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ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
cv
a weekly Greek-american Publication
www.thenationalherald.com
June 7-13, 2014
VOL. 17, ISSUE 869
$1.50
Greek-American Esqs
Win Largest PI Verdict
In History of NY State
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – New York’s top
court recently upheld the largest
affirmed pain and suffering jury
verdict in state history: $16 million.
Kostantinos Mallas of Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC tried the
case for which Steven Bournazos and Dennis Matarangas
were the attorneys of record.
According to a Georgaklis &
Mallas press release “On July 1,
2003, the plaintiff, Christopher
Peat, was refinishing a floor in
an apartment in the Fordham
Hill complex. While applying
lacquer on the floor, the pilot
light on the kitchen stove ignited the lacquer and engulfed
Mr. Peat in flames for over 6½
minutes.” The jury held the
complex responsible for the gas
not being shut off.
Peat suffered second- and
third-degree burns on over 50
WITH THIS ISSUE
percent of his body and underwent more than 15 surgeries.
Mallas told TNH much credit
is also due to Bournazos and
Matarangas, who fought for
Peat from early 2004 and in
2011 asked him to try the case
which went to trial in June of
that year. “Some of the biggest
firms in the state rejected the
case, but they had the foresight
to see there was more to it.”
And they believed in Peat,
whose dreams remain modest
after the victory. “He’s not married. He wants a family, but he
is happy he can get up and get
a glass of water and put his
hands out and shake somebody
else’s.” He spent six months in
a rehab facility re-learning to do
things other people don’t give a
second thought to.
Mallas worked for one large
and one small firm after earning
BA and law degrees at St. John’s
University, before opening the
firm with George Georgaklis.
“I was never a good student,
but I loved litigation,” and said
his mentor introduced him to
personal injury law. “And I liked
that you had the ability to help
people.”
TORT REFORM MYTHS
Regarding the contentious issue of tort reform, Mallas fights
what he calls misconceptions
right off the bat. He told TNH
tort reform – in the form of caps
on pain and suffering awards as
a means of getting insurance
companies to lower their rates
– has never worked as advertised.
“If the tort reformers had
their way Mr. Peat, who was on
fire for at least six minutes,
would get only $250,000,” he
said. He emphasized that large
payouts are rare, always involving horrific injuries and that
studies by independent groups
show “There is no correlation
Continued on page 6
Ceremony
Celebrates
Greek-Am’s
Funding of
Bioethics
Andreas Dracopoulos
Makes Directorship
Possible at Hopkins
TNH Staff
Golden Dawn MPs Vent Rage in Parliament at Immunity Debate
The leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Michaloliakos (R), lawmakers Christos
Pappas (L), and Yannis Lagos react angrily against MPs after being transferred from prison to
Parliament to speak during a debate on lifting their immunity on weapons charges, story p. 11.
How Ellen Wound up on Greek Soap
By Constantinos E. Scaros
Serendipity. If there is one
word to describe how Brousko
– a soap opera hardly known
outside of Greece and Cyprus –
made an improbable guest appearance to television audiences
throughout the world, that word
is serendipity.
Indeed, a short clip of
Brousko was featured on the
May 20 airing of the internationally-famous, Emmy Awardwinning Ellen DeGeneres show,
when the hostess/comedienne/actress revealed to her au-
dience that she – inadvertently,
had made a cameo appearance.
Diamantis Nikolaou, a patriarchal vineyard owner on
Brousko, played by George Xenios, sits on a couch and gazes
at a photo of his long lost love.
Then, the camera pans in, and
the object of his affection is
none other than DeGeneres. It
is DeGeneres’ high school graduation picture, so how in the
world did Brousko get hold of
that?
Thanks to comments by Xenios and Director Andreas Georgiou, who also stars in the show,
we now know the explanation
to this whole sordid but lighthearted situation – which we
describe herein. But first, back
to the Ellen show, and her funny
reaction:
“What, what!?” DeGeneres
exclaimed, as her live audience
howled with laughter. “That is
totally real, it’s not edited…that’s
my senior high school photo,”
she said. “I don’t understand it, I
don’t know Greek, I know my
haircut is a Greek tragedy right
there,” she joked, wondering
Continued on page 8
1821 Relief Nat’l Hellenic Museum’s Greek Islands Gala
Effort Gives
Rise to the
Greek Aires
By Anthe Mitrakos
By Steve Frangos
TNH Staff Writer
CHICAGO- Many Greek-Americans still speak of the Greek War
Relief programs of World War II.
One often hears how famous Hollywood stars of the day such as
Jack Benny, Judy Garland, and
Bob Hope served as radio hosts
on special Greek War Relief
marathon programs. Throughout
the war years, newsreels were
shown in movie theaters all across
the country – many owned by
Greek immigrants – featuring
Hollywood stars, American political notables, and Greek-American leaders marching with the
Royal Evzones down New York
City’s Times Square.
What only a handful of the
most dedicated of scholars recall
is the first nationwide Greek War
Relief drive in the United States
of America. So thunderous was
this response that it was called in
the national press, “the Grecian
Fever!” When the Greeks raised
the flag of freedom or death
against the Ottoman Turks in
1821, the entire world reeled
from the sound of their battle cry.
In the clamor to aid the outnumbered Greeks a new genre of
Western music was born, the
Greek aire.
No one, today, really knows
how many Greek aires were ever
written. No comprehensive study
exists of the Greek aires composed from 1821 until at least
1840. Few of the original composers, many of whom were recognized musicians of the day,
have had their Greek aires seriously examined by music historians. Added to this problem is the
Continued on page 9
For subscription:
718.784.5255
[email protected]
Bringing the news
to generations of
Greek-Americans
CHICAGO, IL – In a creative
tribute to Greece, the National
Hellenic Museum (NHM) team
entertained at their annual
“Journey to the Greek Islands”
black tie gala held at the modern chic Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago on May 31.
Greeted at the entrance by
two cheerful donkeys, guests
took their seats at tables named
after a Greek Island: Poros, Kalymnos, Mykonos, Crete, Zakynthos, Chios, etc. The $300 individual ticket at one of these
tables included fine dining,
artistic performances, live music, and dancing throughout the
night. An elegant, yet fun candlelit table setting was adorned
by leafy branch centerpieces
with magenta orchids mimicking the traditional Greek island
voukamvilia, and white rocks
representing the Greek shores,
while soothing blue light accents filled the dim room with
a charming island aura.
Emcee for the night, Chicago
Continued on page 2
By Svitlana Arabadzhy
Special to The National Herald
vides her time between Greece
and New York. Her recipes have
been featured in the Food &
Wine, The New York Times, and
other outlets, and she has developed menus at other Greek
restaurants in North America,
including Axia (on our list of 50
Best Restaurants on the East
Coast). She spends between a
week to ten days at Molyvos
each month, and with Carreto
has created more than 40 new
dishes inspired by Greece’s
many and varied regions, from
Kochilas’ ancestral northern
Aegean island of Ikaria to the
mountains of northern Greece,
to the southernmost island of
Crete.
“The idea is that having this
ability to go back and forth (between Greece and the U.S.)
gives us the opportunity to explore ingredients that other
restaurants may not be able to
access, regional ingredients,”
MARIUPOL, UKRAINE – According to the data of the AllUkrainian population census of
2001, there were 91,500 Greeks
in Ukraine: 77,500 of them
(84.5%) in Donetsk region.
Most are proud of their Greek
heritage, which they strive to
honor and retain in a democratic and sovereign Ukraine. To
Russian rule, they loudly proclaim: “OXI!”
THE HISTORY
Greeks appeared in the
Ukraine territory in the 7th century. Migration waves stipulated
by economic, political, religious,
and spiritual factors brought
about the advent of the Greek
communities in Lviv, Kiyv,
Nizhin, Odessa, and the North
Azov Sea region during various
periods.
The latter appeared as a consequence of the Russian Empire’s deliberate policy in
the18th century, focused on economic slackening of the
Crimean khanate, with the view
of nationalization of the
Crimean Peninsula. To that end,
18,000 Greeks were moved out
from the Crimean peninsula in
1778 and settled within the territory of the Modern Donetsk
Region.
In the Soviet era, Greeks
were deprived of the possibility
for national and cultural development. Purely as the result of
the Democratic Ukrainian state
reorganizations, the necessary
conditions for unhindered
progress of the Greek community and for formation of exten-
Continued on page 6
Continued on page 8
Furla Studio
Dr. George Korkos, plastic surgeon, investor C. Dean Metropoulos, and John Calamos Sr.,
Chairman and CEO of Calamos Investments and Chairman of the National Hellenic Museum.
By Sophia S. Huling
One of the most unusual eras
in Greek monarchical history
took place 97 years ago this
week.
King Constantine I and his
oldest son, Crown Prince
George, were pushed into exile
by the Entente of France, Great
Britain, and Russia, and supporters of Eleftherios Venizelos,
thus leaving the throne to his
son Alexander.
As the New York Times reported, “the deposed monarch’s
proclamation announcing his
June 11, 1917 abdication was
posted throughout the streets of
the capital.
It read: ‘Obeying the necesContinued on page 8
Continued on page 6
Greeks in
Ukraine Say
“OXI” to
Russian Rule
This Week in Island-Specific Cuisine at Molyvos
Greek
History:
TNH Staff
BALTIMORE, MD – A stunningly solemn and touching ceremony marked the establishment of the Andreas C.
Dracopoulos Directorship of the
Johns Hopkins Institute of
Bioethics, named in the donor’s
honor, on May 30, in the presence of Hopkins President
Ronald J. Daniels, numerous
faculty, and Dracopoulos’
friends.
The position of Director is
held by the Institute’s Founder,
Ruth P. Faden.
The Institute specializes in
the ethics of clinical practice,
biomedical science, and public
health, both locally and globally.
Established in 1995, it is one of
the largest centers of its kind,
with more than thirty 30 faculty
members.
Daniels warmly referred to
Dracopoulos’ character, personality, leadership and generosity,
and called him a "close, personal
friend.”
Dracopoulos said: “Dr. Faden
has spent her entire career passionately committed to dealing
with ethical challenges in the
biomedical science field and in
women’s health. Ruth has led
the Berman Institute since its
founding back in 1996 into becoming the premier bioethics
center in America – if not the
world – conducting advanced
research on areas such as the
ethics of clinical practice, biomedical science and public
health, both locally and globally.
“All of this, while the world
today faces so many daunting
challenges not only in the biomedical field, but across all aspects of everyday life. Challenges that more often than not
NEW YORK - The year 2014
ushered in a new era for
Molyvos, a stalwart on New
York’s Greek food scene since its
debut in 1997. With the departure of founding chef/partner
Jim Botsacos, one of the stars
of Greek food in the United
States, the restaurant in January
introduced another Hellenic
culinary artist, and one with a
well-honed specialty in regional
Greek cuisine: Diane Kochilas,
collaborating chef. She and new
Executive Chef Carlos Carreto
have been revising Molyvos’
menu to feature more rustic
country cooking with unique,
regional ingredients from the
many villages and islands of
Greece.
An accomplished award-winning cookbook author, chef and
host of Greece’s most popular
cooking show, “Ti tha fame
simera, Mama?” (“What will we
eat today, Mom?”), Kochilas di-
Diane Kochilas and Carlos
Carreto, Molyvos’ new chef
team.
COMMUNITY
2
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
GOINGS ON...
Nat’l Hellenic Museum’s Greek Islands Gala
Continued from page 1
journalist Anna Davlantes
opened the event, while NHM
Chairman John P. Calamos took
the stage for a word on the Museum’s activities and future collaboration with Chicago’s historical Field Museum.
“Right now we have a beautiful building and now we need
things to fill it with,”Davlantes
said. “[the NHM] have a great
outreach with schoolchildren
right now, they have a great attendance from the Greek-American community, but we want
Greek-American culture and
heritage, and document the
Greek-American immigrant experience,” he added.
Over at the sweet table stood
a cotton candy man, while an
artist who drew sketches for the
night, and a photo booth with
various Greek island backdrops,
offered a take-home treat for
guests. Additionally, a museum
legacy brick, a 50-person private
NHM rooftop party and tickets
to a Blackhawks game were offered as part of the gala’s raffle
and silent auction, among other
prizes.
Furla Studio
ABOVE: Anthony Kouzounis,
Supreme President of AHEPA,
from Houston, was among
those who came from afar to
support the Museum. LEFT:
George and Stephanie Pantelidis enjoyed the annual black
tie gala. BELOW: National
Hellenic Museum President
Connie Mourtoupalas.
more than that. We want people
from all over the Midwest and
beyond to come by and visit this
beautiful museum, and to do
that you have to have wonderful
artifacts and great exhibits and
things that people want to see,”
she added.
The sold out event attracted
some 475 attendees and raised
a significant sum for the NHM.
“We’re going to raise close to
$350,000 for this,” said NHM
Vice-Chairman Peter Parthenis.
“The event was very beautiful
and very well organized, and all
to support the great institution
of the National Hellenic Museum, whose mission is to carry
on for the next generations, our
“It was a wonderful event,
beautiful turnout, great location… the planning was excellent, great speakers, the women
are beautiful, the men are handsome,” said John Hoidas, “It’s
what true Greeks are all about.”
“The gala was elegant, fun,
a great success. It had true spirit
of community, bringing together
old and new museum supporters, both local and national,
NHM President Connie Mourtoupalas told TNH. “It was
heartwarming to see how people around the country are embracing the National Hellenic
Museum as the home of the
Greek story in America. Our
honorees, AHEPA and the
Founders of the Greek American
Restaurant Association are both
very deserving organizations,
she added. “In many ways I consider them part of the backbone
of the Greek American community.”
The announcement of the
National Hellenic Museum’s
partnership with the Field Museum was very exciting and people really applauded this initiative. We are very excited that
through the generosity of our
Chairman, John Calamos, our
Museum is able to play such an
important role in bringing this
exhibition to America, and also
present parallel exhibitions and
cultural programs.
We are looking forward to an
exciting adventure with one of
the world’s finest natural history
and anthropology Museums in
the world.”
Founded in 1983 and previously known as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, the
NHM took on a fresh face at its
new facility at 333 S. Halsted
Street in Chicago’s famous
Greektown in winter of 2011.
“As someone who is of Greek
descent, to have a National Hellenic Museum in Chicago is just
a beautiful thing, and I think all
of us who are proud of our heritage, we finally have a place to
celebrate it and recognize the
accomplishments and to chart
our history,” Davlantes said. “I
think lot of other ethnic groups
have that already and now we
do too, so it makes me very
proud,” she added.
Next year’s gala is set to take
place at the Field Museum in an
elegant setting surrounded by
elevated columns and various
museum exhibitions. In collaboration with the NHM and
arranged to feature over 500 artifacts from nearly two-dozen
Greek museum collections, the
exhibit “The Greeks: From
Agamemnon to Alexander the
Great” will premiere at the Field
Museum in November of 2015.
“Not only to do I think the
Museum is incredible, but I
think that the event for next
year where we’re going to combine with the Field Museum is
amazing,” said event guest
Martha Kanis. “It will put us on
the map and everyone will
know us.”
n THRU NOV 1
TARPON SPRINGS, FL – Night in
the Islands returns to the worldfamous Sponge Docks of Tarpon
Springs for 2014! Saturdays, 611PM, Jun. 7, Jul. 12, Aug. 2,
Sept. 6, Oct. 4, and Nov. 1. A free
event of Greek music, dancing,
and dining! And we will offer an
hour of free Greek dance lessons
by the Levendia Dance Troupe
from 6-7 PM. The festival is supported in part by a grant from
the National Endowment for the
Arts. Come join us for authentic
island fun in the warm Florida
sun and mark your calendar and
make this a regular destination!
n JUNE 6-7
BOISE, ID – Saints Constantine
and Helen Greek Orthodox
Church, located at 2618 W. Bannock St. in Boise, invites you to
its Greek festival, Friday, Jun. 6
and Saturday, Jun. 7 from 11AM
to 9PM. In addition to all the
great food and drinks, there will
be plenty of dancing! Live Entertainment All Day Saturday!
Free Greek Dance Lessons with
audience participation following
each Dance Exposition Dance Director: Nikki Totorica and her
dance troupe The Greek
Mediterranean Dancers. Featuring the Greek Dances ..... Hasapiko - Comes from the union
of butchers in Constantinople –
it has become the best known
Greek dance since the movie
"Zorba the Greek." Pentozali Originally from Crete – the name
comes from the Greek words
"pente" and"zala" which means
five steps. Cretan Syrto - The syrtos and kalamatianos use the
same dance steps, but the syrto
is in 4/4 time and the kalamatiano is in 7/8 time, organized
in a slow (3 beat), quick (2
beat), quick (2 beat) rhythm.
