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ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
cv
a weeKly GreeK-ameriCaN PuBliCaTioN
www.thenationalherald.com
April 13-19, 2013
VOL. 16, ISSUE 809
AHEPA Mbrs.
From US/Can.
Visit in Athens
With Gr. Govt
Bringing the news
to generations of
Greek-Americans
$1.50
Love and Hope for Greece and Cyprus Proclaimed
Ethnic Pride Abound
Along Fifth Avenue
For Greek Parade
By Constantine S. Sirigos
By Yiannis Sofianos
TNH Staff Writer
TNH Staff Writer
ATHENS – A contingent of
AHEPA and Daughters of
Penelope leaders from the
United States and Canada is
in Greece, and will go to
Cyprus and Turkey, continuing an annual trip that
again focused on Greece’s
economic crisis as well as
the potential for investment
and attracting more tourists.
Greek President Karolos
Papoulias received them at
the Presidential Mansion before they went on to meetings with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Foreign
Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, and the leader of the
Greek Parliament Evangelos
Meimarakis.
“We have made great
progress. Many things can
be done until the end of this
year and 2014 will be a different year,” the president
noted. He called the delegation to encourage American
businessmen to make investments in Greece and to
boost tourism.
“It seems that this year
will be a good one for
tourism and that our
friends, the Americans, will
not find a more beautiful
country than Greece,” Papoulias said. He pointed out
the intervention of President
Barack Obama with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel to
TNH/CosTas BeJ
It was heard over and over
again throughout the weekend
at all the special parade
events: There are no greater
representatives and symbols of
the best of Greece, and of the
community’s hope for the future of Hellenism there, in
Cyprus, and the United States,
than the beloved – and very
tall – Evzones, the Presidential
guard of the Republic of
Greece. Their stately march up
Fifth Avenue was met by enthusiastic cheers and bursts of
applause. Below: Young GreekAmericans are very excited to
meet New York City Mayoral
candidate John Catsimatidis at
the Greek parade. The temperature was somewhat springlike, which allowed the live attendees to enjoy the festivities
without inclement weather.
Nonetheless, those who could
only watch from home have
Castimatidis to thank as once
again, the benevolent businessman organized and helped
finance the Parade’s live
broadcast on WWOR, Channel
9.
Continued on page 8
Bailout is on
Way, Cyprus
To Sell Gold
By Andy Dabilis
TNH Staff Writer
ATHENS – Cyprus, still waiting
for a first bailout of 10 billion
euros ($13 billion) to keep its
banks and economy from collapsing, will have to come up
with another 6 billion euros
($7.87 billion) according to a
draft prepared international
lenders.
The Associated Press reported that the document stated
that the restructuring imposed
on Cyprus’ financial system, including heavy losses on large
bank deposits, additional taxes,
privatizations and a part-sale of
the central bank’s gold reserves
are expected to net 13 billion
euros ($17 billion).
The Troika of the European
Union-International Monetary
Fund-European Central Bank
Continued on page 11
NJ Diner Mgr.
Is accused of
Murder Plot
TOTOWA, N.J. (AP) — The
manager of a popular New Jersey diner who felt he wasn't getting his fair share of the profits
tried to have a hit man kill his
uncle, who co-owns the restaurant and a second diner in New
York City, authorities said
Wednesday.
Georgios Spyropoulos, the
45-year-old manager of the Tick
Tock diner in Clifton, asked an
undercover trooper posing as a
hit man to kill Alexandros
Sgourdos and to get rid of the
body so it couldn't be found, authorities said.
The 57-year-old uncle also
manages the other Tick Tock
diner, a popular tourist spot
across the street from Penn StaContinued on page 3
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NEW YORK - The temperature
was not as high as promised, nor
was the sun always on display,
but the hearts of Hellenes and
their friends in the New York
Metropolitan Area were filled
with the light and warmth of
their pride in their heritage and
love and hope for their struggling homelands on April 7 on
Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The bright future for Hellenism in America was manifested by the children who attend the community’s schools
and participate in its programs
who marched, parish after
parish, showing their pride in
their ethnicity through their
school uniforms, by wearing traditional Greek costumes, or by
waving Greek flags and shouting “Zito I Ellas – Long Live
Greece.”
The present struggles of the
people of Greece and Cyprus
were also acknowledged in the
words of Greek- and CypriotAmericans and Philhellenes
alike led by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios at Holy Trinity
Cathedral where the celebration
began, at the pre-parade reception at the Pierre Hotel, and at
the reviewing stand where
Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered greetings and best wishes
for the people of Greece and
Cyprus.
Participants and spectators
alike were impressed with the
spirit of the marchers and with
how well-organized the parade
was, praising the Federation of
Hellenic Societies of Greater
New York.
Federation president Elias
Tsekerides and the Parade’s
Chairman, Dino Ralis, who
worked closely with Petros Galatoulas, the Federation’s Secretary, and Parade co-chairman
Eleni Psaras, made it clear at all
the events of parade weekend
that it was the army of volunteers who made the annual expression of Hellenic Pride and
remembrance of the sacrifices
of the heroes and heroines of
the Greek Revolution a great
success.
The ebullient announcers, AnContinued on page 4
Boston Has 19th Greek Independence Celebration Greece Hits
Surplus, but
Joblessness
At New High
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
BOSTON, MA – The Greek
American community of New
England marched in the heart
of Boston during the 19th annual Greek Independence Day
Parade on April 7 and once
again declared its dedication to
the ideals of Democracy and
Freedom. Although the weather
was generally fair, the turnout
did not surpass that of previous
years. Most of the crowd had
gathered on Boylston and
Charles Streets, where the
grandstand was set up, next to
the Boston Public Garden.
The Parade began at 1PM
sharp in front of the Boston Public Library. A doxology service
was held beforehand at the Annunciation
Greek-Orthodox
Cathedral of Boston. The Parade
also featured a group of GreekAmerican Evzones, dressed in
Continued on page 6
By Andy Dabilis
TNH Staff Writer
ditions, mythology, dances, and
certainly the Orthodox faith. Because of the teaching of the
Greek language and the perpetuation of the Hellenic Heritage
in general, parents traveled long
distances to bring their children
to the School from cities like Arlington, Peabody, and Haverhill
of Massachusetts, even from as
far as from New Hampshire.
Due to financial mismanagement, the parish subsidized
School operations by $70,000$120,000 per year. And despite
the fact that the parish operates
the only Greek Day School in
the entire New England Area, it
continues to contribute $50,000
every year to the Greek Ortho-
ATHENS – Struggling under a
mountain of debt and stuck in
negotiations with international
lenders over delayed reforms,
Greece got some good news
with a report that the economy
registered a primary budget surplus of $665 billion in the first
quarter despite faltering tax revenues, but another number – a
record 27.2 percent unemployment rate – has the government
anxious.
The January-March budget
figure doesn’t include interest
payments on debt, partially
skewing its significance. The Finance Ministry said state revenues for the quarter were
$14.2 billion instead of the targeted $14.65 billion, though,
some 250 million euros off target.
The country’s statistical authority ELSTAT said the 2012
deficit was 6 percent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP,) or
$15.15 billion - better than the
budget forecast of 6.6 percent although an extra $10.06 billion
provided to support battered
Greek banks pushed up the
deficit to 10 percent.
The statistics came as Finance
Minister
Yiannis
Stournaras was set to resume
talks with envoys from the European
Union-International
Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) who
are insisting on layoffs of 25,000
workers this year, accelerated
privatization of state entities
and with differences over a con-
Continued on page 7
Continued on page 11
TNH/THeodore KalmouKos
Ninety-year old Greek-American heroes of the Second World War George Paikopoulos and his
dear friend Demetris Raisis marching with pride.
New England’s Only Greek Day School Waning
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
LOWELL, MA – The Hellenic
American School of the historic
Holy Trinity parish of Lowell,
known today as Hellenic American Academy, was established
in 1906 and continuing to be
the only school of its kind in the
entire New England area, has
entered into a deep withering
stage that raises questions even
about its survival as both the enrollment numbers and the financial ones indicate. The presiding
Holy Trinity priest,
Rev.
Nicholas Pelekoudas, is also Supervisor of the Greek Education
of the entire Metropolis of
Boston.
A massive exodus occurred
at the beginning of the academic
year to the point that that seventh grade has two students and
the eighth just one. Sixty students are left in total and out of
the 157 in 2012, 97 remain. In
a letter to Parish Council President George Chistopoulos dated
February 23, LeeAnn Conners,
Director of the Hellenic American Academy wrote among
other things that “the Hellenic
American Academy began the
school year with a considerable
decrease in enrolment.”
The results of an official survey sent to the parents in January showed that 67 students will
be returning in September, but
some parents don’t want to give
a clear answer about whether
their children will return, fear-
ing possible repercussions to
their children, TNH was told.
Indicative of the climate is the
fact that a family who participates in the Strategic Plan and
also in The Endowment Fund
has placed its children since last
year on the waiting list of another school.
Hundreds of Greek-Americans have graduated from the
School during its century-plus
existence, many of whom have
become prominent doctors,
lawyers, college professors, and
successful businessmen. The
School was known for its high
academic level and its uniqueness of the Greek Orthodox
identity through the teaching
and advancement of the Greek
language, history, culture, tra-
COMMUNITY
2
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
Mayor Bloomberg Hosts Greek Ind. Day Event
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK - Hopefully, New
York’s next mayor, whether
Greek or not, also will welcome
warmly and host the community
for Greek Independence Day
celebrations and make them feel
like Gracie Mansion was their
home, but there was a wistful
spirit there on April 4 as community leaders and humble citizens alike thanked Michael
Bloomberg for his support and
hospitality through this 12 years
of service that term limits will
bring to an end by the New Year.
The smiling faces of the
dance troupe of the high school
of the St. Demetrios Cathedral
greeted the guests and inside,
the stately mansion decorated
in Hellenic blue and white was
packed with Greeks and Philhellenes. Miss Greek Independence
2013, Panagyota Kalimanis, and
her fellow contestants contributed to the evening’s joy.
The mayor expressed his appreciation for the contribution
to the life of the City made by
Greek- and Cypriot-Americans
and introduced Archbishop
Demetrios, who offered an invocation that included a remembrance of the heroes of 1821.
Apropos of the dual-holiday of
March 25, he said that those
present were manifesting their
”Love of liberty and their recognition of the power of faith.”
The Mayor delighted the
crowd when he said he is now
fully Greek by virtue of his
friendship with the community
and its leaders, especially Archbishop Demetrios, who is his
neighbor across the street from
the Mayor’s East 79 Street residence, and most importantly,
from 12 years of coaching from
tops aides like Haeda Mihaltses,
the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and his advance person Christina Giaccone.
“You have succeeded. You
have made me Greek,” he said.
“Eimai Ellinas.” He added that
he is taking Bouzouki lessons
and that his new favorite soup
is the delicious avgolemono that
was making the rounds among
the guests.
Also present were the Consuls General of Greece and
Cyprus respectively, George Iliopoulos and Koula Sophianou,
PHoTos: TNH/CosTas BeJ
Above: Mayor Bloomberg with the dance troupe of the St. Demetrios Cathedral High School.
Also visible are Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Cathedral Dean, PC President Gary Sideris,
Asst. Principal Betty Sideris, and teacher Demetri Balkan. Below: Federation president Elias
Tsekerides presented the Mayor with a crystal gift of appreciation.
n APRIL 13
BAYSIDE – The Hellenic Relief
Foundation Inc. is announcing a
benefit concert with renowned
Greek composer, piano soloist
Yannis Spanos. The concert will
take place at Queensboro Community College theater 222-05
56th Ave in Bayside on Saturday
Apr. 13 at 8PM. Yannis Spanos
will perform many of his wellknown songs having at his side
the vocalist Hrysoula Stefanaki.
Tickets are priced at $80, $60,
$40 and $20. $ 20 purchases
one package of nonperishable
foods and home supplies for
families in distress. All net proceeds of the concert will benefit
the mission of the Hellenic Relief
Foundation in Greece. Production partner Hellenic Public Radio COSMOS FM 91.5 will participate in promotion, ticket
sales and production. Ticket info
: Hellenic Relief Foundation:
(347) 201-1821 or [email protected]. COSMOS FM :
(718)
204-8900
or
[email protected]. Hellenic
Relief: Preserving Dignity in Crisis.
MANHATTAN – The next Greek
American Writers Association
poetry reading hosted by Dean
Kostos features four compelling
poets, all of an Attic disposition:
Sarah Arvio; Veronica Golos;
Trebor Healey; Lloyd Robson. At
the Cornelia Street Café on Saturday, Apr. 13, 6 PM, at 29 Cornelia Street in Manhattan.. 212989-9319.
and acknowledged the presence
of Margo and John Catsimatidis,
whom he said “is trying to
change jobs and he would love
your support.”
On a serious, note, with the
struggles of the homelands also
on people’s minds, Iliopoulos
said, “in our trying times…we
are working to overcome the
challenges that both Greece and
Cyprus are currently facing,”
and added that “the contribution of the creative forces of the
Hellenic Diaspora and Philhellenes will be decisive now, as it
was in 1821.”
Sophianou said “I stand before you representing an island
with 11,000 years of human history,” during which “people of
Cyprus have been fighting for
their survival with determination and resilience. Many of you
are survivors in your own
ways…of the Armenian and
Pontian genocides, of the Holocaust, and the Turkish invasion
of Cyprus in 1974. At the moment Cyprus is going through
difficult times…but we will prevail.”
After presenting Elias Tsekerides, the president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of
Greater New York, with the official proclamation that declared
“Thursday April 4 is New York
City Greek Heritage Day,” he
thanked the Federation for organizing the April 7 parade –
the mayor will march – and for
the meals the Federation provided to citizens in need after
Hurricane Sandy.
Tsekerides also thanked the
mayor, and after reiterating the
call to remember those who
made great sacrifices in 1821,
affirmed that Hellenes “will prevail again.”
The mayor concluded the
speaking program by thanking
the Faith Endowment for sponsoring this year’s event and the
numerous restaurants that contributed food and dessert.
Demetrius Kalamaras, past Parade Chairman, expressed what
was on the minds of many: “We
are here to celebrate all we have
that is good through ancient and
modern times, and to express our
unity and support to our brothers
and sisters in Cyprus.”
Eric Hatzimemos, who
served in the administration of
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, said it
is always a pleasure to be at the
event which “reminds us how
strong the Greek community is
in New York and what a great
relationship it has with the city.”
Musician Billy Chryssochos
appreciated that “the mayor is
gracious enough to open the
house to all of us and to celebrate what Greece represents to
people in America,” and Cathedral Board Member Andy Yiannakos said “He has gone out of
his way to make us feel we belong here. He understands our
accomplishments and we realize
he is our friend.”
Mihaltses told TNH “it has
been an honor and a pleasure
to be with the mayor the past
12 years, and to be able to host
the Greek-American community
at Gracie Mansion has been absolutely wonderful. We are truly
blessed by Mayor Bloomberg.
He is the first mayor to visit our
homeland; he’s been to Athens
twice and to Constantinople. He
embraced and fell in love with
the Greek community from the
very beginning.”
www.thenationalherald.com • e-mail: [email protected]
E
The National Herald
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26 N
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GOINGS ON...
Celebrate Easter
with The National Herald
every year hundreds of companies,
individuals and organizations send
their easter greetings to the
Greek american community through
The National Herald.
we invite you to be a part of this
celebratory edition where your message
can be seen and heard from coast to coast.
For more information contact:
[email protected]
or call: 718 784-5255, ext. 101
www.thenationalherald.com
MANHATTAN – Hellenic Business Network (HBN) New York
Chapter and the Hellenic Professional Women (HPW) invite you
to our Entrepreneurship Symposium 2013. Saturday, Apr. 13,
9AM to 1:30PM at the ballroom
of the Holy Trinity Cathedral,
337 East 74th Street in Manhattan. The one-day symposium has
been designed to explore the
challenges and opportunities
faced by entrepreneurs and
start-up companies in funding
their ideas and growth. The
event begins with registration
and a morning reception at
9AM. Panel 1: Growing Your
Business In The Modern Economy with speakers Catherine
Giuliani, Partner, The Reiter Giuliani Group; Justin Bozonelis,
CEO & Founder, LivEthnic.com;
Maria Loi, Celebrity Chef,
Owner, Loi Restaurant; Maria
Avgitidis,Co-founder &. CEO,
AgapaMe.com
&
AgapeMatch.com. Moderator for
both panels: Eleni Daniels, President & Principal DanielsMedia
Co. Panel 2: Funding your Business through crowd-funding,
featuring Martin W. Enright, Esq.
Partner, Littman Krooks LLP;
Brian Meece, CEO RocketHub.
Keynote Speaker and book signing John P Margaritis, Unlock
Your Inner Entrepreneur Author,
business creation and expansion
specialist President/CEO President/CEO, Ledgemoor Group.
To RSVP and register for this
event,
go
to:
www.hbngroup.org/ny2013.
n APRIL 15 (DEADLINE)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) is accepting applications for its program that
sends college students to Greece
and Cyprus to better understand
the core foreign policy issues important to community. The program is open to Greek American
and Cypriot American college
students in good academic
standing studying political science, international relations, etc.
The 5th annual trip be take place
June 19-July. For information
visit:
ahiworld.org/for-students/policy-trip.html.
The
deadline to apply is Apr.15.
n APRIL 18
ASTORIA – The New York City
Greek Film Festival and Terret
Entertainment present the U.S.
premiere of WHAT IF, the year's
most popular Greek film, with
writer/ director/star Christopher
Papakaliatis in person. Thursday,
Apr. 18, Museum of the Moving
Image, 35th Ave.at 37 Street in
Astoria. Reception by Stix
Mediterranean Grill at 6PM,
screening at 7:30PM. Tickets on
line
at
www.movingimage.us/films or
call 718-777-6800 to reserve.
n APRIL 20
ASTORIA – The Hellenic Cultural Center and the Mikrokos-
mos Ensemble present a historical concert “Rebetiko …To Perpetuity” spanning the history of
classical Rebetika from Smyrna
….to Pireaus…and the Blues of
New Orleans with Grigoris Maninakis and the Mikrokosmos Ensemble. Narration by Stelios
Taketzis. Friday, April 19 at 7:30
PM; Saturday, Apr. 20 at
7:30PM; and Sunday, Apr. 21 at
5PM at the Hellenic Cultural
Center, 27-09 Crescent Street in
Astoria. Reservations Mon. – Fri.
10AM-4PM at 718-626-5111;
other times: 917- 915-8647.
n APRIL 21
SPRINGFIELD, NJ – The friends
and family of Peter Markou are
hosting a pasta dinner to raise
awareness and support Peter's
battle with colon cancer. Join his
family and friends for “Pasta for
Pete.” There will also be a bake
sale, raffle and tricky tray. Tickets will be sold prior to the event
for $10. Sunday, April 21st from
1:00 - 7:00 PM at IUPAT D.C 711
Local 1331, 9 Fadem Road in
Springfield. For tickets or to
make a direct donation email:
[email protected].
HARTFORD, CT – St. George
Greek Orthodox Cathedral presents the Dr. James C. Rouman
Lecture Series will feature Andrew Walsh, PhD, Assistant Professor, Trinity College, who will
speak on the Monastic Movement in American Orthodoxy at
the Cathedral’s Matthews Fellowship Hall, 433 Fairfield Avenue in Hartford on Sunday, Apr.
