Zoodochos Pigi in
Baloukli and participate in the
work of the Holy Synod at the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Choir of Holy Cross
School of Theology chanted
hymns apropos of the Easter season and sang the Greek and
American national anthems.
A reception was held in the
social hall of the Senate, during
which dozens of Greek-Americans expressed congratulations
and best wishes for TNH’s 100th
anniversary.
On the same day Kafkas and
the board of the Federation and
several Greek-Americans participated in an event marking the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and laid a wreath
at a monument dedicated to its
victims.
Later that afternoon Ifigenia
Kanara, the Greek Consul General in Boston, hosted a well-attended reception at the Greek
Consulate sponsored by GreekAmerican businessman Harry
Katis.
In attendance were numerous consuls general from European countries and greetings
were offered by Kanara, Fr. Constantine Manetas, pastor of the
Assumption of Somerville, and
Kafkas.
1
2
PHOTOS: TNH/THEODORE KALMOUKOS
3
1: Boston Police on motorcycles at the starting point of
the 21st annual Greek Independence Day Parade of
Boston. 2: Thousands of
Greek-Americans applaud the
Evzones dancing at the cultural event that followed the
parade in Boston Common. 3:
Students of Hellenic College
and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology carry
the icon of the Mother of God
while chanting Christ is risen.
4:
Greek-Americans
are
watching the parade to pass
by. 5: The youngest GreekAmerican Evzone marching
on Boylston Street in Boston
grabs the spotlight. 6: (L-R)
Antonis H. Diamataris, Publisher-Editor of the National
Herald, Litsa Diamataris, and
Kitty and Michael Dukakis
flanking their grandson Peter.
4
5
6
In Boston, the Greeks of New England Joyously Hail Hellenism and Liberty
Continued from page 1
late due to other commitments
and offered greetings. He said
“it is a great day for Boston as
is every day that we celebrate
Greek culture…the Greek-American community is vibrant and I
am happy to see so many people
participate in the parade.”
For the first time in the New
England Parade’s history representatives of the large and dynamic community of Boston’s Armenians marched, apropos of the
commemorations of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian
genocide that were taking place
across the country that weekend.
Ifigenia Kanara, the Greek
Consul General in Boston, told
TNH “Our history must be
taught and our traditions passed
on the younger generations…
the parade and the related
events have that purpose.”
Vasilios (Bill) Kafkas, the
president of the Federation of
Hellenic American Societies of
New England, which organizes
the parade, told TNH it went
very well. “People came from all
over New England and I am
grateful for the assistance of all
the members of the Board and
past presidents who contributed
to having a good parade.”
Past presidents Gabriel Vidalis, Theophilos Kamberides,
and George Chacalis were
pleased with the parade and its
message of support for Greece.
Vasilios Gournelos, the chairman of the 2015 New York Parade, who accompanied Galatoulas, said “I was very impressed.
I did not expect such big crowds
and so many marchers.”
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
COMMUNITY
5
ABOVE:Bill Kafkas, president of Federation of the Hellenic
American Societies of New England, praising the National Herald in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber. RIGHT: Governor
Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts State Senate honored
Ethnikos Kyrix-National Herald. Shown are Publisher-Editor
Antonis H. Diamataris with legislators Bruce Tarr, Michael
Brady, Diana DiZoglio, Consul General of Greece Ifigenia Kanara, and Rev. Theodore Barbas.
Governor Charles Baker and the Mass. State Senate Honor National Herald
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
Antonis H. Diamataris with politicians and officials and representatives of the Greek-American Community of New England
these honors as we also celebrate the glorious Greek Revolution of 1821.
As you know, the National
Herald has deep roots in this
great state of Massachusetts
from Lowell to Boston, the
Athens of America, where thou-
sands of Greek-Americans live
who read it daily.”
Senator Tarr praised the Herald, saying, among other things,
that the newspaper “binds us together…tells the stories of our
lives, connects us with our
Greek heritage and informs us
about the events that occur not
only in Greece but also here in
the United States. It strengthens
the Greek-American community
across the United States." He
added that "it is a special honor
for all of us to honor the National Herald and its publisher,
Antonis Diamataris for their
hard work gathering and disseminating news widely, and
providing commentary so that
we can all be informed about
things that are important for us
in our lives."
When she offered her greet-
ABOVE LEFT: The Federation’s banner that reminds that Greece is the birthplace of the Olympics is curried by Dr. Mary Delichachios and Elefteria Papaslis. ABOVE RIGHT: Muses grace the elegant float of the Greek Evangelical church of Newton, MA.
LEFT: Ioannis Photis carries the American flag at the parade, a reminder that America and Greece are longstanding allies.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Greek-Americans from throughout New England view the parade and proclaim “Long Live Greece.”
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Eθνικός Κήρυξ / The National Herald
ab
BOSTON, MA – Governor
Charles Baker and the Massachusetts State Senate honored
Ethnikos Kyrix - National Herald
on the afternoon of April 24th
for the 100th anniversary of
founding and its contributions
to the Greek-American community and Hellenism.
The award was presented
during the annual celebration
of Greek Independence in the
Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House that was
hosted by Greek-American State
Senator Bruce Tarr in the presence numerous state legislators.
Rhode Island State Senator
Leonidas Raptakis and New
Hampshire representative Efstathia Booras, along with members of the community from
throughout New England, were
also present.
Both the governor and the
Senate presented proclamations
to the Herald, which were received by its publisher-editor
Antonis H. Diamataris, who in
his speech from the floor of the
Senate said that "it is indeed a
great privilege and joy for me
to be here among you to receive
ings to Governor Baker, Ifigenia
Kanara, the Greek Consul General in Boston, said that "in
these difficult times, our country
needs a single national front,
harmony and cooperation, and
the solidarity of friends and allies.”
“We owe honor and gratitude to philhellenes everywhere
and certainly to Diaspora Greeks
who participated unselfishly in
the struggle for freedom in
1821, and who today provide
invaluable support to our efforts
to exit the crisis…Only cooperation, solidarity, common goals
and vision will enable our country to be reborn again. Working
together – Greeks, philhellenes,
and the Diaspora – we will succeed."
Kanara also referred to the
Herald’s 100th anniversary, saying “I congratulate the publisher
of the second oldest Greek
newspaper in the world, Antonis
H. Diamataris, for being worthy
of the honors he has received
from the governor and Senate
of Massachusetts," and added "it
is a recognition not only of the
long tradition of binding together Greeks abroad, but of
keeping alive their cultural identity and the Greek language."
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COMMUNITY
6
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
GREEKS AROUND THE US
Fertile Minds Blossom in the Desert Southwest: a Teaching Philosophy
By Dr. Constantina
Michalos
My older daughter, Nicole
Kessler-Snook, teaches high
school science at WILD (Western
Institute
Leadership
Development) in Tucson, AZ. She
recently presented a paper
entitled “Promoting Youth Voice
and Social Change in Science
Through Participatory Research:
Challenges and Opportunities of
an Emerging University-school
Partnership.” The conference
organizers asked for a statement
of her teaching philosophy. Here
it is:
My first day on the job, I
walked into my classroom
armed with lesson plans, rosters, bathroom passes, and
school supplies. The day before,
I had spent time hanging motivational and procedural posters,
making copies, and arranging
35 desks. I was ready to put into
practice what I had learned in
theory in my preceptorship. I
had no student-teaching experience. I was being thrown to
the wolves, per se, by a principal
who was willing to forgo that
deficiency in exchange for two
years at her school. I was motivated. I felt ready. Melinda was
the first student to walk through
my door. About seventeen and
ready to pop, she was pregnant
with her second child; she was
the first of many young mothers
I would encounter during my
tenure at the school. The room
started to fill with bodies and
voices and energy.
I finished my lesson plans for
the entire week on that first day!
I had to wing it since what I had
planned took less time than I
expected. By the end of the day,
I was in tears. What was I going
to do tomorrow? I had nothing!
I learned very quickly that there
is no such thing as over-planning and that the best laid
schemes of mice and science
teachers. . .
I also learned:
• If a tia (aunt) or a nana
(grandmother) or any “family”
member is sick, it is okay to miss
school to hold a bedside vigil
• If there is a death in the
family, expect a student to be
out at least a week
• The drug of choice is rochas, not roofies
• Cargo pants pockets may
contain large amounts of marijuana
• “A la verga” is a bad word
• The sudden sound of the
metal legs of the students’ chairs
scooting along the linoleum
floor is a warning sign that
someone is going to throw
down
• The threat of pregnancy or
STDs is nothing compared to
getting shot across the street
from school
• Or by the police
This was just my first year.
I had no textbooks or boxed
curriculum to follow. I had state
standards that needed to be
met. The rest was totally up to
me. I felt empowered to impart
the wonder and excitement of
science to my students in whatever way I could get them
hooked. If it meant having students write down every euphemism they had ever heard
for “penis” and “vagina” before
a lesson on human reproduction
so that they could get it out of
their systems, I had them write.
If it meant indicating that there
were no public libraries, gyms,
book stores, community gardens, businesses that offered
green services/products or with
In March, University of Arizona professor Dr. Sara Tolbert (back row, 2nd from left, Nicole
Snook (front row, right) and her 9th and 10th grade students presented their collaborative research project, Community Engagement and Youth Leadership through Science Education
(CEYLSE), at the New York Collective for Radical Educators (NYCoRE) conference in New York
City, a conference for teachers, students, researchers, and community members.
green infrastructure, or stores
that sold organic foods within a
square mile of their school, I
pointed it out. They mapped all
of the smoke shops, liquor
stores, tagged buildings, littered
alleyways, check-cashing places
and police presence.
Very few worksheets. Lots of
hands-on. The dollar store was
(is) my best friend! These activities revealed much to these students. Girls were having babies
without knowing what a uterus
is. They thought their baby was
in their stomach. Even more,
these same girls would bring
their newborn baby to school
within hours of being discharged from the hospital for all
to see, hold, touch, kiss, and
spread their germs. Students on
food stamps had cupboards
stocked with over-processed,
sugary, salty, fattening foods and
drinks. “Maruchan” (a type of
ramen soup) was a staple in all
of their diets. How was I supposed to teach standards to kids
who were undernourished and
bombarded with ads for alcohol
(the closest liquor store was
across the street), sugar, salt and
fat. So I fed my students. I purchased loaves of bread, jars of
peanut butter and jelly, gallons
of milk and juice and had them
serve themselves. More important, I decided to use their lives,
their experiences to drive my
curriculum. There was rarely a
week that I could plan ahead.
I felt empowered by being
able to bring unique opportuni-
ties to my students. Instead of
dissecting a worm or a frog, we
went straight to cats. Some of
these kids wouldn’t make it to
their 18th birthday, let alone go
to college to do this type of dissection. I realized that an opportunity to dissect a cat is a
privilege reserved for certain
students. My students deserved
this opportunity, too. I enlisted
the support of experts in the
community who came to my
class or hosted my students in
order for them to learn from authorities in the field. I went to
endless professional developments to find new ideas. And I
tried them. . .the next day. I read
books to them. I shared collections with them. I opened my
life to them, sharing personal
experiences of my learning successes and failures so that they
could see me as a person. With
that came respect, responsibility,
and a love for science many
never thought they were capable of.
My trajectory as a science
teacher is simple. Years from
now, my students will remember their learning. They may
lose pieces along the way. We
all do. But I guarantee that my
students can share a learning
experience that was good, that
was empowering, that made
them feel successful, that
opened their eyes, that made
them question and not be afraid
to be wrong, that made them
want to do something. They will
remember that I never asked
them to do anything I was not
willing to do myself because I
was willing to learn right alongside them.
I have counseled students to
go in one direction and watched
as they chose another. I have
given countless opportunities to
right wrongs but to no avail. I
have spent innumerable hours
away from my own children trying to save someone else’s from
failure, abuse, discrimination,
police brutality, starvation, addiction and abandonment. I
have attended five funerals. It
is enough to make anyone in
her right mind want to walk
away from the profession. But I
don’t because my good days in
the classroom have far outweighed my bad. Always. And
if it takes me opening their eyes
to their potential, their opportunities, their strengths, and
holding their hands along the
way…it’s what I do. What did
you do today?
Conference in New York Offers Tips on Greek Genealogical Research
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – While GreekAmericans do not forget where
they came from, many do not
know they details of their ancestry and the details of their
family’s journey to America.
Through their well-presented
and informative titled “The First
National American Genealogy
Conference,” the Education and
Culture Committee of the Hellenic American Chamber of
Commerce (HACC) and HellenicGenealogyGeek.com
helped open door to the past for
many community members.
The guests who filled the
Ballroom of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Manhattan on April 25
were welcomed by Lou Katsos,
Executive Vice President of
HACC and Chairman of the
Committee.
The Conference is an example of how the community’s
more dynamic and nimble organizations can take a grass
roots impulse and turn it into
something substantial.
“You created this event: the
audience. This all happened on
HellenicGenealogyGeek.com…
.the people who post there are
a fantastic crowd…experts on
history, sociology and other
fields,” Katsos said during his
introduction.
He added “I proffered the
idea of having a conference
where we can get together and
there was a series of posts back
and forth where everyone
thought it was a great idea.”
The conference began with a
background presentation of the
Greek-American experience by
Available from the General State
Archives of Greece and other
sources," focusing on how to
“Discover online and textual resources held at the Greek
Archives and other sources.”
Peter Dickson then spoke
about “Using DNA in Greek
Family History Research,” and
Debbie Petrides presented “A
Case Study from Chios” to illustrate “how to use records from
Greece to discover the history
of your family.”
Historian and Genealogist
Gregory Kontos spoke about the
research he did for the Greek-
Robert Stephanopoulos, who attended the conference.
The fascinating topic of Hellenic Genealogy Tourism was
the closing topic. Carol Kostakos
Petranek spoke about preparing
for and “Planning a Research
Trip,” followed by a Hellenic Genealogy Tourism Panel Discussion with Kalavritinos, Keilman,
Petranek, and Petrides moderated by Katsos
Katsos was very impressed
with the people who travelled
from as far away as Washington
state and Oregon, Florida and
even Canada. He also found it
American segment of the PBS
program “Finding your Roots,”
of Henry Louis Gates Jr. George
Stephanopoulos was one of the
people featured in the show and
Katsos was pleased to be able
to introduce him to Rev. Dr.
interesting that so many third
and fourth generation GreekAmericans attended.
“The need of people to people to find their roots,” is great
he said, but the fascination with
Greek roots is very strong.
ABOVE: People came from the west coast, Florida and Canada to learn about how to research
their Greek roots at a conference presented by HACC and HellenicGenealogyGeek.com. RIGHT:
Lou Katsos, Executive VP of HACC and chairman of its Education and Culture Committee introduced The First National American Genealogy Conference at the Cathedral Ballroom.
Dr. Peter C. Moskos titled “The
Greek experience in America, as
documented in the Third Edition of the book ‘Greek Americans: Struggle and Success,’" his
re-writing and expansion of his
father Dr. Charles Moskos’ classic book.
Georgia Stryker Keilman, the
founder of HellenicGenealogyGeek.com, spoke about “How
U.S. Records Can Help You Prepare for Research in Greece. ”
The guests learned “which documents provide pertinent information for Greek research, including Passenger Lists, Social
Security Applications, Death
Certificates, Obituaries and others including resources available
online.”
George D. Tselos, Supervisory Archivist and Head of Reference Services at the Statue of
Liberty National Monument and
Ellis Island since 1999, presented “Passenger Ship and Ellis
Island Records,”
focusing on how people can
“Learn the resources available
at the Ellis Island Immigration
Museum to decipher the information found in Passenger Ship
Records.”
Before the lunch break,
which included musical entertainment by Fantasia, Katsos put
Greek immigration to America
in the context of Greek history
with a “Brief History of Hellenic
Lands.” He spoke about “The
impact of Hellenic history, geography, boundary and village
changes in genealogy research”
using maps to show the dramatic changes undergone by the
Greek world after the Fourth
Crusade.
Dr.
Marietta
Minotos,
Michael Kalavritinos, Keilman,
and Katsos presented "Records
Greek FM Kotzias Meets US Officials, and with Kokkinos, Greek Community
Continued from page 1
regarding the struggles of the
homeland.
Kotzias then expressed his
apprecation for the community.
“As people who hold high what
which we refer to as our country’s spirituality, the concept of
Greece and its values…I want
to thank you for every thought
and act of support for our country through the years,” and he
cited a scholar who declared
that the greatest nations are
those with strong states and
strong Diasporas.
“Despite the damage the nation has suffered in recent years,
half our minds can be calm because of the strength of our Diaspora,” he said.
Turning to the Greek crisis,
he said “I have often been asked
by students ‘what is freedom?’
and I quote a thinker that I have
revered since childhood that
“freedom is the right to begin
personal or communal life from
the start.”
He said “the new government in Athens is an expression
(L-R) Panos Adamopoulos,
President of the Athenians’
Society, journalist Manos
Galanis, Haralambos Mellos,
Foreign Minister Nikos
Kotzias, and Amb. George
Iliopoulos.
of the right of the Greek people
to make a new beginning and
effort, but to succeed, we need
your help: your presence in
Greece, your work here in support of Greek culture and spirituality.”