Kalamatianos - The name comes
from a song about Kalamata –
the first area to be liberated in
the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Maleviziotiko - originally from
Crete, is a light and jumpy
dance, and extremely cardiovascular. Karsilamas (couples
dance) is a Greek folk dance
found in the region of Macedonia. The term "karsilamas"
comes from the Turkish word
"karsilama" meaning "face to
face greeting." Zorba's Dance Epitomizes the Greek sentiment,
no matter what happens, dance
& enjoy life! Loved by young &
old alike and memorialized by
Anthony Quinn in the movie
Zorba the Greek this ends the
night with fun for everyone!
n JUNE 13
MANHATTAN – “The Last Vespers of Manos Hadjidakis,” a musical tribute on the 20th anniversary of the death of the eminent
Greek composer will take place
on Friday, Jun. 13 at 7:30PM at
the Cathedral Center Ballroom
Archdiocesan Cathedral of the
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Church, 337, East 74thStreet, in
Manhattan. Tickets $20 at the
door. Artistic Director, vocalist,
and narrator Yanna Katsageorgi
presents a unique evening with
five extraordinary artists performing the ethereal, poetic, unconventional and magical songs
of Hadjidakis, as the composer
intended them to be performed.
Katsageorgi performed and
recorded with Hadjidakis, starring in one of most radical musical compositions titled Pornography. She has written and will
provide the narration for the
concert, which includes many
references to touching moments
in the composer’s life. She is
joined by sopranos Julie Ziavras,
Alexandra Skendrou, pianist
Panos Chrisovergis, and guitarist
Spiros Exaras. The concert is a
reminder of the legacy left by
Hadjidakis, an artist whose
whole life was an act of resistance to injustice and repression.
His social conscience, civic responsibility, creativity, free spirit,
and kindness are values that are
necessary more than ever at this
critical juncture in Greek history.
The tribute will include some of
his most beloved songs from
Pornography, Absurd, Captain
Michael, Big Pink, Blood Wedding, Street of Dreams, Reflections, Immortality, Ballads of
Athena Street and more.
YONKERS – Greek festival!
Please come celebrate at Prophet
Elias Greek Orthodox Church,
15 Leroy Avenue. There will be
authentic Greek food and homemade pastries, music and dance,
raffles, prizes, kids' zone, rides
and games. The fun begins Friday, Jun. 13th 5PM-Midnight
and continues Saturday, Jun. 14
N-Midnight, and Sunday, Jun.
15 Noon-11PM. visit us at www.
facebook.com/prophetelias.
n JUNE 14
MANHATTAN – Come join the
Greek-American Writers Association on Saturday, Jun. 14, 68PM at Cornelia Street Café, 29
Cornelia
Street
between
Bleecker and West 4th Streets,
for wine, fun, and the power of
the spoken word. June. Moon.
Poetry. Presenting three outstanding writers: Lili Bita, dynamic poet, playwright and actress, author of The Thrust of
the Blade; Basil Rouskas, inspired explorer of a two homeland identity, author of Blue
Heron on Black River; and
George Wallace, the Walt Whitman of Greek-American poets,
Suffolk County’s first Poet Laureate, author of Eos, Abductor
of Men. Penelope Karageorge
hosts. $8 admission includes a
glass of wine, beer, or soft drink.
When:
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Doors open at 6:30pm
Concert begins at 7:00pm (Doors close)
Where:
Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons
111 Saint Andrew's Road
Southampton, NY 11968
Repertoire:
Two 35-minute pieces
with 15-minute intercession
RSVP:
[email protected]
RSVP required by June 15
Pushing the envelope for chamber music
in private settings their music has been described as
"drippingly beautiful, a romantic mixture of
fairy dust and drama."
Led by Award winning composer/pianist
Pilley Bianchi
Known for their urbanly romantic approach to chamber repertoire, Bianchi Musica has performed events for: Tiffany & Co.,
Martha Stewart and Jann Wenner (Rollingstone Magazine)
They have shared the stage with Michael Bolton, Josh Groban,
Renee Fleming, Cyndi Lauper, Whoopi Goldberg & Jo Dee
Messina.
FREE. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. LIMITED SEATING. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.
n JUNE 20-22
DENVER, CO – Come and attend
one of Denver's premier and first
summer outdoor festivals! Featuring LIVE traditional Greek
dancing by the Hellenic Dance
Academy of Denver and music by
Etho Ellas, at the Assumption of
the Theotokos Greek Orthodox
Cathedral, 4610 East Alameda
Avenue. Friday, Jun. 20 and Saturday, Jun. 21, 11AM-11PM, Sunday, Jun. 22, 11AM-6PM. There
is plenty of homemade food and
pastries from throughout Greece
to satisfy any appetite. Bonfils will
be onsite Saturday for a blood
drive as well! Our cultural center,
book store & gift shop will include
original works of art. Beautiful
gold and silver jewelry, authentic
Greek merchandise and breathtaking photography also available. There is parking in our
lower lot near the East Gate and
on Colorado Blvd and Alameda
and shuttles will run throughout
the day. General Admission is $5
per person a day Free to children
under 12 $3 for Senior Citizens
65 years and older.
QUESTION
OF THE WEEK
Given
Patriarch
Bartholomew’s and Pope
Francis’ historic meeting, do
you think the two Churches
are any closer to reuniting as
one?
Please email your response
to scaros@thenationalherald.
com
We may publish some responses as Letters to the Editor in a future issue.
COMMUNITY
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
3
Chian Federation Commemorates Massacre of 1822
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
Ioanna Karatzaferi was delighted and in turn delighted the
guests at the AGAPW event in honor of her life and work.
AGAPW Presents AwardWinning Author Karatzaferi
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The Association
of Greek American Professional
Women (AGAPW) presented
“Meet the Author: A retrospective on award winning author
Ioanna Karatzaferi,” at the
Greek Press Office on May 29.
The evening of readings culminated in a dance and musical
performance piece inspired by
Karatzaferi’s poetry.
After Dimitra Nikolou, the
evening’s Emcee, offered an introduction and analysis of the
author’s work, Karatzaferi read
from My Home is Everywhere.
Karatzaferi’s life and work
are rooted in history and people.
When she addressed the gathering, she commemorated both
the recent passing of Maya Angelou, whose poems she had
translated, and the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453.
Referring to the documentary about her life by Yannis
Katomeris titled “Ioanna, A Free
Woman,” she declared: “I am
not free.”
She said “I have hard feelings
against some people. How can I
forget the Germans” and their
brutal occupation of Greece? “I
have weaknesses that darken
my freedom.”
Elaborating on the age-old
conflict between freedom and
responsibility, she shifted to the
tragic situation in Greece, and
offered some self-criticism to
counter the natural tendency to
blame others:
“Perhaps we too are to blame
for taking this road to impoverishment?”
Karatzaferi spoke about how
difficult is to be fully free amid
the challenges and paradoxes of
life and noted that society’s restrictions are both political and
aesthetic. Nevertheless, she
found the artistic life liberating.
Author and publisher Sam
Chekwas read excerpts from
Karatzaferi’s work and told the
guests that she is one of the
greatest writers he has ever met.
Natasha Katerinopoulos, performing arts manager and arts
activist, read from Furnished
Rooms and Ilios Neofotistos,
past president of KEP and the
Athenian’s Society read a portion of Bazayiazi.
Dr. Spryros Efthimiades, Associate Professor of Physics at
Fordham University, read passages from Karatzaferi’s collection of short stories about life
and death in the big city as experienced by a young immigrant
woman titled: “Nea Yorki – Have
a Knife Day.”
Efthimiades praised her lyricism and the power of her descriptions of unforgettable moments and people.
Performance artist Vassilea
Terzakis was the creator and
lead dancer for the cultural performance and was joined by
Nana Simopoulos, Caryn Heilman, Terry Vakirtzolou and Katerinopoulos.
“The piece is based on
Ioanna’s poety and combines
music with contemporary movement and theatrical components
to travel through Ioanna’s poetry and express the concerns,
aspirations, and existential
quest of ‘A Global Woman,’” according to the program.
The entrance of the four
women evoked the mystery and
grace of a Greek chorus and at
times they used their voices like
orchestral instruments.
A haunting atmosphere pervaded the space as Katerinopoulos recited a poem while the
others chanted “Niotho – I feel”
Terzaki thanked all the participants and declared “We love
performing Ioanna’s poety.”
Simopoulos, the music director,
who is noted for her improvisational ability, explained how the
group blended words and music
and movement in just two meetings together.
The guests, who included
Amb. Ioannis Vrailas and wife
Christiane, then enjoyed fellowship during the reception.
(L-R) Vassilea Terzaki, Terry Vakirtzoglou, Nana Simpopoulos,
Natasha Katerinopoulos and Caryn Heilman demonstrated how
the power of poetry is not limited to the printed page.
ASTORIA – The Day of Remembrance for the Chian Massacre of
1822 began with a memorial service at the Church of St. Catherine
and St. George and continued
with a complimentary luncheon,
lecture and cultural presentation
at the Chian Cultural Center in
Astoria.
Fr. John Antonopoulos, pastor
emeritus, presided over the Divine Liturgy and spoke about the
Ottoman state’s massacre that
shocked the civilized world and
generated support of the Greek
War of Independence.
Chian Federation General Secretary Nikolaos K. Papagiannakis
welcomed the guests and introduced the featured speaker, Sam
Chekwas, author, publisher, and
bookseller. After briefly noting
the connection between the Ottoman state’s crimes in 1822 with
subsequent genocides committed
by Turks and others, including the
Jewish Holocaust, Chekwas declared that the neglect of the wisdom of Hellenism is at the root
of many barbarisms in human history.
Chekwas devoted his time at
the podium to sharing his feelings
about the importance of the promotion and preservation of the
Hellenism he first discovered by
reading an English translation of
Antigone as a 12 year-old-boy in
Nigeria and then fell in love with
as a student in Greece.
Named an Ambassador of Hellenism from translating Greek
language works, Chekwas
nonetheless emphasized that all
Diaspora Greeks have a role to
play not only as ambassadors but
teachers of Hellenism.
In flawless, eloquent Greek, he
described his Hellenic passion: “I
cannot give a full answer. You
must follow me through the
streets of Thessaloniki, Katerini,
Kavala, and the Plaka in Athens
and of islands like beautiful Chios
in order to understand.”
He is the owner of Seaburn
Press, which once had a bookstore in Astoria and currently has
an online presence. He will soon
open a store on Long Island, but
welcomes an opportunity to return to Astoria.
After noting with deep pride
that the this year the school he
has established in Nigeria “in a
remote place where the government would not build a school
for 100 years,” he urged those
present not to neglect their duties
to the Greek language by making
sure every Greek-American has
the opportunity to learn Greek.”
One guest noted that the Internet
gives the community the power
to do that whether or not children
have access to Greek schools.
Papagiannakis thanked Chekwas and hopes his endeavors will
inspire more imitators.
Maria Papagiannakis, president of the Federation’s Women’s
Auxiliary, introduced Petros
Fourniotis, the instructor for the
organization’s three children’s
dance troupes.
Fourniotis announced the
youngest group would perform
dances from various parts of the
Greek mainland, the eldest presented dances from Crete, and
the intermediate performed Kefalonian dances.
FUNDRAISER
FOR ACCIDENT VICTIM
Koula Kalogeras took a moment to invite the guests and all
members of the community to
support a fundraising event June
18 at 1PM at the Cultural Center
to help the family of Christos
Mathios, who is now in a coma
as a result of a car accident. Those
wishing to donate or obtain other
information may contact the Federation at 718-204-2550.
Publisher Sam
Chekwas was the
keynote speaker at
the Chian Federation’s commemoration of the Massacre of 1822.
The dance troupes
of the Chian Federation’s Women’s
Auxiliary performed dances
from Crete, Kefalonia and the Greek
mainland. A college-age dance
group is planned
for the Fall.Chian
Federation Commemorates 1822
Massacre.
PHotoS: eta PreSS
Fire Destroys Crystal Lake Diner in Haddon, NJ
TNH Staff
NEW YORK – The Crystal Lake
Diner in in Haddon Township of
Camden County was destroyed
June 1 when a fire broke out in
the restaurant that has been a
fixture on Cuthbert Boulevard
for two decades.
The fire apparently began in
the basement at approximately
11 PM. Although employees
were inside when flames began
to spread from the basement,
which is used for storage, no injuries were reported.
The next morning, neighbors
and longtime customers could
not believe their eyes. The
restaurant they had known and
loved was gone.
A few hours after the fire was
extinguished, bulldozers began
to demolish the building.
At press time, TNH was unable to communicate with the
owner, Anthony Exadaktilos.
He was the one who called
911 and reportedly took action
to ensure no one was hurt, but
firemen from nearby communities who responded had difficulty fighting the fire.
Chief County Fire Marshall
Paul Sandrock told philly.com
"The fire department was able
to access the basement…But the
first floor collapsed into the
basement and they had to retreat."
Sandrock said “The employees were just wrapping up for
the night. The owner was also
there when the fire was discovered."
“The fire was brought under
control around 1AM But after
two hours of burning, the interior of the restaurant appeared
gutted, or at least severely damaged. The inside was blackened
and filled with smoke, with only
the stainless steel equipment
still glistening. Windows were
smashed,” philly.com reported
The cause of the fire is not
yet known and the Camden
County Fire Marshal's office is
investigating.
Philly.com reported that the
restaurant was owned by the
Vasilakis family but TNH
learned that was incorrect.
Michael Vasilakis said that “it
does not belong to my family.
We sold it five years ago to Exadaktilos. I have nothing to do
with this property. Journalists
called me and that’s how I
learned about the fire and I became unbelievably sad,” and
then expressed his solidarity
with Exadaktilos.
The images on television and
the internet caused distress in
the Greek-American community,
especially at the parish of St.
Thomas in Cherry Hill, NJ.
The pastor, Fr. Emmanuel
Pratsinakis knows the Exadaktilos family well and was saddened by the news.
“Anthony is one of the most
generous members of the community. He is from the island of
Andros and he is one of our excellent people. He has two children – we are talking about a
fantastic family.”
Pratsinakis told TNH the
diner was known for its good
food and service and moderate
prices and its owner is loved and
respected.
In January 2013, Marianne
Exadaktilos, the owner's daughter, told philly.com that their
customers' favorite dish was
chicken croquettes with mashed
potatoes.
"Everybody loves it," she said.
"It's old-fashioned and they are
homemade."
COMMUNITY
4
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
Huge Hellenic Crowd Watches Greece-Nigeria’s Nil-Nil Near Philadelphia
TNH Staff
CHESTER, PA — More than
10,000 Greek-Americans from
the Greater Philadelphia area
and other cities cheered on the
Greek national team in its preWorld Cup “friendly match” on
June 3 at PPL park that ended
in a 0-0 tie.
Efstathios Karadonis, president of the local Federation of
Hellenic American Societies,
told TNH it was not merely a
soccer game but a gathering of
Greek-Americans to celebrate
Hellenism.
The big tailgate party, included the Greek players and
Greek-American
singer
Kalomira Sarantis, fired up the
crowd by singing the national
anthems and performing popular songs.
There were few scoring
chances in one of the final tuneups for the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil, which begins June 12.
The best opportunity came for
Greece in the 83rd minute when
Giorgios Samaras had a shot
blocked from 10 yards and Dimitris Salpingidis followed with a
header that missed. Greece midfielder Giorgos Karagounis, its
37-year-old captain, played the
entire first half, much to the delight of the large contingent of
Greek fans in the stadium donning his No. 10 jersey.
"I think we managed to give
the Greek people pleasure to see
the Greek national team prepare
for Brazil," Greece coach Fernando Santos said. "It was difficult for us because we had a
very long trip from Portugal. We
were jet-lagged. It was a little
bit difficult for us today."
For Greece, it was the second
of three exhibition games over
a six-day span, so a number of
starters were given extra rest.
The series of games started with
a scoreless draw against Portugal on Saturday, and will end
Friday against Bolivia in Harrison, NJ.
"I think we played better today," Santos said, referring to
the last two games. "This is part
of the progression we want to
see from all the players."