21 at 5PM. For information call:
860-956-7586.
n MAY 11
MANHATTAN – The Hellenic
Times Scholarship Fund will
honor Businessman and Philanthropist George Sakellaris,
Chairman
and
CEO
of
AMERESCO, Inc., at its 22nd Anniversary Gala at the New York
Marriott Marquis Hotel on Saturday, May 11. A concert will
also be headlined by JT Taylor,
The Voice formerly of Kool &
The Gang. Greek music will be
performed by the band ALPHA.
This year the HTSF is also going
green! In order to present more
scholarships to worthy students,
the HTSF will not be sending invitations and instead direct
guests to purchase tickets online at www.htsf.org or by calling 212-986-6881.Ticket prices
are as follows: General admission tickets are from $250 per
person; Youth tickets are $185
(35 and under if purchased by
April 29; $195 thereafter) and
Student Tickets are also available for $155 with a valid student ID.
n MAY 17
ASTORIA –The Carnival of Love
Foundation presents the 6th Annual Carnival of Love® Benefit
for Children with Cancer: AMAZONIA A Sublime Evening in an
Enchanted Forest. Friday, May
17 at 9pm $50 in advance, $60
at the door Join us for a night
amidst a spectacular Rainforest
complete with themed décor,
costumed performers, live entertainment, special musical guests,
tropical animals and delightful
surprises -- including festive activities, snacks and favors
throughout the night. Ticket includes entry into the Carnival
Playground, 1 complimentary
drink ticket, party favor, and all
activites and Treats Inside. For
information about the Foundation
visit
www.carnivaloflove.org/. Tickets can be purchased at
http://carnivaloflovebenefit.eve
ntbrite.com.
n MAY 30
MANHATTAN – The Officers and
Directors of The Hellenic American Bankers Association Invite
you to save the date for our
2013 Executive of the Year
Award Dinner In honor of Mr.
Brent Callinicos Vice President,
Treasurer & Chief Accountant,
Google Inc. Thursday, May 30.
6PM Reception, 7PM Dinner at
the Union League Club of New
York at 38 East 37th Street in
Manhattan.
n JUNE 15 (DEADLINE)
NEW YORK - Kyrenia Opera is
proud to announce the first annual Cyprus Vocal Scholarship
Competition. The organization
offers a one-time no-fee application until June 15. Visit
www.kyreniaopera.org.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Vote on our website!
You have the chance to express your opinion on our website
on an important question in the news. The results will be published in our printed edition next week along with the question
for that week.
The question this week is: Did you go to any Greek Independence Day Parade this year?
o Yes
o No
The results for last week’s question: Do you think the Greek
Independence Day Parade should always take place on March
25?
62% voted "Yes"
31% voted "No"
7% voted "Maybe"
Please vote at: www.thenationalherald.com
COMMUNITY
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
3
American Hellenic Institute President Says that Cyprus is a “Guinea Pig”
By Anthe Mitrakos
The economic situation of
Cyprus is following Greece in
making front-page news all over
the world. Facing pressure with
a financial crisis on its back,
Cyprus agreed to a bailout deal
in late March with the European
Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
With analysts warning this is
just the beginning of down-theroad financial instability, the lastminute agreement set restrictions on private accounts and
forced reorganization of major
banks, including the shutdown
of the island's second largest
bank, Laiki Bank.
Cypriot banks reopened
March 28 to calm the patient
public after a nearly two-week
hiatus meant to avert a disastrous run on deposits. Though
the new agreement protects deposits under 100,000 euros, accounts with greater sums will be
“taxed,” and Russian nationals,
who hold more than a quarter
percent of the 68 billion euros
deposited in Cypriot banks, are
not too happy.
The Washington, DC-based
American Hellenic Institute
(AHI) on March 28 hosted an
open forum led by attorney Nick
Karambelas to clarify several key
changes in the Cypriot banking
system and discuss the possible
future of Cypriot banking.
Karambelas, a founding partner
of Sfikas and Karambelas, also
based in DC, discussed the future
of foreign relations in the region.
The main idea was that restrictions on private bank accounts are being somewhat controlled as the current agreement
sounds more favorable than the
previous proposal which outraged citizens, but Cyprus will
no longer be the banking hub it
used to be.
Of the fee to be imposed on
sums greater than 100,000 euros, Karambelas described it as
an outright confiscation. “Some
people call it a tax. It’s a confiscation. There is nothing about it
that sounds like a tax,” he said.
Karambelas lists three key factors about the Cypriot situation
in an interview with TNH:
"First we need to understand
why and how this happened and
that this wasn’t the result of the
decisions of a bunch of dissolute
Cypriots. This was an issue of international finance, and particularly the poor structure of the
Eurozone," he said.
"The second thing is that
Cyprus entered into this business
of international banking as a direct reaction to 70 percent of
their productive capacity being
either destroyed or occupied by
Turkey during the invasion. So
when Europeans complain they
did that offshore banking, well
that's why. If we could fix that
invasion and the occupation
ends, a lot of other things fall
into place.
“The other thing that concerns me very much is that as
Attorney Nick Karambelas.
the immediacy of this crisis begins to wane, pressure will be
put on the republic of Cyprus to
make a deal with Turkey that
would not be in its interest, and
that concerns me very much,"
Karambelas concluded.
AHI President Nick Larigakis
NJ Diner Manager Accused of Plot to Murder His Uncle
Continued from page 1
tion, in Manhattan.
Authorities said Spyropoulos
resented the control his uncle
exerted over the New Jersey
restaurant, which was featured
on Guy Fieri's Food Network
show, "Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives." They said he also felt his
uncle was taking an unfair share
of the profits.
"I think it's an understatement to say they weren't close,"
Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa
told a news conference.
Spyropoulos was being held
in lieu of $1 million bail on
charges of conspiracy to commit
murder, attempted murder and
unlawful possession of a
weapon. A message was left for
his attorney.
Chiesa said investigators believe Spyropoulos was motived
by greed and wanted to steal a
large amount of cash that his
uncle kept in a safe.
Spyropoulos told the undercover officer, Chiesa said, to
make sure to get the combination to his uncle's safe before
killing him. Spyropoulos suggested the undercover officer
kidnap the uncle from his
Georgios Spyropoulos, the 45year-old manager of the Tick
Tock diner in Clifton.
Clifton home and torture him
until he gave up the combination, Chiesa said.
The nephew provided the officer with a $3,000 down payment, a photo of his uncle, a
map of his home and his daily
schedule, including how he
parked his car, authorities said.
He also allegedly provided an
unregistered handgun.
"Once I leave here today, this
is on," authorities say the undercover officer told the owner's
nephew during an April 2 meeting.
The total payment for the
killing and disposal of the body
was to be $20,000.
The nephew wanted to make
sure the body was not found so
that it remained a missing person case, not a murder investigation, authorities said.
If his uncle's wife posed any
problem, Spyropoulos told the
officer to kill her, too, authorities said.
Authorities said a search of
Spyropoulos' home turned up
two semi-automatic handguns,
a shotgun and what the attorney
general's office called an "assault-style rifle." Chiesa said six
cellphones and several thousand
dollars in cash were recovered
from the nephew's Mercedes
Benz.
Both Spyropoulos, who is
originally from Athens, Greece,
and his uncle, live in Clifton.
Authorities said the undercover operation was started as
the result of a tip from a state
police informant.
Chiesa acknowledged that
the case played to New Jersey
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archetypes involving nefarious
plans hatched in diner booths.
"This is sort of out of a script
right in New Jersey, where
you're going to meet at the Tick
Tock diner to rub out your uncle
to advance yourself," he said. "I
understand that reaction of it,
but from a law enforcement perspective, we're focused on the
safety of the person who is the
target."
The classic chrome diner, a
popular spot among fans attending Jets and Giants games at the
stadium in the Meadowlands a
few miles away, is considered a
landmark to many people who
live or travel along Route 3 in
northern New Jersey.
Patrons lunching there
Wednesday were shocked by the
news.
"It's your basic New Jersey
family diner," said Bela Makula,
a frequent customer who works
nearby. "A standard, New Jersey
diner that people try to emulate
all over the country."
Asked if he thought the case
reflected poorly on the state,
Makula replied without a pause:
"Everybody knows that New
Jersey is full of criminals and
killers."
told TNH that the Eurozone's
handling of Cyprus is a sign of
what is looming for other EU
countries, citing Cyprus as a test
site.
"There seems to be a lot of
misinformation as to what exactly is going on in Cyprus.
Cyprus is not a tax haven, and
never was. Also, it should never
be criticized that it had a banking
sector that was eight times as
much as GDP because at the end
of the day you have Lichtenstein,
Luxemburg, and other countries
that have much more of their
GDP from bank deposits as opposed to their annual GDPs," he
said.
On the EU pressure on Cyprus
to tap into bank deposit money
to alleviate the financial downturn and prevent the outbreak of
a severe crisis, Larigakis finds the
idea appalling, but acknowledges
that desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Personally, I think that's a disgraceful thing to be able to do.
Unfortunately, there come times
when we are faced with very difficult situations and we look for
drastic solutions. I've always felt
that bank deposits and hard
earned money are very sacred,
and it's fundamental to the free
economy of countries that promote a free economy.
“I'd like to see other potential
solutions be forthcoming rather
than going after deposit accounts, but at the end of the day,
this was not something that
Cyprus came to as a decision, but
it was sort of forced upon them
by other elements that make up
the Troika and the European
Union," Larigakis said.
"It seems to me that they were
trying to pressure Cyprus or use
Cyprus as a guinea pig to see
what the reaction for this would
be for other potential bailouts
coming down the road and the
continuing financial crisis that
continues to inflict the Eurozone
as we speak," he concluded.
Just as the Greek crisis, the
situation in Cyprus is something
that should concern the GreekAmerican community said Eugene Rossides, who served as
first president of AHI.
"The current Cyprus crisis
means that the Greek-American
community has to work harder
and harder than ever to
strengthen Cyprus-U.S. relations
in the interest of the United
States. It is important to the
United States that Cyprus gets
over this crisis and reestablishes
itself in the Eastern Mediterranean," Rossides said.
With the global economy following the crisis story, some are
calling for Cyprus to say “goodbye” to the euro currency, suggesting a return to the Cypriot
lira, but Karambelas noted that’s
easier said than done. Cyprus
adopted the euro in 2008.
“The only way the country
can legally leave the euro is to
leave the EU, and that’s not going to happen,” Karambelas said.
“It doesn't make any sense
from a legal perspective. Bear in
mind that Cyprus’ external debt
will still be denominated in euros. Whether Cyprus should have
entered the euro, or Greece, for
that matter…that ship has
sailed,” he added.
After Karambelas’ discussion,
the floor opened up to the audience for a Q&A session.
“This forum was very important to clarify a lot of issues that
have been misinterpreted and
misrepresented by many media
outlets,” said Armen Sahakyan,
a student in the DC area who attended the forum.
For more information and updates regarding AHI’s work for
Cyprus and to access videos,
please visit ahiworld.com.
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COMMUNITY
4
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
PHoTos: TNH/CosTas BeJ
Miss Greek Independence 2013, Panagyota Kalimanis and her fellow contestants float up Fifth
Avenue spreading Hellenic cheer. She was crowned in Astoria on March 23.
Greek-Americans are at the top of every profession. The Hellenic Medical Society of New York
was one of the professional groups that marched proudly on Sunday.
The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has a proud
history. The students carrying its banner show that its future is bright, too.
The children are beautiful, the costumes are beautiful, and most beautiful of all is the spirit of
Hellenism and Greek Orthodoxy that radiates from all the Parade marchers.
Love and Hope for Greece and Cyprus Proclaimed at the Greek Parade
Continued from page 1
thoula Katsimatides, Takis Vassos, Petos Fourniotis, and Nancy
Bieka kept the spirits high and
provided information about all
the groups that marched . The
parade was broadcast live once
again on WWOR channel 9,
hosted by Ernie Anastos, who
joined the marchers for a time,
Nicole Petalides, and Nick Gregory, who reverently sang along
to the Greek national anthem
which was presented by international soprano Anastasia Zannis.
The Greek School Plato of
Brooklyn was the first of many
marching bands that entertained
the crowd, beginning with the
song “Makedonia Xakousti –
Macedonia our Homeland.” Ted
and Helen Pavlounis of Brooklyn
were among the thousands of
proud parents. They beamed as
their daughters Kristen and
Nicole played the cymbals and
the glockenspiel as members of
the Plato marching band.
The community’s political
leaders, the diplomatic corps of
Greece and Cyprus, and the dignitaries – including this year’s
Grand Marshal, FBI official
George Venizelos and New York
State Senator Michael Gianaris,
and Assemblywomen Aravella
Simotas and Nicole Malliotakis,
marched with pride.
When the announcers described Gianaris as “our very own
senator,” U.S. Senator Charles
Schumer, who marches every
year, declared with his trademark
bullhorn “I am your senator,” in
between shouts of yasou and zito
I Ellas!
Throughout the weekend
Simotas expressed how proud
she was that her baby daughter
– in her nice carriage – was participating in her first parade.
Costas Constantinidis, running to
be the first Greek-American
member of the City Council, also
marched.
The highlight of the day, as always, thrilling children and
adults alike, was Presidential
Guard of the Republic of Greece
– the Evzones. The spectators
were deeply moved when it was
announced that Miss Greek Independence and this year’s other
contestants, who later adorned
one of the floats, carried a huge
unfurled Greek flag. It had recently flown above the Acropolis
and it was presented by the
Evzones to the Federation as a
permanent gift to the GreekAmerican community.
The banner of the Kalavryta
region always leads the parade
in honor of its role in the Greek
revolution.
Among the more colorful and
inspiring groups were the Greek
American Folklore Society in
their elegant costumes, and the
Greek Warriors Living History
Group in full ancient battle dress.
The children of St. Basil’s
Academy le by its director, Fr.
Costas Sitaras, also carried a
large Greek flag and earned loud
applause.
The Order of AHEPA was represented by its Supreme Lodge
and regional leaders led by
Supreme President John Grossomanides, Jr. and Joanne Saltas,
Grand President of the Daughters
of Penelope. Right after their parade they embarked on their annual AHEPA Journey to Greece,
Cyprus and the Patriarchate,
where they will speak with officials about how the diaspora can
help.
By virtue of its celebration of
the 100th anniversary of its establishment, the Cathedral of St.
Constantine and Helen of Brooklyn, and its associate A. Fantis
school, which is celebrating 50
years of excellence, marched near
the front of the parade, with its
own float. The parish of St.
Nicholas at Ground Zero, which
is hoping for a 2014 groundbreaking for its new church, followed “St. Connies,” which it has
called home since 9/11. The
parishes of Brooklyn and Staten
Island were nearby in the joint
float whereby they demonstrate
unity every year.
The local professional groups
who marched included the Hellenic Medical Society and the Hellenic Lawyers Association, but
what helped put them at the top
of their fields in the community’s
commitment to education. That
was manifested by the many
Greek clubs of area colleges and
high schools that marched behind
the banner of the Intercollegiate
Hellenic Society of America.
A strong show of unity and
synergy was displayed by the
There are many groups across the country, like the one above, whose members sacrifice time,
talent and treasure in order to promote and preserve Hellenism in America.
United Cretan Societies of New
York and New Jersey and their
fine float featuring dancing and
live music.
The float of the Cyprus Federation evoked loud and sustained applause as the children
reminded that the national issue
transcends the economic crisis by
shouting “Turkish troops get out
of Cyprus.” The contingent was
led by the Federation’s newly
elected president, Costas Tsentas,
community leaders, the diplomatic corps, and was followed by
numerous Cypriot organizations.
The Pancyprian Association’s
representation include its dance
troupe and its soccer teams, and
the Greek professional soccer
team Olympiakos’ float triggered
bursts of applause.
The community’s strong philanthropic tradition was visible
through the Philoptochos chapters that marched with their
parishes and by groups like the
Greek Children’s Fund, which has
helped more than 6000 children.
The Carnival of Love Float announced their May 17 benefit
for Children with Cancer, one of
the more unique events on the
community’s social calendar.
The Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund, which was established
by the Catsimatidis Family and
has distributed more that $2 million in scholarships, had a float
that spotlighted its annual gala
on May 11. Catsimatidis once
again helped make possible the
live broadcast of the parade.
He is running for mayor of
New York this year and unlike
the past, when he was seen driving a golf cart coordinating the
broadcast, he and his wife Margo
and supporters rode a campaign
float bedecked with Greek and
American flags.
The Metropolis of New Jersey
marched behind its banner fired
up by the Princeton University
Marching band in their striking
orange jackets and playing the
Greek patriotic song “I Ellada
pote then petheni – Greece will
never Die,” led by Metropolitan
Evangelos and boasting the floats
St. George of Pisacataway, the
Cathedral of St. John’s Tenafly
and St. George of Clifton. The
Federation of Hellenic American
Organizations of New Jersey also
marched in solidarity with the
New York Federation, and the
people of Greece and Cyprus.
All the thriving parishes of
Long Island were out in force,
their presence punctuated by the
floats which bore messages in-
spired by the challenges and triumphs of 1821 and the current
struggles and achievements of international Hellenism. The children of St. Demetrios of Merrick,
chanted “Zito I Ellada” from their
float. St. Paraskvi of Greenlawn,
Holy Trinity of Hicksville,
Archangel Michael of Port Washington, with its sign that summarized the day: “Honor and Glory
to the Men and Women of 1821,”
the Church of the Assumption
Port Jefferson, St. Paul of Hempstead, the Cathedral of Long Island, all had floats.
When the Church of the Resurrection of Brookville passed,
Anthoula Katsimatides noted “the
parish has a lot of people from
Nisyiros,” where her parents are
from, and shouted “I love you.”
The borough of Queens was
represented by the floats of St.
Nicholas of Flushing, Holy Cross
of Whitestone, St. Demetrios
Cathedral, the home of the nation’s only Greek-American high
school, and the Cathedral of St.
Markella
Greek
Orthodox
Church, which turned out its
usual large contingent. The Sacred Patriarch Monastery of St.
Irene Chrysovalantou appeared
to have its strongest presence in
a number of years,
The Bronx is the home of the
newest church in the area, St.
Petros the Apostle in the Bronx,
and as always the pride of the
borough were the students of the
100 year old school affiliated
with Zoodohos Peghe, the Greek
American Institute.
From further up north came
the church of St. Barbara of Orange, Ct. which was followed by
Hellenic Society Paideia of the
University of Connecticut and
Rhode Island.
Numerous islands had floats,
including Nisyros, Samos, Erikousa, Chios and Ikaria – fittingly
some the floats were boats.
The “arma – float” of the
Cathedral of St. Sophia may not
have floated down the mighty
Hudson river, but its youth
groups and students travelled
the farthest to march on the
beautiful day.
The historic and contemporary Hellenic regions were also
represented by floats and organizations marching behind them.
The Brotherhood of Mani’s float
had an armored tower that bore
the slogan – unique among Greek
revolutionary forces – of “Victory,” as opposed to “Liberty,” because the Ottomans never conquered the Maniates.
The Epirotes had a float, and
that of the Messinian Benevolent
Association “Aristomenis” commemorated the Battle of
Navarino of 1827. The Federation of Sterea Ellas, the Pan Arcadians, the Laconians and the
Kastorian Society filled their vehicles with smiling children and
the float of the Kastorian Society’s
parted the waves for many Macedonian groups.