Kotzias smiled as he noted
that in the Diaspora, as in
Greece, there are elements of
the good and the bad in Greek
life, “but here I think there is
more of the good…we appreciate your ideas and opinions, and
your professionalism which help
us to transcend the stereotypes
that burden us. We are proud
of you and we hope to soon
make you proud of us again.”
Timoleon Kokkinos, Principal
of the Afternoon Greek School
of St. Demetrios Cathedral in
Astoria, was among the guests.
He is also Michalis Kokkinos’ un-
cle. “I am proud of him because
he has an important post, and
because he is sensitive to the
needs of Greeks abroad. He is
very well informed and has often discussed community matters with me. He is energetic
and sincere and seeks dialogue,
and I am certain he will serve
his country well.”
The National
Herald
Bookstore
(718) 784-5255
[email protected]
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
COMMUNITY
7
ALL HISTORY
The Possible Future(s) of Greek (and Other) Orthodoxy in North America
Continued from page 1
management of church business
by the clergy.
Since the end of World War
II most cultural problems within
the Greek Orthodox Churches,
at least, were managed in the
large metropolitan areas in any
event, by individual parishes
coming to be dominated by distinct groups. So, one parish
would be composed of Greeks
who had arrived after World
War II, another parish in the
same city would be largely composed of the children of the
1880 to 1920 generation of
Greek immigrants, another
church by those who were of
mixed marriages, parishes of
different economic classes were
established in the early 1890s
and many have remained so until the present, yet other
parishes were made up of those
who wished a more ardent religious focus for all services
within the parish, and other
parishes drawing upon their origins in the eastern Mediterranean have never been a part
of the Archdiocese in New York
City but are affiliated and administered by the Patriarchates
of Jerusalem or Alexandria.
These divisions based on personal preferences are not simply
limited to large cities.
One has only to look at the
parishes surrounding Tarpon
Springs, FL to see a large cluster
of such churches established
and maintained largely by
Northern Greek and GreekAmerican retirees. But wherever
one goes in the United States
everyone is very much aware it’s
not yiayia’s and pappou’s church
anymore.
In the troubled conversations
about what will become of the
church, among Greek-Americans with whom I have spoken,
the future of their individual
parish is primary. They wish to
pass on what they had received
from their parents. As with all
things Greeks this hope is also
mixed with the wish that they
have improved on what they
were given. There is no question
that the huge cathedrals and
beautifully appointed individual
parishes are a gift to all future
generations that was difficult to
initially build in an American
society openly hostile to Orthodoxy, maintain in the hard times
of the Great Depression and
more so to improve upon since
the end of World War II.
With the Greek clergy now
legally in charge of individual
parishes all church owned properties can be sold without consultation with the congregation.
Annual fees of individual
perhaps the most dynamic moment in our faith’s presence on
American shores. Dozens of new
books, a virtual flood of essays,
the issuance of a seemingly endless stream of locally produced
parish histories, websites, conferences across the country and
the formation of ever new organizations aimed at documenting our history are all available
to any who will but seek them
out.
Something is underway that
no one is investigating; why are
so many people undertaking
such studies? I would venture
to say that it is because these
researchers do not see their own
experiences or their own culture
in the general American histories now being written. In the
past I have written about the
New Preservation Movement
among Greeks in the United
States. Greek-Americans are
writing and publishing a wide
array of individual parish histories, autobiographies, documen-
But are Greek-Americans the
only ones undertaking such historical studies? What of the
Arab-American Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox,
Rumanian/Serbian orthodox
and all the rest? It may well be
my focus was too confined?
What if all these forgotten ethnics in North America are all—
each in their own fashion---involved
in
such
a
self-examination focusing on
what could be called a historical
re-discover project?
As can be seen in the explosion of historical studies on the
presence of Eastern Orthodoxy
in the new world clearly all
these fellow Orthodox faithful
are fully engaged with recovering and documenting our
church’s actions since, at least,
the 1700s. According to the late
Fr Alexander Doumouras, by the
1830s clusters of Orthodox
faithful were worshiping together in seaports around the
have amassed a wide array of
historical photographs, documents, and artifacts. Beyond the
hard task of preservation, many
of these groups have also issued
books, documentary films, and
catalogues based on their collections, exhibitions, lecture series, and ongoing research.
Clearly this is one of those
moments in history where a
spontaneous social movement is
emanating from deep within the
Greek community. Once again,
Greek-Americans are collectively seeking to solve a community-based problem. All of
these organizations have essentially the very same goal: To collect, preserve and share with
Greeks and non-Greek alike the
Greek-American historical experience – as understood and interpreted on a community level.
But I may have been shortsighted in the true nature of this
movement. But more may be
underway.
According to the United
Greek Orthodox Churches in America are found coast to coast,
and not only in large metropolitan areas. Here is Sts. Constantine and Helen, in Cheyenne, WY.
parishes to the various Metropolitans can be changed and
have been. These new rates are
set without consultation with
the individual parish boards,
with no explanations for their
increase given even in the face
of drastically changing general
economic conditions. A further
level of grievance by the individual parishes is that no public
accounting of Metropolitan or
Archdiocesan funds is offered.
All in all the Archdiocese and
the various Metropolitans can
legally close individual churches
and recall priest as they elect.
I came to hear of these persistence concerns by various
parishes around the nation as I
have been contacted about individual church histories. Many
parishes are closely reviewing
their historical documents not
so much for learning about their
collective past but to determine
their legal relationship with the
Archdiocese.
A commonly expressed rumor by those persons of Greeks
descent I have spoken with is
that the Archdiocese has already
determined that many of the
smaller parishes are filled with
converts. As this urban legend
goes given that the Archdioce-
san clergy is largely Greek-born
the determination has been
made to simply let go of these
parishes and only retain the
Greek dominated parishes of the
major cities. This tale actually
includes demographics such
that of the over 350 Greek Orthodox parishes now in the
United States only some 200
will be retained by the Archdiocese and those kept in the fold
will have to become more and
more Greek-oriented or they too
will be dropped. This scenario
is clearly a merger of two separate topics: a resentment of the
new converts and the current
legal status of the clergy over
the parishioners.
While I do not hold with this
rumored tale of dark conspiracy,
I can see that uncertainty about
our collective future as an individual church in North America
is clearly on everyone’s mind. A
Given my own view of the
world, I would look to the past
to see the possible futures available to Eastern Orthodoxy in the
Western Hemisphere. I am not
alone in this point of view. This
sees no better proof than in
terms of historical investigation
and publication. Eastern Orthodox Christians are experiencing
The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (L to R) Bishop Sevastianos of Zela, Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit,
Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, Archbishop Demetrios of
America , Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, Metropolitan
Savas of Pittsburgh and Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey.
tary films and even works of fiction all aimed at documenting
our collective past.
Without consent from any
outside authority figures GreekAmericans around the nation
are making every attempt to systematically preserve their history and cultural heritage in
North America. As never before,
Greek-Americans are establishing museums, historical societies, archives, and libraries. Already, various organizations
States Bureau of the Census
Greeks among the most educated and economically prosperous in the nation. Logically,
then, this group of well-educated, socially successful, moneyed individuals would, one
would think, issue finely-researched, readable, filled with
historic photographs and related
church documents all produced
in physically handsome volumes
of history. And in point of fact
they have.
nation. A few Greek-American
researchers are among those undertaking these new studies. I
believe becoming more aware
of our collective past will offer
us new directions in which to
chart our collective futures.
Thinking through problems has
always been a Greek-American
practice. Are we to do less to
preserve the future of our faith
in the Americas?
Vasili had changed radically.
Looking down at the corpse, he
said, “No! It’s not the same man.
This man is William Carter.”
He started to leave. Sending
one last look at the lifeless body
he went back and picked up the
quilt, telling the group, “I’ll just
take this. It belonged to a man
named Vasilis Karteris.”
[email protected]
GREEK AMERICAN STORIES
The Quilt
By Phylis (Kiki) Sembos
Special to The National Herald
Poverty, wars, and the many
disappointments had aged Yiayia Katina beyond her years.
Now, her grandson, Vasili was
leaving the village, perhaps, forever. Carefully, she folded a quilt
she had created from rags over
the years. Each square held a
memory; a piece from an apron
her mother had given her as a
bride, another came from a
christening coat of her son,
Markos, who was killed in
W.W.II. Another was from
Vasili’s first long pants. So many
memories were sewn into the
quilt. “It’s not a grand gift,
Vasili, but it will keep you
warm,” she told her grandson
who, nervously, looked at the
clock that said it was time to
leave. He took the humble article from his yiayia’s hands,
kissed her and left, hurriedly, for
the harbor. He looked around
at the debris of barren fields and
broken wagons where once, before the war, life had been more
stable. He detested the island
now and the humiliations that
came afterwards; the English
soldier who demanded a “thank
you” in English for the tin of
beef he handed the hungry ten
year old, Vasili.
He boarded a freighter that
took him to Piraeus, turning his
back against the land that gave
and took away. No more, he
promised himself. He will be
somebody. He will be rich and
never be beholden to anyone,
ever again.
On the ship the quilt warmed
him
in the heatless cabin
room. Landing in New York he
suffered his last humiliation –
Ellis Island.
Then he went in search of his
cousin, Antonis, in Manhattan,
who promised him a job and a
place to stay. Antonis kept his
word, giving Vasili comfort and
safety. The quilt lay in the bottom of his shabby suitcase, almost forgotten.
The years brought many
changes. After many successful
investments and becoming
wealthy, he moved to a Fifth Avenue apartment, owned a BMW
and changed his name from
Vasili Karteris to William Carter.
He hardly saw Antonis in the
coming years. From Antonis he
learned that Yiayia Katina had
died. He married twice; both
were beautiful, blond, ambitious
socialites who hit him hard with
alimonies, afterwards. It didn’t
make a dent in his fortunes. Nor,
did it dampen his enthusiasm
for romancing clever “chicks”
and still managing to remain
fairly detached. He frequented
the stock market with the seriousness of a surgeon.
He played golf, belonged to
a country club and vacationed
in the Hamptons. Life was more
than good. Slowly, he forgot his
relatives – Antonis. His friends
included businessmen or were
from the club, neglecting to invite Antonis and his wife to his
sumptuous apartment – at least,
not while the others were there.
He, laughingly, claimed he’d forgotten his Greek through the
years, admitting, “I never had
to use it, so...I forgot it!” Antonis
nodded, saying he understood.
But, he didn’t! Antonis had
been in America longer and he
didn’t forget his language nor
his religion or the relatives on
the island to whom he sent
money and goods, now and
again. And, his life seemed as
fulfilling as Vasili’s –even without the frills. He wrote to Yiayia
Katina, who yearned for news
of her grandson.
But the high life and the rich
diet had a price that resulted in
various ailments. News that his
cousin had died of a massive
heart attack hit Antonis hard as
he traveled to the luxurious
apartment where police and
other personnel were gathered.
They had searched the entire
apartment for information on
the man that had lain on a rare
oriental rug for days.
“Know this man?” asked the
coroner. A policewoman came
out of a back bedroom holding
out a limp quilt. Antonis took it
from her and covered the body.
“I thought I knew him, once.”
Flipping open a worn passport
that read, Vasili Karteris, the policeman asked, “Is this the same
man?” Antonis studied the tattered passport, the youngish
face, the anxious eyes, recalling
the Vasili he once knew, the
warmth Antonis offered in those
early days, giving him the
chance to be with family and
now realizing that, eventually,
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8
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
DEATH NOTICES
n COMAS, EFFIE
PORTLAND, ME (From the Portland Press Herald, published on
Apr. 2) – PORTLAND - Effie Alexion Comas, 92, died on Sunday,
March 29, 2015, at home with
her family. Born on Sept. 9,
1922, in Biddeford, to Peter Alexion and Eugenia Zotis, Effie was
the eldest of four siblings, Helen,
James, and Catherine, and half
brother, Chris Alexion, in Albania. In 1929, when Effie was
seven, her mother died. Three
years later her father remarried
Helen Pappas. Helen was one of
ten, and Effie greatly enjoyed her
time spent with that family in Ipswich, Mass. Peter Alexion was
a Greek immigrant and barber
in Portland, and it is through his
diligence and proud determination that the family navigated the
poverty and hardship of the
Great Depression. An early memory of Effie's is being evicted
from a Portland apartment during a snowstorm. In spite of
these hurdles, Effie maintained
excellent grades and graduated
from Portland High School in
1940. During that time, her social life revolved around the Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
and community, and her sharp
intelligence attracted the attention of her teachers, who suggested she pursue a college education. As finances and family
obligations did not allow this luxury, Effie instead took business
classes so that she could immediately go to work to help support her family. At the start of
the World War II, Effie volunteered as a nurse's aid at the local
hospital. In 1945, she married
her best friend's older brother,
Sampson Comas, who was the
love of her life. When Sam returned from Europe, where he
served in World War II, the couple settled in the Portland area,
and welcomed their son Peter
Anthony in 1946. In 1948, their
daughter Diane was born. Sam
worked as a counter manager at
the Puritan Restaurant, and later
at the U.S. Post Office in Portland
until his retirement in 1978. For
several years in the '50s, Effie
was very active as a singer and
dancer at Lyric Theater, which
resulted in many new friends
and happy times. As a devoted
wife and mother, Effie prioritized
raising her children until the late
'50s, when she went back to
work as an overqualified and underpaid executive assistant. As a
classical music lover she especially enjoyed her years as an administrative assistant for the
Portland Symphony Orchestra.
Regardless of the task at hand,
Effie performed her duties with
dedication and thoroughness.
Effie read, wrote, and spoke
Greek fluently. Among the most
joyous experiences of her life
were three trips to ancestral
Greece with her husband in the
'60s and '70s. On these extended
sojourns, the two enjoyed Greek
culture, food, language, music,
and the company of relatives
who lived there. Other joys in
Effie's life were her grandsons,
James and Daniel, who were
born in 1979 and 1981, respectively, to Diane and her husband
Ronald Cole. Effie, who was not
usually a morning person, recalled being so excited to spend
the day with the boys that she
arrived in her daughter's driveway before sunrise. When Sam
retired, the couple enjoyed several winters in Safety Harbor,
Fla., with Sam's sister (and Effie's
lifelong best friend) Emilie
Cherry.
Sam passed away in 1988, a loss
that Effie felt deeply. In the later
decades of her life, in which she
enjoyed good health, Effie pursued a life of the mind. She was
an avid reader, studying Greek
music, language and culture,
medicine and current events,
and became a skilled researcher
on her beloved iPad. Because of
her impoverished childhood,
Effie felt a great kinship with,
and compassion for, Portland's
disadvantaged and homeless;
through the years, she knit hundreds of scarves to donate to the
Preble Street Resource Center.
Effie will be especially remembered for her empathy, quick wit,
kindness, and impeccable sense
of style. Even in her ninth
decade, she attended the Portland Symphony Orchestra, rarely
seen without a colorful scarf, a
beautiful dress, with makeup
and hair done just so. Her family
- and anyone who encountered
her - found her lovable and
memorable. She will be deeply
missed. Effie is survived by her
sister Catherine Peirce of Portland; her son Peter of Portland,
her daughter Diane (Ronald
Cole) of Windham; and her
grandsons James of Portland,
and Daniel of Los Angeles; as
well as a large extended family.
A private memorial service is
planned for a later date.
n COMPOGIANNIS, STEVE
SANTA BARBARA, CA (From the
Days and dates of funerals,
memorials, and other events directly correspond to the original
publication date, which appears
at the beginning of each notice.
Santa Barbara News-Press, published on Apr. 16) – Was born
November 8, 1923 in Sacramento, California to Thomas and
Eugenia Compogiannis who emigrated from Greece in 1910. In
1924 the family moved to Santa
Barbara, where Steve attended
La Cumbre Junior High School
and Santa Barbara High School
where he was active in student
affairs. Steve graduated from
Stanford University and did
graduate work at the University
of Southern California in order
to prepare and qualify to become
a Certified Public Account. During World War II Steve served in
the U.S. Navy being stationed in
Europe. As an active Naval Reserve Officer, Steve was called
up during the Korean War, and
served as a Cost Inspection Officer for Procurement in Japan.
Upon completion of his active
duty, Steve resumed his career
as a CPA, opening his own office
on Anapamu Street, where he
wistfully remembered the rent
being a whopping $25.00 per
month. In 1960 Steve married
Anne Pomeroy Jordan and became a stepfather to her two
children, Julie and Jim. Steve
and Anne had a son, Thomas in
1964. Steve was very proud of
his Greek Heritage and was an
active and lifetime member of
the Greek Fraternal Organization, The Order of AHEPA, whose
organization he served as a local
and a district officer. Despite his
preoccupation with his accounting practice, Steve enjoyed playing bridge, bike riding, and walking. Son Jim taught him to
windsurf, with which he persevered despite the many "dips."
Tennis was also a favorite family
sport at the La Cumbre Country
Club. Steve and Anne enjoyed
traveling and were able to do so
extensively. Steve was dedicated
and loved his profession, meeting clients and crunching the
numbers. Steve, to the frustration of the Internal Revenue Service, continued to prepare and
calculating tax returns by hand
contending the computers were
not reliable. On April 3, 2015
when Steve passed he had been
at this office doing what he loved
to do for over 60 years, his old
heart so full of generosity, joy
and compassion finally gave out.