Greece will be in Group C at
the World Cup along with
Colombia, Ivory Coast and
Japan.
American Hellenic Institute
President Nick Larigakis attended the match and is proud
to see Greece competing for the
World Cup. He said the vast majority of the crowd people were
Greeks. TNH learned that
Greeks purchased 10,800 of the
12,000 tickets sold.
Michael Karloutsos, Chairman of the upcoming ClergyLaity Congress, took his whole
family to what he called “an incredible celebration of Greek
Spirit. It was a sea of Blue and
White.”
He said there were people
dressed as Spartans and others
with olives and grapes on their
heads, all chanting the fight
songs. “It really felt like being
at Olympic stadium Greece,”
Karloutsos said, but he was most
impressed by the multiple generations of families turned out
to celebrate Greece.
Hellenic Federation of New
Jersey President Savas Tsivikos
was pleased with the team’s performance and he was very
happy to see so many young
Hellenes. “It was a great opportunity for Greece and the community to draw closer together
and to shout Ellas-Ellas!”
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report.)
It was a sea of Hellenic blue and white at PPL Park as Greek-Americans and their friends were
bedecked in Greek flags and dressed for soccer success against Green-clad Nigeria.
Catsimatidis: Greece Needs to Treat Investors with “Aggalies,” Not “Klotsies”
TNH Staff
ATHENS – “Greece is very, very
rich,” John Catsimatidis told the
crowd at Capital Link’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
forum on May 27. The event,
whose theme was “For a Better
Tomorrow,” honored Catsima-
tidis, a Greek-American selfmade billionaire, with its 2014
Leadership Award. (Full story:
“Capital Link Hosts 4th Annual
Corporate Social Responsibility
Forum,” TNH, May 31).
Emphasizing the need to capitalize on its natural resources
opportunity, Catsimatidis told
the audience, who applauded in
appreciation and laughed at the
good-humored bluntness, that
Greece should treat its investors
with aggalies (hugs), not klotsies (kicks).
GREEK GREATNESS
Praising both the country
and its people, Catsimatidis proclaimed that “Greek people are
smart and hardworking. We
have succeeded all over the
world and we can make Greece
become one of the biggest economic powers of Europe.”
Greek-Americans are the topeducated group in the United
States among ethnic minorities,
he said, and “our people have
the ability to be strongest in
government and strongest in education and we have to stop the
outflow of the braintrust out of
Greece and give a reason for
these people to come back, and
they will come back.”
To more applause, he said
“the economic powers of Europe
have to treat Greece in a fair
and responsible way with its citizens to live like other citizens
of Europe.”
And “we need the Diaspora
to come and make investments
create jobs for your kids” here
in Greece, Castimatidis said.
“Not to say ‘I am leaving, I have
a Job in London, I am leaving, I
have a job in Paris, I am leaving
I have a job in Chicago.’ We
want your kids to stay here and
create a better Greece.”
NISYROS NOSTALGIA
Catsimatidis’ native island,
Nisyros, a tiny dot in the Aegean
Sea from which he was brought
by his parents to Harlem when
(L-R) at Capital Link’s 4th annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum in Athens: Konstantinos Mihalos, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, John Catsimatidis, and Nicolas Bornozis.
he was just a few months old,
made it to Times Square on May
28, featured on the majestic
NASDAQ building screen (front
page, TNH, May 31), with congratulations to its new mayor,
Christofis Koronaios.
Of course, Castimatidis could
not have referred to that – as it
hadn’t happened yet.
But he made sure to pay
homage to his beloved little island, and even joked “you never
know, we might find some gas
there or something.”
Both of Catsimatidis’ parents
were Nisyrian – his father’s fam-
We’ve come a long way...
America by that year. As Russia
and China are making energy
deals, he said, and the Middle
East is dealing with Europe, we
will need to have another energy power center: North America.
PEACE THROUGH RELIGION
Describing his trip to the Vatican, where Pope Francis had invited Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, Catsimatidis said there
is “hope for success,” and that
if the political leaders cannot
bring about peace, the religious
leaders might be able to.
Ending his speech with “God
bless Greece and God bless
America,” Catsimatidis shared
his emotions upon his arrival to
his native homeland earlier that
day:
“When I got off the plane this
afternoon and I was driving towards the terminal, I had tears
in my eyes because I felt I was
home.”
E
LD
TH
NA
TIO
ily tracing the family tree back
to the 1700s.
“Before he passed away, [my
father] drew up a diagram of
the family going back to 1762,
and I treasure that diagram and
I am going to be sharing it with
my children because they know
where they are from.”
His mother’s family, though
has roots in Constantinople, and
“I always call it ‘Constantinoupolis,’” he added, to more
appreciative applause.
U.S. ENERGY, TOO
Catsimatidis spoke about his
strong Republican run in the
2013 NYC mayoral bid, and how
after he lost that primary he received a call from President Bill
Clinton, who told him: “John,
don’t worry, I lost my first election, too.”
“I was pushing for Independence Day 2020,” said Catsimatidis, explaining that meant an
energy independent North
E
N AL H
RA
Northwestern U Dedicates
The Charles Moskos Chair
TNH Staff
...and now you can follow us on:
www.thenationalherald.com • www.ekirikas.com
The following Press Release
was issued by Northwestern
University:
On April 29, 2014, Northwestern University posthumously paid tribute to the accomplishments of distinguished
sociology professor Charles C.
Moskos, Jr. with a ceremony inaugurating the Charles Moskos
Chair. Numerous faculty, staff,
friends and family, including his
widow, Ilca Moskos and son, Peter Moskos attended the ceremony which was held at the
Guild Lounge of Scott Hall on
the Evanston Northwestern
campus.
Professor Moskos, or “Charlie” as he was known to many,
taught at Northwestern University until his death in 2008 at
the age of 74. During that time,
he was the nation’s leading sociologist with expertise on the
U.S. military. He regularly advised U.S. policy makers, senators and generals, and foreign
governments, on military matters, including devising the
“don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on
gay personnel for the U.S.
armed services.
Charlie, who took great pride
in his Greek-American heritage,
also devoted research to GreekAmerican studies, including a
book titled "Greek Americans:
Struggle and Success." The completely updated third edition of
the book was published by his
son, Peter, earlier this year. Peter
Moskos is a Harvard and Princeton trained sociologist and associate professor at John Jay
College of Criminal Justice in
the Department of Law, Police
Science, and Criminal Justice
Administration.
The inauguration of the
Charles Moskos Chair would not
have been possible without the
generous endowment by Charlie’s former student, Robert
“Bob” Bishop, who took Charlie’s course on military sociology.
Bob is the founder of Impala Asset Management, a hedge fund
based in New Canaan, Connecticut. The hedge fund was
founded in 2003 and at the end
of 2013 had an estimated $2.2
billion in assets under management.
The investiture of the Charles
Moskos Chair was bestowed
upon Martin “Marty” Eichenbaum who is professor of economics in the Weinberg College
of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern University. Professor Eichenbaum holds a Ph. D. in Economics from the University of
Minnesota. His research focuses
on understanding aggregate
economic fluctuations such as
his current work on the causes
and consequences of exchange
rate fluctuations. Professor
Eichenbaum will now hold the
title of Charles Moskos Professor
of Economics.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
COMMUNITY
5
Greek Community of Boston Bids Farewell to Metropolitan Cleopas
By Theodore Kalmoukos
BOSTON, MA – The faithful of
the Annunciation Cathedral of
Boston and the Greek-American
community in general bid
farewell
to
Metropolitan
Cleopas of Sweden and All
Scandinavia on June 1. Cleopas
served the cathedral for five
years as its presiding priest, and
is now on his way to Sweden.
He officiated at the Divine
Liturgy that morning in a fill to
capacity crowd, along with 8
other priests and deacons. Metropolitan Methodios of Boston
was also present in the altar.
Also attending were Consul
General of Greece Ifigenia Kanara, and Federation of the Hellenic-American Societies of New
England President and Vice
President, Vasilios Kafkas and
Miltiadis Athanasopoulos. The
congregation included faithful
from the Transfiguration parish
in Corona and Holy Trinity in
Lowell, MA where Cleopas had
previously served.
A reception followed at the
Cathedral’s Grand Hall, and an
official luncheon at the Community Center in Brookline. Methodios, Kanara, the Cathedral
Parish Council President Dr.
Marika Arvanitis, TNH columnist Prof. Christopher Tripoulas
Metropolitan Cleopas standing at the Royal Door of the Boston Cathedral during his farewell
Divine Liturgy. He is the new Metropolitan of Sweden and all Scandinavia.
from the Transfiguration parish,
and Holy Trinity Parish Council
President Lewis Demetroulakis
delivered praiseful comments
about Cleopas.
Visibly touched, Cleopas said
“it is with my deepest sentiments of love and gratitude that
I open the doors to my heart to
thank you for your years of love
and support, your genuine
friendship, and your prayers and
wishes…As you all know, by the
Grace of God, His All Holiness
Patriarch
Ecumenical
Bartholomew and the Most Reverend Members of the Holy and
Sacred Synod saw it fit to unan-
imously call me to a new ministry to shepherd the faithful in
the Holy Metropolis of Sweden
and all Scandinavia.
“I am overwhelmed with
emotion and gratitude at this
moment! I shall remain ever
thankful to you all and you shall
always have a special place in
my heart. I take this opportunity
to extend an open invitation to
all of you to visit me in Sweden
and allow me to welcome you,
as you so graciously did to me
all throughout these beautiful
years. The doors to the Holy Metropolis of Sweden will always
be open to you all, but more importantly, so shall the doors to
my heart.”
Arvanitis told TNH “we are
so proud that our Dean was
elected unanimously by the
Synod of the Holy Patriarchate
of Constantinople Metropolitan
of Sweden and All Scandinavia.
We are very happy for His Eminence but on the other hand we
are also very sad that we are
losing him. In the five years that
he was at the Cathedral he succeeded in accomplishing so
many projects as you have seen,
the renovation of the Church
hall and the Chapel, and the
museum and the dignitaries
lounge. He was meticulous in
the planning and we worked to-
gether so well. He is absolutely
phenomenal fundraiser. We
were able to raise all the funds
that we need for this project. It
was a total surprise, it was surprise to him and you can imagine what a surprise sock was for
us.”
Arvanitis added that the
Cathedral is doing very well,
and that Cleopas has been instrumental to its rejuvenation.
“He has reached out to the
youth of Northeastern and
Boston Universities. His campus
ministry has been superb and
this is something we want to
continue in order to bring the
young people to the church.”
Recently, the Boston Metropolis sent Fr. Mike Kouremetis
from the Holy Trinity (from the
Salt Lake City, UT parish) to be
interviewed by the Cathedral’s
Parish Council, but they turned
him down. Arvanitis said “he
was probably not the right
choice at this time. We hope that
there will be someone that fits
the needs of the Cathedral.”
According to Arvanitis, the
Cathedral is looking “for someone who is going to reach out
to the young people and bring
in the young families of the
church and also reach out to all
generations, because it is a community.”
FAITH’s 2014 Scholarships and Programs
TNH Staff
Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, announced the “Faith Scholarships
for Academic Excellence” (application deadline June 30) and
“Faith Scholarships for STEM”
Program for 2014.
In a press release, FAITH
wrote that “each year since its
inception, grants from Faith fund
a series of merit-based scholarships to seniors graduating from
public, parochial and private
high schools in the United States
of America for academic excellence. In 2011, the academic
scholarship program eligibility
was expanded from just valedictorians and salutatorians to also
include students who display extraordinary academic achievement and display an acute need
for financial support for their
university studies. To date, many
of the Hellenic American community’s most promising graduating high school seniors have
been awarded these prestigious
scholarships.
“In 2012, The Founders of
Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism were
pleased to announce an expansion of its existing scholarship
programs with a new scholarship
program “FAITH Scholarships for
Excellence in STEM,” which will
offer funds to graduating high
school seniors who have selected
to major in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering
and math). These new scholarships are an extension of the existing “Faith Scholarships for
Academic Excellence,” for students entering their freshman
year at colleges and universities
in the USA. The FAITH-STEM
Scholarships will award support
to students for all four years of
their undergraduate studies and
be based on students’ abilities to
fulfill the following three criteria:
majoring in a STEM field, maintaining a high GPA, and participation/service in organizations
related to the Hellenic and Greek
Orthodox community.
‘“These academic scholarships
are to support the best and
brightest young people of our
community and inspire them to
accomplish something great for
humanity.” said FAITH Founder
Dr. P. Roy Vagelos. ‘I believe that
the future of the US economy is
dependent on STEM subject
knowledge and mastery by our
students. I know these young
people will meet this challenge
and have the potential to contribute greatly to these fields.
The Founders of Faith are very
pleased to support this important
initiative and also support the
young people of our community.’
“For more information and
application materials, about the
Faith Scholarships for Academic
Scholarships, please visit:
http://www.faithendowment.or
g/pdf/2014-faithacademicscholarship.pdf and/or www.faithendowment.org.
“Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism will continue the Endowment’s partnership with the Fulbright
Foundation of Greece by underwriting graduate and research
scholarships through the prestigious US-Greece Fulbright Exchange program.
“In addition to these Academic Scholarship initiatives, Faith
continued its support of a series
of financial aid scholarships to
students traveling to Ionian Village to experience Greece and
learn more about their Hellenic
heritage through visits to ancient
sites, monasteries, and cultural
institutions. In 2014, Faith is supporting 42 financial aid scholarships for young people to participate in Ionian Village.”
Hellenic Lawyers Association Judiciary Night
The Hellenic Lawyers Association held its annual Judiciary Night on May 29. The annual event
honors judges – without whom civilization would not be possible said HLA President Elena
Paraskevas-Thadani (4th from L). She welcomed the guests who filled the Tavern on 51 of the
New York Palace hotel and included Amb. Vasilios Philppou, Consul General of Cyprus, and
Manos Koubarakis, Greek Consul. Revered judge Nicholas Tsoucalas is 4th from R.
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COMMUNITY
6
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
Alpha Omega Honors Anchor Maria Stephanos
By Theodore Kalmoukos
Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels congratulates and honors Andreas C. Dracopoulos for his donation to
the Berman Institute of Bioethics.
Andreas C. Dracopoulos conveys his optimism about the Institute’s positive contribution not only to Johns Hopkins University, but to society as a whole.
Dracopoulos Honored by
JHU For Bioethics Funding
Continued from page 1
seem to have a common denominator, that of dealing with complex ethical issues which, given
the advancement of medical science at large, will only become
bigger and more complex…
“I am very grateful to have
been blessed in my own per-
sonal life to be able to express
my gratitude with this personal
contribution, which is nothing
more than a simple acknowledgment of how promising its future
is both within the Hopkins family and within society at large.”
Dracopoulos is a University
Trustee and a member of the Institute’s Advisory Committee.
Andreas C. Dracopoulos, Bioethics Institute Director Ruth R.
Faden, and Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels stand in front
of the plaque which lists the names of the University’s major
donors.
BOSTON, MA – The Alfa
Omega Council of Boston in its
annual dinner at the Westin
Copley Place Hotel, attended by
more than 300 guests honored
anchor Maria Stephanos from
Fox 25 News of Boston with the
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Former Massachusetts Governor
and presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis served as Master of Ceremonies.
Stephanos is one of Boston’s
most experienced and respected
journalists. She began at Fox 25
as a reporter and later she became the station’s main anchor.
Her versatility has led to numerous high-profile assignments.
She's covered local, state, and
national elections, Democratic
and Republican conventions,
and a variety of breaking news
stories. Her political coverage
has taken her from the halls of
the Massachusetts State House
to interviews with three U.S.
presidents.
She came to FOX25 from
WJAR-TV in Providence, RI
where she covered spot news.
Her career has also included reporting for WCBS radio, WABC
radio, NPR radio and WNBC radio.
Stephanos received an Associated Press award in 2000 for
her feature reporting. She holds
a master's degree in mass communications from Emerson College.
She is married to an awardwinning illustrator and editorial
cartoonist, Dame Stephanos,
whose work has appeared in the
New York Times, Wall Street
Journal, Rolling Stone magazine, and many other publica-
Maria Stephanos speaking to the 300 gusts at the Alpha Omega Council Lifetime Achievement
Award Banquet at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston.
tions. The couple has two children, Isabella (16) and Liam
(14).