The float of Pontian societies
reminded all that May 19 is the
day the Pontinan Genocide is
commemorated, and Armenian
Knights of Vartan Armenian Fraternal Organization once gain
joined their Greek friends in solidarity.
Businesses owned by or with
strong ties to Greeks also had
floats, such as Atlantic Bank and
Investors Savings Bank, and the
employees of Alma Bank also
marched.
The impressive float of the
Pan Gregorian Enterprises bore
a vital message for global Hellenism: “Unity=Success.”
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
COMMUNITY
5
PHoTos: TNH/CosTas BeJ
St. Paraskevi of Greenlawn, known for its healing grottoshrine, sent its students to Fifth Avenue.
Blue, blue, blue. The children of the Church of St. Markella of
Wantagh donned their Hellenic colors.
One of the groups marching as The United Cretan Societies of
NY and NJ, displaying unity and love of Crete.
The float of the Church of St. Demetrios of Merrick, Long Island
was jammed with proud and happy youngsters.
The leaders District 6 of AHEPA were a fraction of the Order’s
large presence, which included the Supreme Lodge.
The officers and employees of Alma Bank were among the
businesses with strong ties to the community that marched.
The Bronx is the home of the beloved “ZP.” the Zoodohos
Peghe, and its affiliated Greek American Institute.
The students of the Stephen and Arete Cherpelis Greek School
of St. Nicholas in Flushing were excited to march.
A young woman showing the imagination fueling Greek
achievement for 4000 years leads the Ascension of Fairview.
Parade Weekend Celebrations Warm Up Community for the Main Event
TNH Staff
NEW YORK – The parade on
Fifth Avenue was the main event
on April 7, but the weekend was
filled with well-planned opportunities for New York’s Greek
and Cypriot-Americans to express pride in their heritage and
solidarity with the people of
Greece and Cyprus.
On Friday, the Greek and
Cypriot flags were raised at historic Bowling Green, the first of
many inspiring appearances by
the Evzone Presidential Guard
and the community’s children –
in Lower Manhattan it was the
students of the Greek School of
Plato, who sang and danced.
That evening, the accent was
also on the youth as AHEPA
Chapter 41 hosted its annual parade party.
The Greek Independence
Gala of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New
York, the organizers of the parade, filled the Grand Ballroom
of the New York Hilton on Saturday evening and honored the
memory of the heroes of 1821
and the parade’s Grand Marshal,
George Venizelos of the FBI.
The most moving gathering,
however, was the ceremony that
filled Astoria’s Athens Square for
the raising of the Greek and
Cypriot flags and featured the
students of the St. Demetrios
Greek school dancing, singing,
and reading poetry in the presence of the Evzones, surrounded
by statues of Athena, Socrates
and Aristotle and the park’s
stately Doric columns.
With the economic crisis limiting the number of officials who
came from Greece, the members
of the community were pleased
to hear words of inspiration and
appreciation from the diplomatic corps that is always at its
side in America, including
Greece’s Ambassador to the
United
States
Christos
Panagopoulos, Cyprus’ UN Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, and
consuls general George Iliopoulos and Koula Sophianou.
The parade-day kickoff luncheon at the Pierre Hotel that
was MC’d by Tassos Manesis
and former New York state assemblyman Matthew Mirones
followed the Divine Liturgy
where Archbishop Demetrios
presided. It featured expres-
sions of solidarity and appreciation of the community’s contributions to New York, and Hellenism’s achievements by public
officials of Italian descent, including Astoria’s own City
Councilor Peter F. Vallone, Jr,
who is running for Queens Borough President and who
marches every year, New York
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, and New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
Guests at the Saturday
evening gala at the Hilton were
greeted – silently – by the
Evzones, two at the entrance,
two on the stage. Archbishop
Demetrios offered the great
hymn to the Theotokos “Ti Ypermacho” as an invocation and
Philip Christopher was the ebullient MC, greeting dignitaries
and others guests, including
mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis and his wife Margo.
Christopher, the chairman of
the gala, was as always generous with praise and thanks for
all who contributed to the weekend’s success, including Federation President Elias Tsekerides,
its secretary Petros Galatoulas,
parade chairman Dino Ralis, the
co-chairs Helen Psaras and
George Kitsios, the benefactors,
and the many other volunteers.
Athens Square Park was filled with Astoria’s Greeks, Cypriots, and Philhellenes. They greeted
the Evzones and enjoyed presentations by the St. Demetrios Greek School.
Apropos of the work the
community must do to communicate it’s concerns with elected
representatives and government
officials, Archbishop Demetrios
told the guests that one of our
biggest challenges is the “disease of forgetfulness” in the
mass media about not only
about Greece’s unmatched contributions to civilization, but
also the fact that the Greek people have stood by the U.S. and
its allies in every conflict of the
past century.
He especially noted the ex-
George Venizelos said being named the Grand Marshal “is the biggest honor of my life.” He
also declared “we need to help Greece and Cyprus as much as we can.”
emplary dignified response of
Cypriot people to their recent
troubles and shamed the media
for not reporting more on things
like that.
Ralis expressed what was on
the minds of many, that although mistakes were made,
Greece and Cyprus don’t deserve to be “punished like that,”
by the troika of creditors, and
urged all Hellenes to demonstrate solidarity and support,
and Tsekerides declared “Greece
and Cyprus will overcome again
as they have in the past.”
State Senator Michael Gianaris agreed that the parade “is
special this year because our
family and friends in Greece are
going through difficult times…
but we know they will get
through this.” Assemblywoman
Aravella Simotas announced
that the legislature passed a resolution declaring March “Greek
History Month.”
Catsimatidis
introduced
Venizelos, and the honoree
praised and thanked his parents
for their sacrifices that helped
him and his siblings get college
educations, and for conveying
to them important values and
the love of Greece.
Venizelos told TNH “I am
very proud of my Greek heritage
and this is the biggest honor of
my life for me.” He declared that
“we need to help Greece and
Cyprus as much as we can, to
vacation there, bring our nonGreek friends,” etc. and noted
his wife Marina is Cypriot-American.
Catsimatidis added the
sobering message that “our
heart is always with our motherland, Greece, and whatever
we can do, we will help, but
they have to help themselves in
a big way too.”
The AHEPA party held at the
Rafina restaurant was filled with
young adults. The president of
chapter 41, Ted Pavlounis,
greeted the guests and both
John Grossomanides, AHEPA’s
Supreme President, and Joanne
Saltas, Grand President of the
Daughters of Penelope, stressed
importance of AHEPA’s current
and planned youth initiatives.
Nicholas Karakostas, Chairman of AHEPA’s Board of
Trustees spelled it out: “The future of any organization is its
youth.” He praised Chapter 41
as a great example. Told such
things don’t happen automatically, he replied “Its takes leadership.”
James
Kokotas,
supreme governor for region 6
also praised Chapter 41.
The following morning many
of the AHEPA party guests were
also present at Athens Square
Park, which overflowed with
people beneath a brilliant blue
sky.
People cried when the Greek
flag was raised, and cried again
during the raising of the Cypriot
flag, and they were stirred by
the moving rendition of the national anthems by soprano Nicoletta Rallis.
Panos Adamopoulos, the
President of the Athenians’ Society was the Emcee of the event
that was organized by Ilias Neofotistos, the parade’s secretary.
Ralis helped make the event
possible by working to having
the city agree to temporarily
postpone the exiting $1 million
renovation of the park.
Local political leader George
Dellis spoke about Dennis Syntilas and his vision and hard
work that made the park a reality, and acknowledged the presence of his wife Rita. A number
of spectators said that the vision
and dedication of people like
Syntilas is also what parade
weekend is all about.
COMMUNITY
6
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
Detroit Gets Set for Big Weekend with Greek Parade and Museum Opening
TNH Staff
DETROIT, MI – Historic Greektown is the destination but the
aim of Detroit’s Greek- and
Cypriot-Americans on April 14
is to express their Hellenic heritage and demonstrate solidarity
with the people of Greece and
Cyprus at the annual Greek Independence Day Parade.
Each year about 5000 people
fill Greektown – there are about
20 parishes in the area that are
joined the communities in
Windsor, Ontario, and Toledo,
OH – and the highlights include
performances by dance groups
from throughout Michigan,
Toledo, and Windsor, Ontario.
The Detroit Greek Independence Day Committee is ready
and the entire community is excited about a weekend that will
also include the Grand Opening
of the Hellenic Museum of
Michigan.
The Parade begins downtown at 3PM and will be led by
Metropolitan Nicholas. George
Reganis, the Detroit Greek Parade President and Grand Marshal this year, and the 2013 Hellenic Heritage Award Recipients
will be joined by dignitaries including representatives of local,
state, and federal government.
The celebration of the Greek
Revolution and its heroes and
heroines begins with a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy the Annunciation Cathedral at 707 East
Lafayette Blvd. in Greektown.
“Each year the Greek community awaits for this annual
parade with great anticipation,
excitement and pride. It is a
demonstration of the legacy of
Hellenism and the preservation
of the Greek culture,” said Metropolitan Nicholas.
The Parade features more
than 40 marching units representing
Greek
Orthodox
churches, cultural organizations, dance groups in colorful
ethnic dress, and college student
organizations.
After the Parade, a short program will be held near the end
of the parade route. The American, Greek, and Canadian national anthems will be sung
symbolizing the unity among
those three countries. Nicholas
will offer prayers and remarks
on Greek Independence Day
and area college leaders will
represent their Greek studies departments.
Local Youth Dance groups
performing a variety of Greek
dances over the two-day celebration will represent the various regions of Greece. Greek
musical ensembles will perform
the melodic music of Greece and
the Greektown Merchants and
Massachusetts’ Greek-American State Senator Bruce Tarr honors news Anchor Mike Nikitas of NECN at the annual Greek Independence Day ceremony at the State House in Boston.
Hellenic blue and white and the golden smiles of the community’s children lift the spirits of the
spectators when they “float” by at the 2010 Detroit Greek parade.
restaurants look forward to
hosting the many visitors expected to attend the celebration.
The current incarnation of
the parade – it was interrupted
by the urban unrest in the
1960’s – his will be in its 12th
year. Ad-man and community
leader Nick Phillips told TNH
that the around the year 2000
the Metropolitan of Detroit
asked Reganis, who had recently retired after 38 years as
an executive at GM, to revive
the parade.
Reganis’ tenure at GM included being Director of Marketing in charge of leasing for
GMAC., where he helped develop the Smart Lease Program.
He is a member of AHEPA and
a founding board member of the
Foundation for Modern Greek
Studies.
Philips, who is also very active in the community and helps
put on the Opa! Fest of the
Church of St. Nicholas in Troy,
MI that will be held on June 23,
told TNH the community has
been trying honor Reganis for a
long time and he finally relented
this year.
The museum, with its exhibits on the history of Greektown and the immigration story
of the Greek-Americans, opens
on April 13 at 5PM and a gala
reception follows at 6:30 at the
Detroit Institute of Arts. There
will be a strolling dinner, tours
of the Greek Gallery, entertainment and the presentation of
the Hellenic Heritage Awards
recognizing people who work to
strengthen the foundation of
their faith and culture
The Greektown Merchants
Association, which supports the
parade, will also honor Ted
Gatzaros and Zoe and Gus Anton posthumously, and Founding Members and Trustees of the
Hellenic Museum will be recognized.
Proceeds from the April 13
events will go towards the support of the Hellenic Museum for
future programs and current
renovations.
PHoTos: TNH/THeodore KalmouKos
The Evzones of the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of New England march on Boylston Street - with the famous Prudential building in the background - under the orders of the Federation’s former president Demetris Papaslis.
The children of the schools of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox parish of Brockton, Massachusetts, dressed in traditional
Greek costumes and wearing Hellenic smiles, rode a boat float and showed off their Hellenic pride at the Boston parade.
The Pan-Macedonian Association USA dedicated its float to
Boston mayor Thomas Menino in appreciation of his support
for Boston’s Greek parade for 19 years.
City of Boston Holds Its Nineteenth Greek Independence Day Celebration
Continued from page 1
the attire of traditional Greek
Revolutionary War heroes, in
addition to officials from GreekAmerican organizations and societies.
Mayor Tom Menino cut the
ribbon and started the Parade
led by members of the Boston
Police Department; Grand Marshal John Arvanitis, Special
Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement
Administration,
United States Department of
Justice; Metropolitan Methodios
of Boston; Ilias Fotopoulos Consul General of Greece in Boston;
News Anchor Mike Nikitas,
NECN; Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis; and
New Hampshire State Representatives Tomas Ktasndonis and
Efstathia Booras.
At the conclusion of the parade, a Greek cultural celebration took place on the Boston
Common and will feature Greek
music, traditional Greek dance
performances, and Greek food.
On April 5, the annual celebration at the Massachusetts
State House took place, organized hosted by state representatives and senators of Greek descent and friends of the
Greek-American community.
Massachusetts State Senator
Bruce Tarr, a Greek-American,
was the presenter of program
attended by 250 Greek-Americans. Nikitas was honored with
a special plague.
In receiving the award Nikitas said “it was exactly 100
years ago that my grandfather
Michael Nikitas immigrated
from Greece to Massachusetts
and settled in Fitchburg. He had
barely learned English when a
few years later he was drafted
and sent to the trenches of
France as a member of the famous All American division. He
came home to raise a family and
my father was one of six, born
in Fitchburg on the 4th of July
a few years later.”
Nikitas also said that “my
dad went off to fight in World
War Two and was shot down
over Japan just days before the
war was over. He and his B-29
crewmates were the last POWs
taken in the war and they were
held in Hiroshima, the first
Americans in the city after the
bomb was dropped. After my
dad died in 1959, my mom at
the age of 33 raised me my two
brothers and my sister alone.”
Nikitas added that “my
mom’s brother my uncle George
Bacopoulos was a priest and
chancellor of the Archdiocese of
America and almost 50 years
ago he and Archbishop Iakovos
were watching the news at the
Archdiocese in New York when
they saw what was happening
in Selma, Alabama.
The archbishop said “we
must go there”, so my uncle
chartered a plane and the two
of them flew to Selma where
they marched with Martin
Luther King.”
Sonya Alam, a Greek School
student at the St. Nicholas
parish in Lexington, read her excellent essay about the Greek
Heroes of 1821. She said that
“on March 25, 1821, in the
Kalavryta region of Greece the
Bishop Paleon Patron Germanos
raised a banner and proclaimed
“Freedom or Death.” Freedom
of Death came to symbolize the
oath that the members of the
underground
organization
Friendly Brotherhood had
taken, marking the beginning of
the Greek Revolution and ended
with the creation of the nation
state of Greece in 1832.
A reception followed at the
Consul General of Greece in
Boston, which is located in short
distance from the State House.
On March 30, the Boston
Greek Independence Day Parade
Annual Dinner Gala was held at
the Newton Marriot Hotel in
Newton, with over three hundred guests in attendance.
Singers from Greece Katerina
Topazi and Diamantis Dionysiou
performed at the dinner.
The Boston Evzones gave a
special feel to the event with
their impressive entrance into
the hall and the traditional
Greek folk dances that they performed.
During the dinner gala, the
Hellenic
Nursing
Home
Women’s Benevolent Association was honored. Also, three
scholarships of $1,000 each
were handed out to GreekAmerican students from Boston:
one courtesy of businessman
Harry Katis, one from the
FHASNE, and one from the family of the late Dr. Constantine
Chionides, under whose presidency the scholarship awards
were first established.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
COMMUNITY
7
PHoTos: KosTas PeTraKos
Hellenic Pride is On Display from Coast to Coast, as Exhibited by Spirited Independence Day Parade in San Fransisco
LEFT: Greek-American children dressed in their colorful traditional costumes perform Greek
dances from various parts of Greece at City Hall Square in San Francisco. CENTER: The famous
Minoan dancers of San Francisco were one the unique highlights of the parade which marked
the 192nd anniversary of the Independence of Greece. RIGHT: Greek-American girls dressed in
their beautiful traditional costumes await their turn to perform Pontian dances during the
Greek festival that followed the parade.
Hellenic American Academy, New England’s Only Day School, Withering
Continued from page 1
dox Archdiocese.
The downward course of the
School began in February 2012
when the Parish Council instituted a three year strategic plan.
A four-member committee
called the Strategic Committee
assumed the responsibility of executing the plan, whose core
purpose was to make the School
financially self-sustainable. The
members of the Strategic committee are: Nicholas Theokas,
Chairman, and secretary of the
Parish Council; Peter Danas,
whose two children are enrolled
at
the
School;
George
Christopoulos, Parish Council
President;
and
Lewis
Demetroulakos former Parish
Council President who last February had become Vice President. Demetroulakos in the past
years was and he continues to
be today the legal advisor for
both the parish and the School.
In February 2012, the Parish
Council organized an open
meeting with parish members
at the Olympia Restaurant and
presented the plan to approximately 120 parishioners.
They said they did not plan
to alter the identity and the
structure of the School by decreasing the teaching of the
Greek language and its Hellenic
Heritage, which has given the
School a unique quality for
more than a century.
Pelekoudas, in fact, was
rather harsh toward a former
Parish Council president as he
insisted that the School’s Hellenic-American identity would
not be changed – only the business position.
The Committee also proposed the organizational structure and the creation of the new
positions for the implementation of the plan. They also said
that the sum of $1.5 million will
be required for the implementation. The funds would be provided from contributions of
wealthy parish members and
the broader community, as well
as from the Endowment Fund,
which has close to a million dollars today.
It was also stated that the
Parish Council decided at its
July 28 meeting “to review a
long-range strategic plan addressing areas for improvement
in the performance of administrative, financial, and operational functions” and since then
weekly the Committee has met
to discuss the details with the
help of George Tsapatsaris, former Lowell Superintendent of
schools in Lowell, and Mike
Salach, Professor of business at
the University of Massachusetts.
The goal is to have a financially
independent school.” TNH was
present at the gathering.
The next day, Christopoulos
did not allow the Strategic Plan
to be approved or denied by the
Parish General Assembly claiming that the monies for its implementation would not come
from the parish.
ENDOWMENT FUND
The Hellenic American Academy Endowment Trust is under
the dominion and control of the
Christopoulos family. According
to the School’s website, “the
Hellenic American Academy Endowment Trust was started in
the year 2000 with the goal of
increasing the school’s revenue
base. The Hellenic American
Academy is the sole beneficiary
of the interest the fund generates.”
According to the website, the
trustees are Christopoulos’ wife,
Dona, and her sister Lynda Rizos. The Board of Directors are:
Christopoulos; Julie Grillakis,
another sister of Dona; Danas’
wife,
Voula;
Theodora
Stathopoulos; and Kathy Kourkoulos.
Upon the recommendations
of Tsapatsaris and the Strategic
Committee, the Parish Council
hired LeeAnn Conners who was
named Director in order to implement the Strategic Plan. On
July 26, Conners in her report
ABOVE: Holy Trinity of Lowell
established the Strategic Committee to save its historic
school, which is experiencing
a rapid decline in enrollment.
RIGHT: At far left is Debra
Chronopoulos, the school
nurse who disappeared after
it was discovered that she was
working despite a revoked license.
wrote to the parish that “I was
hired for my educational expertise and to implement changes
to the Hellenic School environment in order to make it a viable
educational option for parents
and their children. My strengths
and background are not in the
area of marketing or advertisement. My focus has been on
preparing the school physically
and academically to be ready
for family visitations advertisements. Below I have more specific information on my ongoing
work at the school and ideas
marketing.”
Among her ongoing work as
she stated was “clarifying the
Greek Program to ensure we are
meeting state, school, and
church standards.”