Steve is survived by his loving
family, wife Anne, children Julie
Hamlin (Howard), Jim Jordan
(Bonita), Tom (Robyn), sister
Helen and brother Chris, Grandchildren Lauren, Nick, Camryn
and Chase Compogiannis. A
memorial service will take place
on Saturday, April 18 at 11:00
AM at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel, 15 East Sola St.
n DIMOU, GEORGE
CENTER VALLEY, PA (From the
Morning Call, published on Apr.
8) – George Dimou, 87 of Center
Valley formerly of Yonkers, NY
died on April 6, 2015 at Lehigh
Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, surrounded by his family. The husband of Stamatia (Kastrinakis)
Dimou, they were married 56
years on March 8th. George was
born in Mikri Yotista, Ioannina,
Greece on February 21, 1928,
son of the late Ioannis and
Sophia (Baltouma) Dimou. He
was a member of St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Cathedral in
Bethlehem. Survivors: Wife Stamatia; sons Christos Dimou of
Emmaus and John Dimou, husband of Anna of Center Valley;
four granddaughters Tia Dimou,
Eleni Dimou, Lea Dimou and
Maria Dimou; brother Anastasios
Dimou, husband of Ioanna of
Yonkers, NY; sister Maria Dimou,
wife of Gregory of Thailand. Predeceased by a sister Ellie Kourahanis. Services: Funeral Service
on Tuesday April 14, 2015 at 1
PM in St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1607 W. Union
Blvd. Bethlehem. There will be
a viewing on Monday from 7 to
9 PM, Trisagion Service at 8:30
PM in the John F. Herron Funeral
Home 458 Center At Market
Street in Bethlehem and on Tuesday from 12noon to 1 PM in the
Cathedral. Contributions: In lieu
of flowers donations may be
made to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1607 W. Union
Blvd., Bethlehem, PA 18018, Annunciation Greek Orthodox
Church 20th and Hay Terrace
Easton, PA 18042 or Prophet
Elias Greek Orthodox Church 15
Leroy Avenue Yonkers, NY
10705.
n KRIKORIS, ANASTASIA
LOWELL, MA (From the Lowell
Sun, published on Mar. 28) –
Mrs. Anastasia (Halamoutis)
Krikoris, 83, passed away peacefully at her home with her family
by her side. Anastasia was born
September 23, 1931 in Siatista,
Greece, a daughter of the late
Nicholas and Soultana (Papakosta) Halamoutis. Beloved
wife of 34 years to the late Vasilios Krikoris. Anastasia came to
the United States from Greece in
1967 with her husband, Vasilios,
and son Gregory settling in Lowell. She has been a resident since
that time. She worked for many
years in the local mills as a
stitcher in the shoe industry.
She was a devoted wife, mother,
and grandmother who enjoyed
cooking for her family, gardening
and attending church. Anastasia
was a member of the Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell. The Krikoris family would
like to thank Commonwealth
Nursing Services Aides for providing exceptional care and kindness to our mother and in particular Michelle Almeida who
took care of mom daily. Anastasia is survived by her son, Gregory Krikoris and his wife, Antoof
Dracut;
two
nia
grandchildren, Vasilios and
Katherine Krikoris; a brother,
George Karafilides and his wife,
Roula of Lowell; two very special
friends, Tasoula Kanavas and
Chrysanthe Dikos; and many
nieces, nephews, grandnieces
and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her brother, Naoum
Halamoutis, and her sister-inlaw, Electra Halamoutis, and
many loved ones in Greece.
Relatives and friends will be received at the M.R.Laurin Funeral
Home, 295 Pawtucket St., Lowell
on Sunday, March 29th from
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Her funeral
will take place on Monday at
9:00 am at the Funeral Home to
be followed by a service at the
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Church in Lowell at 10:00 am.
Interment will follow in Westlawn Cemetery. IN LIEU OF
FLOWERS, donations may be
made in her memory to the Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Church,
Lewis St., Lowell, MA 01854. Funeral arrangements under the direction of directors, Louis M.
Fazio III, M. Richard Laurin, and
Scott Laurin. For condolences or
directions, please go to www.laurinfuneralhome.com.
n MANGANAS, TOM
PITTSBURGH, PA (From the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, published on Mar. 25) – Tom Manganas of Monroeville, age 86, on
Thursday, March 19, 2015. Tom
was born September 2, 1928, in
Pittsburgh, son of the late John
and Chryssanthi (Kalafatis) Manganas and brother of the late Angela (Manganas) Papaloizos. He
moved to Aignoussa, Greece at
a very young age with his family,
resided there and moved back to
Pittsburgh shortly after World
War II. Beloved husband of Eugenia (Lithriotis) Manganas for
57 years; loving father of Chrissy
(John) Pateras, Betty (Demetri)
Zervoudis, Angela (the late
John) Vergos; adored grandfather of Andonia (Michael) Aber,
Lenna (Ronald) Ducouer, Chris
Vergos, Nicholas Zervoudis; also
survived by his much-loved
brother, Nick Manganas; and
many cherished nieces and
nephews. Tom will be dearly
missed by his wife, children,
grandchildren, and all of his family and friends.
n OUzOUNITIS, EFTHIMIA
SUMTER, SC (From the State,
published on Mar. 22) – Efthimia
"Yiayia Effie" Ouzounidis died
peacefully on Thursday, March
19, 2015 in Sumter, SC at the
age of 82. She was born on August 20, 1932 in Pella, Greece.
Yiayia Effie immigrated to the
United States in 1977 selflessly
leaving behind her homeland to
encourage her children's endeavors. She had a passion for cooking and gardening which she instilled and passed down to her
family. Above all, Yiayia Effie was
devoted to her Orthodox faith
where she enjoyed volunteering
and supporting the church. Yiayia Effie is survived by: her sister, Elpida Tellianidou and children Georgia Dimitriadis and her
husband Christos, Haralambos
Ouzounidis and his wife Theodosia, Athanasios Ouzounidis
and his wife Helen, Antonios
Ouzounidis; ten grandchildren
and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by
her husband, Ioannis and her
brother Socrates Papadopoulos.
In lieu of flowers, donations may
be made to the Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Church, 1931
Sumter Street, Columbia, SC
29201.
n PALIOS, STAMATIOS
SEATTLE, WA (From the Seattle
Times, published on Mar. 22) –
Stamatios ("Hioti") Michael
Palios, age 77, was born on August 28, 1937 in Chios, Greece
to Maria and Michalis Palios and
left peacefully surrounded by his
family on March 20, 2015. On
August 22, 1964, he married the
love of his life, Stella Limantzakis
and together they owned and operated restaurants in New York
and Seattle, including Stamos
Cafe; in Bellevue, WA. Stamatios'
greatest prides were in his cooking, his garden and most importantly his family, especially his
grandchildren who were the
light of his life. He is preceded
in death by his parents and siblings. Stamatios is survived by
his wife, of 50 years, Stella Limantzakis Palios; daughters,
Maria Palios Leland, Eleni
(Justin) Yancey and Ireni Palios
and his son, Christopher Palios
of Arizona; his grandchildren,
Michael and Stella Leland;
Vaughn and Jaylynne Yancey,
Stamatios Palios, Riley, Colin,
Shannon and Sam (Nanako)
Palios and Nicole (Tyler) Carrol;
great grand daughter, Rebecca;
as well as many beloved brother-
CLASSIFIEDS
in-laws and sister-in-laws and
nieces and nephews. Trisagion
and Funeral Services will be held
on Wednesday, March 25th at St.
Demetrios Greek Orthodox
Church, 2100 Boyer Avenue East
Seattle, WA, at 12:30pm. Internment to follow at Evergreen
Washelli. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to
Camp Agape NW.
n RALLY, DEMETRIUS
DALY CITY, CA (From the San
Francisco Chronicle, published
on Apr. 16) – Demetrius (Jim)
George Rally. A resident of Daly
City for 55 years, Jim passed
peacefully on April 13, 2015 at
the age of 85, surrounded by his
loving family. Born March 10,
1930 in Kansas City, MO, to
Greek immigrants, George and
Anna Rally, Jim is survived by
his loving and devoted wife of
57 years, Helen, his 3 children
George (Melinda), Dean (Tami),
and Nick (Patty), his 8 grandchildren, Tess and James, Jimmy,
Lauren and Chris, Eleni, Dimitri,
and Katerina, his brother and
best friend John and his wife
Mary.
The family moved to Greece
when Jim was one, returning to
the United States in 1945, settling in San Francisco. Jim attended Mission High School and
earned his Bachelor's Degree in
Mathematics along with his
teaching credential at the University of California, Berkeley. He
taught Mathematics at Oakland
High School for 33 years, retiring
as the Department Head. After
retiring from teaching, Jim
worked for over 20 years at the
American Etc Royal Laundry
with his brother, John. Jim was
an avid soccer fan, and together
with his brother founded the
Greek American Athletic Club in
1949, one of the most successful
and prolific soccer teams in the
United States, winning numerous local, State and National
championships. Jim also served
as the Treasurer of the San Francisco Soccer Football League,
and was inducted into the California Soccer Association –
North, Hall of Fame on August
22, 1976. We are eternally grateful for the love and support of
the Greek community and his
friends, with whom he maintained relationships for over 60
years. Jim was truly blessed with
so much love and friendship. He
was a wonderful and devoted
Husband, Father, Grandfather,
Brother, Uncle, Godfather, Educator and friend. Rest in Peace,
PapouMan. May you soar to new
heights in the Kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Friends may visit on Thursday,
April 16th from 3PM to 7PM at
Duggan's Serra Mortuary, 500
Westlake Avenue, Daly City,
where a Trisagion Service will be
held at 7:00PM. The funeral service will be held at noon on Friday, April 17th, at the Annunciation Cathedral, 245 Valencia
St., San Francisco, CA 94103. Interment will be at the Greek Orthodox Memorial Park, 1148 El
Camino Real, Colma. In lieu of
flowers, the family requests donations to the Annunciation
Cathedral Building Fund, at the
address above.
n RAMBIAS, MARY
NORTH BERGEN, NJ (From the
Record, published on Apr. 5) –
Mary, nee (Petrakis) on April 4,
2015, of North Bergen, NJ, age
88. Marigoula was born on June
11, 1926 on the island of Kimolos in the Kiklades of Greece. In
1948, she set sail for the land of
skyscrapers with her newlywed
husband Manoli. They lived in
Jersey City, NJ with two plates,
two cups, and two forks from the
Five and Dime and they began
their life. From their meager beginnings, they built a lovely
world for themselves filled with
faith, love, and compassion for
others. Even though Marigoula
did not have a family here, she
created a new family who now
mourns her death but rejoices in
the love and wisdom she imparted. She will be sorely missed
but will live in the hearts of those
she touched. Marigoula was a
Parishioner, Choir Member, and
member of the Philoptochos Society of the Ascension Greek Orthodox Church, Fairview, NJ.
Beloved wife to the late Emanuel
(1973). Devoted mother to
Katherine DeKranis and Niki
Rambias. Loving sister to
Chrisostomos Petrakis and Zambeta Marketos. Adored grandmother to Mariel and Dean Peter
DeKranis. Funeral from the A.K.
Macagna Funeral Home 495 Anderson Ave., Cliffside Park, NJ
on April 7, 2015 at 10:45 AM
thence to Ascension Greek Orthodox Church, Fairview, NJ
where a Funeral Service will be
held at 11:30 AM. I
n SCOURAS, CHARLES
COLUMBUS, OH (From the
Columbus Dispatch, published
on Apr. 12) – Scouras Charles
Nicholas Scouras, 90, passed
away peacefully on April 2, 2015
at First Community Village in
Columbus, Ohio, where he had
joined his daughter, Danielle
Marx-Scouras, in August 2013.
He leaves Danielle; his grandson,
Kyle Khellaf of New Haven, CT;
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of Montur Family Pizzeria
LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary
of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/18/2015.
Office located at Nassau County. SSNY has been
designated as agent of the LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. The post office
address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of
any process served against the LLC at 658 Sunrise
Highway, Baldwin, NY 11510. Purpose/character
of LLC: Any lawful purpose.
274390/19493
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of BLACKJADEDWOLF
LLC. (DOM. LLC). Articles of Organization
filed with the Secretary of State of New York
(SSNY) on 08/22/14. Office location: Kings
County. SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail copy of process to: Shevon
Collins, 49 Erasmus Street, 2D, Brooklyn, NY
11226. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
274384/19491
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice Of Formation, ROBINSONGAL43 LLC.
(DOM. LLC). Articles of Organization Filed with
Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on
12/19/2014. Office location: Nassau County.
SSNY designated for service of process. SSNY
shall mail copies of any process served against the
LLC to: c/o: United States Corporation Agents,
Inc. 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY
11228. Purpose: any lawful Purpose or activity.
274380/19477
LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF FORMATION, P&P estates, LLC.
Articles of Organization Filed with Secretary of
State of New York (SSNY) on 03/04/2015. Office
location: Nassau County. SSNY designated for
service of process. SSNY shall mail copies of any
process served against the LLC to c/o: THE LLC,
87 Georgia Dr., Syosset NY, 11791. Purpose: any
lawful Purpose or activity.
274370/19467
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of JONNY HIRSCH MUSIC
LLC a (DOM. LLC). Articles of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on
03/31/2015. Office location: Kings County. SSNY
is designated as agent upon whom process against
the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process
to: Jonny Hirsch Music LLC, 80 Meserole Street,
Apt. 4C, Brooklyn, NY 11206. Any Lawful
Purpose.
274363/19466
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of Y&F FAMILY LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY)
on 03/31/15. Office location: Kings County.
Princ. office of LLC: Joel Frankel, 74 Ross St., Apt.
5-F, Brooklyn, NY 11249. SSNY designated as
agent of LLC upon whom process against it may
be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at
the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful
activity.
274355/17976
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of B & B Money
Management, LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy. of
State of NY (SSNY) on 3/16/2015. Office
location: BX County, SSNY designated agent
upon whom process may be served and shall mail
copy of process against LLC to principal business
address: 3000 Park Avenue, #4D, Bronx, NY
10451. Purpose: any lawful act.
274356/19459
LEGAL NOTICE
IRAM LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ SSNY 1/12/15.
Office in NY Co. SSNY designated for service of
process and shall mail to Reg. Agent: Corporation
Service Co, 80 State St. Albany, NY 12207.
Purpose: Any lawful activity.
274350/18796
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of KIT & TOD LLC.
Articles of Organization filed with Secre- tary
of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/23/15.
Office location: Kings County. SSNY designated
as agent for service of process. SSNY shall
mail process to: KIT & TOD LLC, 3062 Harding
Avenue PH, Bronx, NY 10465. Purpose: any
lawful act.
274339/19447
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of DC’s DELIGHT, LLC.
Articles of Organization filed with Secretary
of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/03/15.
Office location: Nassau County. SSNY designated
as agent for service of process. SSNY shall
mail process to: c/o United States Corporation
Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202,
Brooklyn NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act.
274337/19445
GAB PROPERTIES LLC. Art. of Org. filed with
the SSNY on 02/04/15. Latest date to dissolve:
12/31/2050. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. SSNY shall
mail copy of process to the LLC, 238 91st
Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209. Purpose: Any
lawful purpose.
274335/17973
LEGAL NOTICE
ABSTRAKT PICTURES LLC. Art. of Org. filed
with the SSNY on 02/24/15. Office: Kings
County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 57
Thames Street, Apartment 4B, Brooklyn, NY
11237. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
274334/17973
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of PHRENE CONSULTING
LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secre- tary of State of New York (SSNY) on
Office location: NEWY County.
02/24/15.
SSNY designated as agent for service of process.
SSNY shall mail process to: THE LLC, 630 West
246th Street, Riverdale, NY 10471. Purpose:
any lawful act.
274338/19446
LEGAL NOTICE
"Notice of Formation of Mega Club Fashion,
LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ Secy. of State of NY
(SSNY) on 07/07/11. Purpose: any lawful act.
Office location: Kings county.
SSNY
designated as agent for service of process.
SSNY shall mail process to: 2204 Ave. U,
Brooklyn, NY 11229."
274331/19442
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Notice of Formation of 719 PINE LLC.
Articles of Organization filed with Secretary
of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/25/14.
Office location: Kings county. SSNY is designated as agent for service of process. SSNY
shall mail process to: Ramin Gold, 139 -43
86 Ave, Brairwood,NY 11435." Purpose:
any lawful act.
274330/19441
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Notice of Formation of MREG RSG-SHEF 298
WEIRFIELD MEMBER LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY
(SSNY) on 03/23/15. Office location: Kings
County. Princ. office of LLC: 360 Lexington Ave.,
2nd Fl., NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent
of LLC upon whom process against it may be
served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Mack Real
Estate Group, 60 Columbus Circle, 20th Fl., NY,
NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
274329/17976
LEGAL NOTICE
525 MYRTLE AVENUE CONDOS REALTY
LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY ON
02/10/14. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. SSNY shall
mail copy of process to the LLC, 37-36 75th
Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11372. Purpose:
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274323/17973
FUNERAL HOMES
APOSTOLOPOULOS
Apostle Family Gregory, Nicholas, Andrew Funeral Directors of
RIVERDALE
FUNERAL HOME Inc.
5044 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
(212) 942-4000
Toll Free 1-888-GAPOSTLE
CONSTANTINIDES
FUNERAL PARLOR Co.
(718) 745-1010
Services in all localities Low cost shipping to Greece
ANTONOPOULOS
FUNERAL HOME, INC.