Council President Athanasios
Liakos presented the award to
Stephanos with many praises for
her achievements. Stephanos
thanked the Organizations and
the guests and she expressed
her pride about her Hellenic
American Heritage. Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Consul
General of Greece Ifigenia Kanara, and attorney Dimitris
Nionakis also delivered praises.
The Peter Agris Memorial
Journalism Scholarships were
given to six students: Maielena
Balouris, Madeline Bilis, Jenifer
Ann Charoni, Alyssa Giannirakis, Alexa Marie Liacko, and
Samantha Sedlack. Each student received $5,000. The schol-
arships have, for 22 years, provided over $500,000 in financial
support to 100 students from
the Greek-American community
through the United States.
Agris, who died 25 years ago,
founded the AlphaCouncil and
published the Hellenic Chronicle
newspaper, which closed a few
years ago.
The Council was established
in 1976 by a group of friends
and businessmen in Boston and
it comprised of Greek-Americans
who excel in business, education, academia, law, medicine,
politics, and science. Its goals,
according to its website, are: “to
unite Americans of Hellenic ancestry in order to promote and
encourage loyalty and patriotism
to the United States of America,
cultivate the ideals of Hellenism,
Island-Specific Cuisine at Molyvos Restaurant
Continued from page 1
Kochilas said. “So we’re much
closer to Greece, in a way, because of this collaboration.”
As an example, the two created a version of fish soup, a
Greek staple dish, styled according to the Northern Aegean islands of Lesbos, home to the
town of Molyvos for which the
restaurant is named, and Ikaria.
(The island made headlines last
year for having a high number
of healthy, active residents approaching or surpassing 100
years old.) Instead of the usual
rice filler, the Northern Aegean
version uses trahana, which
Kochilas describes as a hard,
sun-dried grain product made
by combining cracked wheat or
flour with buttermilk or yogurt
(for “sour” trahana) or whole
milk (for “sweet”). And Molyvos
is so authentic, it makes its own
trahana in-house, said Kochilas.
“I think that’s very unique.
I’ve never seen that anywhere
in the United States; it’s real trahana, they do it the exact same
way,” she said.
The inspiration has been described as “hyper-local,” that is,
exploring many individual regions of Greece to enhance the
menu. Cheese is a food that
lends itself particularly well to
this approach.
“We’re basically trying to
bring regionalities to every aspect of the menu, and the
cheeses are maybe the most visible part of that, because they
do come from specific places,”
said Kochilas. “We have three
cheeses on the menu now: one
Diane’s Longevity Greens Pie, a dish found on Ikaria
is a manouri from northern
Greece, one is a kasseri, and the
other is the kalathaki Lemnou.”
Having recently unearthed
cheeses from the islands Andros
and Crete, and the region of
Roumeli, she calls cheese “one
of the unsung heroes” of Greek
cuisine.
“There’s such a variety of
cheeses in Greece, so many different regional cheeses, and
very few of them are known to
a wider audience. Oftentimes
they’re not known outside their
region. It’s great to be able to
start doing that and bring them
to NY,” she said.
The new menu features an
Ikarian Salad, made with a base
of arugula and sweet potato. It
is garnished with grilled
manouri and pine nuts for a
“Molyvos twist,” Kochilas said,
to appeal to an American audience. But the inspiration still
comes from the region.
“Sweet potato for a very long
time has been a staple food on
the island,” she said.
One of the bestselling new
menu items is the Longevity
Wild Greens Pie, a hortopita
(greens encased in fillo and
baked) from Ikaria, the
“longevity island,” containing
about 15 different greens, herbs,
and vegetables. Another is
Anginares a la Polita (Prawns
and Artichokes a la Polita),
braised artichokes with leeks,
fennel, carrot and dill.
“It’s a very traditional dish,
but we serve that with panseared wild prawns and we do
that in a saffron lobster lemon
sauce,” said Kochilas.
She has nothing but praise
for Carreto and the experience
of working with him in the
Molyvos kitchen. “I think we
work really, really well together.
The level of technique in the
restaurant kitchen at Molyvos is
definitely far superior to anything I’ve ever seen or anyone
I’ve ever worked with in a Greek
restaurant. Chef Carlos has an
amazing, very elegant touch
with all the food he plates. It’s
really beautiful.”
Kochilas created another
dish, Octopus Stifado Ravioli, by
turning the traditional octopus
stew with short pasta inside out.
“The octopus stew is on the inside, and that’s served with
black olives and a cipollini
tomato sauce, which is really delicious,” she said.
Several vegan dishes debuted
on the menu during Lent, and
Kochilas said they intend to add
a rotating Lenten section.
“We will be tapping into
more unusual ingredients, more
Nikitas Moustakas, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Greek-American Attorney
My practice encompasses
businesses, restaurant/hospitality industry,
physicians, hospitals, and estate & trust planning.
strive toward maintaining positive Greek-American relations,
recognize the achievements of
those individuals or groups who
have excelled in their professions or fields of endeavor, help
alleviate the wants of the poor
and needy, and establish, maintain, and aid religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities.”
Since its inception, the Council has contributed over
$2,000,000 to various philanthropic causes, not including the
annual Peter Agris Scholarship
Awards.
The Council also honored
former Mayor of Boston Tomas
Menino. The award was received by his son-in-law William
Fenten. The Makredes Ensemble
provided live Greek music.
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regional ingredients and dishes,
seasonal stuff, that relates also
to what’s going on in Greece in
a particular season,” she said.
“You’re there, you’re in the place
where the food originated, and
then it kind of gets into your
bones, and you bring it to New
York and you introduce it here.”
Of course, the core of
Molyvos’ menu will not change.
The grilled fish, moussaka, yiouvetsi – dishes that have earned
the restaurant its following –
aren’t going anywhere.
Kostantinos Mallas
Greek Esqs
Win Largest
PI Verdict in
NYS History
Continued from page 1
between rises in insurance rates
and large pain and suffering
awards.”
Mallas said caps do not address the other target, eliminating frivolous cases. “What they
really what to do is take the
cases out of the hands of the
jury….which is simply not
right.”
He also emphasized that
large jury awards in cases like
malpractice suits have effected
positive change, elevating standards of medical care.
Contrary to popular opinion,
he explained that malpractice is
difficult to prove. A bad result
is not malpractice.
While part of the problem is
that the medical professional
does not properly monitor its
members, he noted that doctors
and lawyers have a common adversary in the insurance industry,” which he said is not properly regulated.
There are safety valves.
Judges “can reduce awards to
any level they feel is reasonable,” and appeals can be made
to higher courts.
Mallas and his sister Stamatia was raised in Brooklyn by
their parents, Dimitri and Eugenia, from Chios. He and his wife,
Maria, have four children ranging from seven to 11 years of
age: Evgenia, Dimitri, Marco,
and Andreas.
An interview with Bournazos
and Matarangos will follow.
7
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
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8
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
Greeks in Ukraine Retain Hellenism, Say “OXI” to Russian Oppression
Continued from page 1
sive infrastructure were established.
UKRANIAN GREEKS TODAY
Currently, there are more
than 50 Hellenic communities
of different types from regional
to village levels. All Hellenic
communities are consolidated
in three large organizations:
Union of Ukrainian Greeks
(headquarters in Donetsk),
Greek Societies Federation of
Ukraine (headquarters in Mariupol, which is often referred to
as “the Greek city”), and Federation of Crimean Greeks (headquarters in Simferopol). The organizations aim the revival of
Ukranian Greeks’ national consciousness and cultural identity.
During the last two decades,
these Hellenic communities
have been actively involved in
training qualified national personnel, researching ethnic history, culture, and ethnography,
and restoring the Greek settlements’ original names.
Ukrainian Greeks attach
great deal of importance to education, in particular to study of
the Modern Greek language, and
the history and culture of Greece
and the Diaspora. Schools include classes with advanced curricula in Modern Greek.
One of the leading centers
for training of national specialist
Kefi knows no borders: the annual Mega Yorty (Big Holiday)
festival celebrated by Greeks in Ukraine.
teachers of Modern Greek is
Mariupol State University, the
only higher educational establishment in Europe (except in
Greece and on Cyprus) where
more than 700 students over a
period of five years study the
Modern Greek language either
as the main or the second specialty. The University carries on
an active cooperation with National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of
Ioannina, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, and other higher
educational institutions of
Greece and Europe. According
to Time magazine (1997) Mariupol Rector Konstantin Balabanov is one of eight outstanding Hellenes abroad who won
international acclaim in the
sphere of education, culture,
and economy.
Ukrainian Greeks vigorously
pursue the revival of Greek culture and its popularization
among other ethnic groups. Accordingly, the majority of Greek
communities have vocal, instrumental, and theatrical groups
and dance companies. There are
scientific and popular scientific
works devoted to Hellenism,
and the works of Greek writers
are published. Exhibitions, seminars, roundtable discussions,
and conferences devoted to promotion of Hellenism in Ukraine
are held.
Carrying out traditional holidays and folklore festivals such
as Mega Yorty (Big Holiday),
Panair, and celebration of Greek
Independence Day (the day of
freeing from Ottoman reign on
the 25th of March) and OXI Day
(on the 28th of October) contributes to the Ukranian Greeks’
rebirth of national consciousness and knowledge of the native culture. Currently, the festival Mega Yourty seamlessly
combines a lively modern professional show with amateur
THE HERALD SQUARE
TNH's Crossword Challenge
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Mariupol State University, in the “Greek city” of Mariupol, Ukraine is more committed to multiyear study of Greek than any European University outside of Greece and Cyprus.
folk performances and becomes
a medium for uniting Greeks on
the basis of national cultural values and achievements.
“OXI” TO RUSSIA
The turmoil in Ukraine over
the last six months makes the
entire Greek population very
concerned. It is important to
point out that political preferences were the main factor of
split in opinions. It may be sad
to admit, but the major difference in the points of view of
Greek people living in Donetsk
region was mainly the result of
a distorted picture of Western
Ukrainian population painted by
the Soviet powers as “Bandera
men, fascists, radical nationalists,” and a fabricated East-West
conflict perpetuated by the previous government.
Admittedly,
pro-Russian
views have always existed in
this territory, and many of our
compatriots sincerely believe
that obtaining Russian Federation citizenship will improve
their standard of living by
means of, for example, getting
bigger salaries and pensions.
Unfortunately, they are misguided, by mythical stereotypes
created by Soviet and Russian
propaganda. They forgot too
soon that it was an independent
Ukrainian state that allowed
them to renew and develop
their national culture.
It is significant to note that
nowhere near the majority of
Greeks support creation of socalled Donetsk People’s Republic, separation from Ukraine and
its incorporation into Russia.
There are far more Greeks who
are real patriots of Ukraine, who
sincerely worry and pray for the
country to stay united.
Good proof of this is found
in the official position of the
Chair of Greek Societies Federation of Ukraine, as well as
heads of different organizations
who are of Greek descent.
Another good example is the
“Open letter to the Greeks of
Ukraine” published in the April
issue of the paper Hellenes of
Ukraine (which is the Greek Societies Federation’s publishing
institution) and is signed by the
activists of the Greek movement
from Ukraine’s North, Central,
and Southeast regions. The authors clearly expressed their position about the necessity to preserve territorial unity of
Ukraine, and stated that not a
single neo-fascist or neo-racist
can be found and seen on the
streets of the cities and towns,
directly opposite the information spread by the enemies of
Ukraine.
They pointed out that there
are no known cases when
Ukrainian Greeks were persecuted or victimized because of
their nationality and that there
is no sign of xenophobia in the
country.
Unfortunately, thorough and
well-planned propaganda was
successful as it made local people believe too soon that their
lives were threatened by mythical monsters.
After the illegitimate referendum held on May 11, part of
the pro-Russian population of
the Eastern part of Ukraine
started to reconsider their
views, partially because they realized these territories will not
be included into the Russian
Federation and will probably
stay unrecognized.
Mariupol was one of the few
cities in the Donetsk region
where presidential elections
were held without accidents.
Low attendance rates can be explained by the fear of provocations arranged by separatists.
The Greeks of Ukraine hope
that the situation will become
more stable and there will be
further chances for development
and promotion of the Greek culture in a democratic state.
Svitlana Arabadzhy, a GreekUkranian, is a PhD candidate in
history and a history lecturer at
Mariupol State University.
15
How Ellen Wound up on Greek Soap
17
18
19
Continued from page 1
20
21
24
25
26
32
33
34
52
47
44
48
53
50
59
40
45
49
54
58
36
39
43
57
35
38
42
46
28
30
37
41
23
27
29
31
22
55
56
60
61
51
63
ACROSS
1 Flankled by O and S
2 Pa's wife
4 Given name of The Fonz
8 Agreement
9 Doors' lead sngr. (init.)
10 ___ Miss (university)
11 Popular hospital-based TV show
13 Avg. Octane Number (abbrev.)
15 Special Interest Grp. (abbrev.)
16 __-Ho, trendy Manhattan neighborhood
17 Nixon's famous dog, inspired speech
18 Big Red Machine's Johnny
19 Two, to Nero
20 Stinky letters?
22 The Empire St. (abbrev.)
23 Contend (with for)
24 Fit ___ as fiddle
25 Dictator Amin
27 Sydney Youth Orch. (SYO)
28 Flankers of FGH
29 Public Criiminal esq. (abbrev.)
30 Ms. Bacall
31 Prominent Salem Family on Days of Our
Lives
34 Plyd. Sal Tessio in The Godfather (init.)
35 QE2's domain (abbrev.)
37 Tool used to punch holes in a belt
38 1980s video channel
39 South Atlantic Conf. (abbrev.)
41 Old cloth
44 Gridiron's Karras
46 Plyd. James Bond (init.)
47 Zeus' father
50 Opp. of WNW
52 Actress Lupino
54 Hiss
55 Plyd. Lisa on Green Acres (init.)
56 Coll. entrance exam (abbrev.)
57 Its capital is Mytilene
60 TV soap set in Port Charles (abbrev.)
61 Greatly impress
62 Pulverize
63 Nick of the Rangers
DOWN
1 Bluberry and Pumpkin, e.g.
2 Firestarter?
3 Emancipation Proclamator (init.)
4 Run ____ (out of control)
5 A Cartrwight
6 __ Jon Roth of the Scorpions
7 Bombers' Mr. October
8 Actor DeVito
9 Jackie's first husband
12 Cigar size
14 City of skating Rangers (2 words)
19 3, to Caesar
20 The Keystone St. (abbrev.)
21 Wicked Games singr. (init.)
22 Coll. in Greenwich Village
23 Roman version of Aphrodite
25 Graven image
26 Marino of the Dolphins
27 Saint honored on December 5
30 Large upper body muscle, informally
31 President Warren _______
32 Scott Joplin Composition
33 Bost. Red Sox Legend (init.)
36 Rebecca of TV's Cheers (init.)
40 Largest Greek Island
42 Also
43 Played a juror in 12 Angry Men
45 Square root of sixty-four
48 Crevice
49 Out of Serv. (abbrev.)
50 Isaac's first born
51 Viewed
53 "The Greatest"
55 Precedes centric or maniac
58 Ralph Kramden's BFF (init.)
59 Mt. Rushmore State (abbrev.)
Solution to last week’s puzzle
Solution:
A L E
A Y N
A O R
N I
C
B O
T
U
G
P O
A L
C I A
V
P E
A R I
U
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O D I P
B U N K E
Z
E R
C H O L A S
I A
A
I
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T
A
K Y
A M M A
A
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O
A R
M O
D E
A N N A
B R
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I I I
S A
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N
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A N D R E
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A
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I I
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A
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B I
A L
C I N
O A
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W S
I E
S A P
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U M E
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aloud why of all the photos of
her to choose from, they decided
to use that unflattering one. “So
why does that old man have my
picture,” she asked rhetorically,
“is it supposed to be serious, or
funny, is it because I’m his longlost lover?”
DeGeneres explained the
irony of that photo. “I moved
from New Orleans to Atlanta,
TX for two years,” and woke up
that morning, couldn’t fix her
hair the way she wanted to, and
figured she’d be moving out of
that town and no one would
ever see that photo again.
“If there’s anyone out there
who watches [Brousko], people
from Greece, John Stamos, whoever,” DeGeneres said, “if you
could explain what I’m doing
with that old man, I don’t want
to spoil the ending for you but
we are never ever ever getting
back together.” She concluded
by thanking “Maria from
Florida,” the viewer who alerted
DeGeneres to the clip, and
showed an autographed version
of that graduation photo, which
she planned on sending her.