Shortly thereafter, Vina
Troianello was hired as principal
of the School upon Conners’ recommendation. Douglas Anderson’s annual contract, who had
served diligently as the principal
of The Hellenic American
School for five years, was up in
August. Anderson was actually
removed from his position as
principal through a process of
having him reapply and then
not granting him an interview.
Troianello had been the principal in a Roman Catholic
School in the neighboring city
of Laurence that had closed
down. Pelekoudas, who was in
complete agreement with all
that had been taking place, declined to speak with TNH officially on the record.
Two weeks into the new academic year, Anderson died suddenly. His family informed the
Parish Council and Pelekoudas
that they were not welcome to
attend his wake or his funeral.
In an e-mail to Parish Council
members, Christopoulos wrote
that “it was communicated
through Fr. Nick to myself, that
in accordance with Mr. Doug
Anderson's family’s wishes, no
members of the Holy Trinity
Parish Council attend any of the
memorial events of the passing
of Mr. Anderson. That would include both wake and funeral
and any other memorial of Mr.
Anderson.”
In his statements to TNH in
September, former Parish Council President George Zaharoulis,
who had been auditor when Anderson died, placed the responsibility of the game play on Conners saying that “she just didn’t
interview him. He applied along
with two other people. One of
the persons was definitely not
qualified and they didn’t interview that person and they didn’t
bother interviewing Doug. They
only interviewed the new principal, the one who came from a
defunct school in Laurence.”
Zaharoulis also had said that
Anderson “was very decent with
the youngsters; he used the entire city’s resources to educate
the kids; he used the entire city
as a classroom.” Zaharoulis and
his wife had lunch with Anderson a week before he died. Anderson had spoken extensively
to TNH a few days prior to his
death.
THE NURSE ENIGMA
In the middle of the second
semester last year, the School’s
salaried
nurse
Debra
Chronopoulos Cochran suddenly disappeared. The parish
officials did not inform the parents until today about the real
reasons of her departure. The
parents were simply told that
the nurse had resigned. THN’s
research found that Cochran
had surrendered her nurse license in New Hampshire and
also in Massachusetts because
she had serious issues with the
authorities and she had assumed the license number of a
nurse from another state that
was probably dead. Cochran
had been hired in 2011 when
Demetroulakos had been president of the Parish Council.
Cochran had been responsible
for the health wellness of the
students administering them
with shots and medicine.
Cochran’s husband Kevin was a
seminarian at Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology
studying to become a Greek Orthodox priest. TNH had the following conversation with
Cochran:
TNH: Why did you suddenly
leave?
Cochran: I left because they
did away with the position.
TNH: Are you telling the
truth?
Cochran: They already had
a nurse two half-days. That’s it.
TNH: You didn’t have a license? You had surrendered
your license to the authorities.
Cochran: Ok, if you already
know this why are you calling
me?”
TNH: To find out why your
license was revoked, and to get
a statement why you worked at
the school with a revoked license?
Cochran: It’s something that
I won’t publish.
TNH:
Did
Mr.
Demetroulakos know about it?
Cochran: He came up with
his own speculations, which are
false.
TNH: Did he know or didn’t
he?
Cochran: He knew at the
end when it was revealed to
him, but he came up with his
own speculations, which were
incorrect.
TNH: Do you have any regrets for doing this? How did
you work without a license?
Cochran: I don’t wish to answer that.
Demetroulakos declined to
speak to TNH, using as an excuse the fact that he is the legal
advisor to both to the Church
and to its School, despite the
fact that we clarified to him that
we wanted him to talk to us as
the former president of the
Parish Council and a member of
the
Strategic
Committee.
Demetroulakos had spoken to
TNH on the record in February
2012 after the Strategic meeting.
In early August, the real intentions of the School’s officials
had begun to unravel in terms
of the teaching of the Greek language and Hellenic Heritage
and the sustenance of the core
identity and physiognomy of the
School, according to inside information and testimony as well
as from testimonies from parents. It became vivid to many
parents the “sneaky” attempts
of the downgrading of the
teaching of the Greek language
to a secondary “special subject”
called “music, art, and gymnastics.” Angeliki Kalmoukos left
the school after 22 years as a
teacher of the Greek language.
The strong protest and reaction
of the parents scared the School
and the church officials and they
didn’t proceed.
Despite the fact that the
Strategic Committee had told
the parishioners and the parents
that its aim pertained to the financial self-sustenance of the
school, things have proven that
a year later the course of the
school seems to be in high risk
as the numbers of the enrolment
and the finances indicate.
There has been much anxiety
among parishioners and parents
about the very future of the
School, especially after the departure of successful and able
teachers, and also competent
and hardworking Parish Council
members.
Graduate Markos Zygouris, a
real estate businessman, re-
signed from the Parish Council
on October 11. Zygoyris' parents, Demetrios and Berry, have
worked tirelessly for the parish
and the School. His father is an
Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and he has served as
Parish Council president.
In his resignation letter, Zygouris wrote that “over the past
year, the Strategic Plan was implemented and changes were
made that were intended to improve the Academy from a financial standpoint. Instead, during that time, overall costs have
increased, enrollment has decreased by 38% from last year’s
156 students to this year’s 96
students. Also curriculum has
been modified, key/quality faculty have either been terminated or quit, and morale is low.
During Parish Council meetings,
when a topic at the school is
questioned, I have been told
personally on many occasions
‘don’t micro-manage the school!
We hired LeeAnn Conners to do
a job and we have to let her do
it.’ Unfortunately, I have never
been comfortable with that
statement. We, as a Parish Council, have the responsibility for
everything that falls under the
umbrella of the Holy Trinity.
This includes the Hellenic American Academy. Presently, I do
not feel that the Parish Council
has any control over what happens at the Strategic Planning
Committee and we just ‘rubber
stamp’ it. Even our hiring responsibilities are a formality. We
ended up ‘hiring’ someone after
he/she has already been working at the Academy for a period
of time. The Strategic Plan was
instituted without the approval
from the General Assembly of
the parishioners, but should
have been since it includes a restructuring of the Academy’s administration and expenditures
in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).”
Zygouris also wrote that “due
to the current situation regarding the Hellenic American Academy, the mismanagement of the
entire operation, the continued
lack of transparency, as well as
the lack of fiscal responsibility
to the community, I am hereby
resigning from the Parish Council.”
Zygouris declined to comment, but he verified the authenticity of his resignation letter.
Pelekoudas has repeatedly
informed Metropolitan Methodios of Boston ,who has the pastoral supervision of the Holy
Trinity parish and its School, but
he did absolutely nothing.
Methodios has never shown any
substantial interest for the Holy
Trinity parish and its Day
School, nor for Greek Education
in general all his 28 years in
New England.
Methodios, Christopoulos,
Tsapatsaris,
Conners
and
Troianello, all did not respond
to TNH’s request for comment.
COMMUNITY
8
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
Haunting Documentary Tells of the Destruction and Memory of Smyrna
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – What happens
when two worlds collide, but
they are the same world? What
is it when forces beyond your
horizon are plotting your
demise even as you and your
neighbors are celebrating humanity at its best? It’s called
life – or the stuff of tragedy –
and it applies to communities
and nations as well as to individuals.
Smyrna: the Destruction of a
Cosmopolitan City (19001922), is filmmaker Maria Iliou’s haunting documentary of
flowering and disappearance
one of history’s great cities,
where Greeks lived side by side
with Muslims, Levantines, Armenians, and Jews, and everyone thrived.
The film is being shown
through April 18 at Manhattan’s
QUAD cinema, and its enduing
message is that through memory and art, the spirit and meaning of people, times, and places
need never die.
The film begins with a magical incantation. An image: The
Sea. And a name: Smyrna. The
lyrical music announces there is
a story to be told. The sad tinge
of the notes hints the ending is
not a happy one.
Then there is a beautiful shot
of the two kilometer-long
stretch of seaside and shops
known as the Quai. It is the
heart of Smyrna, and represents
the “commercial and cosmopolitan character and its unique joie
de vivre.” Later in the film, it
will be the scene of one of the
most notorious chapter of not
only Greek, but European history, but first the city must be
introduced.
Iliou told TNH one of her
aims was to bring Smyrna and
its people back to life. She and
her colleagues prove to be “resurrection men” in the words of
Charles Dickens, another artist
known for his vivid images and
for his evocations of the “best
of times and the worst of times.”
The film then presents, one
by one, the many remarkable
photos rescued and restored as
a result of Iliou’s research. The
citizens who are seen walking
along the Quai, at work in the
city’s shops, taking their children to school, were captured a
century ago by anonymous photographers who long passed on
to their eternal rest, but the
eyes and hands of documentary’s cinematographer, Allen
Moore, revive them.
Moore’s camera moves along
the paths with them. It zooms
in, creating for eye-to-eye contact, it moves back out to put
the expressions on their faces
into context: their world,
Smyrna at its cosmopolitan
height from 1900-1912.
Movement is the essence of
life, but imagination can revivify
still photos. But that only prepared the viewer for the neverbefore-seen film clips that really
enabled Moore and Iliou to create a conversation between
Smyrnaens and today’s cosmopolitan New Yorkers.
The second section of the
film, titled “Borrowed Time,
1912-1922” provided a valuable
overview of the turbulent political and military history of that
period. After Greece, which
along its Balkan neighbors finally expelled the hated Ottoman authority from the
Balkans, the destructive rivalry
between the engineer of the
strategy that doubled Greece’s
territory and population, Eleftherios Venizelos, and King Constantine took center stage.
The former persuaded his
The scene at Smyrna’s Quai at the beginning of the 20th century where commerce thrived and
ethnic groups lived in harmony. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
WWI allies to support his new
dream, the “Megali Idea – The
Great Idea,” which sought to
gather all Greeks into the triumphant Greek state. The
dream began auspiciously with
the occupation – it was called a
League of Nations Mandate – of
Smyrna.
Little did its citizens know
that the carefully constructed
political foundation for the
Megali Idea was crumbling –
Venizelos’ party lost power to
the King and his erstwhile allies
lost faith in the ability of Greeks
to withstand the forces of Turkish nationalism under Mustafa
Kemal.
Constantine’s party won the
election by promising to end the
war, but the King decided to
continue and win the glory for
himself.
They came ever-so-close to
defeating Ataturk and securing
Western Asia Minor in 1921, but
the failure left the overextended
Greeks vulnerable to the resurgent Turks.
Debates continue over who
was to blame for the “Asia Minor Disaster,” who broke the
glittering globe at the edge of
the Aegean. In the end it wasn’t
December’s snow September’s
TNH/CosTas BeJ
Cyprus Federation of America Holds Convention, Elects Costas Tsentas President
From left to right: Peter Papanicolaou, the outgoing president
of the Cyprus Federation of America, who served with distinction but did not run for re-election, Archbishop Demetrios,
Nicholas Emiliou Ambassador of Cyprus, Olympia Neocleous,
Charge affairs of the Cypriot Embassy in Washington, the Consuls General of Greece and Cyprus respectively, George Iliopoulos and Koula Sofianou, and Greek Consul Evangelos
Kiriakopoulos.
that settled on the quai.
The film’s third section, “The
Destruction of the City, September 1922,” began by exploring
the eerie indifference of
Smyrna’s citizens to what was
happening nearby. Film clips
and photos showed them at parties and taverna gatherings
dancing to the multi-ethnic
bands playing Greek music and
the new hot jazz.
The signs were there the moment the Greek fleet appeared,
to the great joy of the city’s majority Christian population, and
Greece’s army landed in 1919.
Alexander Kitroeff of Haverford
College, the film’s principle history consultant, noted the importance of newly discovered
images such as those of Turks
being arrested by the Greek
forces, setting the pot of ethnic
violence to boil.
There were atrocities on both
sides and after the collapse of
the front the Greek army tried
to slow down the onrushing
Turks through a scorched earth
policy that burned villages and
towns behind them, including
the city of Manisa-Magnesia. It
is not known whether that provoked the Turks into a payback,
or the burning the city “called
Smyrna of the infidels,” was the
plan all along.
On the opening night of the
film’s run, Kitroeff and Iliou addressed the audience and answered questions.
They spoke in detail about
their effort to find and restore
“lost” archival material with the
support of organizations like the
Proteus Foundation.
Kitroeff said they tried to be
objective, believing that the best
way to overcome trauma is to
expose what happened and then
examine it.
They tried to keep their distance both from the old nationalistic tales and recent revisionism and used historians and
people who reflected Greek, Ar-
menian and Turkish points of
view. They deeply appreciated
the participation of Leyla Neyzi
(Sabanci University) who spoke
of both of the pain the Turkish
people endured, as well as their
sympathy for what happened to
their Greek neighbors, and
Jacques Nalbantian, an Armenian who was born in Smyrna.
Kitroeff said it was a humbling experience for a scholar.
He had set out to make a film
that was a critique of nationalism, driven by the idea that
Greece and Turkey can best
move forward by not focusing
on what happened, but he now
sees that its cannot be avoided.
“It must be confronted and you
must work through it…You cannot merely critique nationalism
and forget about the people who
suffered.”
The final scenes were of
refugees from city and the hinterland crowding the quai, and
the horrible fire that began with
a puff of smoke in the Armenian
quarter which the evidence suggests was deliberately set by
Turks. It became a conflagration
that devoured the whole city
and pushed the refugees into
the sea when the wind suddenly
shifted 180 degrees.
The details of what happened next and the degree of
culpability of the Allied naval
forces in the bay of Smyrna are
hotly debated. It is known that
at first they only rescued their
own nationals. At one point, the
screams of the people on the
quai as the flames approached
them were drowned out by
dance music played through the
loudspeakers of the French ships
– to minimize the distress of the
French sailors.
When the scene become a
full-blown humanitarian catastrophe that would become a
permanent stain on European
civilization, some ship captains
relented and joined boats summoned from the island of Lesbos
to save as many lives as possible. The bottom line is that as a
result of incompetence, or indifference, or their desire for trade
with Ataturk – who was present
at the burning - and access to
newly important oil of the Middle East, the Allies presided over
the destruction of a great city.
Smyrna has ceased to exist.
A few years later, when, in
the words of historian Lord Kinross “the people of Greece invited Venizelos back to pick up
the pieces of his own shattered
dream,” the Greek leader and
Ataturk talked about creating a
Greek-Turkish confederation,
but it was too late. By then, the
allies returned Constantinople
to the Turks, Asia Minor was
emptied of its 1.5 million
Greeks, and most of Greece’s
Moslems were sent to Turkey as
part of the Treaty of Lausanne’s
infamous exchange of populations… but that is the topic of
the next film by Iliou and
Kitroeff.
The films commentators included Author, Giles Milton.
Thanos Veremis (Athens University), Victoria Solomonidou
(Fellow, Kings College, London)
, and Eleni Bastea (New Mexico
University).
American-Canadian Group Visits Athens, Meets with Greek Government
Continued from page 1
help Greece during its crushing
economic crisis. Germany is the
biggest contributor to bailouts
for Greece but has insisted on
harsh austerity measures.
Papoulias thanked the
AHEPA delegation because, as
he said, they are constantly
helping their homeland and
compatriots. He reminded them
of the difficulties that the Diaspora in America has gone
through and everything they
have created and achieved.
Led by AHEPA President Dr.
John Grossomanides, the group
dined with Archbishop Ieronymos, Samaras, and U.S. Ambassador Daniel Bennett Smith.
The AHEPA contingent will
also go to Thessaloniki as well
as trouble-laden Cyprus to meet
President Nicos Anastasiades,
who is dealing with a critical
economic crisis in which the
government has confiscated up
to 80 percent of bank accounts
over 100,000 euros ($130,000.)
They will then travel on to Constantinople to meet Ecumenical
Patriach Bartholomew at the
Phanar a little before the May 5
Easter holiday.
The delegation included
Joanna Salta, President of the
Daughters of Penelope; George
Vasilas, President of Canada’s
AHEPA; Nicos Papadopoulos,
Manager of the periphery 25Greece; Nicos Aroutzidis and
Antonis Mavromaras, former
presidents of Canada’s AHEPA;
Anna-Eleni
Grossomanides,
Vice-President of the Daughters
of Penelope; Lee Milas, VicePresident of the AHEPA Board
of Trustees; AHEPA Executive
Director Basil Mossaidis; Elena
V. Skardis-Saviolakis, Daughters
does in Greece. Meimarakis received the Ahepans in his office
where, besides customary greetings, there was a similar discussion about Greece’s problems as
well as the Diaspora.
They also talked facilitating
donations to Greece and the
problems that arise because of
bureaucracy that discourage giving and investors.
“While we could buy more
machinery for hospitals, taxes
deters it,” Aroutzidis told Eth-
the delegation on the work of
the organizations in the U.S.
and Canada as well as promoting Greece’s positions on critical
foreign policy issues.
Among subjects discussed
was AHEPA’s contributions contribution to projecting comparative advantages of the Greek
economy to American and
Canadian investors and tourists.
As Grossomanides told Ethnikos
Kirix, there were also discussions about the still-closed Halki
nikos Kirix. He referred to a case
in which machinery remained
unopened in a box in a hospital
for two years after it was delivered by AHEPA. Meimarakis acknowledged the problem that
he said was partially due to ministries having overlapping responsibilities but that the European Union is assisting.
Grossomanides presented details about AHEPA’s work while
Avramopoulos congratulated
Seminary in Turkey and the Patriarchate. But hot button issues
such as Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations were avoided.
Referring to last year’s trip
by the Ahepans, he said he saw
improvement and a return to a
normal pace in Athens. He also
referred to a meeting that parts
of the AHEPA and the EU in
mid-July in Greece about
tourism and business investment.
PHoTos: TNH sTaFF
The participants in the annual AHEPA Journey to Greece, Cyprus, and Constantinople led by
Supreme President Dr. John Grossomanides, Jr. (3rd from R) are seen above with the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Daniel Bennett Smith (5th from R) at his residence. At right, Grossomanides
is greeted by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
of Penelope Executive Director;
Nick Kalan, Cary Mossaidis,
President of the AHEPA chapter
in Radnor, Penn.; Gus Seiss,
President of AHEPA Chapter 71
in Pennsylvania, and Helen Koken Seiss, President of the
Daughters of Penelope there.
Papoulias expressed his gratitude and told them, “We are
living in sly times,” referring to
the economic woes of Greece,
Cyprus and the Eurozone.
He thanked the AHEPA members for their work during hard
times for their homeland. “It
helps many weak compatriots
in a very difficult period,” he
said. “These people have a lot
of potential. Your grandparents
and fathers left in difficult times,
went to another country, and yet
progressed and managed so
much so that Americans say
‘Bravo for Greeks.’” He told
them he saw the celebration and
parade in New York to celebrate
Greek Independence Day.
As for the Greek crisis, he
told them that, “We have made
great progress, something is
happening and a lot more can
be done by the end of the year
so that 2014 can be a different
year.”
He added: “You will not
abandon your effort. You will
persuade Americans to come
and invest in Greece, you will
persuade Americans for more
tourists to come to our country,
and it seems like this year will
be a good year for tourism for
Greece and I believe that our
friends the Americans will not
find a more beautiful country
than this,” he stressed.
Grossomanides returned the
thanks to Papoulias and there
was a brief discussion about the
charitable work that AHEPA
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
COMMUNITY
9
ALL HISTORY
Glamorous Entertainer Jeffries: Still "Frantastic" after All These Years
By Steve Frangos
With Haymes meeting, performing with and marrying Jeffries he entered a new and renewed period in his personal
and professional life. The two
were on a high for a while. In
July 1959, their child Stephanie
Frances was born. But old problems continued to plague
Haymes.