Konstantinos Antonopoulos Funeral Director
38-08 Ditmars Blvd.,
Astoria, New York 11105
(718) 728-8500
Not affiliated with any
other funeral home.
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Notice Of Formation, ANTLIA CAPITAL LLC.
(DOM. LLC). Articles of Organization Filed with
Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on
03/17/2015. Office location: Kings County. SSNY
designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail
copies of any process served against the LLC to:
Murat Omur, 863 45 Street, Floor 1, Brooklyn, NY
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TO PLAcE yOUR
cLASSIFIED AD, cALL:
(718) 784-5255, ExT. 106,
E-MAIL:
classifieds@
thenationalherald.com
274372/19470
his former son-in-law, Salah
(Chris) Khellaf of Reston, VA,
with whom he remained in close
contact; his brother and sisterin-law, Robert and June Scouras
of Northborough, MA; his sisters,
Diana Nelson, Electra Scouras,
and Ginger Camacho all of Framingham, MA; as well as 13 nieces
and nephews and their children.
He is predeceased by his wife
Marie-Th ©r ¨se Marx-Scouras,
his daughter Ga ©tane Scouras,
and his brother John Scouras.
Charles's parents Sophia and
Nicholas Scouras emigrated from
Greece to Marlborough, MA,
where Charles was born. He
graduated from Marlboro High
School in 1941. Voted most brilliant male student by his fellow
classmates, the yearbook prophesized that he would be "a second Demosthenes." Charles subsequently attended the College
of Business Administration at
Boston University, where he was
on the Dean's list for two years.
He served in the United States
Army as first lieutenant during
WWII. He was stationed in the
Ardennes in Belgium. Charles
was awarded the Purple Heart,
the American Campaign Medal,
The European African Middle
This is a service
to the community.
Announcements of deaths
may be telephoned to the
classified Department of
The National Herald at
(718) 784-5255,
Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST
or e-mailed to:
[email protected]
Eastern Campaign Medal, and
the WWII Victory Medal. At the
close of WWII, he met his Belgian wife-to-be, Marie-, whom
he married in Brussels in 1947.
Charles was co-owner of Stuart's
Diner and restaurant in Worcester, MA, for many decades. He
subsequently managed food service operations at such institutions as Holy Cross College and
the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center. He loved being
in the hospitality business. He
enjoyed traveling, over the years,
to Belgium and Germany where
he remained in close touch with
his wife's relatives. He spoke
beautiful French and never forgot the Greek he had learned as
a child. He cherished the music
and classic cinema of his youth.
Most importantly, he passed on
the virtues of higher education
to his two daughters and grandson, and was extremely proud of
their academic and professional
accomplishments. Although he
initially complained that The
Columbus Dispatch was no
match for The Boston Globe and
that he could not get PBS channel two in Columbus, he soon
began to appreciate the intellectual and cultural impact that the
Ohio State University had on the
Columbus community. He very
much enjoyed his two years at
First Community Village, especially the kindness of all the residents and staff there. He was
particularly fond of Marilyn Gordon, Rev. Gerald Murphy, and his
neighbor, Betty. Charles even
made the staff learn some
French. In the end, this Massachusetts Yankee became somewhat of a Buckeye.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
COMMUNITY
9
Rebetiko to Perpetuity Concert Perpetuates Hellenism at Stony Brook
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – Rebetiko to Perpetuity was the theme of the
fundraising concert for the
Greek studies programs at Stony
Brook University supported by
the American Foundation for
Greek Language and Culture
(AFGLC) on April19.
The best fundraising campaigns – from the standpoint of
both the spirit and the bottom
line – are the ones that engage
the grass roots of a community,
and its most affluent, as
AFGLC’s efforts demonstrate
Dr. Stella Tsirka, AFGLC’s
president, told TNH “people enjoyed the concert very much.”
As is typical at Greek affairs that
are not designed as dances but
where the music is infectious,
“many of us got up to dance,”
she said.
The concert’s subtitle was
“Spanning the History of Classical Rebetika from Smyrna to
Pireaus to the Blues of New Orleans” and it featured the
Mikrokosmos Ensemble of Grigoris Maninakis, joined by
Stavroula Manolopoulou, who
traveled from Greece, and blues
singer Priscilla Owens. Rebetika
has been called the Greek blues.
Guests said the event was
fantastic and Tsirka told TNH
“they did a great job blending
rebetika and the blues. Grigoris
and the guest singers were
amazing. As usual it was very
professional and well done.”
Christos Vidiniotis, bouzouki
soloist, also came from Greece
and joined the ensemble’s stalwarts Glafkos Kontemeniotis,
Grigoris Maninakis (L) led the Mikrokosmos Ensemble for the AFGLC concert. They were joined
from Greece by singer Stavroula Manolopoulou and Christos Vidiniotis on bouzouki (R).
keyboardist and arranger, Kostas
Psarros on bouzouki and guitar,
percussionist Spiros Arnakis,
and Sylvester Scott on Jazz saxophone.
The AFGLC was launched
with an inaugural event on October 11, 2009 and support
from philanthropists like Peter
Tsantes, Jim Simons, and
George Tsunis.
Tsantes, whom Tsirka called
“the heart and soul of the endeavor” kick started it with
$100,000 and has pledged or
donated more than $600,000.
Tsunis has pledged or donated
more than $1.5 million and Simons has agreed to match most
of those donations.
The sum of $1.5 million is
needed to establish the chair
and the same amount is required for the Hellenic Studies
Center. A professorship, a post
that has been filled by Nikos
Panou, Asst. Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of Cultural Analysis
and Theory, has already been
funded by Tsunis and a matching donation by Simons.
Tsirka, who is a professor on
of pharmacology and neurodegenerative disease and Vice
Provost for faculty affairs at
Stoney Brook, said that in addition to their fundraising functions, events like the concert are
important for engaging the rest
of community – and inspiring
other projects.
She said the Port Jefferson
parish was very generous, providing the venue and refresh-
ments and meze for free, and
helping organizers in many
ways “they were partners.”
The concert was the occasion
for AFGLC award presentations.
The Tsantes Family Scholarship
endows travel scholarships for
the university’s summer abroad
program and the first were
awarded to Paul Falcone.
Upcoming AFGLC events included a lecture on Cyprus on
April 29 by Prof. Ioannis Stefanides at Stony Brook’s poetry
center, where the group will also
award prizes for their 2nd annual poetry competition for high
school students.
Dr. Tsirka acknowledged
other AFGLC leaders like Vassilis
Danginis, Peter Tsantes, Betty
Turner, Anna Grekusis, Popi
Gemela, Van Stamatiadis, Mikis
Nicodemou, Kalliope Valentine,
and Jane Macarthur.
She also could not thank
enough the Port Jefferson community, which provided the
space for free, “and the people
who were amazing with their
organization, help and support
like Manolis Lilimbakis, Dora
Gasparis, and Yianna Tassiopoulos.
HELLENISM THROUGH
MUSIC
Maninakis is among the community leaders who strikes a
musical note when he promotes
Greek culture. A few years ago
he enlisted the support, which
he deeply appreciates, of the
Nisyrian Society of New York for
a series of concerts in Greece
and America featuring Vidinitis
and Manolopoulou.
There was a concert in Nisyros in 2013 and a tribute con-
cert for poet Manos Eleftheriou
in New York last year.
Manolopoulou, whose father
hails from Lamia and her
mother from Volos is, thrilled to
share her love of music with the
diaspora. She studied nursing
but was pulled towards music
from childhood, goaded by admiring teachers – there were no
musicians in her family but the
house was always filled with
music.
Vidiniotis is an Athenian with
roots in Corfu. He, too, had no
family music background but
began in earnest at 14 and was
performing professionally by 15.
Both have performed with
Greece’s top musicians.
On April 18 Mikrokosmos
and friends performed at the
Pascha Glendi of the Nisyrian
Society.
On April 24 and 25 at the
Archdiocesan Hellenic Cultural
Center they will present tributes
to composers Giorgos Mitsakis
and Giorgos Zambetas and on
April 26 at Pines Manor in New
Jersey they will perform at the
40th anniversary gala of the
Hellenic Cultural Society of Rutgers University.
At the upcoming events the
ensemble will be joined by
young Greek-American singers,
Nikitas
Tambakis,
Elena
Toumaras, Stavroula Traitsis,
and Vasilis Sitaras, with narration by the popular Stelios
Taketzis.
“Music has a lot to teach us
and especially in the diaspora,
it can be a catalyst for conveying
Greek culture to the younger
generations,” Maninakis said.
HALC & AJC Host Panel of Cooperation on Greece-Cyprus-Israel Relations
Continued from page 1
ecutive Director, addressed the
guests and Michael Schmidt
highlighted the AJC’s mission
and joined the others in speaking of the shared values and interests between Greece, Cyprus
and Israel.
Emiliou congratulated Tziampiris on his book, which was
published by Springer, and said
it was about the first chapter of
a new period of relations among
the three East Mediterranean
democracies, of which more, including ties between their diasporas, remains to be written.
He said that the prospects are
bright because the strengthened
ties are rooted not just in the
will of the elites but are based
on values and cultural elements
shared throughout their societies. The challenges each of the
nations face from a nuclear Iran,
ISIS, and other threats underscore the importance of the enhanced relationships.
The ambassador also emphasized the importance of relations’ energy dimension, which
has significance for Europe’s energy independence and “which
could be a catalyst for enhanced
regional cooperation,” in a
neighborhood that is both dangerous and full of potential.
David Harris greeted the
guests with one of the best
Greek accents heard from nonGreeks. Touching on the
decades-long work on Greek
and Jewish-American relations
by the AJC and individuals like
Zemenides, Harris said the former’s words sounded like he
was channeling the AJC and he
hopes Greeks feel the AJC’s
words are just as heartening to
them.
Dr. Tziampris’ book touched
on the rocky start to the GreeceIsrael relationship since 1948
and the limited cooperation between their diasporas despite
their commonalities and personal friendships.
Harris noted “I can remember a time in the 1980s when
you would not have seen a
panel like this…but what you
see tonight is an example of a
vision that some had in each off
the three diaspora communities
and countries and the determination to fulfil that vision.”
“Today we speak of a strategic partnership in this triangle
which is widening and deepening even as we speak and the
true test of a relationship is
whether it can survive transitions in government,” Harris
said, echoing some of the main
theoretical and practical points
in Tziampiris’ book.
Having had unprecedented
access to the highest levels of
Greek officials, Tziampiris predicted in the book that the initiatives would survive the rise of
SYRIZA – which was highly critical of many elements of them
as an opposition party – and
Harris provided evidence of that.
Harris had participated in an
AJC meeting with Greek Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras and we
were assured that it is all systems go.”
Tziampiris, professor of the
International Relations and the
Director of the Center for International and European Affairs
of the University of Piraeus, first
thanked everyone for the support he received for the book he
wrote while he was a Fellow at
NYU’s Remarque Institute, including the AJC, which he called
“a big part of the story” of the
remarkable developments that
were discussed.
The multifaceted relationship
has quickly become crucial the
national security of Greece,
Cyprus and Israel even though,
it cannot be characterized as a
formal alliance with definite
wartime implications. It is nevertheless a great achievement
Tziampiris says.
TURKEY, WHAT TURKEY?
Quoting the principle attributed to Bismarck, among others
“never believe anything in politics until it has been officially
denied,” Tziampiris ignores the
protest of officials who say the
developments have nothing to
do with Turkey.
The frightening gaps that
that were emerging in measures
of power between Greece and
Turkey and the steady deterioration of relations between the
latter and Israel are crucial factors.
Adm Stavridis Makes Presidential Wish List
TNH Staff
WASHINGTON, DC – James
Glassman was Undersecretary
of State for Public Diplomacy
and Public Affairs under President George W. Bush. He has
had a long and distinguished career in politics before and since
holding that office. Recently, he
wrote an article for Politico
about why America deserves a
wider choice of presidential candidates and named a handful of
prospects he thinks would make
fine choices but are unlikely to
enter the race. Among them,
James Stavridis, a Greek-American who as a four-star admiral
served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a position held
during World War II by General
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In response to the 2016 contest having been deemed an election of “dynasties,” as it is reasonably likely to feature former
First Lady Hillary Clinton as the
Democratic nominee versus Republican Jeb Bush, the son of a
former president and brother of
another, Glassman writes that it
Among those former Undersecretary Glassman thinks would
make a better president than the conventional prospects is retired Admiral James. Stavridis.
reminds him of the 1969 Peggy
Lee song “Is That All There Is?”
He does not criticize Clinton
or Bush personally per se, but
insists that “across this vast and
varied land, there are dozens of
men and women who would
make good – or even great –
presidents.”
To end a choice by a “rigged
[major party] duopoly,” Glassman lists 15 men and women –
none a political establishment
insider and likely to run – in alphabetical order, which therefore begins with former NYC
Mayor Mike Bloomberg and
concludes with Stavridis.
Glassman writes of Stavridis
and the others that they possess
“the qualities of leadership that
nearly all the conventional presidential candidates lack.”
Glassman’s other choices are
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter,
American Express CEO Kenneth
Chenault, former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, U.S. Senator from Maine Angus King,
DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman, Retired Admiral William McRaven,
former Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy, Former Boeing and Ford
CEO Alan Mullaly, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, Carter White House Aide
David Rubenstein, Chief of Staff
to ex-Treasury Secretary Larry
Summers Sheryl Sandberg,
Google Executive Chairman Eric
Schmidt, and Starbucks CEO
Howard Schultz.
Stavridis has retired from
military life and is now Dean of
the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy at Tufts University.
(L-R) Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of HALC, Nikolas Katsimpras, Cyprus UN Ambassador
Nicholas Emiliou, David Harris, AJC President, and author Dr. Aristotle Tziampiris.
The Mavi Marmara incident
was significant as some of the
most important moves followed
it.
Of course, the new partnerships have bases in mutual interest independent of Turkey,
but Tziampiris noted, “Just because something makes sense
doesn’t mean it will happen.”
Many people worked hard to
make the changes in the relationships happen – and the they
survived the actions speak
louder than words tests. Large
military exercises are continuing
between Greece and Israel and
continuing, and the “March of
Memory” on March 15, 2015 in
Thessaloniki. Greek forces are
credited with helping Israel fight
their devastating 2010 wildfires,
Greece helped stop Gaza Flotilla
II – earning Athens praise from
the EU, U.S., UN and the Palestinian Authority and 400500,000 Israeli tourists per year
are now visiting Greece.
The latter is important because as relations between governments progress is it important for peoples to get to know
each other,” Tziampiris said, but
he added, “Energy, however, is
the big elephant in the room.”
He said he cannot predict
which of the oil and gas industry
options that come up in discussions will become realities, but
there is little doubt that without
the new diplomatic climate
those discussions would not
have taken place.
Another test of such new
states of affairs is tolerance for
disagreements. Greece has
made it clear that its relationships with Arab States will not
be sacrificed and that support
for Palestinian Statehood remains a priority. Israel has
shown respect for Greece’s positions, and the latter has been
scrupulous about keeping Israel
informed about its initiatives,
such as voting for the Palestinian Authority to join UNESCO
and to gain General Assembly
observer status.
“For more than a century,
AJC has been the leading global
Jewish advocacy organization,”
according to its website and
HALC’s website, hellenicleaders.com, notes is “a national network of advocates and community leaders who advance issues
important to the Greek Diaspora
community.”
Law Firm
G. Dimitriadis & Associates
Our company aims to provide high quality services, adapted to the
specific needs of our clients.
The main areas of our activities include:
• Legal services
• Financial managerial services
• Real Estate
Our wide network of contacts in Greece guarantees the immediate
and unified handling of our clients’ matters.
Phone: 01130 210 3390080 • cell.: 01130 6977 469888
Fax: 01130 210 3390044
e-mail: [email protected]
www.dimitriadislawfirm.gr
COMMUNITY
10
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
Times Square is Filled for 100th Anniversary Honoring of Armenian Genocide
TNH Staff
NEW YORK – Times Square was
packed on April 24 with people
commemorating the deaths of
up to 1.5 million Armenians by
various Turkish governments
early in the 20th century and
demanding the recognition of
the horrific happenings before,
during, and after WWI as a
genocide.
“Never forget” is a powerful
phrase, but confronted by elements of human nature like indifference to the suffering of
others, and the weapons of lobbyists and propaganda machines, Armenians around the
world take action every year on
April 24 to call for the recognition of the genocide by the nations of the world, not only
Turkey, which perpetrated it, but
even the United States, whose
leaders continually break
promises to call an increasingly
unreliable NATO ally to account.
Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian
National Committee based in
Washington, DC, was pleased
with the attention the commemorations drew to the issues and
thanked and congratulated all
to helped make them happen,
but he was disappointed that efforts to obtain President Barack
Obama’s support for recognition
– which he had strongly
promised as a candidate – did
not work out. “What we saw
was a failure of leadership on
the part of the president, who
sought to appease Turkey but
only ended up isolating himself
on the U.S. on the issue.”
Pope Francis, Germany, Austria and the European Parliament all recently recognized the
genocide.
The issue is moving forward
nevertheless, and Hamparian
also thanked senators Charles
AP PHOTO/MARK LENNIHAN
The Cyprus Federation of America also participated in Times
Square. Not only are Cypriots the most recent victims of Turkish
ethnic cleansing, many Armenians live in Cyprus.