BEHIND THE SCENES
On a morning talk show
shortly thereafter, on Ant 1, the
channel that airs Brousko, Georgiou said he “still cannot believe” this happened. “It was
completely unintentional,” he
said. They searched for a photo
to depict Diamantis Nikolaou’s
long-lost love, Helga, and Georgiou was handed a few photos
from which to choose. “I liked
her eyes, it was a very expressive picture,” Georgiou said of
DeGeneres’ photo. The show’s
hosts congratulated Georgiou
on this amazing stroke of luck.
He said “when they told me
Of all the photos of her, why that one, DeGeneres jokes. “I
don’t know Greek,” but “I know my haircut is a Greek tragedy”
in the photo, she muses.
Ellen DeGeneres had a segment
on her show about Brousko, I
couldn’t believe it.”
“You should ask her to appear on Brousko,” the hosts
joked with Georgiou, “but I
don’t think she’d ask you for
money, because she makes a
whole lot.” DeGeneres’ annual
salary is $65 million, in fact, and
she is worth approximately
$250 million.
“I’m happy about how they
do things in America,” Georgiou
said, about DeGeneres’ good-natured reaction. “How they address such matters with humor.”
On Greece’s Capital News,
George Xenios said that about
27.5 million people saw the
Brousko episode of DeGeneres’
show. To put it in perspective,
that is more than double the entire population of Greece and
Cyprus combined.
“Georgiou was shown a
photo” to be used as Helga, and
he didn’t like it, Xenios said. He
requested they download other
samples “from the Internet. And
all of a sudden, I’m seeing my-
self on this TV show in America,
of this ‘Helen’ – whatever you
call her – and I was stunned.
This is tremendous publicity for
Brousko.”
Xenios then watched the segment again. “I realize her show
is based on humor, so when she
said ‘what am I doing with this
old man?’ it didn’t bother me.”
He added, “I was shocked because I didn’t realize that our
show made it all the way to the
United States,” where DeGeneres’ viewer, “Maria from
Florida” saw it.
Melissa Little Padgitt, publicist for the Ellen DeGeneres
Show, provided TNH with a
copy of the clip, but had no additional comments.
The highly-rated morning
show, which has won dozens of
Emmy Awards, recently extended its broadcast commitment through 2017.
And if anyone’s wondering:
“Ellen (Eleni?) DeGeneres – she
could be Greek, right?” Nope.
She is of English, French, German, and Irish descent.
This Week in Greek History: King Alexander
Continued from page 1
sity of fulfilling my duty toward
Greece, I am departing from my
beloved country with the heir
to the throne and am leaving
my son Alexander my crown. I
beg you to accept my decision
with calm, as the slightest incident may lead to a great catastrophe.”
The Times also reported that
the Entente powers counted on
the new king, Alexander, to join
them against the Central Powers
(Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire)
as World War I endured. The
United States had joined the Allies in the War only two months
earlier, and played an instrumental role in the Allied victory
a year later, in 1918.
As the Times reported, following Constantine’s abdication,
Greece announced “with great
sorrow that the King, under
pressure of supreme political necessity, following the steps taken
by three of the great powers,
was obliged to leave Greece, accompanied by Queen Sophia
and the Crown Prince George,
leaving on the throne his son,
Prince Alexander.”
The Venizelists eventually
stripped Alexander of any real
power, and even imprisoned
him in his own palace, events
which led him to be known as
the “puppet king.”
In a bizarre ending to his
brief life, Alexander caused
great controversy when he married a non-royal, Aspasia Manos,
and left Greece for a few months
until things simmered.
Upon his return, he was bitten by a monkey, and died soon
thereafter, on October 25, 1920,
at age 27.
FEATURE
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
9
Chasing Athens: Premier Novel by American Expatriate Marissa Tejada
ATHENS – Greece’s economic crisis, culture and landscape inspired award-winning journalist
Marissa Tejada to set her first
novel, Chasing Athens, in the
Mediterranean country where she
moved to several years ago. Ebook romance publisher Musa
Publishing released the romantic
comedy as part of its Terpsichore
contemporary romance imprint
on April 25.
Set in Athens, Greece, the
Greek Islands and Ithaca, New
York, Chasing Athens follows Ava
Martin, a heartbroken American
expat, whose new husband unexpectedly ditches her after their
move abroad. Instead of returning to the States, she makes an
abrupt decision to stay. Despite
pressure from her mother, uncertainty over her divorce, and issues
with her long-estranged father,
she’s determined to make it on
her own. With her Greek friends,
she laughs and learns while facing culture shock, language barriers and the charm of Mediterranean
men,
until
a
life-threatening emergency back
home in sleepy Ithaca, N.Y., forces
her to confront her disappointing
past, and forces her to redefine
the meaning of home.
“The heroine, Ava, gets
thrown into Athenian reality including protests and violent riots.
She also gets a taste of the alluring islands and vibrant nightlife.
I want readers to feel what it’s
like to live in a tumultuous, culture-rich, ancient yet modern city
like Athens,” said Tejada. “Like
many stories about women’s experiences abroad, place takes on
a major role. Greece is a strong
character in itself. Expat life in-
high tech PR in San Francisco. Tejada graduated cum laude from
the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.
Currently, Tejada is a full-time
freelance writer specializing in
food and wine, technology and
travel writing. She enjoys blogging for her travel photography
blog, my Greece, my travels
(www.mygreecetravels.wordpress.com). She currently lives in
Athens, Greece. You can join her
on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or visit
her website: chasingathens.com.
spired me and changed my life.”
Chasing Athens sells for $4.99
on the Musa Publishing website.
It can also be purchased and
downloaded from Amazon,
Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,
all Apple devices and from any
vendor that sells e-books.
Tejada is also an award-winning journalist who has worked
across the United States as a television reporter and anchor in
Florida, Washington State and
Upstate New York. She has also
worked in newsrooms in Los Angeles and London and managed
ALL HISTORY
The 1821 War Relief Gives Rise to a Musical Phenomenon: Greek Aires
Continued from page 1
fact that the original sheet music
is now much prized as collectors’
items which makes access to a
wide selection of these songs extremely difficult. Unexpectedly
the beauty of the lithography apparent on virtually any of the Grecian aire song sheets also sets
them apart for the musical
scholar. Again, this fact not only
increases their monetary and historical value but once more adds
to the difficulty of the most serious researcher from having direct
access to original aires even at
public institutions.
It must be understood that
these aires were composed by
Americans and later Northern Europeans, musicians who in all
likelihood had never heard authentic traditional Greek music.
Whether these musicians even
considered this point is for the
moment unknown. What is certain, without a doubt, is that t
Greek aires were an immediate
popular success.
Written and performed to
honor the Greek War of 1821
these Greek aires are predominately dance compositions. Based
on the English “air,” a term used
to mean a song or melody (taken
it seems originally from the Italian
aria) the Greek aires soon took
on a life of their own. The Greek
aires were used as both dance
songs and to provide interludes
between passages of accompanying recitation. The rhythmic freedom and fluid word setting characteristic of this genre allowed for
this flexibility.
After March 25, 1821, these
aires served as the theme music
for the Greek Committee meetings that spread across North
America. In spontaneous town
hall meetings in Vermont, Michigan, Boston, New York, and elsewhere, these Greek Committees
formed independent of each
other, at first, as aid societies to
help in the Greek Cause. Lectures
and speeches at rallies composed
of prominent local citizens rang
out on behalf of the besieged Hellenes. And like the Second Greek
War Relief of the 1940s these
1821 to 1839 meetings were also
the occasions for public entertainment in the forms of musical
events, poetry recitals, dances and
even the presentation of Greek
American and Northern European
artists frequently depicted the
plight of the embattled Greeks in
the form of a young woman.
French painter Eugène Delacroix’s
1826, Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi is one such example.
American sculpture Hiram Powers’ internationally famous statue
The Greek Slave another with
various other notable European
artwork of the 1820 to 1830 era
all presenting the Greek Cause
through the feminine form.
The American composers
tended to present Greek women
as either harem girls or warriors.
In Songs of the Captive Greek Girl
we hear of those young women
who suffered a fate worse than
death. Based on the poetry from
the Romance of the Harem by
English authoress and traveler Julia Pardoe (1806-1862) at least
four different aires were composed and issued together in one
folio edition. Song of the Greek
Amazon, composed by E. Ives, Jr.
merges the various classical and
modern themes in a more military
depiction of Greek womanhood.
In the lyrics this is what we learn
of this young girl’s betrothed:
“But they slew him unaware,
of coward murderers lurking
nighAnd left him to the fowls of
the air, Are yet alive and they
must die!
I buckle to my slender side,
the pistol, and the scimitar
And in my maiden flow’r and
pride, Am come to share the tasks
of war.”
These songs provide a wide
array of largely still unexamined
information on 19th century
American attitudes towards Modern Greeks. But why should we
consider this nearly lost musical
genre? Of what real world purpose can such historical musings
possibly serve? At a time when
the very economic existence of
Greece is under assault it is critical for us to understand other
times in American and world history when Greeks commanded
unqualified respect and wide public admiration. With so many
speaking out against Greece we
must stop and reflect on what has
so fundamentally changed. Perhaps it is time for Greek-Americans to listen anew to those Greek
aires that first stirred the souls
and imagination of the West – before it is too late.
American composers tended to present Greek women as either harem girls or warriors. Song
of the Greek Amazon, by E. Ives, Jr., merges various classical and modern themes in a more
military depiction of Greek womanhood. The lyrics speak about this young girl’s betrothed:
“But they slew him unaware, of coward murderers lurking nigh- And left him to the fowls of
the air, Are yet alive and they must die! I buckle to my slender side, the pistol, and the scimitar
And in my maiden flow’r and pride, Am come to share the tasks of war.”
plays.
For those occasions when the
tone of the event was more
solemn the incorporation of a
march theme into the aire was
common. Two examples of this
version of aire are The Greek
March: In Which Is Introduced
An Original Greek Air (New York,
Published by Hewitt & Jaques,
239 Broadway (Copyright 1840)
composed by William Cumming
Peters and The Greek March of
Liberty by French pianist and
composer Charles Thibault. Elements of romance and the romantic are ever present in these Greek
aires. We can note this even in
Peters’ march by virtue of the fact
that it was composed and dedicated to a Miss Elizabeth Lucket.
Clearly musicians of the day
were more than willing to compose Greek aires to suit the nature
of the gathering be it festive or
serious. The Greek Ball: A Dance
was a popular dance composition
of R.L. Williams (dated on the
published sheet music as February 14, 1824) and the far more
formal Beauties of the Ballet: The
Greek Romaika written for the
stage by French musician A.
Fleche. This last aire quickly be-
came associated with the French
dancer Mademoiselle Celeste.
It must be stressed that these
Greek airs could also be elaborate
lithographic historical works of
art as well as music. One example
from the William and Mary University sheet music collection is
by Severin Leoni. The music is
subtitled in French "Souvenirs de
la Liberte de la Grece 1821" or
"Memories Souvenirs of the Freedom of Greece." The inscription
at the top of the cover translates
to "Dedicated to the great patriot
and benefactor of Greece G.
Averof. The heroes listed clockwise on the cover include G.
Averof, philanthropist; Patriarch
Gregory V; Markos Botsaris, gen-
eral; Konstantinos Kanaris, admiral; Theodoros Kolokotronis, general; and Rigas Feraios, writer,
poet, and intellectual.”
The romance in these songs
focuses on the virtue of war and
Greek women. During this era
[email protected]
GREEK AMERICAN STORIES
Signs
By Phylis (Kiki) Sembos
Special to The National Herald
The news was that Yiannis
had received a strong ultimatum
from his doctor that he had to
lose weight. “He said my cholesterol was as high as the stock
market’s latest index.” “Then,
you’d better start by putting
down that donut, Yiannis. Sugar
is the biggest culprit.” said Dimos, sliding the plate away from
his reach. “When are you going
to start dieting?’ asked Kipreos,
taking up Yiannis’ favorite, a
glazed vanilla donut with colorful sprinkles. “Right away,” said
Yiannis, his chin trembling as
his favorite donut was confiscated.
“He warned me that if I don’t
watch my diet he won’t answer
for the heart attack, which, according to him, was imminent.”
George grinned, enjoying the
pained look on his weighty
friend. “Just think, Yiannis!
You’ll be saving a lot of money.
No more fatty meats or potatoes. No more cakes and pies
from Dimos’ diner. Expensive
butter is off your shopping list,
too. Areti will have less cooking
to do now. Your shopping list
will be shorter.” John added, “A
lot of advantages to dieting. I’ve
been dieting for fifteen years,
now.” “Fifteen years?” an
alarmed Yiannis looked up.
“Well, I’m taking my time. No
hurry!” Yiannis sighed, trying to
content himself with his sugarless coffee. When the time came
to end their meeting, Yiannis
left, looking like he’d been diagnosed with a dreaded disease.
He crossed the street and
THE NATIONAL HERALD BOOKSTORE
paused before a bakery whose
display featured freshly baked
pies and mountains of cookies.
He watched as a girl came out
biting into a large chocolate
cookie. A middle-Aged woman
exited holding two white boxes
that, surely, contained cakes.
“Why me?” he moaned, saliva
forming in his mouth. He
thought about Areti. How could
he hurt her feelings by ignoring
her cakes and meat dishes?
Emitting a loud sigh, that
alarmed a passerby, he moved
on, wondering if fate would give
him a favorable sign. Once, he’d
wanted to make a phone call
but had no change. Thinking to
make the call ‘collect’, inside the
booth he’d found a quarter. A
sign! Looking around him, he
saw a smashed cup cake that pigeons spotted as manna from
heaven. Where was his manna?
How long does it take to lower
his cholesterol? He wondered.
Maybe, if he ate nothing but
bread and water, he’d knock
down cholesterol by hundreds
in record time. It didn’t make
sense. He ate just like his ancestors and they lived into their
nineties. Why him? He shrugged
and walked on, his mind screening pictures of birthday cakes –
his and Barbara’s and Areti’s. He
paused, staring at a bill board
of a smiling woman holding up
a beautiful cake using PRESTO
cake flour.
Was that a sign, he wondered? Surely, a thin, thin slice
of cake isn’t going to push the
cholesterol level to a heart attack, could it? No! I know! A
donut – the one he didn’t have
at Dixon’s. That it! After all, he
was owed one. So, he entered
another bakery just down the
street and ordered a glazed
donut – “the kind with sprinkles.” The woman looked up,
“Sorry! We’re out of them, sir.”
Yiannis looked as if someone
had just stepped on his toes.
“Good! He doesn’t want anything,” said someone at his elbow. Beside him were Dimos,
Kipreos, John and George, who
had followed him there. “What’s
going on?” asked Yiannis, surprised. “We’re here to see that
you don’t give that heart attack
a jump start, Yiannis,” said
John, taking his elbow and ushering him out of the store.
“Where are you taking me,” he
asked, annoyed. “Home!” Disgruntled, Yiannis asked why.
“We want to speak to Areti. We
think you haven’t told her about
the diet the doctor put you on.
So, we’re going to explain it to
her.” Trapped! Oh, God! Does it
mean the end of Sunday’s Moussaka? Pastitsio? Tiropita? Leg of
lamb with roast potatoes? Oh,
no!
On the way, Yiannis began to
thaw. Was this a sign? Not for a
sweet – but, another kind of
sign? – one that said he had
good friends that were looking
out for him? Walking along, he
noticed a flake of glaze on his
sleeve. Wetting his finger, he
picked it off and ate it, savoring
the sheer sweetness of it all. Perhaps, it was a sign that the good
stuff in life isn’t as plentiful or
as frequent as we’d like them to
be. But, when they do come,
they’re appreciated more –
much more. (A long, long sigh!)
“It’s a sign, alright.”
Exercise your mind with the latest books from The National Herald Collection
FLAVOURS & DELIGHTS
Tastes and pleasures of Ancient & Byzantine Cuisine
FLAVOURS & DELIGHTS
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the flavours of classical Greece
Makedonisi(on). Parsley, the macedonian herb.
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Hens, cockerels and other choice fowl. everyday food and gastronomic pretensions in byzantium
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O R D E R
F O R M
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OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS
10
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
DEATH NOTICES
n CALLIGAS, ARETI
BERKELEY, CA (From the San
Francisco Chronicle, published
on May 25) – Aretie Spyridaki
Calligas, a native of Athens,
Greece, born Nov 25, 1922,
passed away peacefully at her
home of 58 years in Berkeley,
CA, on May 22. She is predeceased by her husband George.