In 1960, Haymes was bankrupt. After making 4.5 million
dollars, over 22 years, Haymes,
somehow, wound up owing the
IRS and assorted others half a
million dollars. This figure did
not include ongoing legal fees.
In an exclusive interview with
columnist Dorothy Kilgallen
Haymes spoke candidly about
his debt (and for the period) un-
TNH Staff Writer
PART TWO
CHICAGO-By the late 1950s,
Fran Jeffries, was moving effortless from casino lounges, to
recording studios, to the movie
screen and even that new entertainment medium, television.
Jeffries never hid her Greek heritage and her talent as a performer was obvious to all.
“Fran Jeffries is one of a special kind. Lunch with her, talk
with her, and she may seem
somehow remote. But watch her
go on. Then the flame lights.
The familiar voice gleams with
a high, brassy sheen, or darkens
to bronze as she sways into a
ballad. She is at home, singing
with voice, face and body. Fran
Jeffries is a performer, and
everything leads up to this moment of possession, of being.”
That is how Look Magazine presented Jeffries to its 7.4 million
readers on its contents page for
its July 14, 1964 edition. The
accompanying article on Jeffries
focused on her as a working
professional showcasing the
daily reality of what was involved in touring the country.
Jeffries had just appeared in The
Pink Panther and as the Look
Magazine coverage noted was
scheduled to be in her next film,
Sex and the Single Girl.
How Greek-Americans are
able to forget such recognized
and successful performers as
Margaret James, Georgia Drake,
Betty George, or Fran Jeffries is
beyond understanding. Even the
seminal musical careers of Patty,
Maxene, and LaVerne – the Andrews Sisters – are, now, only
grudgingly mentioned. Why
that the case continues to
amaze. Whatever difficulties the
Greek or Greek-American press
may have with these gifted individuals the American press
most certainly does not. Printed
Singer Fran Jeffries seemed reserved and quiet to people who
met her, but she burst into flame onstage and on the screen,
and she was proud of her Greek heritage.
accounts on any of these performers, covering their full careers, are readily available to
anyone who would take the
time to search for them.
In 1958 Jeffries, already a
successful rising singer and show
room celebrity, had met and
married Dick Haymes. The two
began to tour as a showroom act
that earned immediate praise.
There is no question that when
the couple met Haymes was the
better known performer. Richard
(Dick) Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918-March 28,
1980), was an internationallyrecognized singer and actor who
during his rise to fame in the
1940s had performed with some
the greatest band leaders and
singers of the era.
At this time, no one would
have left Haymes out of the very
top class of his musical contemporaries such as Frank Sinatra,
Bing Crosby or Perry Como.
Haymes’ Decca Record duets
with the Andrews Sisters such
as “Teresa,” “Great Day,” “Here
is My Heart,” and the millionselling “I Can Dream Can’t I?”
are now legendary performances. With 9 gold records
and 35 successful films (where
he inevitably portrayed the boy
next door) to his credit, Haymes
was undeniably a star. But by
the late 1950s, Haymes had definitely fallen on hard times.
usual act of seeking bankruptcy.
Towards the end of his interview
Haymes reported that: “I consider myself a wealthy man today, despite the red ink on the
ledger. I have a beautiful wife,
Fran Jeffries, our child, 10month-old Stephanie Frances,
my voice and my health…My
recent financial problems have
been tougher on her than for
me. The filing of my bankruptcy
petition was an eye opener to
me.”
Yet, in the end nothing could
save this marriage. Jeffries later
attributed her separation from
Haymes and later divorce not
the product of his financial troubles but over his alcoholism. Jeffries said that while she could
have endured the drinking she
was afraid what it would do to
their daughter, Stephanie. Far
from uncertain about her future
Jeffries, in filing for the divorce
made a point of not asking for
child support. All in all Jeffries
was married to Haymes for six
years.
Unquestionably, Jeffries’ professional successes and Haymes’
momentary return to popularity
contributed to the tensions in
their personal lives. As Jeffries’
star rose, Haymes’ began to
fade. Charting Jeffries career
through the late 1950s is difficult. To begin with exact records
of 1950s television programs is
uneven. We do know that by
1957, with the initial professional union of Haymes and Jeffries, they were seen on television programs such as the first
episode of Playboy’s Penthouse
and a special Harpo Marx program. After Jeffries’ 1957, appearance on television she was
seen annually on a variety of
television programs as singer
and actress until the late 1970s.
While much is made of Jeffries’ appearance in The Pink
Panther (1963) her first movie
role was in 1958, when she appeared as Cariba, a Mawbee Indian maiden in the film, The
Buccaneer. Highly successful at
the box office, the film was directed by Anthony Quinn and
featured Yul Brynner as Jean
Laffite the pirate. The Battle of
New Orleans and Laffite’s joining forces with Andrew Jackson,
as played by Charlton Heston is
the center of this film.
In 1963, Jeffries appeared in
Blake Edward’s film, The Pink
Panther, as the Greek cousin
character (actually third cousin)
of Aristotle Sarajos, a Greek
shipping billionaire. While Jeffries can be seen in various
scenes it is her provocative performance of the song Meglio
Stasera (It Had Better be
Tonight) that proved a show
stopper. In the book, Herme
Pan: The Man Who Danced
With Fred Astaire, we learn
that: “Blake Edwards invited
him to choreograph the musical
numbers in The Pink Panther…
in less than a week he staged
three social dance sequences
(one of them was the twist performed at a costumed ball) and
“Meglio Stasera (It Had Better
Be Tonight),” a Latin, jet-set
number sung by Fran Jeffries at
a comfortable get-together in
front of a fireplace at a ski resort
in Cortina. The number begins
subtly with the sound of percussion instruments playing a Latin
rhythm and a rear view of Fran
Jeffries swaying in a tight-fitting
black ski outfit. When she turns
to sing, she is filmed from the
waist up (like the way Pan shot
Carmine Miranda) to emphasize
shoulder accents, extended
arms, and rhythmic hand movements. After a short musical interlude in which Pan gave Jeffries sensuous and sinewy
movements, she performs a
brief but pulsating samba with
two male dancers and leads
Clouseau and the other guests
to the center of the floor, moving spontaneously to the infectious beat of the music.”
Henry Mancini wrote this
song expressly for Jeffries.
When, The Pink Panther was released the advertising made special note that the film was ‘introducing’ Fran Jeffries. You can
see this performance on
Youtube.com or a DVD of the
film. This performance is a perfect sample of Jeffries’ showroom talents. Anyone wanting
to know what various writers
mean about Jeffries having “cosmopolitan sensuality” need only
view this one scene.
[email protected]
GREEK AMERICAN STORIES
Being Guests
By Phylis (Kiki) Sembos
Special to The National Herald
Dimos was describing the
visit to his wife’s cousin who
lived in a posh neighborhood in
Westchester, NY. “We were invited for the weekend. I couldn’t
wait to get away from the diner
and that complaining customer,
Jake. Every morning, the toast
isn’t the right color; the coffee
is too bitter or too weak. I
needed to get away. But, it was
not a weekend I had in mind.”
John was curious. “Didn’t they
have room for you and
Penelopi?” Dimos nodded, “Oh,
they had everything: a queensized bed, our own bathroom,
air conditioning and an interesting view, too.” Kipreos, Yiannis, George, and John appeared
puzzled. “After a sumptuous
dinner we talked until very late,
said goodnight, and went upstairs. I went into the shower.
Penelopi said, ‘what are you doing, Dimos? You can’t use those
towels. They’re for decorations!’
I reached for the soap and she
stops me. ‘Don’t you see they
match the towels? They’re for
decorations, too!’ So, where do
I dry myself? I asked her. She
handed me a small wash cloth.
‘Are you crazy?’ I told her. She
said to take three of them and
‘do the best you can.’ ”
He shook his head. “For some
reason I thought all towels are
for drying. I must be stupid! ”
George laughed, “How did you
dry yourself?” Dimos shrugged,
helplessly, “I shook myself,
walked around the bedroom until I was a little dry, looked out
the window and saw a woman
pull down her shades. For a
minute I was the interesting
view, I think. Then, I put on my
pajamas. I thought about rolling
on the plush rug. But, I’d get
furry and then I’d need another
bath.”
Kipreos told him. “You could
have had a better time at the
hotel where I work. You can use
everything. It’s expected! Just
don’t take it home.” He jotted a
sly look at Yiannis who had
done just that, once.
“That’s not the worst of it!”
continued Dimos. “She stops me
and says, ‘where are you going
now?’ I said, ‘to bed.’ She looked
horrified. She says, ‘Those bedspreads are very expensive - silk.
Those aren’t pillows! They’re
shams!’ I looked at her. ‘So?
Where do we sleep?’ I was so
tired.” John, still laughing,
asked, “Not on the bed?”
“There were no pillows. The
‘shams’ got put on the fancy
chair and we slept over the bedspread, hands crossed over our
chests, staring at the ceiling –
like mummies in Egypt. I used
my jacket to cover myself.” Yiannis said he’d have complained
to his host. John reminded him,
“You can’t do that! They’re
guests! Not detainees!” Dimos
continued, “In the morning I
wanted to shave and get dressed
and get th’ hell home. I think I
got a cold because my nose was
stuffed. I used a few tissues from
the bathroom. Thank God they
didn’t match the decorations.
But, that’s when Penelopi says,
‘where are you going to put
those tissues, Dimos?’ I looked
at the waste basket in the bath-
room. It matched the towels and
soap. She says, ‘don’t even think
about it!’” The others, laughing
aloud, waited for the outcome.
“I put them in my overnight case
– to take them home.”
George said, “I’ll bet home
never looked better.” Dimos
nodded, vigorously. Then, said,
“When I got my jacket from the
closet I saw the pillows we were
supposed to use stuffed on a
shelf. I wanted to kick those
lousy ‘shams’! My back hurts.”
After a pause, he added, “We
stopped at the nearest gas station where I got out and used
the bathroom. I was not taking
anything home. But, I was sure
glad to get back to my diner. I
even hugged Jake and treated
him to free coffee. He looked at
me, got scared, and left in a
hurry.” He grinned, “Haven’t
seen him since. But...” he
grinned, “...and those cousins
won’t see me either!”
Grigori Maninakis and Mikrocosmos to Present "Rebetiko ... to Perpetuity”
By Eleni Kalogeras
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – Grigori Maninakis
is ready. His voice, his knowledge, and his desire for the continuation, now and forever, of
Greek song in the Diaspora.
With his Mikrokosmos Ensemble
and special guest artists he will
present a historical concert: “Rebetiko…to Perpetuity” spanning
the history of classical Rebetika
from Smyrna ... to Piraeus, and
with a taste of the Blues from
New Orleans.
There will be three performances from April 19-21 at the
Archdiocese’s Hellenic Cultural
Center in Astoria with narration
provided by Stellios Taketzis.
Maninakis was ready for the
inevitable question: What is Rebetiko? First, he insists the name
does not come from the word
“rembelou” (hobo, bum). He believes, rather, that its root is the
word “rembazo” meaning, meditation, but in a carefree way,
more like a reverie.
The concert’s program will
unfold as an entertaining history
lesson that begins with the destruction of Smyrna in 1922 and
the songs of refugee musicians
such as Tounta, Peristeri, and
others.
The music continues into the
1930s with the “Xakousti Tetrada
tou Peireia - "the renowned quartet of Piraeus,” that is to say,
Vamvakaris, Batis, Dellis, and Pagioumtzis, and concludes with
the works of of Vassilis Tsitsanis
from the 1940s and 50s.
Grigori Maninakis is seen performing with the Mikrokosmos ensemble. The events he organizes
are renowned for their fine musicians and music, and edifying narration.
That is when “The Blues” will
also be heard because Maninakis said "they are the cousins
of rebetika…that's why we call
them the Greek Blues."
Maninakis said that Taketzis’
naration will be valuable for
Greek-Americans, especially for
third-generation children, because they will learn not only
the history of rebetika, but also
about the traditional songs of
Greece which help preserve the
Greek language and promotes
Greek culture and traditions in
America.
Among the musicians of
Mikrokosmos that will accompany Maninaki are Glafkos Kontemeniotis, piano, Kostas Psaros,
bouzouki, Megan Gould, violin,
George Kostopoulos, bass, and
Spyros Arnakis on percussion.
The invited rebetiko musicians
include Christos Psaros on
bouzouki. Vocalist Prisilla
Owens
and
saxophonist
Sylvester Scott are the guest
blues and jazz artists.
Referring to the young performers who are second and
third generation Greek-Americans, Anna Iliopoulos, Elena
Toumaras, Nikitas Tampakis,
and Stavroula Traitses, who
have been his students for several years, Maninakis noted that
"they have a great love for traditional Greek music, but they
also work very hard. I wish it
were possible for all parents to
turn their children on to our culture. Because music is culture.
Surely, many Greek-American
parents do everything they can
to inculcate their children in our
traditions. They send them to
Greek School and the Church,
but after that we need to find
ways and means to help them
maintain their knowledge and
develop it further. “
In other words, to promote
Greek culture among young
adults.
Manitakis thanked a number
of groups for their support, including the Onassis Foundation
(USA), the Federation, and the
Hellenic Cultural Center of the
Archdiocese.
Maninakis, who grew up in
Lemnos, belongs to the genera-
tion of the Polytechnic uprising
in Athens in 1973, and came to
New York as a student. He was
a soloist and a founding member of the Greek folk choir created by Mikis Theodorakis in the
early 1970s in New York and
has performed at Carnegie
Recital Hall, and Lincoln Center,
and at major universities. He
participated in the production
of the CDs Cafe Aman America
and Cafe Aman Orchestra and
has performed in Thessaloniki,
Lykavitos, and the Odeon, and
in Holland and Brussels.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
It is wholesome and bracing for the mind to have
its faculties kept on the stretch.
Sir Richard Steele 1672-1729
British Dramatist, Essayist, Editor
The National Herald Bookstore
Exercise your mind...
(718) 784-5255
[email protected]
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50 Catoctin Circle NE, Leesburg, VA 20176
Office: 703-669-0099 • Fax: 703-669-4104
www.loudounhousesforsale.com
Email : [email protected]
222556/18484/09-07
REAL ESTATE
NAPLES FLORIDA REAL ESTATE
272563/17973/04-20
272597/17597-05-04
Vicky Lewis
FUNERAL HOMES
LEGAL NOTICE
1059 FULTON LLC, a domestic LLC, Arts.
of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/23/12.
Office location: Kings County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process
against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall
mail process to: The LLC, 69-27 164th St.,
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365. General Purposes.
272615/10709/05-11
LITRAS FUNERAL HOME
ARLINGTON
BENSON DOWD, INC
FUNERAL HOME
83-15 Parsons Blvd.,
Jamaica, NY 11432
(718) 858-4434
• (800) 245-4872
To PlaCe your ClassiFied ad, Call: (718) 784-5255,
exT. 106, e-mail: classifieds@ thenationalherald.com
realtor
272454/17902/7-27
LEGAL NOTICE/CITATION NOTICE
239-777-4904
[email protected]
www.VickyLewisNaples.com
Μιλώ Ελληνικά
DOWNING-FRYE REALTY, INC.
Father Panteleimon Fatsis, Beloved Family Man and Devoted Servant of Christ, Was 96
BETHLEHEM, PA – Rev. Fr. Panteleimon Anastasios Fatsis,
beloved husband, father, grandfather and faithful servant of
Christ, entered into eternal rest
on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. He
was the husband of Kallirroe
(Batalas) Fatsis, they would
have been married 50 years on
May 12.
He was born June 11, 1916,
in Los Angeles, CA to Anastasios
and Chrysoula (Makris) Fatsis
and was given the name Pantelis
Anastasios. He was the second
of four children. Upon the death
of his father, the family (Pantelis, his mother and three sisters) settled in the Thessaly region of Greece, first in the town
of Almyros and then moving to
the port city of Volos.
He worked in extreme conditions in his teenage years, first
in a brick factory, then laying
tar and working in tobacco
fields, in order to support his
widowed mother and orphaned
sisters. Through his faith, he
found the will and strength to
put himself through night school
in order to learn English and
French and other disciplines to
prepare and successfully be admitted into The Greek Military
Academy.
In 1938, Pantelis enlisted in
the Greek Army in the Cavalry
Regiment and within two years
he was promoted to the rank of
Sergeant. In 1940, his regiment
led a successful campaign pushing the Reggimento Alpini Julia,
the elite infantry regiment of the
Italian army specializing in
mountain combat, up into Albania.
He recalls, In this mountainous region, we endured seven
days without food and lost 700
out of 1,000 horses. However,
my beloved mare, Ossa, survived. In the spring of 1941,
Hitlers army entered Greece
with their tanks and Stuka airplanes thus scattering Pantelis
regiment. As part of the peace
treaty with the Germans, the
Greek government disarmed its
military personnel. Pantelis
went back to the city of Volos
to join his mother and sisters.
As an officer, he was privy to secret military intelligence that
the Germans intended to gather
individuals of Jewish descent,
as they had in Thessalonica, and
forcibly deport them to death
from Greece.
He recalls, When I reached
Volos, I initiated a secret underground
mission
warning
beloved friends and neighbors
of the impending danger and
deportation. With Gods help, all
the Jewish families of Volos
were able to flee to safety. Pantelis, risking his and his familys
life, devised an escape route
that would help them avoid the
German forces as they entered
the city. From 1944 until 1946,
Pantelis risked his life numerous
times to defeat the Greek Communist uprising.
Typically stoic yet gentle,
Pantelis often recounted with
great sadness and emotion a
plethora of intense, gruesome
stories of combat and other
wartime hardships. In December
1944, Pantelis played a key role
in the heavy and deadly urban
fighting between Communist
guerrillas and the government
forces in the city of Athens, the
so-called Dekemvriana.
In 1946, having already obtained a degree in political science, Pantelis graduated from
the Hellenic Military Academy
as First Lieutenant and was sent
to fight Communists who had
begun guerrilla insurgencies all
over Greece.
Eventually and thankfully
the Communists were defeated
in 1949.
In 1955, having achieved the
rank of Captain, he left the army
and came back to the land of
his birth, the United States of
America, to join his family in
Bridgeport, CT. Pantelis decided
to pursue theology and thus obtained his second Bachelors and
subsequent Masters degree
while working as a librarian at
Columbia University.
In 1963, he met and married
Kallirroe while living and working in Manhattan, New York. In
1964, he was ordained deacon
at Sts. Constantine & Eleni
church in Brooklyn, NY. On
April 12 of the same year, he
was ordained a priest and given
the name Panteleimon.
During his 30 years as a
priest, in parishes across the
United States, together with his
presvytera (wife) and his children, Rev. Panteleimon taught
Greek cultural classes and provided spiritual and emotional
support to his community. The
brutality of war indelibly left its
mark on his consciousness and
gave him a wealth of experience
in which he utilized in his ministry. He stated, We felt it was
important to educate ourselves
and others in the rich history,
culture, language and mystical
faith of our Greek ancestry. Rev.
Panteleimon retired in 1994 but
remained active and served at
the University of Connecticuts
Greek Orthodox Chapel.
He spent his time reading,
writing and mentoring other
clergy. In his final years, he enjoyed spending time with his
wife, children, grandchildren,
helping people and glorifying
the Lord.