U.S. SenatorBob Menendez speaks at the rally in Times Square
that honored the memory of 1.5 million Armenians and demanded the United States recognize the killings as genocide.
Schumer and Robert Menendez
for attending the Times Square
rally.
"It's humanity's issue, it's not
just about Armenian people; history continues to repeat itself,"
Nancy Guetssoyan, 28, of Weehawken, New Jersey told the
New York Daily News. "The U.S.
government has not declared it
a genocide because they're allies
with Turkey."
“Pope Francis recently called
the killings genocide, a view
widely shared by scholars.
Turkey, however, denies that the
deaths constituted genocide,
saying the toll has been inflated
and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest,”
cide. Sen. Charles Schumer, addressed the huge Sunday crowd
in Times Square and said, "I
stand with you in making sure
the deniers are not given any
place under the sun."
Jewish leaders also spoke, as
the News noted.
Friday marked one of the
darkest moments in Armenian
history, the 1915 executions of
hundreds of intellectuals and
community leaders in Constantinople.
The killings aslo were effected through forced labor and
death marches that included the
deportation of women, children,
and the elderly.
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan continues to insist the Turks did not commit
genocide and condemned the
Pope.
Armenian-Americans seek to
pass a Congressional resolution
classifying the killings as geno-
THE HERALD SQUARE
TNH's Crossword Challenge
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“We want to streamline procedures and have greater transparency, and to ensure that if
there are legal issues for courts
to resolve them in reasonable
amounts of time. If we do these
basic things, new investments
will also follow,” he said.
Demetrios told TNH “that it
was a special joy and honor” be
visited by the Mayor of Athens,
the great city that was the incubator of classical Hellenism –
the birthplace of theater, science, philosophy among them,
and which continued to make
contribution to civilization
through the ages down to the
present time.
44
From our website’s Wine & Spirits section
49
53
Beer on the Rocks – So Very…Greek!
55
59
Kaminis in “Lightning-Like” Trip to New York
Giorgos Kaminis, the New
York-born Mayor of Athens,
and Archbishop Demetrios of
America, who was born in
Thessaloniki but has a home
in the Greek capital, met at
the Archdiocese
39
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By Constantinos E. Scaros
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ACROSS
1 Famous TV maker of old (abbrev.)
4 __ Arabia
9 Romanian compound
14 Avg. Octane Number (abbrev.)
15 Pimpled
16 Barack
17 Not (refix)
18 ____ and the Man
19 Famous fabler
20 Slick
22 Slanted font
24 Stretch to make do
25 Bard's before
27 Twenty-second Greek letter
29 Geneve
32 Sewing need
35 Marino of the Dolphins
36 Headquarters of British India
38 Elite naval force
40 Alack's partner
42 Open areas
44 Greek soccer team
45 Health Ins. Couns. and Advocacy Prog. (abbrev.)
47 Foot parts
49 Rare
50 Layer
52 Gives back all of the money
54 Consumed
55 Canadian Auto. Assn. (abbrev.)
56 Golden Girls actress Arthur, for short
59 Former German Chancellor Kohl
63 Alphabet's first four
67 Permit
69 Fertile desert area
71 Europ. Assn. of Archaeologists (abbrev.)
72 Jeweled headdress
73 Fruit
74 "To ___ is human..."
75 Sold Oliver Douglas his farm in Hooterville
76 Greased
77 Greek prefix meaning all
DOWN
1 Called
2 Warmer than cold
3 Years, to Bruno
4 South Atlantic Conf. (abbrev.)
5 Attains
6 Dimension
7 Factor of ten
8 Graven image
9 Boils
10 Mr. Lincoln, informally
11 Jar
12 Run ____ (out of control)
13 Video
21 A Cartwright
23 Frozen water
26 Celtics' Auerbach, informally
28 Notion
29 Legendary Greek hoopster Nick
30 Establish
31 First Greek letter
32 More friendly
33 Seinfeld creator David
34 Saint honored on July 20
35 Morse code dash
37 Heaven and Erth. (abbrev.)
39 South southwest
41 ____ Lee (baked goods company)
43 Optional course
46 Trail
48 Hotel
51 Golf ball stand
53 Motorists' org. (init.)
56 Wash
57 Director Kazan
58 Actor Alda
60 Company symbol
61 A Hawaiian island
62 United States Aviary Lge. (abbrev.)
64 Honk
65 Famous Irene?
66 Doggone it
68 Rock containing metal
70 Unhappy
Solution to last week’s puzzle
A
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did Taner Akcam, a Turkishborn scholar and professor at
Clark University, in Worcester,
MA, who supports the Armenians. He said, "It is very troubling
to see that the United States has
still not recognized the Armen-
ian genocide," but he blames it
on the support for Turkey in the
United States’ national security
strategy community. Washington hopes that Ankara would ultimately decide to me more
helpful in the fight against ISIS.
“Rabbi Steven Burg, the Eastern Director of the Simon
Wiesenthal Center, said Rafael
Lemkin, a Polish-born Jew,
coined the term genocide after
World War II – convincing the
world to view the Holocaust as
a crime against humanity,” the
News reported.
"He started his quest because
of the Armenian genocide," the
rabbi said.
“Lemkin recognized that the
Armenian genocide was the first
in the 20th century, Burg said.
And his definition served as the
basis for the U.N. Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,
adopted in 1948,” according to
the News.
The rally in New York and
others across America including
another large rally in Los Angeles, where many ArmenianAmericans live, was sponsored
by the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America.
The photos of long-dead relatives were carried by many and
21 year-old Alex Petrosyan, as
student from Pennsylvania,
wore a black T-shirt that read:
"Our wounds are still open."
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M D
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A C H O
C H A M
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T R A C
S T A
T R
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N E Y
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S E R E
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A P E S
H I S S
U T E
A M S
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G Y R O
M O B
C A A
A R K
A few years ago, my wife and
I visited Rhodes and our cousin,
who lives there yearround, took
us out for dinner and drinks at a
choice psarotaverna in the Old
Town. The conversation flowed
– jumping from topic to topic
and country to country – and I
recall my cousin relaying a story
about a non-Greek European (either on Rhodes or in a country
he was visiting) who admonished him for putting ice cubes
in his beer.
“You can’t put ice in beer,”
said the fellow.
“Why not?” My cousin
replied.
“Because, you just can’t do it.
You shouldn’t do it.”
Ending the conversation, my
cousin answered: “And who are
you to tell me what I can put in
my beer?”
And that’s the point. When it
comes to eating or drinking, to
each his own.
When I do drink beer – which
is not very often – I do like it
cold. But ice cubes in a beer glass
is not for me. It’s a texture thing.
But for my cousin, my wife, and
countless others who plop ice
cubes by the handful into their
beer mugs, as if they were glasses
of straight ouzo, why not?
“It makes the beer colder,”
most Greeks will say. “It doesn’t
stay cold enough otherwise.” Unlike Americans, Greeks have not
invented 750 different types of
gadgets that help keep their beer
cold. But so what? Ice works just
fine.
“It waters down the beer,”
some might counter. As if it’s not
already watered down? As if ice
cubes do not water down the
vodka, the Scotch, or the bourbon? “Yeah, but those should be
watered down.” Says you.
“It dilutes the full flavor of
the beer,” others might say.
What “full flavor?” Let’s face it –
the Amstel Light, Heineken, or
Mythos that you drink in Greece
is made to quench your thirst,
not to be swirled around in your
mouth and judged on a scorecard. Sam Adams Double Bock,
they’re not.
So the next time you order a
tall, cool one in the middle of
the Grecian blazing heat, and 20
minutes later what’s left in your
glass is beginning to taste like
warm soap suds, don’t hesitate
to reach over to the ice bucket
and help yourself to a couple of
cubes – you’ll be glad you did.
Just don’t hog up all the ice –
the ouzo drinkers are going to
need some, too!
This Week in Greek History:
OPLA Kills Christos Ladas
This week, on May 1, 1948,
the strongarm group OPLA, the
“security wing” of the Greek
communist party KKE, murdered
Minister of Justice Christos
Ladas. He was killed by a hand
grenade, after leaving the
Church of St. George in Athens
– it was Holy Saturday. The street
on which he was killed now
bears his name.
Ladas’ assailant was Efstratios
Moutsogiannis, who was sentenced to life imprisonment
rather than executed by firing
squad – as were most of his accomplices – because he cooperated with the government subsequently.
OPLA had been instrumental
during the Axis Occupation of
Greece in World War II, particularly in killing Nazi collaborators.
During the “Dekemvriana” of
1944, they assassinated actress
Eleni Papadaki.
OPLA also assassinated highranking members of the Greek
Gendarmerie, and targeted
Ladas because he, in turn, had
During the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), Minister of Justice
Christos Ladas was murdered, this week in 1948, by the strongarm group OPLA.
signed hundreds of executions of
communists.
The ensuing Greek Civil War,
from 1946 to 1949, pitted the
Greek government, backed by
the U.S. and Great Britain
against the Democratic Army of
Greece, which was the KKE’s military wing. The Communist insurgents were defeated.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
GREECE CYPRUS
11
Tsipras Shakes up Troika Negotiations Team, Varoufakis is Marginalized
ATHENS – Greece reshuffled its
bailout negotiating team following fierce criticism of its Finance
Minister, meeting with market
applause as investors hoped it
will facilitate a deal to save the
country from bankruptcy.
A Greek official insisted Yanis
Varoufakis, who has come under
fire from his European peers for
dragging his feet in the bailout
talks, continued to enjoy the
government's support. He will
continue to lead the negotiations, which have been delayed
for three months.
But Euclid Tsakalotos, who is
Minister of International Financial Relations and part of the
Foreign Ministry, will handle the
coordination within Varoufakis'
negotiating team.
Tsakalotos is close to Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras and has
often accompanied Varoufakis
on trips to European capitals
during the negotiations.
A separate team will be created to support technical talks
in Athens, while the Finance
Ministry's General Secretary for
Fiscal Planning was tasked with
designing a plan for economic
growth. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity in line
with government regulations
It is unclear how far the
reshuffling will curb Varoufakis'
influence in the negotiations,
and if so, whether that will
change the tenor of the talks.
Varoufakis was rebuked by
Greece's creditors most recently
at a finance ministers' meeting
in Riga, Latvia, where he failed
to come up with a list of economic reforms creditors want in
AP PHOTO/yORGOS KARAHALIS
Jacques de Watteville, right, Switzerland's Secretary of State for International Financial Matters
in the Federal Department of Finance, and Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, take their
seats for a meeting in Athens, on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Jacques de Watteville visited the
Greek ministry to take part in a meeting with Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis.
exchange for new loans.
In Athens, government officials say Varoufakis has been unnecessarily vilified and has been
subject to a smear campaign by
the international media.
Varoufakis took to Twitter
with a Franklin D. Roosevelt
quote. "FDR, 1936: 'They are
unanimous in their hate for me;
and I welcome their hatred.' A
quotation close to my heart (&
reality) these days," he tweeted.
Under a four-month bailout
extension, Greece had until April
30 to come up with acceptable
reforms so creditors can unlock
the final 7.2 billion euro ($7.8
billion) loan installment. But a
deal still seems far off.
Beyond the criticism of Varoufakis, European officials deplore the new government's intransigence and lack of progress
in proposing acceptable reforms
to unlock bailout funds that
Greece desperately needs to
avoid default and a potential exit
from the euro.
Tsipras won Jan. 25 elections
on promises to repeal deeply resented austerity measures, including pension cuts and tax increases, which came as a
condition for Greece's two international bailouts worth a total
of 240 billion euros from other
Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
"Our intention is to keep
Greece in the Eurozone," German
Finance
Ministry
spokesman Martin Jaeger said
in Berlin.
"But I would like to point out
again that the ball is definitely
in the Greeks' court. We are
waiting for proposals. We have
been waiting for weeks. That is
somewhat frustrating, but we
are patient."
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Greece is running out of cash
fast and closing in on a default
unless it can get more aid, including a 7.2-billion euro installment that has been held up because reforms haven't been
imposed
The appointment suggested
Tsakalatos, an Oxford-educated
economist and professor who is
soft-spoken and well-liked by officials representing creditors,
would have a more active role
in face-to-face talks from now
on, Reuters said.
Varoufakis, a brash and outspoken economist/bloggers, is
widely disliked by other Eurozone finance chiefs and failed to
get any offers of help in Latvia
just when Greece most needed
it.
He was later criticized by media for failing to appear at a state
dinner after the meeting. He responded by tweeting a quotation
by American statesman Franklin
Roosevelt which read, "They are
unanimous in their hate for me;
and I welcome their hatred."
New Democracy Conservative lawmaker Dora Bakoyannis
wanted him fired outright. She
told SKAI TV that Varoufakis was
a "drag," and that, "the best thing
he can do is to resign."
"Support for Finance Minister
Yanis Varoufakis, who has been
targeted by international media
reports, was confirmed during
the meeting," the government
official said, referring to a meeting of Tsipras with top aides
without explaining what if that
was so that Tsakalotos is getting
a key role.
"The Finance Minister always
acts in line with collective decisions and the government's leadership," the statement added.
Varoufakis was ripped at a
meeting of fellow Eurozone finance chiefs as a time-wasting
gambler and amateur who doesn't know what he's doing.
The unusually harsh assessment came as he was assailed
verbally for dragging his feet for
two months and failing to come
up with a credible list of reforms
needed to unblock a 7.2-billion
euro installment as the country
is running out of cash.
Varoufakis, a blogger who
claims to be a game theory expert, has taken a position of being combative, defiant and deliberate "constructive ambiguity,"
with the troika
Varoufakis' role is also being
undercut with the emergence of
Finance Ministry General Secretary Nikos Theocharakis, who
had been leading technical-level
talks with the so-called Brussels
Group of lenders, now drawing
up the reforms list instead.
George Chouliarakis, considered close to the powerful
deputy Prime Minister Yannis
Dragasakis, will take over responsibility for talks with the
Brussels group.
In an effort to show that
Athens is serious about giving
lenders access to data, a new
team was also set up to support
EU and IMF officials gathering
information in the Greek capital.
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report)
Greece Scrapes to Patch together Funds to Pay Salaries and Pensions
Anxious Greek pensioners
line up outside a National
Bank of Greece office in
Athens to get their money
amid fears the country was
going broke
rumors going round because of
the government’s problems and
what happened two days ago.”
Fears of a default have also
led bank depositors to take out
more than 28 billion euros in the
last six months and banks have
seen their assets shrink 20 percent to 134 billion euros.
“I went to the ATM in the
morning before going to the supermarket but the money wasn’t
there . . . I went back at eight in
the evening feeling quite anxious
but it had arrived,” Socrates
Kambitoglou, a retired civil engineer, told The Guardian.
Another official said inflows
of €500m on April 29 had provided enough money to pay the
pensions and another 300 million euros came in on April 30.
to make the May payments at
the end of the month.
Elderly Athenians waited at
branches of the National Bank of
Greece, the state-controlled
lender handling the bulk of pension payments, which are staggered over
“Normally I only withdraw
half the money at the end of the
month but today I’m taking it
all,” Sotiria Zlatini, a 75-year-old
former civil servant told The
Guardian. “There are so many
are usually deposited the day before.
When they saw their accounts
weren't credited it set off anxiety
the government would withhold
pensions and salaries and was
broke.
Without referring to any technical issues, the Hellenic Bank
Association issued a statement
late on April 28 saying that the
crediting of pensions to the recipients’ accounts would be completed by 11PM but they weren't
done so until the next day.
Stratoulis was also in contact
with the President of National
Bank and the HBA, Louka Katseli, who assured the minister
that the problem had been resolved.
The system does not allow for
any withdrawals unless all pensions have been deposited and
the banks have conducted their
inspections and the government
had to look under rocks to come
up with the money, and without
getting more aid may not be able
AP PHOTO/GIORGOS MIcHAEL
ATHENS – Greece's Finance Ministry almost didn't have enough
money to pay pensions and
salaries this month, scraping together spare cash at the last moment but not before setting off a
mild panic among beneficiaries
who had to wait some hours to
see if they would get the money.
Locked in stalled talks with
international lenders, Greece is
fast running out of cash and had
to order cities and towns and
state enterprises to hand over all
their money so the coalition government can meet its obligations.
The Troika of the European
Union-International Monetary
Fund-European Central Bank
(EU-IMF-ECB) is holding back a
7.2-billion euro installment until
Prime Minister and Radical Left
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras imposes more of the tough reforms
he vowed to reject, a platform
that got him elected in Jan. 25
snap elections.
He has said he would pay
pensions and salaries first, even
if it meant default, a prospect
which has rattled the Eurozone
and set off fears of a default.
The newspaper Kathimerini
said that the pensions of the state
funds and the Social Security
Foundation (IKA) were paid out
at the very last minute this week.
While Alternate Social Security Minister Dimitris Stratoulis
attributed the delay to a technical problem, saying the interbank
system had been unable to immediately update the pensioners’
bank accounts, the newspaper
said the real reason was that the
government
couldn't
find
enough money to pay them.
Although pay day for state
and IKA pensions was officially
April 29 but many recipients had
rushed to ATMs the evening before as for many their pensions
Cyprus, Egypt, Greece
to Boost ties on
Combatting Terrorism
Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras, left, Egyptian
President Abdel-Fattah elSissi, center, and Cyprus'
President Nicos Anastasiades,
right, speak as they leave a
meeting at the presidential
palace in capital Nicosia,
Cyprus, Wednesday April, 29,
2015. The leaders for Cyprus,
Greece and Egypt met in
Nicosia on Wednesday to
discuss economic relations,
tourism and energy issues.