She was a loving mother to
Athena, her only child, and
beloved son-in-law, Nick Arvanitidis, whom she referred to "as
the crown on her head". She was
the proud "Nona" of 3 grandchildren whom she adored: Areti
(and Christopher Hickson), Vasili
(and Abigail Arvanitidis), Alexi
(and Laurel Arvanitidis); and 3
beautiful great grandchildren:
Kassandra, Penelope, and Niko.
Aretie arrived in San Francisco,
with her husband George, in
1947 as special Greek Consular
envoy for the Consulate General
of Greece. She served under
many Consul Generals and made
sure that the Consulate ran like
clockwork; each Consul General
knew upon arriving that he'd
have no problems adjusting. She
became the 1st woman ViceConsul of Greece recognized by
the US Dept of State. In 1982,
she retired after 35 years, and
settled permanently in the US.
Besides her administrative talents, she was also knowledgeable of consular & diplomatic
protocol and was able to wine
and dine royalty, diplomats, and
heads of Ministries. She always
had a flair for entertaining, and
had a love of music, possessing
a beautiful singing voice. She
had infinite skills; she could be
a cook, seamstress, interior decorator, upholsterer, electrician,
plumber, carpenter, painter, brick
layer, gardener, just to name a
few. She had never-ending energy! There will be a Trisagion
on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at
7:00 PM at the Annunciation
Cathedral, 245 Valencia Street in
San Francisco. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday,
May 28 at 12:00 Noon, also at
Annunciation, followed by interment at the Greek Orthodox
Memorial Park in Colma. A reception will follow at Annunciation Cathedral. The Family
would like to thank Aretie's caregiver, Pia, who took great care
of her, as if she was her own
grandmother. Also a very special
thanks to her lifetime friends in
the Berkeley who were always
there for her and supported her.
Nona was much loved and will
be missed by her family and
friends. Her family appreciates
donations to Annunciation Greek
Orthodox Cathedral.
n DEMETROULES, MICHAEL
RUTHERFORD, NJ (From the
Star-Ledger, published on May
29) – Michael Demetroules died
May 27, 2014, in Hackensack
University Medical Center. He
was 77. Visiting will be on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Armitage and Wiggins Funeral
Home, 596 Belgrove Drive,
Kearny, N.J. His funeral will be
in St. George Greek Orthodox
Church in Clifton, N.J., on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Burial will
follow at Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst, N.J. To leave online condolences, please visit www.armitagewiggins.com Born in
Livadia Telos, Greece, Michael
lived in North Arlington, N.J., before moving to Rutherford in
1981. Michael was a very hard
working man, and a generous
but humble man. He was a general contractor in New York City,
and was a member of Aphea.
Husband of the late Evelyn (nee
Kabajy), Michael is survived by
his children and their wives, Emmanuel and Claire Demetroules,
Maria and Sam Karadimos, and
Elaine and Nick Economou. He
was the brother of Irene, Nina,
Andy, Peter, Vinnie and Popy. He
is also survived by all his favorite
grandchildren, Jessica, Nicole,
Veronica, Kevin, Michael, Katerina, Evan and Maria.
n KARAKITSOS, ANTONIOS
FLINT, MI (From the Flint Journal, published on Jun. 4) –
KARAKITSOS, ANTONIOS P.
Davison Antonios P. Karakitsos,
age 82, of Davison, passed away
Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Funeral services will be held 11:00
AM Friday, May 30, 2014 at Assumption Greek Orthodox
Church, 2245 E. Baldwin Road,
Grand Blanc. Fr. Angelo Maggos
officiating. Burial immediately
following in Evergreen Cemetery,
Grand Blanc. Visitation will be
held at Sharp Funeral Home and
Cremation Center, 6063 Fenton
Road, Flint Thursday from 4-9
PM. A Trisagion service will be
held 7:00 PM Thursday at the
funeral home. In lieu of flowers,
those desiring may make contribution to the Assumption Greek
Orthodox Church. Mr. Karakitsos
was born December 15, 1931 in
Platsa, Greece the son of Petros
and Panagiota Karakitsos. He
was a veteran of the Greek Army.
days and dates of funerals,
memorials, and other events directly correspond to the original
publication date, which appears
at the beginning of each notice.
He owned and operated John's
Coney Island on the corner of
Dye and Corunna Roads since
1971. Mr. Karakitsos married
Agathie Koroboki June 2, 1957
in Kalamata, Greece and she preceded him in death April 5,
1996. He was a member of the
Assumption Greek Orthodox
Church. Surviving are: four children, Paula and husband Andy
Star of Burton, Helen and husband Tony Urban of Geneva, IL,
Susie and husband Gus Naum of
Grand Blanc, and Peter and wife
Litsa Karakitsos of Flushing; nine
grandchildren, Anna Star and fiance Joel Veenstra, Tonie Star,
Mark Urban, Andrea Urban, Dr.
Jerry Naum, Sophia Naum,
Thoula, Lula, and Angela Karakitsos; sister-in-law, Voula Helton
of Grand Blanc; and several
nieces and nephews. He was also
preceded in death by his parents
and three siblings. The family
wishes to extend special thanks
to Serenity House and their caring staff and Kim and Mark of
Home and Hospice Advantage.
n KONTOGIANNIS,
ALExANDROS
LITTLE EGG HARBOR, NJ (From
the Asbury Park Press, published
on May 11) – Alexandros Kontogiannis of Little Egg Harbor, NJ,
76 years of age passed away after an amazing fight on May 7,
2014, at Jersey Shore Medical
Center. His strong will to live,
and the love and support of his
family and friends carried him
through the past 5 months.
Alexandros was born to Konstantinos and Eleni Kontogiannis on
April 2, 1938 in Galata, Greece.
He lived in Greece and met the
love of his life, Evridiki Pogois,
they were married on July 2,
1967. They moved to the United
States for a better life where they
had their children Eleni and Konstantinos. Alexandros was a go
getter who was determined to
provide the best possible life for
his family. He accomplished this
by owning and operating various
establishments throughout New
Jersey, until he finally settled
himself and his family in the
Tuckerton/Little Egg Harbor
area. Here he opened the Dynasty Diner which continues to
operate 30 years later because
of his hard work and his perseverance. He was a parishioner of
St. Barbara's Greek Orthodox
Church, Toms River where he
made many friends throughout
the years. His faith in God, love
for his family and friends and his
absolute selflessness was apparent until his very final days. We
will never forget his contagious
smile, and the loyalty he had for
those he loved. A hero to his family he was the beloved husband
of Evridiki (nee Pogois), he was
the devoted father of Eleni Kontogiannis, Konstantinos Kontogiannis and his wife Chrissy, and
he was the loving, amazing Pappou to his three sunshines,
Alexandros,
Evridiki
and
Stavroula Kontogiannis. He is
also survived by his siblings, family in laws, many nieces and
nephews and countless friends
and family here and in Greece.
And of course his Dynasty Diner
family! "Work hard, love your
family, and live your life", were
words of his we will always remember along with his beaming
smile. Always in our hearts! Funeral Service at 11:00am at St.
Barbara's Greek Orthodox
Church, Toms River, NJ. Entombment will follow at Ocean
County Memorial Park, Waretown, NJ. To send condolences
to the family please go to
www.maxwellfuneralhome.com.
n PSAKIS, BESSIE
TROY, NY (From the Record,
published on May 9) – Bessie
Kansas Psakis, formerly of Lansingburgh, passed away on Monday, May 5, 2014 at Van Rensselaer Manor. She was born in
Schenectady, to immigrants, Peter Kansas and Catherine Michos
Kansas from Sparta (Koniditsa)
Greece and wife of the late
Steven G. Psakis. Bessie was predeceased by all six of her siblings, John, Margaret, Anastasia,
Helen Ethel, Chris Kansas and a
great granddaughter. In the
1920’s, at a young age, Bessie
worked in her family’s business,
Kansas Confectionary in Mont
Pleasant. According to her father
and siblings, she was the hardest
worker of all the children. As a
teenager, Bessie went to work
full time to support her family,
due to her father’s untimely
death. Her strong work ethic carried her throughout her life, retiring at age 80. She was a role
model for many and adored by
all who knew her. Bessie and her
husband owned and operated
the Capital Restaurant in Cohoes
in the 1940’s and The Fifth Avenue Diner in Lansingburgh in
the 1950’s. Following this, she
was employed by the Lansingburgh School district, Marine
Midland Bank (HSBC), Fatone’s
and the Puritan Restaurant all
located in Troy. She was a member of the Ladies Philoptochos
Society of St. Basil’s Greek Orthodox Church in Troy and a
member of the Order of Eastern
Star and a volunteer at The Salvation Army until age 100. She
was a member of St. Basil Greek
Orthodox Church, Troy. Survivors include her devoted
daughter, Patricia P. (Thomas)
Ryan of West Sand Lake, her two
beloved grandchildren Timothy
T. (Joanne) Ryan of Guilderland,
Allison (Nathaniel) Reichman of
Delmar and four cherished great
grandchildren. The family wishes
to thank the doctors, nurses,
aides and staff members on Floor
B2 at Van Rensselaer Manor for
their loving care, support and
dedication to Bessie as well as
her many loyal friends and visitors. Funeral services will be
11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 10,
2014 at St. Basil Greek Orthodox
Church, 909 River Street, Troy
with Fr. Emmanuel E. Mantzouris officiating. Burial will follow at Elmwood Hill Cemetery,
Belle Avenue, Troy. Calling hours
will be held on Satuday from
10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at church
prior to services. To light a candle and offer words of condolences
please
visit
www.mcloughlinmason.com.
n TRIANDAFILOU, EVAN
NORTH POTOMAC, MD (From
the Washington Post, published
on May 15) – TRIANDAFILOU
EVAN TRIANDAFILOU "Papou"
"The Godfather" of INSCOM
Evan "Papou" Triandafilou, 85,
of North Potomac, MD passed
away at his home on May 14,
2014 surrounded by his family.
Husband of beloved wife Denise
for 53 years; Devoted father of
Jonathan (Nancy) Triandafilou,
Andriana (Michael) Murtaugh,
Alexandra
(Gus)
Stathes,
Nicholas (Nancy) Triandafilou,
Danae (Gregory) Christensen,
Shauna (Tom) Arata, Stefan
(Jennifer) Triandafilou; Cherished grandfather of twentyseven grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren. Born in
Portland, Maine but raised in
Newburyport, MA, Evan attended Newburyport High, and
was revered as the class president, captain, and quarterback
of his football team. Evan continued honing his leadership
skills as he graduated from
Georgetown University from the
school of foreign service with a
Masters in International Affairs.
He began his career with the
state department, stationed in
Thessoliniki, Greece. Evan then
transferred to INSCOM where he
worked in Counter Intelligence.
His experiences included several
tours in Tokyo, Japan and Frankfort Germany. Upon returning
home permanently in 1968,
Evan continued his work with
INSCOM, ultimately becoming
the director of TAREX program
in 1976. He continued in that
position for the next 27 years.
Lt. General Robert W. Noonan
Jr., a former INSCOM commander appointed Evan "The Godfather" of the TAREX program, a
name that has stuck since 1998.
Evan was the first non-NSA employee to receive the National
Security Agency Meritorious
Civilian Service Award. When
speaking about his work, Evan
would say, "My dad instilled
many values in me. Commitment, faith, respect for your elders, truthfulness, and hard work
are values I hope my wife and I
have passed onto our family."
The nickname "Papou" was all
too appropriate as he cared for
and loved family and friends
alike. You could often find him
with a child on his lap singing a
Greek lullaby, wearing a Boston
Red Sox cap, with a cigar from
his mouth. His favorite times
were spent watching the Red
Sox, betting on the horses, and
spending time with family. As the
patriarch of the family, he will
be greatly missed. Viewing will
take place Friday, May 16 from
5 to 8 p.m. at St. Andrews
Ukranian Orthodox Church,
15100 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20905. The Trisagion Service will take place at
7 p.m. Funeral services will be
held Saturday, May 17, 11 a.m.
at the church. Burial will immediately follow at Parklawn
Memorial Gardens, 12800 Viers
Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20853.
Roses may be placed at the place
of burial. A celebration of Papou's life will be held at the residence of Alexandra and Gus
Stathes following the burial,
15805 Amelung Lane, Rockville,
MD 20855. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to . Viewing will take place Friday, May
16 from 5 to 8 p.m. at St. Andrews Ukranian Orthodox
Church, 15100 New Hampshire
Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20905.
The Trisagion Service will take
place at 7 p.m. Funeral services
will be held Saturday, May 17,
11 a.m. at the church. Burial will
immediately follow at Parklawn
Memorial Gardens, 12800 Viers
Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20853.
Roses may be placed at the place
of burial. A celebration of Papou's life will be held at the residence of Alexandra and Gus
Stathes following the burial,
15805 Amelung Lane, Rockville,
MD 20855.
n VARTELAS, JAMES
ANSONIA, CT (From the New
Haven Register, published on
May 19) – James John Vartelas,
97, of Ansonia, died on May 17,
2014, in Kinnellon, New Jersey.
CLASSIFIEDS
He is predeceased by his wife
Jeanne Barbour Vartelas. Jim
was a kind, caring, compassionate man, and considerate of all,
in fact, a gentleman, by its best
definition. He offered an understanding but welcome contrast
to the balance of his large and
oversized extended family. But
his impact within his family was
profound and significant. He was
beloved for his willing smile and
easy manner, but most for his
profound interest in the doings
of his family and many life long
friends. His late parents, John
and Pareskeve (Vonetes) Vartelas
were Greek immigrants who settled in Ansonia early in the twentieth century and raised a large,
active family. Jim was born on
October 26, 1916, in the family
homestead on Maple Street, the
site where the family business
The Family Food Grocery Store
stood for over fifty years until it
was taken by the Great Flood of
1955. That site is now Vartelas
Park, commemorating the resiliency of the Valley residents in
recovering from that devastating
tragedy. Jim cherished his service
to his country as a paratrooper
in the Air Force 13th Airborne
Division in World War II, one of
the four Vartelas brothers to
serve their country. He worked
at Anaconda American Brass in
Ansonia until his retirement. A
graduate of the Ansonia High
School, member of the Norwood
A.C. and was Checker champion
with the late Dr. Fred Haddad in
West Haven. He was extremely
proud of his Greek heritage and
was a lifelong member of Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
in Ansonia, for which his father,
John Vartelas, laid the cornerstone in 1919. Jim was predeceased by his wife, Jeanne (Barbour) Vartelas and son, John. He
is survived by his daughter Judith Vartelas Hricko, and her
husband, Karl and their children,
Alyssa and Spencer, and his son,
James and his children, James
and Matthew, and was so supportive of all their accomplishments and goals, be it academics,
on the sports fields, or in their
civic pursuits. Also, he is survived
by brother Theodore Vartelas,
brother-in-law Peter Stamos, sisters-in-law, Tekla and Helen
Vartelas, and many cousins in
Greece. Jim adored his nieces
and nephews, who equally
adored him; Ioanna Madigosky,
John Vartelas, Alan Vartelas,
Larissa Cristiano, Paul Vartelas,
Chris Vartelas, Greg Stamos, Paul
Stamos, Lisa Stamos Heerdt,
Paris Heath, Pam Alessio, Robin
Reilly, and Jonathan Vartelas, as
well as, numerous great nieces
and nephews. In addition to his
parents, his spouse, and son, he
was predeceased by brothers,
Constantine, George, Paul and
Jeremiah Vartelas; sisters, Eleni
Vartelas, Alfreda Asproulis and
Mary Stamos; uncles Polychronis
and his favorite, Elias (“Uncle
Louie”) Vonetes and his special
friend Shirley Doyle. Calling
hours will be held on Wednesday
from 4-7pm in The Bennett Funeral Home, 91 N. Cliff St., Ansonia, CT. Funeral service will be
held on Thursday, May 22, 2014,
at 10:30 am at Saint Barbara
Greek Orthodox Church, 480
Racebrook Road, Orange, CT.