Survivors: Wife, Kallirroe;
sons, Anastasios P. Fatsis and
Nektarios P. Fatsis; daughters,
Chrysoula P. wife of Stathi Kandianis and Eleni P. Fatsis; two
grandsons, Vasilios and Panteleimon Kandianis. Services: Friday,
March 15, 2013, in St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Cathedral,
1607 West Union Blvd., Bethlehem, Orthos at 8 a.m., Liturgy
at 9 a.m., followed by a viewing
and the Funeral Service will begin at 11 a.m., presided by
Bishop Sevastianos. Burial on
Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 1
p.m., in Arch Angel Michael
Cemetery,
St.
Nektarios
Monastery, 100 Anawanda Lake
Road, Roscoe, NY 12776. Funeral arrangements are by the
John F. Herron Funeral Home,
458 Center at Market Street,
Bethlehem. Contributions: In
lieu of flowers, to St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Cathedral,
1607 W. Union Blvd., Bethlehem, PA
tasia (Doodie), taken by diabetes
at an early age, remained in her
heart until her last breath. Services will be held at All Souls
Church in South San Francisco
on Apr. 2 at 12:00pm. Because
of Tamara's great love for animals, donations can be sent to
the local SPCA in lieu of flowers.
band of Pat nee Batitsas. Loving
father of Anne (John) Costopoulos, Gus (Penny) Chiamopoulos,
and Christine (Edward) Lerner.
Proud grandfather of Tom
(Mendy), Jason (Valerie), Trisha
(Mike), Nikki (Tony) and
George (Stacy). Adored great
grandfather of 11. Dear brother
of Nick (Voula), Katherine
(John) Antonakis, Chris (Helen), Connie (the late Angelos)
Christophell and Bill (Katina)
Chiamopoulos. Fond uncle of
many. George was past President of the GAREA Society and
past parish council member of
St. George Greek Orthodox
Church, Chicago. Visitation
Thursday from 4 to 9 PM at
Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home
6150 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago.
Family and friends will meet Friday morning at St. Haralambos
Greek Orthodox Church 7373
N. Caldwell Ave., Niles, IL
60714 for funeral service at
10:30 AM. Entombment Memorial Park Cemetery. Kindly omit
flowers. Memorial donations to
St. Haralambos or to St. George
Greek Orthodox Churches 2701
N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago, IL
60614 would be appreciated.
Arrangements by JOHN G. ADINAMIS FUNERAL DIRECTOR,
LTD. (773)736-3833.
Source: Morning Call
DEATH NOTICES
n BELOYIANNIS, JOHN
AMHERST, MA (From the Daily
Hampshire Gazette, published
on Mar. 21) – A beloved member of the Amherst community,
John Beloyiannis Bell, 89,
passed away Saturday, Mar. 9,
2013. A self-proclaimed "pizza
engineer," he died at Cooley
Dickinson Hospital, surrounded
by friends and family. He had
lived in Amherst since 1972.
John was born in the small village of Tsipiana to parents
Leonidas and Christina. He lived
in occupied Greece during
World War II and acted as a
courier for his village, delivering
information and supplies while
dodging German soldiers. He
then endured the Greek Civil
War that sprouted from the turmoil. John came to the United
States at age 30 with his
younger brother Chris. They
were reunited with their older
brother Peter. They came, as
most immigrants do, in hopes
of a better life. He found residence in Worcester, where he
would meet the love of his life
Effie Economou, at a Greek
Dance. After they married, John
took over his father-in-laws luncheonette, Economy Sweets, until it was razed in 1972 as part
of Worcester's urban renewal
program. John then moved to
Amherst, where he and brotherin-law James Yotides took over
Bells Pizza House from brother
Chris, who had opened it five
days and dates of funerals,
memorials, and other events directly correspond to the original
publication date, which appears
at the beginning of each notice.
years earlier. After James retired
in 1987, Effie joined John in
running the business until their
retirement in 1997. John was
frequently asked after retiring if
he missed Bells Pizza, to which
he'd reply, "I miss my customers
but not working nine days a
week!" He truly enjoyed all the
young people who worked for
him, acting as a mentor and father figure to many of them. He
was seen as a stern boss under
pressure, but could lighten the
mood instantly with his high
jinx and infectious personality.
With barely two years of high
school under his belt, he was
extremely well read and very
knowledgeable on the subjects
of politics, science and world
history. After retiring, he could
often be found at Barnes and
Noble; either reading or sneaking in a nap. Apart from reading, John was known as an avid
soccer fan and would watch as
many games as he could. He
kept active in his golden years,
enjoying daily two-mile walks
and socializing with passers-by.
He loved reminiscing with
Amherst residents about his
years at Bells, often joking that
he'd have their pizza and
grinders ready for pick up whenever they wanted. Most of all,
he enjoyed joining his family
and friends over a good meal,
some red wine and lively conversation. John was predeceased by his parents, brother
Peter Bell of Worcester, sister
Basiliki Paparodis of Greece, sister Sofia Ntelis of Greece, sister
Georgia Massaras of Amherst,
brother-in-law James Yotides of
Worcester and beloved son-inlaw Steve Snover of Sunderland. He leaves his wife of 54
years, Effie Economou Bell of
Amherst; daughter Tina Bell
Snover of Sunderland; grandson
Ian Snover of Sunderland;
brother Chris Bell of East Lansing, Mich.; and many nieces,
nephews, cousins, in-laws and
friends that he adored. As education was of utmost importance to John, contributions to
the Ian Snover Scholarship Fund
may be made in John's memory.
To sign a Guest Book, express
condolences, share memories
and read other obituaries, go to
www.gazettenet.com/obituaries.
n BROWN, TAMARA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (From the
San Francisco Chronicle, published on Mar. 29) – Tamara
Anne Brown of South San Francisco, California was born on
Feb. 16, 1935 and passed quietly
on Mar. 18. Born in Chicago and
raised in New Orleans, Tamara
moved to San Francisco in the
1950's, married, and had four
children. Tamara was very active
in the community, being a member of the Auxiliary to the Deaf,
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, the League of Women Voters, and the Woman's Club of
San Francisco. She was also very
active in local charities, raising
funds for KQED and All Souls
Church, where she often ran the
parish annual fashion show. She
placed a strong emphasis on education and achievement, with
all of her children attending college, including one at Pepperdine and two at Stanford University.
Tamara
had
a
mischievous sense of humor,
dressing up as The Tooth Fairy
one Halloween and passing out
tooth brushes to surprised trick-
or-treaters. Tamara loved people, parties, and a good adventure. She was fluent in Greek
and spent most of her life traveling the world, often spending
entire summers with her family
in Greece, Ireland, Hawaii, and
other exotic and distant locales.
A voracious speed reader,
Tamara would emerge from the
local library with a grocery bag
full of books, only to return the
following week for more. Her
love of animals knew no bounds,
counting a bottle pig, two massive Irish Wolfhounds, and an
adopted skunk among her many
pets. She spent the later 40 years
of her life with her beloved second husband Richard A. Brown,
a retired military officer. Tamara
and Richard continued to travel
the world, meeting new friends
all along the way. Tamara's gift
was people, making even
strangers feel welcome and special. Professionally she alternated time between market research and travel consulting and
excelled at both. Tamara was enthusiastically active for decades
in the local Beta Sigma Phi
Sorority and, along with
Richard, socially as part of the
Francis Drake Masonic Lodge
376. Tamara is survived by her
husband Richard, her children
Nickoletta,
Royal,
Lisa,
Stephanie, Michael, Philip, and
Theresa, son-in-law David and
daughter-in-law Laurie, grandchildren Jason, Joshua, Katherine, and Elle, her brother Nicky
and sister-in-law Irmgard and
their children Alexander and Valerie, her little white terrier
Dakota, and, at 78, many close
friends and cherished friendships spanning a full and rich
lifetime. Her eldest child Anas-
n CHANGAS, ANGELOS
CHICAGO, IL (From the Chicago
Sun-Times, published on Mar.
24) – Angelo Changas passed
away peacefully surrounded by
his loving family on Mar. 22 at
the age of 80 years. Born on
Sept. 10, 1932 in Agion, Greece
the son of the late Thomas and
Andriana Tsaganos. Beloved
husband of Vasiliki "Betty" (nee
Milionis) Changas; loving father
of Adriana (John) Mihalos,
Thomas Changas and Jeannie
(Chris) Kotsiovos; devoted and
cherished grandfather of Georgia Kotsiovos, Angela Burke, Peter Kotsiovos, Christina Mihalos,
Angelo Changas and Tommy
Changas; cherished brother of
Anastasios (Georgia) Tsaganos
and George Tsaganos; fond uncle of many nieces and
nephews. Thirty plus years in
the restaurant business and
owner of Angelo's Restaurant
and Lounge in Hickory Hills. He
was the founder, past president,
Parish Council Member and devoted supporter of Holy Cross
Church. He will be dearly
missed by all.
n CHIAMOPOULOS, GEORGE
CHICAGO, IL (From the Chicago
Tribune, published on Mar. 13)
– George Chiamopoulos, age
88. Born in Garea, Tegeas,
Tripolis, Greece. Beloved hus-
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]
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
GREECE CYPRUS
11
The Bank Crisis in Cyprus Ruins a Dying Father’s Plans for his Children
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) —
When Costas Kalapodas was diagnosed with brain cancer two
years ago and given months to
live, he saw one sure place to
put his money: Cyprus' biggest
bank.
The 43-year-old threw his
entire savings into Bank of
Cyprus stock, and even took out
a 47,000 euro loan to pad his
holdings. He then gave his wife
Maria strict instructions to sell
the shares when prices reached
one euro per share in order to
build
a
500,000
euro
($640,000) nest egg that he felt
would be sufficient to guarantee
her, their 9-year-old son, Yiannis, and 4-year-old daughter,
Rita, a secure future.
Bank of Cyprus, after all, was
the bedrock of the nation's
banking system. And Costas was
himself a proud employee of the
financial institution. He fought
the tumor valiantly but succumbed last November, Maria
Argyrou-Kalapoda said, certain
that his investment was safe.
Today, a multibillion-euro
bailout that cash-strapped
Cyprus agreed with international creditors has rendered
Bank of Cyprus shares effectively worthless, their value
wiped out under the terms of a
complicated recapitalization
scheme. His 35-year-old widow,
who never knew how much he
originally poured into the bank,
is wondering how she and her
family will survive in the years
to come.
"Costas was so sure about
this, so meticulous about the
way he went about this investment," said Argyrou-Kalapoda.
"He even told me the exact price
at which I should sell the shares
so we would get enough money
not to have to worry about the
future."
Maria, who has held a job at
the Cyprus Stock Exchange
since 1999, says that in addition
to seeing the value of her husband's savings destroyed, she's
now saddled with a loan for
something that has been taken
away in the bailout.
"It's not that I'm shirking my
responsibilities, but why should
I be paying for shares that are
worthless, especially when those
shares were supposed to be security for my children's future?"
"It's unbelievable what's happening in this country," she said.
"I feel lost."
“Everybody here
stands to lose a lot
of money, the money
you worked for your
whole life,” frustrated
Cypriots say. “It is a
pity to lose everything”
It's not just fat-cat investors
or Russian oligarchs bemoaning
losses. Ordinary people who
built up savings are the ones facing real disaster. Cypriot authorities agreed that all bondholders, investors and savers with
over 100,000 euros tied up in
the country's two biggest banks
— Bank of Cyprus and Laiki —
will take massive losses as part
of bailout terms. The deal with
Cyprus' euro area partners and
the International Monetary
Fund would secure the country
10 billion euros ($12.83 billion)
in rescue money.
Costas and Maria, who diligently socked away money to
ensure their kids a good education, had their plans go down
the tubes literally overnight in
the banking collapse.
Other Cypriots with more
conventional savings are also in
dire straits. Under the bailout
agreement, Laiki, the country's
second-largest lender, will be
folded into Bank of Cyprus, with
large depositors in Laiki losing
most of their money. Depositors
with more than 100,000 euros
at the Bank of Cyprus face losses
of up to 60 percent as part of
the rescue deal.
Many have felt that Cyprus
became ground zero for economic experimentation of the
most radical kind: allowing international creditors to raid
Cypriot savings in order to protect taxpayers elsewhere from
having to pay for banking mistakes.
"When such drastic decisions
are being made there's bound
to be collateral damage," said
University of Cyprus economist
Sofronis Clerides. "My feeling is
that when those decisions were
taken on such a macroeconomic
level, it's sometimes difficult to
see the reality on the ground."
Uncertainty about the future
has hardly dissipated three
weeks into Cyprus' near financial ruin.
Thousands of bank workers
took to Nicosia's streets recently
to voice their fear that hundreds
of millions in their pension
funds kept in Laiki and Bank of
Cyprus accounts would be lost,
as many jobs in the once thriving sector flush with foreign deposits will be lost.
"Everybody here stands to
lose a lot of money, the money
you worked for your whole life,"
said protester Marios Koullouros. "I've been working at
Laiki for 27 years. And I think it
is a pity to lose everything."
The beleaguered Cypriot
government was at pains to assure that pension funds wouldn't be completely wiped out.
Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said authorities
had ensured pension funds in
Laiki accounts wouldn't be lost,
but transferred to the Bank of
Cyprus. Nonetheless, they could
take a hit of as much as 60 percent of their value.
Stylianides said new Finance
Minister Harris Georgiades is in
talks with trade unions to figure
out how to minimize the damage as much as possible.
But all this is little comfort
for Maria. She says she's spoken
to lawyers who have advised her
that she has a solid case to sue
because the bailout terms possibly breached domestic laws.
She says she's still mulling it
over, but hasn't made up her
mind. Instead she falls back to
a Cypriot character trait of
counting one's blessings.
"I just want my kids and myself to be healthy," she says.
"God will provide."
As Cyprus Bailout Could Climb to $30 Billion, Nation Seeks to Sell off its Gold
Continued from page 1
(EU-IMF-ECB) is putting up the
rescue package but said that the
expected cost of recovery is now
about 23 billion euros ($30.2
billion) including the bailout
and measures Cyprus has already planned.
The complete winding up of
one Cypriot bank, Popular, and
the writing-off of a large portion
of secured debt and uninsured
deposits in the largest bank,
Bank of Cyprus, will raise a total
of 10.6 billion euros, ($13.9 billion) the document showed.
The news could pose more
trouble for newly-elected President Nicos Anastasiades’ government with politicians under
intense pressure for agreeing to
the plan to confiscate up to 80
percent of bank deposits over
100,000 euros ($130,000) that
will hit not only rich foreign account holders but Cypriot businesses and working-class people
who put their live savings into
state banks and are being left
without enough for serious
health problems, college loans
and their retirement.
A more detailed “debt sustainability analysis” showed that
the hole in the island nation’s
finances is far deeper than first
thought, pushing the bill for taxpayers and depositors at 13 billion euros ($17 billion) instead
of 7 billion euros ($9.19 billion)
as originally estimated.
The report indicated that the
rushed bailout deal, that caused
fury among islanders, was
fraught with errors because it
was patched together at the last
minute with the banks facing
aP PHoTo/PeTros KaradJias
Employees of Cyprus Airways with banners, left, reading in Greek "travelling with my own airlines", right, "the state support the state-owned carrier" during a demonstration outside of the
presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, April 10.
collapse. One original aspect, to
seize 6.75 percent of guaranteed
deposits under 100,000 euros,
was withdrawn after the Cypriot
Parliament rejected it, 36-0.
The Cypriot House of Representatives has ordered an inquiry into whether the country’s
Central Bank Governor, Panikos
Dimitriades, misled deputies
and withheld information for an
independent report that outlined how the country’s banks
came to near-collapse by making bad loans to Greek businesses and with heavy holdings
of Greek bonds that were deval-
ued 74 percent.
That cost the state banks
about 4.5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) in losses and forced the
government to go to the Troika
seeking aid. According to reports Dimitriadis could face
felony charges, another sign of
growing political fallout surrounding the Cypriot debacle.
SELLING OFF GOLD
Under the new plan, Cyprus
will be forced to sell 400 million
euros ($525.1 million) in gold
reserves, renegotiate terms of a
loan with Russia and Bank of
Cyprus creditors, along with
possibility that holders of 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in
bonds will be forced to a debt
swap with a lower return, facing
big losses.
Cyprus’ total bullion reserves
stood at 13.9 tons at the end of
February, according to data from
the World Gold Council. The
sale will be the biggest bullion
sale by a Eurozone central bank
since France sold 17.4 tonnes in
the first half of 2009.
Some analysts also warned
that the projections for Cyprus’s
economy on which the bailout
plans are based could prove to
be over-optimistic, as has repeatedly been the case in
Greece, potentially prompting a
fresh bailout.
Cyprus’s economy is expected to suffer a deep recession, with GDP contracting by
8.7% in 2013, and 3.9% next
year. However, a government
spokesman in Nicosia suggested
the downturn this year could be
far deeper, perhaps up to 13%,
which could throw the bailout
plans off course within months.
Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at BNY Mellon,
doubted the economy would recover within two years, recording growth of 1.1% in 2015.
“Why would confidence return
and make people want to put
money into Cyprus?” he told the
British
newspaper
The
Guardian.
“The economy is three things
– banking, property and
tourism. You’re not going to rebuild an offshore banking industry in Cyprus; and in tourism it’s
competing against Turkey,
where the currency is down
50% since mid-2005.
The confiscation of bank deposits – and fears that it could
yet reach into guaranteed accounts – as well as continuing
capital controls that limit how
much people and businesses can
access and take out of the country has also driven down confidence and the idea of putting
money in Cypriot banks. Even
with that bailout, it is predicted
that the Cypriot economy will
shrink by 8.7% this year.
European finance ministers
will meet in Dublin on April 12
to discuss the Cyprus bailout as
well as Greece’s lingering economic crisis as that country is
being pushed to implement
more reforms.
“Some details might still be
changed,” Jutta Urpilainen told
reporters in Helsinki, emphasizing that she did not mean the
headline figures but the internal
numbers.
Dirk Schoenmaker of the
Duisenberg School of Finance
who will take part in the discussions has suggested countries
put up to the equivalent of 10
percent of their economic output to help resolving bank problems.
In his presentation, seen by
Reuters, Schoenmaker underlines the urgency of the situation facing Europe's banks.
“There is a sizeable group of
banks which are thinly capitalized and have not fully recognized all loan losses,” he wrote.
“This group has no incentive to
grant new loans. This may cause
a credit crunch and choke economic recovery.”
The ministers will also discuss how to go about directly
recapitalizing banks from the
euro zone's bailout fund - another step meant to break the
vicious circle between indebted
sovereign governments and
shaky banks.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the
Dutch finance minister and president of the Eurozone, told
Reuters in an interview last
month that the Cypriot model
of confiscating other people’s
bank accounts could be used
again, triggering fears it could
undermine confidence in Europe’s banks.
Mixed News: Greece Has a Surplus, but Unemployment at Record High
Continued from page 1
tinued doubling of the property
tax.
That comes on top of three
years of austerity measures that
have pushed the country into a
sixth year of recession that has
closed more than 68,000 businesses since 2010 and with fears
that long-term unemployment –
people out of work for more
than a year and whose benefits
have expired – could trigger social unrest and shake the coalition government led by Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras, the
New Democracy Conservative
Party leader.
He is trying to quell dissent
from his coalition partners, the
PASOK Socialists of Evangelos
Venizelos and the tiny Democratic Left (DIMAR) who are objecting to the Troika’s insistence
on getting rid of public workers.