They also agreed to step up
cooperation on combatting
terrorism amid fears that
worsening security conditions
in neighboring countries such
as Libya could threaten the
region.
Feeling Heat, Greece Scrambling to Establish Reforms, Unblock Loans
Continued from page 1
meeting last week in Riga,
Latvia, he again failed to come
up with a list of economic reforms creditors are demanding
in exchange for the loans.
After long delays and with
Greece expected to run out of
cash within weeks, hopes rose
this week that progress was finally being made.
The European Commission
said that talks were now “being
made more productive and efficient” and that the pace of negotiations had “intensified”
since last weekend’s meeting of
Eurozone finance ministers,
where Varoufakis came under
intense pressure from his colleagues.
Time is running out. Greece
faces nearly 1 billion euros in
debt repayments to the IMF by
May 12. It is expected to be able
to meet the repayment as well
as this month’s pensions and
salaries if it raises as much as it
expects from a plan move to use
cash reserves from state enterprises.
But beyond that repayment
date, Greece will have trouble
finding the money to keep the
country running and pay off
debts. The government is locked
out of the international borrow-
AP PHOTO/GIANNIS PAPANIKOS
A woman checks products inside a shop at the northern port city of Thessaloniki.
ing market by sky-high interest
rates that reflect investor fears
it will default.
The government is running
out of cash fast and had to order
state entities and cities and
towns to turn over all their
spare cash to bring in 2.5 billion
euros to pay its obligations, including salaries and pensions, a
one-time operation that will
leave the country with nowhere
to turn in a month.
The troika is withholding a
7.2-billion installment that
Tsipras said he would never take
but now needs desperately. The
money won’t be released until
the government submits an acceptable list of reforms, but that
cash will be used mostly to repay loans from the same insti-
tutions and not on social spending.
Tsipras and his Radical Left
SYRIZA party won the Jan. 25
snap elections over the then-ruling New Democracy Conservatives and its partner and former
political rival the PASOK Socialists, by promising to reverse austerity measures.
It hasn’t done that and
among the new reforms said to
be on the table is forgoing a
raise in the minimum wage
SYRIZA had promised, as well
as using money from privatizations it also said it would stop
to pay back banks and creditors.
After reneging on a number
of his campaign pledges, Tsipras
finally dug in his heels and other
government officials said if push
came to shove that any available
monies would go toward paying
salaries and pensions and that
Greece could default.
That could take the country
out of the Eurozone and jeopardize the entire financial bloc
of 19 countries, which the troika
and EU officials are anxiously
trying to avoid as they want
Tsipras to bend and make reforms he resisted.
TAKE IT TO THE PEOPLE
Struggling to get a deal with
international lenders, Tsipras
said he may let Greeks vote on
it.
Tsipras also hinted any possible deal with the troika of the
European Union-International
Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) would
likely contain provisions he opposed in his campaign promises
to reverse austerity.
In 2011, former Premier and
then-PASOK Socialist leader
George
Papandreou
was
hounded out of office when he
proposed a similar referendum,
drawing vehement criticism
from the creditors.
In a late-night interview on
Star TV on April 27, Tsipras said
his mandate is to negotiate a
deal “that won’t repeat the vicious circle of austerity, misery
and pillage; a solution with
prospects and within the European framework.”
If the deal “exceeds that
mandate,” then “Greek people
will have to decide, obviously
not through elections,” he said
when asked about the possibility
of a snap poll or a referendum.
He lashed out at Eurozone
chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem and
the ECB, accusing them of treating Greece unfairly and breaking promises, as the Radical Left
SYRIZA leader continued being
combative with those he’s seeking money from.
He said he was willing to
compromise but insisted that it
was the troika which had made
life worse for Greeks even as he
indicated he might be forced to
take a deal he doesn’t like because the country has almost no
money left.
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report)
EDITORIALS LETTERS
12
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The National Herald
A weekly publication of the NATIONAL HERALD, INC.
(ΕΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΚΗΡΥΞ),
reporting the news and addressing the issues of paramount interest
to the Greek-American community of the United States of America.
Greek Parade: the Warmer,
The Bigger, the Better
To the Editor:
Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris
Assistant to the Publisher, Advertising Veta H. Diamataris Papadopoulos
Executive Editor Constantinos E. Scaros
Religion Editor Theodore Kalmoukos
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THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
I was delighted to see photos
of the Greek parades across the
country in the pages of your
newspaper and on the websites.
TO OUR READERS
The National Herald welcomes
letters from its readers intended for publication. They
should include the writer’s
name, address, and telephone
number and be addressed to:
The Editor, The National Herald, 37-10 30th Street, Long
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or
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to
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we reserve the right to edit
letters for publication and regret that we are unable to acknowledge or return those left
unpublished.
The mass participation of Hellenes – especially the children –
is heartening and gives me hope
for the future of Hellenism in
America, but I cannot help but
wonder how much more powerful a message we could be
sending to our fellow GreekAmericans and our non-Greek
friends – most of all to our
elected officials, if we held the
parade a little later in the
Spring. When I spoke to a staffer
at the Herald I was informed
that in the past in New York, the
parade was successfully held in
late April and May – he believes
the formula was one or two
Sundays after Easter. I believe
that is an excellent idea.
The sacred day of March 25
could be properly honored by
cultural, educational, and social
events, but the even more sacred memories of the heroes of
1821 would be best honored by
generating the largest possible
turnout. Remember that March
25, like that of December 25, is
an approximation, with symbolic significance. Greek freedom fighters in other parts of
Hellas commenced their fighting
on other dates. Yes, my fellow
Chicagoans and nearby Toronto
citizens are brave and patriotic
indeed as they confront a winter
that ignores the calendar, but
let’s give more people, especially
young children, the opportunity
to march for Hellenism. Zito I
Ellas!
Aspasia Nikolopoulos
Chicago, IL
GEORGE SARAFOGLOU / SPEcIAL TO THE NATIONAL HERALD
AGORA – THE ORIGINAL MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
Tsipras’ Conflicting Directives
The disarmament of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
was inevitable. We would even argue it was long overdue, its
delay unnecessarily burdening the country's interests. That is what
happens with precise certainty when a minister himself becomes
the news, taking the focus away from the real issues.
In any event, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in two days made
two serious but contradictory moves: first, he satisfied those who
were calling for Varoufakis’ head on a platter, Germany’s Angela
Merkel most of all, and significantly improved – at least for the
moment – the climate. It was revealing that the Athens Stock Exchange rose significantly and that there was an impressive drop in
bond yields.
Second, however, he announced that he considers it necessary
to resort to a referendum, but not to an election. The difference
between the two – referendum versus elections – is important and
reveals Tsipras’ general intentions.
The prevailing view until now has been that in order for Tsipras
to pass the reforms through Parliament that Brussels is insisting
upon, he had to call for elections to be released from grip of Panagiotis Lazafanis and his far-left comrades.
That cannot be accomplished by a referendum, but only with
elections, which would probably serve as leverage against Belgium
more so than any other purpose. So, we observe two conflicting
decisions rather than the much-needed clarification of policy.
Under these circumstances, the successful negotiation of a new
agreement with the lenders will very likely result in the Lafazani
group voting against it in Parliament.
And there is another issue whose seriousness Athens may not
fully appreciate: moving the terrorist Savvas Xiros from prison to
house arrest.
Tsipras’ statements during a TV show indicate that he does not
seem to understand the importance the U.S. attaches to this issue,
as he claimed that relations with the U.S. have not been spoiled as
a result. That conclusion seems to ignore U.S. Amb. to Greece
David Pearce, who called Xiros’ release a “profoundly unfriendly
act,” and Secretary of State John Kerry, who implored that Xiros
must remain in prison. Someone needs to explain all of this to
Tsipras. And soon.
Kotzias in Washington
An important visit to Washington by Greek Foreign Minister
Nikos Kotzias – he stayed four days – went almost unnoticed. His
meetings included discussions with National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, although they were not publicized by the White House.
First, it is important to note that the National Security Advisor
does not often see foreign ministers, unless there is a particularly
good reason. Second, it is interesting that such a significant meeting
barely merited even a footnote. What is going on?
Let us remember that almost immediately after his appointment
as Foreign Minister, Kotzias surprised many by raising questions
about the economic sanctions Europe and the United States imposed on Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to his
actions in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made a similar move prior to his
visit to Moscow. He told a Russian news agency: "We do not agree
with the sanctions. I think it is a road that leads nowhere. I support
the view that there is a need for dialogue and diplomacy, you need
to sit down at the negotiating table and find solutions to big problems."
These statements caused part of Greek population – and Putin
– to rejoice, but it caused more concern in Washington than could
be seen at first glance.
That is because in Washington, and in Berlin, people are basically worried that Putin is trying to exploit the weaknesses of an
EU country to break the common Western front.
At the same time, this behavior raises questions regarding Greek
obligations in the context of participation in the Eurozone and
NATO.
Taking these elements into account, one can better understand
the logic of the meeting and the press release the White House issued, which among other things says the following: National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice met today with Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias of Greece. Ambassador Rice and the Foreign Minister
discussed a range of security issues in Europe and the Middle East,
including Russia’s actions in Ukraine. They agreed that full implementation of the three Minsk agreements is essential to resolving
the crisis in eastern Ukraine.”
What may amount, then, to a change of heart by Kotzias and a
public commitment by Rice might be the reason this meeting was
kept under the radar.
By Dan Georgakas and
Constantinos E. Scaros
From time to time, an issue emerges and
inspires various minds to converge, often at
odds with one another, to discuss it. Hopefully,
collective enlightenment will result from such
conversations. The Ancient Greeks did that in
Rest assured, anything we write here are
our sincere, heartfelt thoughts.
We will share them with you every two
weeks. We hope you enjoy them, and we look
forward to your taking part in the discussion
as well – by contributing letters to the editor in
response, and/or commenting on our website:
www.thenationalherald.com
Democrats are Putting All Their Eggs in Hillary’s Basket
SCAROS PRESENTS HIS
POINT OF VIEW
Dan, it is no secret that I do
not want Hillary Clinton to become president. And, unlike in
2008, when it became clear to
me early on that Barack Obama
would out-campaign her and
win the Democratic nomination,
and then coast in the general
election, there is no such
Obama”
among
“Barack
Hillary’s potential 2016 Democratic rivals. Let’s not kid ourselves: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren might run
principled campaigns that might
raise the level of the overall political discourse, but they have
about as much chance in prevailing as would Rick Perry or
Rick Santorum, if they threw
their hats back in on the Republican side.
All that said, it sure sounds
that my clamoring for more Democrats to enter the race is so
that one of them might topple
Hillary and then become
“George McGoverned” in the
general election by the Republican.
But that is not the case. I am
looking at it objectively.
In fact, if other Democrats
were to enter the race, that
would strengthen Hillary as a
campaigner. After all, even the
most talented fighter on the
comeback trail needs a couple
of tune-up bouts before vying
for the title.
That the Democrats have all
but anointed Hillary as the Democratic nominee, whereas over
the next few months there will
be more Republicans in the race
than Yankee fans in the Bronx,
speaks volumes about the two
parties.
Republicans are the party of
the small business owner – the
person who says: “why should I
work for someone else when I
can do it myself?” Democrats,
though, generally are more
comfortable with structure.
They are more likely, say, to live
in an apartment building in a
big city, than to own a singlefamily home in the country.
I make these generalizations
not to praise one party and criticize the other, but rather to
point out that it makes sense
that Republicans would be the
ones acting like sea gulls fighting over one piece of bread,
whereas Democrats quietly
know their place in the hierar-
chy.
Why is it that Democrats are
so gunshy about running for
president this time around? Do
they have that much respect for
Hillary that they do not dare
challenge her? Or do they know
that she is not a particularly
strong candidate and worry that
direct competition would expose the chink in her armor?
Have the Democrats agreed
to present a united front and
prop up Hillary only for the
main event? Usually such coro-
Hillary. Many regret being stampeded into the Obama frenzy
last time out.
Hillary is not a particularly
congenial personality, but she
has many electoral strengths.
She is obviously going to attract
women voters who want to see
the first female American president. If the Republicans cannot
control their anti-feminist lunatic fringe, the number of
women who opt for Hillary
could be decisive.
Hillary has strong ties to
Hillary Clinton: Shouldn't the Democrats have a Plan B?
nations – devoid of primary
challenges – are reserved for incumbent presidents seeking reelection. In this case, it is quite
peculiar.
Regardless of their motives,
what the Republicans are doing
is good for their party. They will
field a country-club Republican,
a values Republican, a national
security Republican, and a libertarian Republican, among others. Beyond Hillary, what type
of Democrat will the Democrats
field?
Besides, the Democrats are
running a big risk by having a
formidable starter but no bench.
What if, for whatever reason,
Hillary would not be the nominee? In that case, I think a Republican victory would be inevitable.
Shouldn’t
the
Democrats have a backup plan?
GEORGAKAS RESPONDS
Dino, the Hillary phenomenon is not so rare in American
history. Quite often, there is a
consensus that the time has
come for a partly stalwart to run
as was the case with Bush I. The
vast majority of Democrats believe that time has come for
blacks, Hispanics, and gays,
three constituencies Republicans
regularly alienate. Almost all
legislation that gays see as discriminatory and legislation Hispanics see as racial profiling are
sponsored by Republican governors and legislatures. Republicans are also cool to the Dream
Act advocated by Democrats.
The latest Republican slap at
blacks and women was the
shameful multi-month delay in
confirming Loretta Lynch as the
first African-American woman
to serve as Attorney General.
When Hillary ran for Senator,
commentators were sure she
was far too liberal to carry upstate New York and not popular
enough to build a crushing lead
in NYC. She dealt with this perception by going to numerous
cities upstate on a “listening
tour.” In the general election,
she carried NYC handily and
won much of the upstate vote
that often eludes liberal Democrats.
Bill Clinton enjoys great popularity among white workingclass men who generally are not
enthusiastic about Hillary. He
will campaign in earnest for her
among workers, and she has an
electoral get-out-the-vote machine to activate her core voters.
The Clintons are unforgiving
of those within the party who
oppose them. Such candidates
would feel their wrath longterm as well as immediately.
Possible viable contenders such
as NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
have decided to hold off a serious bid until some future election. Walter O’Malley, former
governor of Maryland and a
likely candidate, is viewed by
the Clintons as a friendly debating partner far more interested
in a future nomination or federal appointment than defeating
Hillary.
Bernie Sanders, who would
make a great president, will
likely not run. He knows he cannot win and the campaign
would be costly and exhausting.
Elizabeth Warren lacks foreign
policy experience and is still
learning how to influence fellow
senators. Both see that their
views are already influencing
Hillary’s positions without creating rancor.
The Republicans have many
candidates because no one person stands out as obviously presidential. In early campaigning,
the Republicans seem to be in a
race to determine who is the
most extreme. A number of
them are capable of winning a
state or two. This likely will result in a long campaign during
which they will assail one another, causing candidates who
are not of the looney right to be
pulled into positions that will
harm them in a general election
if they are eventually nominated.
At the present moment,
Hillary is a sure bet for the Democratic nomination and the favorite in the general election.
Much can change before the
election to be sure, but her pathway seems quite smooth and
that of the Republican candidates is full of potholes.
This may be one those years
when more Americans will consider voting for a third party. As
we get closer to the election and
have actual candidates with specific platforms, I think we
should take a closer look at the
pros and cons of voting for a
third party.
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?
Observations By Antonis H. Diamataris
Weakness on Display
Memorable Days in Boston
For better or for worse, when Richard Nixon was president, a
great deal of his domestic decisions had to do with how he believed
they would be perceived by Leonid Brezhnev and Mao Zedong,
then-leaders of the Soviet Union and China, respectively.
Given all the coverage of the rioting in Baltimore, in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray, a 25 year-old African-American
who fell into a coma while in police custody, and subsequently
died from a spinal injury, the usual catalysts: racism, police brutality,
civil unrest, are in the forefront. But another way to look at it, as
Nixon might have, is from abroad.
As the United States tries to regain its footing on the world
stage, to regain command of the wheel on the ship it so capably
steered during the last century, what is the world – our allies and
enemies alike – going to think when random and rampant chaos
erupts a mere hour’s drive away from the White House, the Capitol,
the Pentagon, and the Supreme Court?
Rioting and looting following a controversial phenomenon is
nothing new. Why, then, can’t our government manage to prevent
it, rather than to contain it once a great deal of damage has already
been done? Damage not only to the specific victims – individuals
and businesses – but also to our national psyche, and to our international standing.
the Agora, the original marketplace of ideas,
and we, their modern-day descendants, aspire
to continue that tradition. We respect one another’s opinion very much,
but often times we will disagree on particular
issues. We would never fabricate a difference
of opinion for the sake of writing an interesting
column.
The Greeks of New England and the National Herald have had a long and close relationship ever since the newspaper’s establishment a century ago. There, in the shoe
factories and textile mills of Lowell and
other cities, thousands of new immigrants
found work and then brought over their relatives and friends. It was in Boston that
they founded the first Greek newspaper in
America, Neos Kosmos – New World published in 1892 by Constantine Fasoularides
of Nisyros.