Burial with full military honors
will be in Pine Grove Cemetery,
Ansonia, CT. In lieu of flowers,
Jim’s family kindly requests that
any donations be made to
“Agape” Fund at the Valley Community Foundation, 253 A Elizabeth St., Derby, CT 06418.
n VELALIS, DIMITRIOS
DELAWARE, OH (From the
Columbus Dispatch, published
on May 16) – Velalis Dimitrios
Velalis, age 55, of Delaware, died
Thursday, May 15, 2014 at
Kobacker House surrounded by
his family. Born in Greece on January 25, 1959 to the late Zannis
and Aikaterini (Annastasiadou)
Velalis, where he was an elementary school teacher and owned a
health and fitness gym. Coming
to America in 1995, he operated
Dimitrios Pizza Shop in the Westland Mall. A resident of
Delaware since 1999, he owned
and operated the Corner Caf .
He was a proud hardworking
provider in his business and to
his family and enjoyed the camaraderie with his customers
and community. Dimitrios enjoyed playing the guitar, riding
his motorcycle, building model
boats, and hunting. He is survived by his beloved wife of 19
years, Tenia (Papanikolaou), his
partner in life and business; children, Zannis, Nikolaos, Angelika,
Katerina; granddaughter Talia
Wooten; brother, Athanassios
(Maria) Velalis of Westerville;
and step-mother, Eleonora Andreadou of Greece. Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday
at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 555 N. High
St., Columbus with Reverend
Demetrios Gardikes and The
Very Reverend Theofanis Nacopoulos officiating. Memorial
contributions can be made to
OhioHealth Hospice or a . Condolences may be expressed at
www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
n xENOS, KATHERINE
ARLINGTON, MA (From the Ar-
LEGAL NOTICE
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filed a Certificate of Authority with New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, Stated
Records & UCC on 04/18/2014. Office location:
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whom process against the LLC may be served.
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5 Foster Ave., Valley Stream, NY 11580. General
processes.
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County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the
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location, County of Kings. SSNY has been
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process against it may be served. SSNY
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on 05/27/14. Office location: Kings County. LLC
formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/23/14. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it
may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Largo
Investments LLC, 155 Noble St., 2nd Fl., Brooklyn,
NY 11222. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co.,
2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE
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State of DE, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4,
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location: Kings County. SSNY has been designated as
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served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to:
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273791/19083
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GREENPOINT MEDICAL OF NEW YORK
LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State
(SSNY) 4/23/14 Office in Kings Co.
SSNY design. Agent of PLLC upon whom
process may be served. SSNY shall mail
copy of process to Corporate Creation
Network Inc. 15 N Mill St. Nyack, NY
10960. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
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SSNY on 4/3/14. 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, 72-17 3rd Ave., Apt. #1R,
Brooklyn, NY 11209. General Purpose.
273708/10709
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Articles of Organization (Dom LLC) filed with the
Secretary of State NY (SSNY) on 04/17/2014.
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,
1158 McDonald Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230.
Purpose: Any lawful activity.
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filed with New York Secretary of State
(SSNY) on 03/21/2014. Office location.
Kings County. SSNY is designated Agent
of LLC upon whom process may be
served. SSNY shall mail copy of process
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STRUCTURE COMPANY LLC Arts. of Org. filed
with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/07/14.
Office location: Kings County.
SSNY
designated as agent of LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. SSNY shall
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273752/17976
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on 3/18/14. Office location: Kings County.
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York (SSNY) on 04/15/14. Office location: Nassau
County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the
LLC upon whom process against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: c/o Mr. Skyler
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Purpose: For any lawful purpose.
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filed with New York Secretary of State
(SSNY) on 03/31/2014. Office location.
Kings County. SSNY is designated Agent of
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SSNY shall mail copy of process to: The LLC,
5420 6TH AVENUE 2FL., BROOKLYN, NY
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FUNERAL HOMES
LITRAS FUNERAL HOME
ARLINGTON
BENSON DOWD, INC
FUNERAL HOME
83-15 Parsons Blvd.,
Jamaica, NY 11432
(718) 858-4434
• (800) 245-4872
APOSTOLOPOULOS
Apostle Family Gregory, Nicholas, Andrew Funeral Directors of
RIVERDALE
FUNERAL HOME Inc.
5044 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
(212) 942-4000
Toll Free 1-888-GAPOSTLE
CONSTANTINIDES
FUNERAL PARLOR Co.
(718) 745-1010
Services in all localities Low cost shipping to Greece
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with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/21/14.
Office location: Kings County. Princ. office of
LLC: 175 E. Old Country Rd., Hicksville, NY
11801. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon
whom process against it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80
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whom and at which process may be served.
Purpose: Any lawful activity.
273714/17976
ANTONOPOULOS
FUNERAL HOME, INC.
Konstantinos Antonopoulos Funeral Director
38-08 Ditmars Blvd.,
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(718) 728-8500
Not affiliated with any
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to Place your claSSiFied ad, call: (718) 784-5255,
eXt. 106, e-mail: classifieds@ thenationalherald.com
lington Advocate, published on
May 20) – Katherine (Perivolaris) Xenos, 87, of Arlington,
beloved wife for 59 years of the
late Daniel A. Xenos, passed
away on May 6, 2014 at the
Sawtelle Family Hospice House
in Reading after a brief illness.
Daughter of the late Nicholas
and Konstantina (Lambrukos)
Perivolaris, Katherine was born
in Boston, MA on July 4, 1926.
She graduated from Somerville
High School in 1944 and from
Boston University, Class of 1948,
where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi. Following their
1949 marriage, Kay and Danny
made their home in Arlington.
Katherine spent many years as a
substitute teacher in the
Somerville and Arlington school
systems, taught English as a Second Language in Somerville, was
a secretary for Colonial Adjustthis 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]
ment Company, and in later
years ran the office for the Napa
Auto Parts-Arlington business,
which she co-founded together
with her husband in 1976.
Katherine and Daniel were
among the founders of St.
Athanasius Greek Orthodox
Church of Arlington in 1964 and
in 1993 were awarded The Diocese Award for outstanding service by the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Boston. Survivors include
Katherines five loving children,
Nicholas G. and his wife Carol,
of Chelmsford, Thomas D. and
his companion Sheila Sullivan,
Charles J. and his companion
Lisa Sacco, Mary Marrocco and
her husband Perry, and Peter M.,
all of Arlington. Also survived by
5 grandchildren, 5 step-grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren; her sister, Jean Cicalis; sister-in-law, Demetra Patras and
her husband Charles; and many
nieces and nephews, friends and
relatives both here and in
Greece. Services have been held.
Donations may be made in
Katherines memory to St.
Athanasius Greek Orthodox
Church, 4 Appleton Street Arlington, MA 02476, or to
Sawtelle Family Hospice House,
c/o VNA of Middlesex-East, 607
North Avenue, Suite 17, Wakefield, MA 01990.
GREECE CYPRUS
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
11
No Immunity For Defiant Golden Dawn Leader
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, front left,
speaks with ministers from left to right, Greek Defense Minister
Dimitrios Avramopoulos, Portuguese Defense Minister Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and
Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende during a group photo
of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels
on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. NATO defense ministers are gathering for the first time since the Ukraine crisis, and top of the
agenda is how to react long-term to Russia's new military capabilities and its willingness to use them.
More Russia Sanctions
Could Devastate Cyprus
NICOSIA – European Union
sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea in Ukraine have
hurt Cyprus, but the island
country could face irrecoverable
damage if more are applied, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides
said.
Cyprus has strong economic
ties with Russia, which include
about $100 billion in investments between the two countries, despite a confiscation of
nearly half the amount of bank
accounts over 100,000 euros
last year as part of a bailout plan
agreed with international
lenders to keep the economy
from collapsing.
While EU and U.S. sanctions
in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea have so far had
limited impact on Cyprus, a new
set of measures “introduced in
a blanket way, would have a catastrophic effect on Cyprus’s
economy and many other EU
states,” Kasoulides said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Cyprus is the biggest foreign
investor in Russia, with $69 billion accumulated through the
end of last year, while the island
is the second-biggest destination
for Russian investment at $33
billion, according to the
Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.
Moscow-based Federal Statistics
Service.
Low tax rates and a treaty to
prevent double taxation have
made Cyprus the conduit of
choice for Russians moving
money in and out of their country although there has been criticism that the island’s banks
laundered Russian mob money
and illicit gains from corruption.
EU leaders last week put off
further sanctions on Russia after
President
Vladimir
Putin
showed a willingness to work
with Ukrainian President-elect
Petro Poroshenko. The EU will
continue preparing measures if
events require further steps,
they said.
While Cyprus’s Ukraine policy doesn’t diverge from the EU
line, communication between
the EU and Russia “must be kept
open and the solution must be
diplomatic,” Kasoulides said, although the Cypriot government
had urged going easy on Russia
to protect its own interests, diverging from stronger talk for
sanctions from the United
States.
The EU, which is dependent
on Russia for much of its energy
supplies, has also been reluctant
to press too hard, drawing criticism it too has been soft on Russia.
Cyprus’s economy, the third
smallest in the euro area, shrank
5.4 percent last year after hard
austerity measures were applied
by President Nicos Anastasiades
as part of a 10 billion euro
($13.6 billion) bailout from the
Troika of the European UnionInternational Monetary FundEuropean Central Bank (EUIMF-ECB).
In return for that money, the
lenders demanded Cyprus raise
or cut the equivalent of 13 billion euros ($17.69 billion), including the bank deposit
seizures. Capital controls were
put in place to prevent a run on
the banks, prompting constant
protests, but they have now
mostly been lifted.
sentiment amid the country's
acute financial crisis. In national
elections two years ago, it
gained 18 of Parliament's 300
seats.
The Golden Dawn chief also
alleged that several New
Democracy officials, among
them Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras' press spokesman Giorgos Mouroutis, had approached
the ultra-nationalist party in
search of a possible political collaboration. In a statement re-
speech in which he told the Parliamentary speaker to “shut up!”
He said the judicial crackdown on the party is an establishment plot aimed to sap its
growing popularity.
Parliament voted in favor of
lifting the immunity of all three,
by a vote of 223-1.
"I am the head of Greece's
third-largest party," Michaloliakos said during a blustering
speech in which he told the Parliament speaker to "shut up!"
Golden Dawn lawmakers repeatedly shouted abuse at other
lawmakers before walking out
ahead of the vote.
"You have drawn up charges
with your eyes on opinion polls,"
Michaloliakos added. "You have
kept me in prison, unfairly, for
eight entire months ... Golden
Dawn is the victim of a political
plot."
The party, now Greece's third
most popular, rocketed out of
the margins on a wave of antiausterity and anti-immigrant
RIGHT: The leader of the farright political party, Golden
Dawn, Nikos Michaloliakos,
background, is hugged by
party's spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris as he arrives at the
in
Athens,
Parliament
Wednesday, June 4. Michaloliakos and lawmakers Christos
Pappas and Yannis Lagos
were transferred from prison
to parliament to speak during
a debate on lifting their immunity on additional weapons
charges. BELOW: Michaloliakos speaks at the Parliament
Frantic ND Losing Voters Fast, Looking for Answers
ATHENS – Frantic New Democracy officials are trying to figure
out how to convince voters who
abandoned the party in the European Parliament elections it
lost to the major opposition
Coalition of the Radical Left
(SYRIZA) to come back.
Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras’ party lost 529,530 voters – 30 percent of its base –
only two years after a narrow
victory over SYRIZA in national
elections. SYRIZA lost 138,835
voters as Greeks stayed away
from the polls in droves, apparently frustrated that it makes no
difference who runs the country.
Samaras rejected a call by
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras for
early national elections, but
Conservative officials are fearful
it may never get back people furious over harsh austerity measures Samaras and his coalition
partner, the PASOK Socialists,
continued to impose on the orders of international lenders.
High-ranking New Democracy officials met on June 3 for
the first time since the European
Parliament and local elections
to assess the result of the vote,
but the meeting ended without
a decision on how to get its voters back. The party got 22.7 percent of the EU ballot in Greece
Samaras presided over the
meeting of New Democracy’s executive secretariat, where officials discussed the party’s 22.7
percent result in the May 25
elections, a fall of 7 percent
from two years ago in the overall vote.
Kathimerini said that Samaras said the Party had to devote
its energy to reconnecting with
people who had voted for the
party in the past but who were
supporting other parties or did
not vote at all. “We have to approach them systematically,”
Samaras is reported to have told
party officials, asking for strategy recommendations to be
drawn up and the committee to
reconvene soon.
Sources said, however, that
opinions within the party are
split on whether the conservatives should actively seek to connect with around 16 percent of
voters that backed far-right
Golden Dawn, ultranationalist
LAOS, and anti-bailout Indepen-
New Democracy has
lost 30& of its voters
since narrowly edging
SYRIZA in elections
two years ago.
dent Greeks or whether the focus should be on occupying
more of the middle ground.
One part of Samaras’ strategy
is to shake up his Cabinet yet
again, and where Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, the
point man in key negotiations
with the Troika of the European
Union-International Monetary
Greece Offers Two Million Uninsured Free Hospitalization
ATHENS – Greek Health Minister Minister Adonis Georgiadis,
who has presided over deep cuts
in medicine and health care,
said some two million people
without insurance will get free
hospitalization if they get a referral from a doctor in the
health network PEDY.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, whose New
Democracy Conservatives took
a beating to the major opposition Coalition of the Radical Left
(SYRIZA) in European Parliament election, said he wants to
correct what he called “injustices” caused by austerity he imposed, including people being
cut off from health care.
Patients who need operations, for example, can’t get
them unless they are emergency
situations, and either have to
pay or suffer.
After meeting with the heads
of the country’s public hospitals,
Georgiadis said the government’
no longer wants to exclude people from free health care although he had championed
budget cuts that did that.
“As the country emerges
from the crisis, injustices will be
redressed,” Georgiadis said, referring to a lingering economic
crisis worsened by pay cuts, tax
hikes, slashed pensions and
worker firings that have put 1.4
million people out of work and
caused deep poverty.
Despite having a Socialist
health care system, Greece does
not provide care for people who
don’t have insurance unless it is
an emergency authorized at a
hospital.
According to the new system,
which Georgiadis indicated
would start operating in June,
all citizens will be able to get
free healthcare at public hospitals by presenting a referral
from a PEDY-affiliated doctor.
Three-member medical committees are to be set up at all
leased following Michaloliakos's
remarks, Mouroutis denied ever
meeting with the Golden Dawn
chief or any other party member.
But last year’s killing of a leftwing musician, allegedly by a
Golden
Dawn
supporter,
sparked an investigation that led
to all lawmakers elected on the
Golden Dawn ticket being
charged with running a criminal
organization. Six are in pre-trial
detention.
aP PHoto/tHanaSSiS StaVrakiS
aP PHoto/VirGinia mayo
NATO Officials Strategize about Dealing with Russia
ATHENS – The Greek Parliament stripped immunity for
jailed Golden Dawn leader
Nikolaos Michaloliakos, who
was brought back to testify but
spat out defiance and vowed to
carry leading his extremist
group.
“You are a sad minority government, you put me into prison
for no reason. I’m an unrepentant nationalist and proud member of the Golden Dawn and you
will never change me,” he proclaimed.
Michaloliakos and fellow
Golden Dawn lawmakers Christos Pappas and Yannis Lagos
were transferred from prison to
Parliament to speak during a debate on lifting their immunity
on additional weapons charges.
The Parliament lifted their protection after he spoke.
They have been detained in
prison for seven months pending trial on charges of running
a criminal gang, but have denied all the accusations and said
they are victims of a political
witch hunt.
Michaloliakos and Lagos are
also facing charges of illegal
weapon possession, while Pappas is facing charges for keeping
an illegal archive.
Security was bolstered after
about 600 supporters turned up
outside the Parliament in Syntagma Square, waving Greek
flags and denouncing the government.
The moment that Michaloliakos entered the building, relatives and GD supporters rushed
to meet him, chanting slogans
urging him to expose and
ridicule the “system.”
When he was approached by
members of the Parliament
Guard, Michaloliakos shouted at
them: “Don’t you dare touch
me.”
He vented furiously at the
government of Prime Minister
and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras and its coalition
partner the PASOK Socialists,
who are trying to dismantle the
far right extremist party.
“You are guilty of orchestrating a political conspiracy, manufacturing charges based on poll
results,” he said. He added that:
“I do not fear prison, my handcuffs are a badge of honor.”
He also taunted authorities
who had been searching for a
massive weapons cache without
finding it. “You were searching
for an “arsenal, what did you
find?” he asked.
And he insisted that a judicial crackdown on the party is
an establishment plot aimed to
sap its growing popularity.