Samaras has countered that it
could meet layoff targets by firing up to 8,000 disciplinary
problems and freezing hires.
Greece’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) has fallen 25
percent since pay cuts, tax hikes,
and slashed pensions began being imposed in 2010 on orders
of the Troika, which is putting
up $325 billion in two bailouts
to prop up an economy crushed
by 40 years of alternating New
Democracy and PASOK govern-
aP PHoTo/NiKolas GiaKoumidis
Greeks are Fighting for Their Gold
A protester tries to stop another protester from confronting riot
policemen blocking the entrance to the police headquarters, in
Thessaloniki on Wednesday, April 10. Protesters from Thessaloniki and the village of Ierissos gathered in front of the police
headquarters in Thessaloniki, where two local residents of Ierissos are held after being arrested over their alleged involvement
in a February arson attack at the gold mine installations near
Ierissos village. Protesters in northern Greece attacked a police
station Wednesday, throwing office files and furniture out the
building and setting it alight, in a village where frequent protests
have been staged against plans to develop a gold mine by a
Canadian mining company, authorities said.
ments hiring hundreds of thousands of needless workers in return for votes.
The government said it’s
planning to cut the rates of a
100 percent property tax surcharge imposed by Venizelos in
2011 when he was finance minister and as he was putting taxes
on the poor. The surcharge was
supposed to be for only one
year.
Deputy Finance Minister
Giorgos Mavraganis said that,
“A reduction has already been
decided. We are trying to offer
Greek citizens some relief,” but
didn’t say by how much. The tax
is put into electric bills under
threat of having power turned
off for non-payment and about
30,000 customers a month are
losing service because they can’t
pay.
The effect of austerity has
been so dramatic that Greece
has fallen into deflation for the
first time in 45 years as retailers
– including supermarkets which
had been holding prices high –
began slashing prices and offering deep discounts in desperate
attempts to get people to spend
money.
The austerity measures that
have effectively cut disposable
income by 46 percent have
largely backfired, forcing many
Greeks to keep their wallets in
their pockets and leaving large
swathes of Athens and other
Greek cities pockmarked with
empty storefronts gathering
dust under Enoikiazeti (For
Rent) signs that are turning
brown.
BACK TO THE TABLE
Stournaras said that while
long-dragging, the negotiations
are not stalled. “There are very
many issues (under discussion),” he said. “There is no
problem concerning the next
(loan) installment.” Greece has
been waiting on a 2.8 billion euros ($3.5 billion) loan payment
that was due in March and anticipating another 6 billion eu-
ros ($7.87 billion) that is slated
to paid this month. Those are
on hold though until the Troika
is satisfied with the pace of
more delayed reforms and as
Greece’s largest labor union,
GSEE, which represents private
workers, has called for a 24hour general strike on May 1,
the May Day celebration, that
could test Samaras’ government.
The EU statistics agency
meanwhile said austerity is
making Greece more competitive with other countries, particularly neighbors such as Bulgaria where workers are paid
far less than Greeks. Labor costs
in Greece sank 11.2 percent between 2008 and 2012, compared with an 8.7 percent rise
across the Eurozone.
But Samaras, who said he
wants to bring people back to
work, will have his work cut out
for him. Earlier this month he
noted that for the first time
since austerity began, more
Greeks were being hired than
fired.
That optimism was offset
though by ELSTAT’s report
about the new record jobless
rate which has put more than
1.3 million people in unemployment lines, not including another 500,000 or more for
whom annual unemployment
benefits that last a year have run
out.
All the jobless are in the private sector as the government
has so far refused to lay off any
public workers despite criticism
from the Troika that it wants
150,000 of them let go over the
next three years.
The rate is the highest since
ELSTAT began publishing jobless data in 2006 and further
proof that austerity is crushing
hopes of restoring jobs. The rate
was more than twice the Eurozone’s average unemployment
reading of 12 percent.
Earlier this month, Angelos
Tsakanikas, Head of Research
for the Foundation for Economic
aP PHoTo/THaNassis sTaVraKis
People wait outside Labor Force Employment Organization
(OAED) in Athens, Thursday, April 11.
and Industrial Research (IOBE)
said that jobless rate is crippling
the government’s efforts to also
restore confidence, especially
with more than 67 percent of
those under 25 out of work.He
said if it continues that social
unrest could undermine the uneasy coalition government.
Tsakanikas said that the longer
people are out of work, especially the young that the harder
it is for them to find employment. “Older members of the
unemployed workforce are not
prepared to take jobs with low
pay, while joblessness is also
high among those with higher
education,” he said.The Labor
Ministry has launched an orientation and employment scheme
for jobless people aged 18 to 29,
which includes 80 hours of orientation classes and five months
of training that could lead to a
subsidized position. The scheme
foresees jobs for a total of
35,000 applicants.
BRAIN DRAIN STRAIN
More than 120,000 professionals, including doctors, engineers, IT professionals and sci-
entists, have left Greece since
the start of the country’s financial crisis in 2010, according to
a recent study by the University
of Thessaloniki.
“The number of young scientists who emigrate has reached
10 percent of the country’s potential, and that’s very high,” the
study’s director Lois Lambrianides told the Athens newspaper
Ethnos.
Lambrianides, professor of
economic geography at the University of Thessaloniki, said that
the emigrating professionals
tend to leave for other European
countries, settle in big cities and
end up working in the private
sector. He said half of them have
multiple degrees from the
world’s top 100 universities that
are useless in Greece, which refuses to recognize private colleges in violation of European
Union law.
Only Greeks who attend state
schools, that are rated among
the worst in the world and accept applicants with scores as
low as 4 out of 100 are eligible
for work by the government.
EDITORIALS LETTERS
12
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Greece Needs a Thatcher
Pages and pages are being written about Margaret Thatcher, the
grocer's daughter from London, who in the view of historian Paul
Johnson writing in the Wall Street Journal was “the most important
woman since Catherine the Great."
Not all reports on Thatcher are quite as positive. There are quite
a few negative commentaries that focus on some of her weaknesses,
such as her the divisive nature. Naturally, someone with such a
forceful personality had both fans and opponents in large numbers.
In that respect, Thatcher reminds us of the great Greek Statesman
Eleftherios Venizelos, who also had many adoring fans but many
enemies as well.
Admirers and detractors agree one point however: Thatcher
transformed England.
Among the people of Greece, she was defamed as few foreign
leaders were. Perhaps only Henry Kissinger was her only rival in
that regard.
Ironically, some of the foreign leaders the Greek people looked
up to with admiration were such loathsome historic figures as Stalin,
Ceausescu, Saddam Hussein, Hafez al-Assad, Gaddafi, Castro, and
Noriega, to name the most famous – actually, infamous.
The words “Thatcherite” and the policy of “monetarism” took
hold in Greek public opinion, as representing something odious,
anti-democratic and unpatriotic.
Her name was turned into a synonym for leaders who are seen
to have blood on their hands because they supposedly consciously
imposed policies that attacked the middle and poorer classes in
favor of the rich.
In the name of supposedly protecting the Greek people from
such policies, Thatcher was invoked at countless demonstrations in
Athens. Her maligned name helped PASOK win elections and justified in part the failure to undertake structural reforms that most
likely would have averted the present crisis.
Thatcher’s sin, of course, was that she the transformed the deeplywounded British economy in order to reverse her nation’s path to
decline.
With a clear mind, vision, and iron determination (friends and
foes liked to call her “The Iron Lady,”) she tamed the all-powerful
labor unions, shut down the obsolete coal mines, and privatized
state enterprises.
At the same time, she the revived Britain’s business culture
through various incentive programs.
And finally, when a piece of remote British territory, the Falkland
Islands, was in danger of being conquered by Argentina, she sent
the armed forces to confront Buenos Aires.
And she was right on the issue of Europe: She confronted those
who sought to make Britain part of a Federal Europe with her famous: "no, no, no."
Thatcher had predicted, as she wrote in her memoirs, that Germany’s historic inordinate fears about inflation would lead to slow
growth policies that would exacerbate the problems of the Southern
European economies. She also feared what would happen to them
once they adopted the common currency and could no longer devalue their currencies in order to regain competitiveness.
Greece today faces many of the problems that confronted England
when Thatcher first rose to power.
Today, many people in Greece – including those who had once
protested against her – would be happy to see a Greek Thatcher
emerge.
Morning in Nicosia
Thank Goodness for
Liturgies in English
To the Editor:
Father Poulos' position advocating a completely Greek
Liturgy (TNH, Apr. 6) is romantic, ethnocentric nonsense.
Thank God that in my personal life I have priests who exercise true pastoral wisdom. In
celebrating the Orthodox
Liturgy, they blend the mysti-
cism and beauty of Greek with
the intelligibility of English.
These priests instill deep
faith in our parishioners and insuring the future of our Church
as priorities. They do not reduce
the Liturgy to an ethnic museum
relic or a foreign language operatic performance.
Bob Donus
Rockville Centre, NY
Reader Happy that TNH
Actively States its Opinion
TO OUR READERS
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should include the writer’s
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The editor, The National Herald, 37-10 30th street, long
island City, Ny 11101. letters
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to
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right to edit letters for publication and regret that we are
unable to acknowledge or return those left unpublished.
cellent article, “History Made:
Bartholomew Attends Enthronement” (TNH, Mar. 23) in contrast to some of his previous
“journalistic” endeavors.
Certainly it is not up to others, monastics, clergy, and laity
to determine and restrict the
“foreign policy” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate or of the Archdiocese of America in developing their relationships with the
Roman Catholic Church or other
denominations. I am happy to
see our Ecumenical Patriarch
having a sense of dynamics that
will bring Christians closer to
one another. On the other hand,
I fervently support the monastics and the work of Venerable
Elder Ephraim in offering to us
Orthodox Christians the opportunity to enhance our spiritual
growth. Nonetheless, I do not
tolerate or endorse fundamentalist extremism and absurdity.
Andreas L. Poulakidas
Phoenix, AZ
To the Editor:
I want to thank you and your
wonderful staff for all the work
they do. The articles on the editorial page are the ones that I
always read because you do not
hesitate to express your views.
My congratulations to The National Herald. We here in
Westchester appreciate your
newspaper.
John Daskos
Harstdale, NY
Christian Unity is Good, as
Long as it is Not Extremist
To the Editor:
I wish to thank and applaud
Theodore Kalmoukos for his ex-
GeorGe saraFoGlou / sPeCial To THe NaTioNal Herald
COMMENTARIES
Greece Should Applaud, Not Criticize AHEPA for its Role
By A.H. Diamataris
The leaders of the Order of
AHEPA are currently undertaking their annual pilgrimage to
Greece. As usual, they will also
visit Cyprus and the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Constantinople.
During their stay they are,
thankfully, being received by the
country's leadership, including
the very busy Prime Minister
Antonis Samaras.
That is how it should be, because AHEPA is the largest and
best-organized lay organization
in the community.
It is noteworthy that while
the aim of its founders was
Americanization of immigrants
from Greece, its current focus is
the opposite, the promotion of
Greek culture and the strengthening of the community’s ties to
the homelands and helping
them to overcome their crises.
Now, there are still some in
Athens but much less than in
the past who underestimate the
role of AHEPA in both the com-
munity and the Greek affairs.
They still hang on to AHEPA’s
holding one of its conventions
in Athens when the military
junta was in power. Were they
the only ones?
What is in Greece’s interest
is not the downgrading of
AHEPA, which has contributed
much to Greece through the
years – the AHEPA hospital in
Thessaloniki and the AHEPA
wing of the Evangelismos hospital in Athens are but two examples – but its embrace, en-
couraging it to grow more and
offer the country even more.
We have taken the opportunity many times to emphasize
that AHEPA is been transformed. Its attitudes, strategy,
and course have changed. And
it is working hard to be faithful
to its Greek roots, as is evidenced by the continuing donations to help the people of
Greece of its chapters across a
large geographic arc that now
includes Europe and Australia.
That is much to its credit.
The Exodus of Excellence (Mr. Friedman Has His Answer)
By A.H. Diamataris
When renowned New York
Times Columnist Thomas Friedman visited Athens in July 2011,
he wrote that he could not say
for sure how things would develop in Greece, but added that
"if in 6 months the young people
are interested in investing in their
country rather fleeing abroad,
then Greece will win the battle."
Since then, many more than
six months have passed. And
now, after the passage of this
time, Mr. Friedman has his answer, and we know it, too.
Greece is losing this battle miserably.
According to a study by a
major university, the number of
young scientists who have immigrated constitutes approximately 10 percent of its young
adult population. Through last
year 120,000 young scientists
have voted with their feet.
The impact of this brain
drain from the country will be
felt for generations. A country
deprived of its best and brightest cannot develop.
The same university research
reveals that most of these Greek
scientists are going to countries
in Europe and not to America.
Greek membership in the European Union gives its citizens
the right to travel, settle, and
work in any EU member country
they choose.
The only difficulties they face
are learning new languages and
assimilating to new cultures.
The same applies to anyone
wishing to immigrate to America as well, of course.
But on top of that, it is extremely difficult to obtain a visa
to live and work here.
If that obstacle were to be
eliminated, then without a
doubt the exiting Greeks would
choose to come to the United
States, thereby providing beneficial effects to the Greek-American community, to themselves
and to the United States.
American legislation on this
issue can and must be changed.
It should be changed to make
it easier for citizens of a close
ally of the United States that is
undergoing a difficult economic
situation to come here.
This is the time for the community to come together and
ask for such a change because
our country’s immigration policy
is being overhauled.
So, we have to consider immigration as one of the community’s major issues, and use our
influence as a community to include the proper language in the
legislation that will benefit both
the community and America.
The simple fact is that young
scientists have no incentive to
stay in Greece. They will go
somewhere.
Let us, therefore, do everything possible to bring them to
the hospitable American soil.
PRESS CLIPPING
Quitting the Euro Wouldn't Be a Good Choice for Cyprus
By Hugo Dixon
Reuters
[Observations by TNH Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris,
who recently visited Cyprus]
The Athens airport is very spacious and modern, but its design
is in bad taste. It does not reflect either the climate or the cultural
heritage of Athens.
It is a sad sight these days to see it, empty of both airplanes and
people.
Airports are a mirror of their cities. Think of the vibrancy of,
say, JFK Airport in New York. Then think how you might feel after
landing at desolate Eleftherios Venizelos airport in Athens. It is a
hard landing, indeed. So eerily quiet, almost dead.
The Larnaca airport in Cyprus is also brand new and ultramodern, though naturally smaller than that of Athens. But it is more
functional, designed with thought and purpose.
And now, that is too is empty. I passed through it a few days
ago.
The sleek ads of the now-infamous Laiki Bank at which thousands of people lost their deposits are still there, all over the airport,
telling a story we now know all too well is not consistent with the
truth.
And so are the numerous signs in Russian. Actually, there are so
many of them, one might be justified in confusing it with a Russian
airport.
Given the similar economic realities in both Hellenic countries,
one would expect that the desperation that is widely spread in
Athens would also enshroud Nicosia. Yet, the difference could not
have been greater.
Almost no one I met in Athens expressed even a guarded optimism about the Greek economy.
One night I observed an American professor admiring un constrainably the incomparable view of the illuminated Acropolis from
the restaurant of a major hotel on Syntagma square. He was so
joyous, he acted like a child. He was going on and on and on
about the Acropolis. He needed to share his joy, his pride with
someone.
So he grabbed the waiter. Surely, he would understand. The
waiter pretended to listen carefully. But when the professor stopped
to take a breath the waiter turned to one of his colleague and said
in Greek “why does he not leave me alone…” I could sympathize
with him; the restaurant had only five customers.
In Nicosia, on the other hand, I met George – not his real name
– a young, sophisticated English-educated entrepreneur, who cares
deeply about the Hellenic state of affairs. “A few days ago,” he
told me, smiling, “I was rich. Today I'm poor. I can no longer afford
basic necessities.”
He was one of the victims of the "haircut."
“Listen to me,” he said. “We Cypriots are hardworking, educated, and determined to rebuild our economy. We experienced
the Turkish invasion and rose from the ashes. We created a miracle.
In a few years, we will get through this, too. You'll see.”
I have no doubt. It’s the Athenians I’m worried about.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
Cyprus is no longer center
stage. Nicosia has agreed to a
€10 billion bailout deal with its
euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund. A
visible bank run has been
averted by stringent capital controls. International markets,
which suffered only a mild bout
of jitters, have calmed down.
But it would be foolish to forget about Cyprus. Despite the
$13 billion bailout, the small
Mediterranean island is edging
toward a euro exit. Quitting the
single currency would devastate
wealth, fuel inflation, lead to
default and leave Cyprus friendless in a troubled neighborhood.
Even so, the longer capital controls continue, the louder will
grow the voices that call for
bringing back the Cypriot
pound.
The president, Nicos Anastasiades, is against Cyprus’s
leaving the euro. But the main
opposition, the Communist
Party, wants to pull out. A
smaller opposition group wants
to stay in the euro but kick out
the so-called troika of creditors
— the European Commission,
the European Central Bank and
the International Monetary
Fund. The country’s influential
archbishop is also critical of the
troika.
The president can hold the
line for now. After all, he has
just been elected and the Constitution gives him huge power.
What is more, there are strong
arguments for staying inside the
single currency — not the least
of which is that otherwise,
Cyprus would lose the €10 billion (or nearly 60 percent of its
gross domestic product) in
bailout money.
If Nicosia brought back the
Cypriot pound, it would plummet in value. Nobody knows
how much, but economists
guess it might be as much as 50
percent. Cypriots are complaining about the large losses suffered by big depositors at their
two largest banks, Bank of
Cyprus and Laiki. Such a devaluation would savage the wealth
of all other depositors.
Meanwhile,
devaluation
would fuel inflation. Cyprus is
a small, open economy. All the
oil is imported. More than 80
percent of the textiles, chemicals, electronics, machinery and
automotive vehicles are imported, too, according to
Alexander Apostolides, a lecturer in economics at the European University Cyprus.
Cyprus also relies on low-cost
immigrant labor in its agricultural and tourism industries. After a devaluation, their cost in
local currency would rise. All
this would mean the erosion of
any gain in competitiveness.
The island’s economy would
suffer a further shock because
it is running a current account
deficit of about 5 percent of
G.D.P. Given that Cyprus has
minimal hard currency reserves,
this deficit would have to vanish
overnight. Imports would
slump. But so would domestic
production, given its reliance on
imports.
In such a scenario, Nicosia
would not be able to avoid defaulting on its debts. Following
a 50 percent devaluation, these
would be double their current
value when expressed in local
currency. The debts come in two
forms: the government’s own
€15 billion in borrowings; and
the central bank’s €10 billion in
emergency liquidity assistance
to the banks.
Default might seem to be an
attractive option because
Nicosia would suddenly shrug
off a vast debt load. But it would
not be that simple. The government would face many lawsuits.
And if the central bank defaulted on its provision of the
emergency assistance, the E.C.B.
would take the hit. The euro
zone would not be happy and
would, at a minimum, insist on
some sort of staged repayment
plan.
Cyprus could, of course,
refuse to pay point blank. But it
is not Argentina. Its small size
makes it vulnerable to being
pushed around. If it tried to play
hardball with its euro zone partners, it would probably find
them playing hardball with it.
They might even find a way to
kick Cyprus out of the European
Union.