The National Herald developed close ties
to the Greek communities there, put down
roots and became part of their life. After
the closing of Atlantis in 1973, the number
of our subscribers increased significantly.
Of course, the presence of our tireless reporter Theodore Kalmoukos in the region
over the decades has strengthened those
ties more than ever.
I found myself there this past weekend,
among the Greeks of Boston. Of course, it
was not my first visit, but it was a trip I will
never forget. Not only because I received,
on behalf of the newspaper, several important honors related to our 100th anniversary. But because of the love and appreciation from our many subscribers for our
work, which has exceeded all expectations.
This is not the usual type of relationship
a newspaper has with its readers. It is more
like a family relationship, a relationship of
friends who communicate daily through our
paper’s pages.
I thank our friends in New England, each
one individually. They can be sure that their
love and kind words accompanied me back
to New York and strengthen my resolve to
make them ever prouder of their newspaper.
I congratulate Vasilios Kafkas, president of
the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of New England, and all of its members, for the work they do with such enthusiasm and above all, with purpose. I was
overjoyed to find that Boston ’s Greek com-
munity has not lowered the bar of Greek
principles and matters of national concern.
Moreover, the Boston community is fortunate to have a good and tireless Consul
General, Ifigenia Kanara, who works with enthusiasm and love for the Greek community.
Finally, the absence of the local metropolitan from both the events celebrating
March 25 and from the Boston Greek Parade
itself was noticed – and rather with relief.
His representative said that he was absent because he had to go to the Patriarchate.
I am sure, though, that had Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew known about the
events that were taking place in Boston,
surely he would have relieved him of his
obligations in Constantinople.
How else are we to interpret this behavior of a local metropolitan, other than as
an act of denigrating the celebration of
Greece’s most important national holiday,
and as an unprecedented demonstration of
indifference to his flock?
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
VIEWPOINTS
13
The Wishful-Thinking Folly Europe Balance May Hang on the Greek Question Again
Of Greco-Russian Alliance
ity – even if it mean
There is a myth
tolerating the Otamong Greek lefttoman Sultan.
ists that Russia,
Later in the 19th
whether as the Socentury, the Rusviet Union, as
sians, although still
Tsarist Russia, or
committed to takpresent day Russia
ing Constantinople,
is the answer to the
abandoned the polcountry’s problems.
icy of Pan-OrthoThe visit of Alexis
doxy and embraced
Tsipras to Moscow
the concept of Panand his meeting
Slavism. Britain
with Vladimir Putin
by DR. ANDRE
and the Royal Navy,
pays homage to
GEROLYMATOS
meanwhile, deterthat notion. The
mined
Greece’s
comments coming
Special to
The National Herald
fate. The Russians
from Nikos Kotzias,
lost interest in
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, underscore the Greece and, if anything, became
Greek left’s wishful thinking that an obstacle to Greek interests in
if only Greece came under Rus- the Balkans and Asia Minor. Unsia’s protection, then it could til the Bolshevik Revolution, the
abandon the harsh German- government in Saint Petersburg
believed that they had to stymie
dominated EU.
There are historical ties that Greek ambitions in the Ottoman
connect Hellenism and Ortho- Empire in order to secure Condoxy, but not necessarily the stantinople for themselves.
After the Bolshevik RevoluGreek state to Russia. Zoe
Palaiologina,
aka
Sophia tion in 1917 and the Russian
Palaiologina, a Byzantine Civil War (1917-1922), Russia’s
princess married Ivan III, Grand new revolutionary government
Duke of Moscow on November, did little to alter the country’s
12 1472 and through that union policies with respect to Greece.
Russian Tsars laid claim to Con- The Soviets in 1921 betrayed
stantinople and dubbed Moscow Greek interests by supplying the
as the Third Rome. Zoe was the forces of Mustapha Kemal with
daughter of Thomas Palaiolo- gold, which made it possible for
gos, Despot of Morea, and the the Turks to defeat the Greeks
brother of Constantine XI, the in 1922. Indeed, the USSR was
the second state to recognize Kelast Byzantine emperor.
This dynastic marriage en- mal’s revolutionary government.
During the Second World
gendered the notion that the
Russian Tsars were the succes- War, the Greek communists
sors of the Byzantine emperors tried in vain to achieve contact
and destined to one-day rule with Moscow. When the Greek
over a resurrected Eastern Or- communists finally did in 1944,
thodox Roman Empire from Moscow informed them that
their seat in Constantinople. As they had to join the Greek Gov-
Greece and its fellow EU
members all understand that the
current “bailout” program (described recently as a “reverse
Ponzi scheme”) will end badly
with a Greek default with unforeseeable consequences. Austerity has depressed Greece’s
economy and productivity while
loans to pay off interest increase
the debt-to-GDP ratio.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
understands the problem and
his Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has articulated it clearly.
However, both clearly underestimated the survival instincts of
governments in the “suffering
South” of Europe. The Spanish,
Italians, Portuguese, etc., may
all agree that Germany’s formula for ever-increasing austerity dooms their own economies
in the long term. However, in
the short term, if Tsipras bluffs
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel into a change of policy,
they will face electoral disaster.
Consequently, Greece faces a
united front of Eurozone governments aligned with Germany
determined to make Tsipras fail
so they can stay in power.
Sadly, the Greek decision to
play hardball came five years
too late. Had the Papandreou
Government (or even Samaras)
called Europe’s bluff in 2010 or
even 2012, it would have been
a vastly different game. Unfortunately, the EU has created a
firewall that it proclaims will insulate it from a Greek default
and exit from the Eurozone. I
believe that Merkel and the rest
are whistling past the graveyard
and believe that if they act like
they don’t care, Tsipras will
knuckle under because he too
wants to be reelected. They believe that in the end Tsipras is
just another politician obsessed
with his own reelection.
The test is coming soon.
Tsipras came to power at the
head of a very shaky political
entity. He cobbled together
SYRIZA out of thirteen political
parties, each of which could not
get past the 3% threshold to get
into Parliament. To make matters worse, he still needed another coalition partner to get a
majority and form a government. He apparently could only
find Panos Kammenos’ “Independent Greeks” Party, whose
politics are to the right of the
most moderate of the SYRIZA
sub-groups and shares only its
Alexis Tsipras (L) and Vladimir Putin. There is a longstanding
myth that Russia is the answer to Greece’s problems.
Russia expanded in the West
and East, the appeal of taking
Constantinople from the Ottomans, followed by a restoration of Byzantium, became ingrained in every tsar’s policy.
The Russians, beyond the goal
of recreating the Byzantine Empire, wanted control of the
Straits to end the bottleneck of
their fleet in the Black Sea.
When the Greeks showed
signs of restlessness, and began
taking the first steps toward rebelling from the Ottoman Empire, Catherine the Great of Russia made a feeble attempt to
intervene in Greece. In 1770,
Catherine sent four ships, containing a contingent of several
hundred troops, to the Mediterranean in order to stimulate an
uprising in the Peloponnese.
The Russian forces were just
enough to encourage the Greeks
to rebel but woefully insufficient
to affect the rebellion’s success.
Shortly thereafter, the Ottomans
defeated the Greek and Russian
forces and exacted brutal
reprisals against the population.
In the early 19th century,
Greek trade links to Russia were
extensive and it was the Philiki
Etairia in Odessa that served as
the financial headquarters of the
Greek revolutionaries and, in
time, provided some of its leaders. The court of Alexander I
was also a haven for Greeks who
had sought their future in Russia. John Capodistrias was an
Ioanian Greek who served as the
Tsars joint secretary of state and
Alexander Ypsilantis, the Tsar’s
adjutant, led the first attempt to
liberate the Greeks from the Ottomans but failed. Ypsilantis, as
well as many in the Philiki
Etairia had assumed that Tsar
Alexander I, would intervene on
behalf of the Greeks, but the
Russian monarch was opposed
to revolution and committed to
a conservative European solidar-
ernment of National Unity as junior partners and permit the
landing of British troops. In October 1944, Stalin and Churchill
concluded the Percentages
Agreement in which the Soviets
agreed that Greece would come
under Britain’s sphere of influence.
The Soviets had little compunction in abandoning the
Greek left during the December
Uprising in 1944, and even ordered the Bulgarians not to accept any Greek communist
refugees. Stalin begrudgingly
supported the Greek communists during the Greek Civil War,
refusing to recognize their provisional government or offer any
direct assistance. After the defeat of the communist forces in
1949 he provided shelter for the
survivors, but only as stateless
persons in the USSR.
The lesson for Mr. Tsipras
and Syriza is that Stalin had
only marginal interest in
Greece. The Soviet dictator believed that the British and later
the American fleets represented
too strong an influence in the
Mediterranean, and that the Soviets lacked the means to intervene. Putin is in a similar
dilemma. He wants to change
the Montreaux Convention to
allow Russian Warships out of
the Black Sea in peace and in
war. In addition, a naval base
in Greece would extend Russian
power to the Mediterranean and
the Middle East, but like Stalin
Putin lacks the resources to intervene. Even if the Russians
could support Greece in exchange for naval rights, would
the Greeks accept to leave NATO
and the EU?
André Gerolymatos is Director
of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies
at Simon Fraser University in
Vancouver.
least, have found a
anti-austerity platsingle
unifying
form. This puts
message:
they
Tsipras at the mercy
stoke a truly psyof every loony-tune
chotic hatred of
in SYRIZA who can
President Obama
hold government
as a substitute for
unity to ransom.
hard choices. That
His
partners
should work until
have already come
the first Tuesday in
up with two initiaNovember 2016,
tives that could
when it dawns on
lead to disaster.
their rank-and-file
One SYRIZA faction
by AMB. PATRICK N.
that
Obama is not
demands SYRIZA
THEROS
on the ticket.
pass laws disestabI now underlishing the Church,
Special to
The National Herald
stand my normally
eliminating its role
sensible cousins in
in public life, and
seizing its wealth. Another fac- Greece who told me that they
tion has called for legislation would vote for SYRIZA precisely
that would release from jail a because it would fall apart after
terrorist who killed several a few months in office and crash
Americans and is serving five se- the whole Greek political strucquential life sentences. Neither ture. They had lost all faith in
would help Greece in this mo- the conventional politicians
ment of national crisis. The first who, they believed, would not
would rip the country apart. The reform the political or economic
second would pit it against the system because their personal
only major power that lobbied fortunes depended on the status
Europe on its behalf. Failing to quo, regardless of the harm to
accede to these demands runs their country or to their fellow
the risk of the SYRIZA govern- citizens.
Nor does Europe offer any
ment collapsing should either of
the marginal groupings with- examples to the contrary. Greece
draw. Their leaders do fit the and Italy, two of the EU’s weakpattern of politicians willing to est economies, bear the human
sacrifice their country for a few and financial costs of dealing
with the largest refugee crisis in
votes.
Tsipras should at least take post World War II Europe. The
heart that he is not alone. The Northern Europeans, Germany
leadership of the American Re- first and foremost, cannot
publican Party is in the same scrape up even ten million euros
boat: they must satisfy their a month to secure the Mediterown coalition of one-issue par- ranean. Greece and Italy spend
tisans. The GOP leadership, at far more than that defending a
European border that their
northern neighbors could care
less about. Nor do the richer EU
states seem to care much about
defending Europe to the East.
The richer EU members stirred
up the Russians in the Ukraine
without taking into consideration that, having disarmed, they
cannot cope with the secondpowerful military in world. Russia may not hold the moral high
ground, but it owns most of the
tanks. Rather than go back to
their voters and tell them that
they must dramatically raise
their own defense budgets,
Northern European politicians
spend their time figuring out
how to get the Americans to
fight this war for them.
Many observers believe the
policies of the richer EU members will lead to the unraveling
of this Grand Experiment. So
long as politicians put their own
immediate electoral interests
ahead of national interests, this
will become a self-fulfilling
prophecy. The Greek Question,
as in 1821, may once again
wreck the Concert of Europe.
The Hon. Ambassador Theros is
president of the U.S.-Qatar
Business Council. He served in
the U.S. Foreign Service for 36
years, mostly in the Middle
East, and was American Ambassador to Qatar from 1995 to
1998. He also directed the State
Department’s
CounterTerrorism Office, and holds numerous U.S. Government decorations.
Until his recent marginalization, Greek FM Yanis Varoufakis was the face of Greece’s new
Troika strategy. Aka, dysfunctional politics in Greece and, by extension, in Europe.
LETTER FROM ATHENS
Just in Time for Tourist Season, SYRIZA’s Bringing on Terror
On June 28, 1988, while driving in an armor-plated sedan
through Athens, U.S. Navy Capt.
William Nordeen, the American
Defense Attache, was killed
when a remote-controlled bomb
went off, throwing him from his
car.
On March 12, 1991, US Air
Force Sgt. Ronald O. Stewart
was killed by a remote-controlled bomb outside his Athens
apartment.
The packages were special
delivery from the notorious November 17 terrorist group, at
the hands of Savvas Xiros, who
has been jailed since 2003, only
because a year before he was
caught when another bomb he
was building to attack a tourist
ferry boat exploded.
Nordeen and Stewart were
two of the 23 people killed by
the terrorists, whose other victims included a Greek-American, U.S. Navy Capt. George
Tsantes, shot seven times in his
car on Nov. 15, 1983 while on
his way to work at the U.S. Embassy.
The first to be killed by the
cowards was CIA Athens Station
Chief Richard Welch on Dec. 23,
1975, beginning a long run of
terror and murder and bombings conducted by November
17, and Savvas Xiros, who was
partially blinded by a failed
bombing.
And now, because Greece is
run by a bunch of fellow cowardly incompetents, the Looney
Left SYRIZA extremists led by
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras,
Xiros looks like he’s going to get
away with it.
Citing “humanitarian reasons,” (blinded by a bomb he
many of the freewas building to kill
doms of life deother people and
nied to Welch,
because he has mulTsantes, Nordeen,
tiple sclerosis, a disStewart and the
ease not worse
others killed by
enough for him)
November 17.
SYRIZA’s stooges in
That’s because,
Parliament have folKotzias
said,
lowed Tsipras’ orGreece
doesn’t
ders to pass a bill to
have the technollet him out and be
ogy to put an anunder house arrest.
kle bracelet on
That set off a
by ANDY
him.
Christodoulos
predictable howl
DABILIS
Xiros walked away
from United States
from a Christmas
Ambassador Donald
Special to
The National Herald
vacation he was
Pearce, who, in degiven despite servcidedly
undiplomatic language designed to de- ing six life sentences for assasliver a message to SYRIZA, of a sination, and was caught after
“profoundly unfriendly act,” by being a fugitive, which shows
you the history of the Xiros
the government.
That’s barely disguised code Brothers when it comes to wantto show the outrage is so great ing to be out of prison.
If he gets out, you can expect
that, as Foreign Minister Nikos
Kotzias also heard when he vis- to next hear from Savvas Xiros
ited Washington, DC and got an through a missive on the Interearful from Secretary of State net from some other country
John Kerry, means the U.S. is se- where he’ll be hiding out after
riously infuriated, enough so to escaping and causing yet anblacklist two other jailed Greek other world class embarrassterrorists,
Xiros’
brother ment to Greece, which can’t afChristodoulos Xiros, and Revo- ford any more at the hands of
lutionary Struggle leader Nikos the Amateur House SYRIZA that
has brought the country to the
Maziotis.
Kotzias, a terrorist apologist, edge of economic default, too.
Kotzias said the new law was
told Kerry, who must have had
to control himself from scream- a response to a European court
ing, that house arrest was the of human rights decision critisame as being in prison. It’s not cizing conditions in Greek prisas bad, however, as being in the ons, but families and friends of
grave, which is where Xiros November 17’s many Greek vicshould be if Greece had the tims also are outraged, includdeath penalty, although there’d ing New Democracy lawmaker
be a waiting list to spit on his Dora Bakoyianni, whose thenhusband, politician and antigrave.
broadcaster
Pavlos
It might be tough to monitor junta
Xiros at his home, where he Bakoyiannis, was shot dead outcould order pizza and have side his office on Sept. 26, 1989.
Greece should now worry
that the United States could issue a travel advisory warning
Americans not to visit Greece,
just when the country is on the
verge of a third straight record
tourist season that it needs to
have any hope of climbing out
of a black hole of economic failure caused by political parties
on wild spending binges for
decades.
After Nordeen’s murder, in a
blast so violent it sent his whole
car hurdling through the air and
his body into a yard, then White
House spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater said that the United
States would work with Greece
to “bring the murderers to justice.”
It took 15 years, and only because the 2004 Olympics were
then looming, forcing Greece to
finally act, but the man who
killed him, Savvas Xiros, and fellow bacteria posing as humans,
were brought to justice, an act
that Tsipras and the anarchists
and terrorists hiding within the
party now to want to reverse because the truth is that many of
them are just like Xiros and
want to force Greece out of
NATO and bring down the country they don’t love as much as
they do the philosophy of terror.
In the café philosopher world
of Syrizites, which rhymes with
parasites, all terrorists are really
just Che Guevara freedom fighters whose victims deserve to die.
So does Xiros, so here’s a way
he could finally be free of
prison: at his exhumation after
execution with people waiting
to spit on him. There’s a line.