Exit from the Union would
be another blow for Cyprus. Its
best trading opportunities are
within the Union. Most of the
rest of the neighborhood — like
Syria and Egypt — is not in
great shape. And Turkey is out
of bounds until and unless some
way can be found to resolve the
dispute between Nicosia and
Ankara over the latter’s occupation of the northern part of the
island.
Cyprus would also struggle
to exploit its offshore natural
gas reserves if it quit the European Union. Turkey, which is already trying to stop that development, would find it easier, if
Nicosia were friendless.
Apart from all this, the country would have to decide how
to run monetary policy.
A responsible government
would want to contain inflation
by either linking the Cypriot
pound to another currency, like
the British pound, or running a
tight but independent monetary
policy. In either case, Nicosia
would have to keep interest
rates high and curb its budget
deficit. Given its small foreign
exchange reserves, it might also
need to maintain capital controls.
Such an austerity program
would be worse than that demanded by the troika. It would
then be hard to avoid the temptation to print money. But that
way lies hyperinflation.
So quitting the euro would
not be a good choice. But staying is not a great one either.
G.D.P. could plunge about 20
percent over the next two years,
according to the latest guesses.
And the longer capital controls
are in place, the more the
Cypriot people will feel they are
not in the single currency zone
anyway — as a euro in Cyprus
is not equal to one in the rest of
the world.
The troika should help lift
the controls as soon as possible.
Otherwise, Cyprus may well quit
the euro and, small though it is,
that could destabilize the zone.
VIEWPOINTS
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013
If Same-Sex Marriage Ok,
Why Not Polygamy, Too?
another pierced,
There is more
tattooed person
than one way to inand having a bunch
terpret the quesof little ones all
tion: “if same sex
running around
marriage would be
with green-dyed
permitted,
then
and
Mohawks
shouldn’t
why
safety pins through
polygamy?” Some
their eyebrows. Pemight view it as
culiar is in the eye
linking same-sex
of the beholder,
marriage (i.e., “gay
and, by itself, canmarriage”) to a senot be legally prories of preposterous
by CONSTANTINOS E.
hibited.
possibilities: “What
SCAROS
What
about
next – polygamy?
raising children?
Marrying a five
Special to
The National Herald
Certainly, there is a
year-old? Or a Chistrong argument to
huahua? Or a
toaster-oven?” But there is an- be made about the benefits of
other way to look at it: if there children growing up in a healthy
is no reason to ban same-sex family atmosphere. Moreover, it
marriage, then on what grounds can be argued that there are nushould polygamy be banned? merous differences between
As the United States Supreme men and women in general –
Court ponders the legalization beyond biological ones, some
of same-sex marriage, the time rooted in nature other in nurmight have come to weigh in on ture – which complement one
another and create the ideal
polygamy, too.
Marriage to children and an- family unit, and which is thereimals is an entirely different fore lacking in families with
matter. Neither possesses the le- same-sex parents. Even if that
gal capacity to consent to enter is true, however, how many
into the contract of marriage. thousands – even millions – of
That is why it is illegal for adults children are not raised in an
to have sex with either one, as ideal home?
Is it worse for a child to grow
well it should be. An inanimate
object, such as a toaster-oven, up in a home comprised of lovalso lacks the capacity to con- ing, monogamous, same-sex
sent, and therefore also should parents, than to be raised by
heterosexual parents that are
be ineligible to wed.
Gay men and women do not mentally unstable, abusive, or
lack that capacity, however, ac- cruel, unloving, and unfaithful
cording to a wide consensus to one another?
What about being raised by
among the medical and behavioral sciences communities. A a heterosexual single parent?
12 year-old is legally ineligible Granted, many, many single parto buy a house, for instance, but ents are excellent role models,
a homosexual is not. Logically, but others are irresponsible and
their
numerous
then, gay men and women, like flaunt
their heterosexual counterparts, boyfriends or girlfriends in front
of their young children. Is that
are consenting adults.
In our recent Question of the a better environment for those
Week, nearly 70% of this news- kids than to be raised by a stapaper’s readers that responded ble, monogamous gay couple?
And let us not forget: sameto the poll declared that gay
marriage should not be legally sex couples are already permitrecognized. Let’s think about ted to adopt children. Given
some of the possible objections: those options, what is a better
“It’s just plain wrong, that’s all… option: for the child’s “two
it’s weird, there’s no other way moms” (or dads) to be married
to explain it…God doesn’t allow or unmarried?
While we are pondering
it…the Church doesn’t allow
it…when I see men holding same-sex marriage, let us turn to
hands with other men, it’s dis- polygamy: a practice that ungusting, I certainly don’t want questionably would be entered
my child to see that!” and so on. into by consenting adults. Unlike
The arguments involving
God and church, from a legal
perspective, are the weakest. We
do not live in a theocracy, after
all. Some Christian fundamentalists that would love for their
religion to define the rule of law
might hesitate if they were to
imagine that within a short
time, Muslims, for instance,
could become the majority in
the United States and vote that
all legislation conforms to
Sharia law. But that would not
happen because, contrary to
what some might think, the majority does not rule – the Constitution rules. In another
words, individuals and private
organizations, religious or not,
have a great deal more leeway
in defining marriage than the
federal government does.
Is homosexuality a mental
disorder? Not according to medical and behavioral experts. If it
were, then same-sex marriage
would be banned on the same
grounds as, say, marrying a clinically-diagnosed psychotic. But
it cannot be declared normal behavior by medical authorities
and yet banned as inappropriate
by legal ones. Even so, persons
with established mental disorders – so long as they do not
pose a danger to themselves or
to others, and do not require a
legal guardian – generally are
allowed to marry, too.
It is just plain old “wrong,”
or “weird?” To many people, yes
it is. Then again, so is walking
around sporting a Mohawk haircut with dyed neon green hair,
pierced ears, lips, and cheeks,
and a tattooed forehead. But doing that is not against the law,
either, and neither is marrying
same-sex marriage, an obvious
disadvantage of polygamy is that,
by definition, it does not provide
whatever benefits monogamy
does to a family’s well-being. On
the other hand, adultery – which
also by definition defies
monogamy – is perfectly legal, as
is having children out of wedlock
while married to someone else.
So, let’s get this straight: you can
marry someone and then have
sex and children with someone
else, and that’s perfectly legal.
But if you marry that second person while being married to your
first spouse, that’s illegal. Do you
see the paradox?
Some readers might say:
“well, some of what you say
makes sense, but all I know is
society is going to hell in a
handbasket!” If that is true, then
the better way to get your point
across is to change people’s
minds so that they agree with
you voluntarily, not because a
particular law has prohibited
them from doing what in their
hearts and minds they see as being perfectly normal.
Finally, it is important to note
that not all of the arguments
against same-sex marriage are
necessarily malicious or even illogical. It is a complicated issue,
and we all should think about it
more deeply before we rush to
judgment, and hope that the
Supreme Court thinks about it
very carefully as well before rendering a decision.
And don’t forget, if same-sex
marriage
–
and
maybe
polygamy, too – become legal,
you can still turn your head
away in disgust. After all, it
would be your Constitutional
right to do so.
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13
Hubris and Nemesis: Curtain Falling on European Union
Now that Germany has gotten its hands on the Sudetenland… er, Cyprus, will it stop?
You’d have to be Neville Chamberlain or a troika-approved
Greek government minister to
believe that. And if you’re that
naïve, I’ve got a 2,500-year-old
garrison with a great view of
Athens to sell you. Better me
than the troika…
And since we’re discussing
Greek monuments with monumental significance, a little further over on Acropolis Hill lies
the Theater of Dionysus
Eleuthereus – the Ancient
Athenian venue for plays.
Ancient Greek drama and
comedy continues to be studied
all around the world, and their
messages remain ever timely.
Plays were the quintessential
medium of social commentary.
Ancient Greek poets would
tackle existential issues, criticize
social conditions, mores, and
values, and even challenge the
political establishment. Their
messages were powerful enough
to get some of them banned or
have their authors end up in exile (i.e., Euripides).
The power and influence of
ancient drama was so great and
the people’s love for it so strong,
that the church fathers even
borrowed many of its aspects to
compose the Divine Liturgy,
which keeps many of its elements alive even today.
Despite the different plots
particular to each drama, there
were certain basic elements that
remained constant; namely, the
existence of “hubris.”
This term is derived from the
ancient Greek word “ύβρις” and
is used to describe an act of extreme pride or arrogance.
Hubris often indicates a loss of
contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities; especially
when the person exhibiting it is
A tragedy is typin a position of
ically divided into
power. In its Biblifive acts.
cal dimension, this
The first act inidea was expressed
troduces the charin Proverbs (16:18)
acters in a state of
“Pride goes before
happiness, or at the
destruction, and
height of their
haughtiness before
power, influence,
a fall.”
or fame.
The presence of
The second act
hubris would result
typically introduces
in the agent of this
by Christopher
a
problem
or
action being struck
TRIPOULAS
dilemma, which
with “atë” (άτη) –
Special to
reaches a point of
a blinding of the
The National Herald
crisis in the third
mind or state of
act, but which can
delusion
that
would subsequently lead to still be successfully averted.
In the fourth act, the main
greater acts of hubris, until the
protagonist would make one characters fail to avert or avoid
major folly, referred to as the the impending crisis or catastro“hamartia,” which literally phe, and disaster occurs. The
fifth act traditionally reveals the
means “missing of the mark.”
In Greek tragedy, the protag- grim consequences of that failonist frequently exhibits some ure.
That the people of Greece
sort of hamartia that causes catastrophic results after failing to and Cyprus are experiencing a
tragedy is unquestionable.
The drama is escalating by
It is apparent that
the day.
the curtain is falling
Just where we are in this
modern day tragedy is open to
on the would-be
discussion, but I’m guessing that
European Union, and
the consensus would probably
place it somewhere on the
the rest of Europe had
threshold of act four and the
better start preparing
cusp of act five.
What is strange here is that
for the inevitable.
Germany, the protagonist in this
recognize some fact or truth that tragedy, has a longstanding tracould have saved him if he de- dition of appreciating ancient
Greek theater and philosophy.
tected it earlier.
The idea of hamartia is often Many German scholars have disironic; it frequently implies the tinguished themselves studying
very trait that makes the indi- and interpreting these mastervidual noteworthy is what ulti- pieces, however, even this
mately causes the protagonist's knowledge and enculturation is
likely not enough to stand in the
decline into disaster.
This in turn leads to the ap- way of the hubris of German
pearance of “nemesis,” the god- hegemony, which appears to
dess of retributive justice, who once again be rearing its ugly
would mete out “tisis” or pun- head over the European contiishment, resulting in the de- nent.
Incidentally, this is not the
struction of the person commitfirst time that hubris and nemeting the hubris.
sis have been used to describe
the ill effects of German claims
to supremacy.
In his two-volume biography
of Adolf Hitler, historian Ian Kershaw uses both hubris and
nemesis as titles for each book.
For those who would protest
that comparisons between
Merkel and Schaeuble’s economic Fourth Reich and their
countryman who led the Third
Reich is a bit of a stretch, they
should consider that the Greek
people have not experienced
such a looting of their homes
and estates since Nazi soldiers
left them decimated, cold, and
starving during the Occupation
of Greece from 1941-1945.
Cypriots have an even shorter
distance to travel down memory
lane, with the last comparable
attack on the people being committed back in 1974, when the
“Nazis of the East” invaded and
occupy the island’s north until
today.
And so, just like 1938, a new
Sudetenland located in southeastern Europe signals a new
era of German hubris and the
entry into an – at the very least
– economic war. One would
hope that European leaders
could at least take a history lesson and avoid the mistakes of
the past.
After all, this was supposed
to be the founding principle on
which the European Union was
based.
Now that it’s apparent that
the curtain is falling on this
would-be union, the rest of Europe should start preparing.
German hubris is never satisfied
with just the Sudetenland…despite short-sighted claims from
those preaching appeasement.
Let’s hope that Nemesis is not
too far off.
Follow
me
@CTripoulas
on
Twitter
LETTER FROM ATHENS
Here Lies George Papanderou: Man Who Knew Nothing
When it came time for former Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou to tell what
he knew about a list of Greeks
with secret Swiss bank accounts
that was never checked for tax
cheats and then disappeared –
at a time he was crushing people with pay cuts, tax hikes, and
slashed pensions that wouldn’t
have been needed if his government had collected from tax
evaders – Mr. Profile in Courage
pulled the Sgt. Schulz defense
from Hogan’s Heroes: “I know
nothing!”
He didn’t even have the decency to appear in person before
a parliamentary committee that
will discover nothing in its alleged investigation into the mishandling of the list of 2,062
Greeks with $1.95 billion in the
Geneva branch of HSBC – the
so-called Lagarde List. It is
named for former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who gave it to Papandreou’s hand-picked choice as
finance minister in his shortlived government from 2009-11,
and the man he threw under the
bus, George Papaconstantinou.
Technically, the committee,
which is feuding like Hatfields
and McCoys amid charges by
some of its members that it’s really just a government cover-up
to protect friends and tax
cheats, is trying to find out who
removed the names of three of
Papaconstantinou’s relatives. He
said he didn’t do it. They said
they didn’t do it. They knew
nothing either. You can almost
hear Jimmy Durante shaking his
head and sighing: “Nobody
knew nothing about nothing.”
for the PASOK
Papandreou didAnti-Socialist party
n’t want to face the
he used to mislead
bad music and had
– so he sent a writa ready-made taxten deposition.
payer-paid excuse.
That meant he
After resigning in
wouldn’t have to
disgrace in 2011,
be
cross-examhounded out of ofined, of course,
fice by protests,
and the first quesstrikes and riots
tion he should
against austerity
have been asked
measures he imwas the same one
posed that he said
by ANDY
given to Nixon:
he wouldn’t, and
DABILIS
“What did you
without the testicuknow and when
lar fortitude to fire
Special to
The National Herald
did you know it?”
a couple of hundred
It would have
thousand zombies
posing as public workers, he been futile though, as in the desaw no disgrace in slinking to position he stated that he “was
the back bench of Parliament never informed nor asked to be
and taking a seat as an MP so informed about the contents of
he could keep knocking down the list,” even though Papacon$10,000 a month to do nothing, stantinou had earlier told him
about “the potential for acquirjust like he knew nothing.
Not content with that, he ing data relating to the savings
shuttles back and forth in first of Greeks abroad.”
Papandreou wrote that, “I
class, luxury hotel style between
the country he helped destroy gave an order for all necessary
and the United States, where he action to be taken to obtain it,”
is paid big bucks – some but he never indicated why Pa$30,000 by the formerly-presti- paconstantinou, with whom he
gious Ivy League school Colum- was in almost daily contact with
bia – to teach failed governance. at the time the government was
He holds the Richard Nixon imposing austerity measures on
the orders of international
Chair at the school.
Those lectures must be great, lenders in return for a first
watching him being asked a bailout of $152 billion, didn’t
question by some bright and tell him of the list or what was
gullible political science major in it.
If you believe that, there’s a
and responding, “I know nothing!” Papandreou said he could- bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like
n’t appear before the committee to sell you, unless the New York
because he was living in a Man- Yankees are already jumping off
hattan penthouse and appar- it one at a time.
Based on this whining lack
ently didn’t want to leave it, although he’s come back – free of defense, Papandreou either is
and first class – to do business lying (you think he and fellow
Mr. Bland, Papaconstantinou
were telling each other dirty
jokes) and he knew everything
that was going on, or he was incompetent because he didn’t,
which means Columbia should
yank the Richard Nixon chair
out from under him.
The only thing worse than a
rat who squeals is someone who
absolves himself of all blame
and lives the high life while the
policies he imposed have
pushed 20 percent of Greeks
into poverty and killed more
than a few of them who took
their own lives because they
didn’t even have the scraps he
leaves on the silver platters of
his free room service meals in
5-Star hotels.
In his deposition, which
should have been written on
Charmin because that’s how
worthless it is, Papandreou
slunk to new lows of shamelessness, not only saying he knew
nothing about nothing but that
he was the champion of chasing
tax cheats who owe Greece $70
billion and ordered the country
to be scoured looking for them,
the same way O.J. Simpson
looked all over golf courses for
the killer of his wife until he
found it was him.
He said after Papaconstantinou told him three years ago
there was a list floating around
that could provide either evidence of tax cheats or a source
of revenue that he never asked
for it. Why not? Now we know
his epitaph and someone should
send it in a written deposition:
Here Lies George Papandreou.
[email protected]
Comparatively, Great Depression Looks Good to the Greeks
By Floyd Norris
The New York Times
Five years into the Great Depression, one out of five workers
in the United States was unemployed. The economy was
nearly 20 percent smaller in
1934 than it had been at the
peak, in 1929.
The Greeks can only wish
they had it so good.
The Greek government this
week released its estimate of
economic output in the fourth
quarter of last year, and also
published its unemployment report.
For the year as a whole, the
Greek economy, measured in
2005 euros, fell to 168.5 billion
euros, down 6.4 percent from
the previous year. That was a
little better than the 7.1 percent
decline in 2011. The last time
the Greek economy was smaller
than in 2012 was in 2001. The
cumulative decline since 2007
was 20.1 percent.
In December, the unemployment rate was 26.4 percent, and
that figure actually looked a little encouraging because it was
lower than the 26.6 percent reported for November. Not since
May 2008, when the rate fell
half a percentage point to 7.3
percent, had there been a single
month when the unemployment
rate was reported to have fallen.
The accompanying charts
compare the changes in gross
domestic product and unemployment in the United States
during the five years after 1929
with the changes in Greece during the five years after 2007.
There is reason to take all the
numbers with a grain of salt.
The American figures were estimated after the fact, by the government for G.D.P. and by the
National Bureau of Economic
Research for unemployment.
For G.D.P., only annual changes
were estimated.
The Hellenic Statistics Authority, Greece’s compiler of official numbers, has a history of
deception — the country lied to
get into the euro zone — and it
now cannot apply seasonal ad-
justments to its quarterly G.D.P.
estimates. As a result, the figures shown in the charts are calculated by adding up the four
quarters of each year. But European officials now vouch for the
quality of Greek figures.
Perhaps the most telling difference between the course of
the two economies comes in
government
consumption
spending — basically spending
that is not for investment, as in
building roads or bombers. In
the United States, that spending
was growing even under President Herbert Hoover and helped
to cushion the economy’s fall.
In Greece, required by Europe
to follow a course of harsh austerity, that spending has fallen
rapidly, even if it has not declined as rapidly as some Europeans want.
By the fifth year of the Depression, personal consumption
spending had begun to recover
in the United States. In Greece
last year, it fell 9.1 percent,
more than in any other year of
the downturn.
Greece publishes monthly
overall unemployment figures,
but provides details only on a
quarterly basis. The charts show
the trends of joblessness by sex
and age group through the third
quarter of last year, the most recent available. Women are more
likely to be unemployed in every
age group shown, and older
workers are far less likely to be
jobless than younger ones. Even
the groups that look good by
comparison are doing poorly.
Among men age 45 to 64,
nearly one in six is out of work.
Among men 30 to 44, the figure
is one in five.
Rates for teenagers and people over 65 are not shown, since
few of them are in the labor
force. The picture is glum for
those teenagers who do want
jobs. The male unemployment
rate is 52 percent, and the rate
for women is 81.5 percent. Most
of those over 65 who say they
want to work do have jobs, but
the proportion of such people
in the labor force has been
falling in recent years.
14
THE NATIONAL HERALD, APRIL 13-19, 2013