[email protected]
VIEWPOINTS
14
THE NATIONAL HERALD, MAY 2-8, 2015
Historical Revision by Omission: The Water Diviner’s Noticeably Missing Genocide
By Angela Dawson
The new feature film The Water Diviner purports to be based
on true events. Set approximately a century ago, it tells the
story of a simple, water-divining
Australian farmer who, four
years after the bloody Battle of
Gallipoli, travels to Turkey to
find his three sons, who went
off to war but never returned.
(Water divining is the practice
of searching for water underground by the reaction of an apparatus – such as a forked stick
– while walking over the land
under which it sits.)
The film marks Academy
Award-winning actor Russell
Crowe’s feature film directing
debut. He also stars in it as intrepid, devoted father Joshua
Connor. The character is mostly
fictional, inspired by one line in
an old piece of correspondence
about an “old man” who went
to Turkey looking for his son.
That tiny shred of truth is all
writers Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios had to go on to
craft their screenplay. There was
no actual water-divining farmer.
That aspect was borrowed from
Anastasios’ own grandfather’s
uncanny ability to find water using metal sticks. (He found water for Mel Gibson once, according to Crowe, whose own father
also supposedly has that ability.)
The Water Diviner, which already opened to critical acclaim
in Australia (it won three movie
awards there), Turkey, and other
countries, is a visually-arresting,
emotional and well-directed
epic. There’s just one problem:
it is historically inaccurate.
Like other film epics that purport to be based on true events,
The Water Diviner stretches the
truth to the point of inaccuracy,
one-sidedness, and oversimplification of a tragic period of history.
Crowe, who has worked with
outstanding filmmakers/storytellers like Ridley Scott and Ron
Howard, unfortunately, is mostly
guilty of committing the sin of
omission in telling his war story.
Because while he goes into great
detail to show on screen the
bloody 1915 Battle of Gallipoli,
where the Turkish army fought
the invading Australian and New
Zealand forces (Anzac) along
the Turkish coast, nowhere in
his film is there any mention or
depiction of another aspect of
that country’s activities that
were happening at the same
time: the systematic extermination of more than a million Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and
other indigenous members of
the Christian population at the
hands of the Turks.
The film also has the audacity
to depict Greek forces as marauding aggressors, who burn
down villages and gun down
anyone in their path when, in
fact, hundreds of thousands of
Greek families were either murdered or driven from their
homes in which their ancestors
had lived for more than 1,000
years. At one point in Crowe’s
film a character refers to the
Greek fighters as “Satan’s army”
and a Greek leader tells his
troops (in Greek) to “kill them
all” referring to Turkish troops
arriving in a small village by
train. Indeed, Crowe’s character
must convince his sole surviving
son (SPOILER ALERT) to jump
in a drainpipe to escape oncoming Greek forces that are poised
to destroy the village. In reality,
surviving Anzac prisoners reported that the Greeks not only
assisted in their survival but in
some instances, their escape.
Illustrating Crowe’s whitewash of the actual historical
events is when a character in the
film directs the farmer to where
his son is painting inside a
church. There is no mention that
the converted young man is not
painting the icons to fix them,
but actually painting over them,
as so many Christian churches
were converted to mosques dur-
ing that time period and later.
In another scene, Connor has an
epiphany in the famous Blue
Mosque in Constantinople in all
its colorful glory, yet there is no
mention that for 1,000 years,
this was the Hagia Sophia, a
most holy Christian church before the Ottomans removed all
the iconography and turned it
into a mosque in the 15th century.
I recently had a chance to ask
Crowe about not mentioning the
genocide in his film, to which he
tersely responded: “how do you
possibly connect the two things?
There could be another thousand feature films made about
things that were happening
roughly around this broader geography and in this broader time
period that has nothing to do
with what you’re talking about.”
That may be so, but I wonder
if Mr. Crowe made a film set in
Nazi Germany and failed to
mention the concentration
camps if that would fly with the
filmgoing public. Sadly, a lot of
Westerners are unaware of this
dark chapter in history. As the
philosopher George Santayana
wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned
to repeat it.” Coincidentally,
Pope Francis recently risked
Turkish anger by using the world
“genocide” to refer to the mass
killings of Armenians a century
ago.
Finally, in what may be an
example of extremely insensitive
timing, Warner Bros, which is
distributing the film in the U.S.,
where millions of Armenian expatriates live, released the film
on April 24, the official commemoration date of the Armenian Genocide.
While too late now to change
the release date, an apology may
be in order.
authority. Fundamentally, there
is nothing wrong with this belief. In order to progress as a
community, as a society, there
must be leaders voted in. This
is our heritage, this is what we
are trying to protect. That being
said, in every community, societies are being gridlocked and
filibustered at meetings entirely
made up of past presidents, and
thus at a standstill. Our elders
would like us to join, but for
what? There is little progressive
action.
Despite all of that, we are different. We have been raised
with a different perspective. The
accessibility at our fingertips are
unparalleled; any question we
have, any thought we write is
simply light speed away. We are
the most powerful generation to
have ever walked the face of the
Earth, and that is no exaggeration. We have questioned, publicly, the validity of politicians,
exposed corruption internationally and domestically, toppled
governments and liberated peo-
ple under the boot of the most
ruthless dictators in the world.
We have more influence than
any PhD or think-tank and there
isn't one name to recognize.
The reason is, we have done
all of this as a generation, as a
whole. We are unlimited with
the resources at our disposal. So
as Greeks, there is no reason
why we should let our history,
culture, and country continue to
be at risk. United we stand.
Angela Dawson is the co-owner
and editor of the entertainment
news
website
frontrowfeatures.com.
A Letter to the Youth
By Nykolah Chatzis
This is not an article. It is not
an analysis of topical crises or
the clever and deceptive push
of a political bias. It is, instead,
an open letter. A letter to my
brothers and sisters, a kin only
by the passion for our culture
and heritage that runs so rich
through our veins. A passion so
deep in our gut that it's reflected
in every bite we take, every
drink we sip, and every person
we love.
So I write to you, because for
the past two years I have had
the opportunity to see what it
takes to protect such pride; the
immense drive it requires to
protect everything we hold dear.
In these troubling times our
homeland, the nucleus holding
the defining elements of who
we are as a people, is at risk.
And to defend something so
pure and significant requires
strength and leadership.
Yet, the strength and leadership does not come from ambassadors, news moguls, sena-
tors, Congressmen, or prime
ministers, it comes from much
more than that. That strength is
rooted deep in our communities
and sprouts through the blood,
sweat, and tears of contractors,
restauranteurs, journalists, poets, writers; people who aren't
paid to speak up for their country, these are people that, by the
strength of their backs, fight to
have a voice. These people have
the fire and stamina to labor until late at night, lay to rest in
the early morning, and rise at
the crack of dawn to travel to
the farthest reaches necessary
to have a chance to connect,
meet, and debate one another,
all for the well-being of their
communities, their families, and
their heritage. That is what it
means to be Greek.
It is the vigor at the heart of
every Greek to preserve their
history and culture. We do it for
our families, so the struggle and
the fight of our forefathers echo
through time, so the history we
gathered as freethinking beings
will guide us in the decisions we
Ambassador Patrick Theros
Expounds on Middle East
TNH Staff
NEW YORK – Patrick Theros, a
former U.S. Ambassador to
Qatar who as a regular TNH
columnist typically shares his
extensive expertise about the
Middle East in his writings, on
April 19 appeared on the Cats
Roundtable, the national radio
show based in New York City,
hosted by self-made billionaire
and 2013 NYC Mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis.
The host noted Theros’ extensive experience in the middle
East besides in Qatar, noting his
service in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the
United Arab Emirates. Catsimatidis began half-jokingly, saying
“what a mess the Middle East is
since you left,” and Theros responded that he is “a little bit
jealous of my colleagues in the
service who are still there, because now (as compared to
when he was there) a lot is happening.” He explained that
nowadays the United States is
so risk averse that “we pull people out of embassies way too
early, and then we wonder why
we don’t know what’s going on
in those countries.”
Regarding Yemen, Amb.
Theros is concerned that “the
Saudis have concentrated all of
their firepower against the
Houthi rebels – who are basically a tribal group – plus the
troops of the former president,”
and have not focused on alQaeda, because they are terrified instead of a Shia takeover
in Yemen. He explains that the
Saudis have long feared Shias
and Iran the most, and notes
that while he deems that fear,
at times, to be irrational, it is
nonetheless a very real fear to
the Saudis. Accordingly, even
though al-Qaeda and the Islamic
State (IS, also called ISIS or
ISIL) are threats as well, the
Saudis see the Shia and Iran as
a far bigger threat, he notes.
Although the Saudis do not
support terrorists, Theros says,
because the Saudis, IS, and alQaeda have similar religious
philosophies, the Saudis are less
uncomfortable with those two
groups, whereas they see the
Shia as an existential threat.
Having to choose where to concentrate its firepower, then,
Theros says the Saudis “will go
after the Shia in a heartbeat,
and let the Islamic State slide
until next time.”
So are the Saudis just looking
the other way when it comes to
the IS, which could lead to an-
TNH Columnist Patrick Theros,
former U.S. Ambassador to
Qatar, shared his Middle East
expertise on Cats Roundtable,
a national radio show hosted
by John Catsimatidis.
other 9/11, Castimatidis asked?
“I don’t think it’s as bad as that,”
says Theros.
Shifting to Iraq, Theros calls
the U.S. invasion of that country
the single biggest mistake in
American history. He blames it
mostly on the Bush Administration, but also holds the Obama
Administration responsible for
reacting to the unpleasantness
of it all by focusing on “heading
for the door.” Nonetheless,
Theros doesn’t know – and
doesn’t think anyone can know
with certainty – how successful
the U.S. would have been in
thwarting the current violence
and instability in Iraq even if we
had stayed, because of how
“corrupt and sectarian” Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki was.
Theros also points out that
“IS” includes the old Iraqi army,
which stepped aside when the
U.S. invaded that country in
2003, because they didn’t like
Saddam Hussein any more than
we did and they were not about
to die defending him. When Maliki sent them home with no
jobs, but with their guns, they
felt further alienated, Theros
says, and thus joined forces with
IS. The combined force
“creamed” the new Iraqi army,
which was weakened by Maliki,
who replaced the experienced
soldiers with his own less effective cronies.
Catsimatidis summed up the
ambassador’s analysis: “that’s a
horrible way our country handled that whole situation.”
make, and most importantly, so
that we will continue to live as
free people. This is what I
learned from the men and
women whom I have met in my
travels. To my elders, who have
shared with me their wisdom
and experience, I have nothing
but respect for you.
However, there is a fault instilled to us by the preceding
generation. It is simply this: to
make a difference you must
have a title. You must have the
authority to make the decisions
and never to let the masses forget that you once possessed this
Nykolah Chatzis is PA to the
President
of
the
PanMacedonian Association USA.
I Believe in Greece
By Alexandros Gaffney
I have recently heard friends
and relatives debate whether
Greece will be able to survive
as an independent country because of its financial troubles.
So, I asked myself, could you
erase Greece from the map and
from history?
I am half Greek. My mother
came to the United States as an
immigrant. I have grown up
feeling that I have two countries, two languages and two
homes.
I started learning about
Greek history through some rare
illustrated children’s classic
books that are not in circulation
anymore. Those books were
very popular in Greece in the
1940s and 1950s. Although they
were children’s books, they followed the historical sources
closely, while making the stories
come alive.
I first read about the Persian
Wars in those books. I was
amazed by the strategic minds
and hearts of the Greeks. I could
not believe how the Greeks
managed to crush the Persians,
even though the Greeks were
hundreds of thousands and
sometimes a million fewer than
the Persians. I also read about
the Greek War of Independence
against the Turks in 1821.
Greece had been under Turkish
occupation for 400 years. Everyone at the time had written
Greece off. Yet, just like their
ancestors, the Greek heroes of
1821 promised to God that they
would free their country or die
for their country. As I was reading, I thought of the Ancient
Spartan saying, “Come back
with this [shield] or on it.”
As I grew older, I read stories
from World War II in old Greek
school books from the 1940s. I
was proud of the Greeks, who
were as usual very much fewer
than the enemy. The Greeks
were fighting against the Italians in the mountains of Albania
in snow with regular uniforms,
because they were too poor to
have winter gear. Thousands of
Greek soldiers got so cold up
there that they got really bad
frostbites on their legs, so they
had to have their legs cut off.
Greek soldiers were also too
poor to have top-of-the-line
guns, while the Italians and Germans had the latest technology
in guns, fighter planes and
tanks. In one book, I had read
that, at the end of one battle
which the Greeks had lost to the
Germans, the German captain
made his German soldiers circle
around the handful of Greeks
that remained alive and salute
them for their heroism. After the
war, Winston Churchill said,
“Hence, we will not say that
Greeks fight like heroes, but that
heroes fight like Greeks.” I feel
that being Greek is an honor,
because everyone wants to be a
hero. Being a hero means being
a Greek.
I am inspired by the Greek
heroes. In my hockey games, I
always try to be a game changer
and give it my all until the last
second of the game. My dream
is to represent the United States
in the Olympic Games as a
hockey player and win the gold
medal for my country. The
Greek heroes have also inspired
me to be humble and honest. I
try not to celebrate when I score
and not to brag when I get a
good grade at school.
Are the best players the
flashiest? Most of the best players are, but the best of the best
are not. I loved Kevin Durant’s
MVP speech last year. It was the
speech of the ages. He thanked
God for his blessings, and he
also thanked his teammates
one-by-one for making him better in different ways. He talked
about his humble beginnings.
He invited all his teammates to
the MVP podium. Kevin Durant
meant that he did not win the
MVP award, but the team did.
I admire athletes who give
back to society. I have read that
one hockey player, who won the
Stanley Cup, took it to a children’s hospital for a whole day
(the only time he had to keep
the Stanley Cup), so children at
the hospital could see it and
touch it.
He said that he had done
that, because winning the Stanley Cup or even seeing it may
have been a dream the children
had, but unfortunately an illness
had got in their way and their
dream was gone. These are the
athletes that I look up to, because they remind me of the
Greek heroes. I am working
hard to be like them.
So, what if Greece were
erased from the map and world
history? Europe would have
been occupied by the Persians,
Turks and maybe Germans. We,
Americans, would have had very
different ancestors, we would
not have had democracy, nor the
freedoms that come with it. I
would not have known of any
of the Greek heroes, and my life
would have been a lot different.
I say, you cannot erase Greece
from the map and from history.
I believe in Greece.
Alexandros Gaffney is a sixthgrade student at the Montclair
Kimberley
Academy
in
Montclair, NJ.
More than Armenian: the Unfulfilled Justice of Anatolia
By Dean J. Argiris
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
once said “law and order exist
for the purpose of establishing
justice and when they fail in this
purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that
block the flow of social
progress.” Granted, when he
spoke those words, Dr. King was
talking about the institution of
segregation and racism that
plagued America, yet this quote
is applicable to the Anatolian
Genocide 100 years ago.
“Anatolian Genocide” is an
all-encompassing term that not
only includes the Armenians but
the other victims of the Ottoman
Turks’ reign of terror: the
Greeks, Assyrians, and Kurds.
The murder of 1.5 million Armenians is tragic enough, but
the term Armenian Genocide
leads the world to believe it was
only one group that suffered.
That is not to say we should detract from the plight of the Armenian people, but there is
more weight, in my opinion, by
demonstrating the Turks’ indiscriminate killing of the ethnic
and religious minorities of Anatolia.
Today, there was much disappointment over President
Obama’s failure to use the word
genocide but the reality is this
was to be expected. The Turkish
lobby runs deep in the United
Armenian genocide monument in Larnaca, Cyprus. Cyprus was
among the first countries to recognize the genocide.
States. A 2009 ProPublic report
reveals that Turkish lobbying
groups spent over $3 million
and made 2,268 contacts with
members of Congress in an effort to defeat a resolution that
would call for recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. Then
there’s geopolitics; the access to
Bosporus, Turkey’s recent engagement in the fight against
ISIS. These are used as leverage
by Turkey to mold the will of
the United States.
In the end, justice is denied
and the second genocide is committed. There are always two
genocides. The first is the physical act and the second is the
denial. It diminishes those lives
to nothing more than casualties
of war.
However, the truth is the victims of the Anatolian Genocide
where no more casualties of war
than are the victims of ISIS.
Those who understand the history look at ISIS and see a carbon copy of the events that took
place a century ago; which conversely makes it harder for
Turkey to make the “casualty of
war” argument.
There is no denying that this
occurred and there is no denying it was genocide. The events
were chronicled in detail by U.S.
Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr., who witnessed them.
His desk was flooded with cables from Americans living
throughout Turkey. He noted
how Germany, which has now
officially recognized the genocide, walked the Ottomans
through how to carry out the
genocide. They laid out how to
use the trains to move Turkey’s
victims from the cities to death
camps. The blueprint for the
Jewish holocaust was drawn out
by Berlin and Ankara in 1915.
Were it not for his book, the attempt to eliminate Turkey’s ancient populations would have
more than likely died with Morgenthau in 1946.
We say “Never Again” when
it comes to the Holocaust. It
serves as a reminder that if we
turn our backs on genocide
whenever and wherever it occurs, we increase the likelihood
that it will indeed happen it
again. Recognizing the Anatolian Genocide helps us insure
that never again really means
never again.
Dean Argiris is a former
political consultant and current
Aldermanic staffer with the
Chicago City Council, and a
member of the Hellenic American Leadership Council.