“I accuse you of bringing the
head of Greece’s third-largest
party (here) in handcuffs,”
Michaloliakos said during a
hospitals to approve these referrals and certify that the patients
are in genuine need of medical
care. It wasn’t indicated
whether that cumbersome
process would delay admissions.
Last year Georgiadis had to
withdraw a 25 euro hospital admission free after being blistered by critics who said he was
heartless.
PEDY clinics already offer
free healthcare to the uninsured
with the current initiative aimed
at extending that service to all
hospitals in the national health
service.
Georgidadis, defending previous health care cuts, said
Greece couldn’t afford to provide free health care. He didn’t
say why it can now.
Georgiadis and members of
the new healthcare network are
also in talks aimed at providing
uninsured citizens with free
medicine as otherwise they
would get free hospital care but
not the drugs they might need
when they leave.
The only way for uninsured
Greeks to currently get medicines, apart from buying the
drugs, is to visit free surgeries
run by municipalities or a medicine bank run by the Athens
Medical Association and the
Federation of Greek Pharmaceutical Companies.
Georgiadis in May said somewhere between 1.9 million to
2.4 million Greek citizens didn’t
have health insurance because
a crushing economic crisis has
left them without without jobs
or health benefits and said the
government doesn’t have the
700 million euros needed to
cover them.
Georgiadis didn’t say why the
ministry doesn’t have a better
accounting than the difference
of 500,000 whose coverage is
unclear but medical charities
said the true figure is closer to
three million of Greece’s 10.8
million population, the Associated Press said.
Georgiadis says the uninsured were being granted free
access to reformed state health
clinics, where they receive primary medical care. But specialized care depends on donations
from drug companies and private charities.
Many Greeks now are also relying on charity medical clinics
such as Doctors of the World that
used to see mostly immigrant patients, while other volunteer operations such as the Metropolitan
Community Clinic at Elliniko say
they are treating people who
should be in hospitals.
“At a same time that the
banks and lenders are receiving
billions of euros, the government can’t spend 700 million
euros to help the country’s three
million uninsured citizens (according to the health minister,
that’s all it would cost),” it said
in a statement.
Fund-European Central Bank
(EU-IMF-ECB) would wind up.
There have been on-again,
off-again
reports
that
Stournaras would take over the
job as Governor of the Bank of
Greece
from
Giorgos
Provopolous – whose term runs
out in June, but who wants to
keep the post.
One of the holdups reportedly is that the Samaras was unsure about replacing Stournaras
with a key advisor, Stavros Papastavrou because the premier
wants him close by when the
government undertakes debt relief talks with the Troika later
this year.
That could mean a political
appointment for finance chief
rather than someone more
skilled in negotiating and less
of a public name now that
Stournaras has done all the hard
work, but someone who can
stand up to grilling in Parliament from SYRIZA leader Alexis
Tsipras.
Stournaras, a think-tank
technocrat, proved debt in deflecting Tsipras’ arguments
when the two wrangled especially when the Leftist leader
picked up his anti-austerity
mantra and blamed the ruling
parties for carrying on with
measures that have created
record unemployment and deep
poverty.
It’s uncertain when the Cabinet changes will take place and
it could be that they will be announced soon but not implemented until after June 30, the
day Greece gives up the symbolic, essentially powerless rotating European Union Presidency during which it has done
next to nothing but spent 50
million euros, about $68.05 million.
While it spent on ceremony
for the EU Presidency, the government fired 595 cleaning
ladies at the Finance Ministry to
save 2.5 million euros ($3.4 million), as part of a plan to shed
lower-paid workers including
janitors, school nurses, crossing
guards and teachers while exempting Parliament workers,
managers, consultants and the
politically-protected.
EDITORIALS LETTERS
12
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The National Herald
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Europe Endures ... for Now
With the calmness that follows the passage of time, a careful
analysis of the euro election results shows that in general, the people
of Europe are enduring the crisis better than expected.
The pre-election rage that was a consequence of the long-running
economic crises in many EU countries did not translate into a massive
anti-Europe vote.
The antiestablishment sentiment was not strong enough to generate headlines such as: “Europe collapses.”
That does not mean that the protest vote was small – it was not.
Nor does it mean that the voters did not send a message. They most
certainly did.
The loudest signal was sent by the French, who notoriously elevated
the far-right National Front Party of Marie Le Pen to the country’s top
slot. French Prime Minister Valls described it as "an earthquake."
Something similar happened in England, where Nigel Farage's
UK Independence Party won first place. And this, despite that unlike
Greece, those two countries do not live with memoranda and do not
have their day-to-day affairs controlled by the troika.
It seems that the French feel with particular force the decline of
their country in comparison with Germany, as well as the narrowing
of their horizons and a weakening of their hope for a better future.
But France is a country that is essential to the Eurozone. Without
France there can be no euro. And this is not only due to the size of
its economy, but also because France is the cultural and diplomatic
center of Europe. Germany alone is not enough.
Regarding Greece: it is clear that the people do not yet trust
Tsipras with the reins of state. They want to give Samaras a second
– and last – chance.
But now the country is moving into a really dangerous phase.
The above-mentioned wise judgment of the people can evaporate
instantly if they are grievously disappointed again. And the news
after the election is not encouraging.
If, for example, Venizelos continues to behave arrogantly, as if he
were the winner, and the cabinet reshuffle is motivated more by
petty party politics and special interests than by what is best for the
nation, then it will not be long before, one way or another, the
people take their revenge.
History Repeats Itself
The destruction of some of the great states of the Ancient world,
according to a recent New York Times article, should be of great interest to us modern-day Greeks, particularly because history often
tends to repeat itself.
According to research by Eric H. Cline, professor of Classics at
George Washington University and the author of 1177 BC: The Year
Civilization Collapsed, that collapse is based on documents from
that time that have recently been discovered.
Some relevant passages from Cline’s book: “One of the most vivid
examples comes from around 1200 B.C. A centuries-long drought in
the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean regions, contributed to – if
not caused – widespread famine, unrest and ultimately the destruction
of many once prosperous cities, according to four recent studies.
“Ancient letters from the Hittite kingdom, in what is now modern-day Turkey, beseech neighboring powers for shipments of grain
to stave off famine caused by the drought. (The drought is thought
to have affected much of what is now Greece, Israel, Lebanon and
Syria for up to 300 years.)
“It certainly created problems of national security for the great
powers of the time. Correspondence between the Egyptians, Hittites,
Canaanites, Cypriots, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Assyrians and Babylonians – effectively, the Group of 8 of the Late Bronze Age – includes
warnings of attacks from enemy ships in the Mediterranean. The
marauders are thought to have been the Sea Peoples, possibly from
the western Mediterranean, who were probably fleeing their island
homes because of the drought and famine and were moving across
the Mediterranean as both refugees and conquerors.
“We still do not know the specific details of the collapse at the end
of the Late Bronze Age or how the cascade of events came to change
society so drastically. But it is clear that climate change was one of the
primary drivers, or stressors, leading to the societal breakdown.
“The era that followed is known as the first Dark Ages, during
which the thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C. suddenly ceased to exist. It took decades, and even hundreds of years in some areas, for the people in these regions to rebuild.”
Is there a lesson here for us to learn?
We think so: when problems are not treated in time – environmental, political, social, whatever – they lead to a prolonged decline
that eventually ends in collapse.
We fear that Hellenism is also now in the midst of such a process
of decline.
Let’s hope that trend will soon be reversed.
On Taxation Here, and There
Residents abroad paid half the property taxes – 775 million euros
– collected by the Greek government from November 1 to February
28, as well as two doses of the infamous extraordinary special property tax that is processed through electricity bills. And not only that,
but 99.5 percent of those who permanently reside abroad paid the
taxes owed, compared to only 50 percent of Greece’s residents.
The vast majority of those foreign residents are Greeks, but Diaspora Greeks.
Why is it that Greeks abroad follow the tax laws so responsibly,
unlike their counterparts in Greece? The explanation is actually
quite simple.
First, residents abroad have greater economic power than those
in Greece.
But secondly, and most importantly, those in the Diaspora have
embraced the culture prevalent in the countries where they live.
It is no coincidence that one of the first lessons older immigrants
transmit to newcomers is that in America two things are certain:
death and taxes.
It will take a century for this mentality to become embedded in
Greece at the rate things are going, no matter how much the IMF
shouts.
Waste Disposal Is
Essential to Planet
To the Editor:
As a civil engineer who studied some aspects of solid waste
management during my time at
Cornell University many years
ago, I found Evan Lambrou’s
story in the TNH’s May 17 edition most interesting (“Rangos
Plan for Waste Disposal”). The
story provided an excellent indepth report on an issue that affects not only Greece, but also
the entire planet.
I remember vividly a couple
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of trips to Greece when garbage
collectors were on strike and
piles and piles of trash were left
uncollected, rotting in the
streets of Athens and elsewhere.
It was a serious health hazard,
not to mention quite unpleasant.
So, it was very heartening to
read about the dedication of Mr.
Rangos and Dr. Avramidis to improving the situation there.
As the story so well notes,
however, politics and the economy play major roles in the actual implementation of a viable
public policy plan, but hopefully,
Greece can and will get its act
together.
Clifford T. Argue
Mercer Island, WA
publican Party’s love of being
nasty is true, but if they turn
this on Mrs. Clinton they would
be making a historic mistake for
two very important reasons.
First, we, Americans, are still
fundamentally a traditional
country when it comes to the
treatment of women. Any sustained attack on her, similar to
that on President Obama, would
doom the Republican Party. We
Americans, don’t like men beating up on a women and all it
would take is one major misstep
on the part of the Republicans
to doom them. And, they are
good at putting their foot in
their mouth.
Second, it is my personal
opinion that the American people are fed up with what happened to President Obama and
how the Republicans refused to
work with him from day one. I
feel, they are just about ready
to rise up and say “Enough!”
And they may do just that in
the 2016 midterm election in a
way that would bury most Republicans. By the way, I am a
liberal Republican –yes, there
are still a few of us left around.
Art Vrettas
From our website…
To the Editor:
Re: “Why Hillary Shouldn’t
Run: Her Presidency Would Be
Bad for Her, and Bad for the
U.S.” (May 31).
I, too, would not like to see
Mrs. Clinton run. But for different reasons. Historically, the
Clintons have not been very supportive of Hellenic causes.
However, I would beg to differ on what will happen if she
runs and is elected. Everything
you say about the present Re-
GeorGe SaraFoGlou / SPecial to tHe national Herald
COMMENTARY
Community Leaders Happy with Biden’s Trip to Cyprus
TNH Staff
Vice President Joe Biden in
May became the most senior
American official to visit Cyprus
since Lyndon Johnson in 1962.
Biden, who also met with community leaders at the White
House before the trip, voiced
strong support for a new round
of talks to reunify the island.
When Biden arrived he said “I
wanted to come to primarily underscore the value the United
States attaches to our growing
cooperation with the Republic
of Cyprus.”
Here are excerpts from the
community leaders’ comments
about the trip and the White
House meeting.
AHEPA Executive Director
Basil Mosssaides told TNH “it
was a very good meeting. The
vice president was there with a
member of the National Security
Council and three State Department Officials.” He described
the meeting as a briefing rather
than a Q&A session, but each
leader was able to make statements.
PSEKA Alternate President
Tasos Zambas said “for the Vice
President to come to Cyprus and
call it a new strategic partner
and a new energy hub,” is very
significant, adding “the status of
Cyprus has been elevated from
being a small island to being a
big player in energy and strategic partnerships…It’s up to the
Cypriot government now to take
the ball and carry it forward.”
Zambas also noted it is in
Turkey’s interest to solve the
Cyprus problem.
“Turkey is isolated right
now,” he said, and agrees it
aP PHoto/PetroS karadJiaS
Vice President Joe Biden (R) waves following a meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in the divided Cypriot capital Nicosia on May 22.
must move forward with EU accession negotiations, which
means they must move forward
on Cyprus.
Panicos Papanicolaou, former
Cyprus Federation of America
(CFA) President, told TNH he
believes the visit sends a very
important signal to Turkey,
among others.
Biden “made a very good impression on the people of
Cyprus,” Papanicolaou said.
Andy Manatos, President of
the National Coordinated Effort
of Hellenes, emphasized that a
lot of thought goes into trips by
president and vice presidents,
and noted the catalytic role
played by President Bill Clinton’s historic visit to the Ecu-
menical Patriarchate in the
1990s.
“It had a profound impact on
an issue that was dead in the
water…and the visit of Biden to
Cyprus is of comparable potential, in terms of elevating an issue on the American agenda,
and it too will accrue to the benefit of both the people of Cyprus
and Turkey.”
AHI president Nick Larigakis
said “we are very pleased the
vice president visited Cyprus
during this very important period at the beginning of negotiations. It shows that the United
States supports the process and
highlights the important bilateral relationship between the
U.S. and Cyprus.”
He was happy Biden “made
it very clear, that there is only
one government that is recognized,” that AHI also appreciated the invitation to the White
House to discuss the issues prior
to Biden’s historic trip, and that
“the developing and institutionalized relations between Cyprus,
Greece and Israel are the three
pillars of stability and democracy in the Eastern Mediterranean, and they are important
for the projection of the geostrategic interests of the United
States. A Cyprus solution will
not only further cement that stability,” he said, and told Biden
“it is despicable that in 2014
troops of a NATO country are
occupying a member of the EU.”
Obamacare Report Card: More Federal Control, after All
TNH Staff
The Affordable Care Act
(ACA), is only a few months old,
officially. Unofficially, it has
dominated the news ever since
Congress voted it into law, entirely on partisan lines, in 2010.
Nicknamed “Obamacare” by
those opposed to President
Obama’s passion for using the
government to institute health
care reform, who counted on
the initiative flopping and
thereby defining Obama’s presidency as a colossal failure, the
sweeping legislation remains at
the forefront of political issues.
A recent Gallup Poll, for in-
stance, found it the second-most
important issue, behind “the
economy,” with “foreign policy”
far down in the rankings, barely
garnering 2% in terms of significance.
Opponents of the ACA railed
that it would be a de facto – if
not de jure – healthcare
takeover by Washington. A single payer system for all practical
purposes, clothed as a private
sector operation.
Recent evidence, Politico reports, confirms those suspicions.
Originally intended by the president and other ACA supporters
to effectuate a separate health
care exchange in each of the 50
states, but to this point, the opposite has happened. Thirty-six
states rely on the federal option,
healthcare.gov, and two more
plan to follow. All the while,
only 2 of the 36 plan to opt out
of the federal option.
That means more health care
control in Washington’s hands,
Politico’s Kyle Cheney and Jennifer Haberkorn conclude.
“HealthCare.gov was originally conceived as a just-in-case
alternative that would kick in if
a state could not or would not
build its own health reform enrollment system,” they write.
“The law didn’t even set aside
money to build the federal site,
let alone operate it indefinitely.
Even when red states shunned
a role in running Obamacare
and a handful of blue states also
turned to Washington, the federal system was still seen as a
short-term bridge to a statebased system.
“Not anymore. After its fiasco
of a start, HealthCare.gov is
working. No one is pushing
states with successful programs,
like California and New York, to
switch. But there are only a few
of those. Most of the other states
are in HealthCare.gov. And
they‘re staying put rather than
start their own exchange.”
Observations By Antonis H. Diamataris
The IMF and Reform
I wish every Greek would study the press
release that accompanied the International
Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval of the release of 3.41 billion euros for Greece.
If all Greek citizens did that, they would
understand the major challenges facing the
country as it pursues a strong – and stable
– exit from the crisis.
The mere fact that it clearly shows that
the money was given on grounds of leniency
rather than accomplishments is instructive.
The press release notes: "In completing the
review, the Executive Board approved a
waiver of nonobservance of the performance criterion on domestic arrears, given
the corrective actions taken.”
It also makes it clear that they expect
the implementation of the reforms to which
Greece is committed, which are needed not
only to satisfy the IMF, but also to secure
the future of the country.
The statement also notes that “Public
debt is projected to remain high well into
the next decade, despite a targeted high
primary surplus.” (They are talking about
targets, not achievements.)
The IMF could not say this until now
without causing political uproar.
Unfortunately, the picture that was presented before the election – perhaps it was
necessary – was overoptimistic.
But now it is too late. And the time for
serious reconstruction has arrived, which
should, of course, be based on reality rather
than motives of self-interest, political, economic, and personal.
What then, should be the criteria for the
selection of new members of the cabinet?
There should be two main considerations:
First, the quality of candidates. Quality in
terms of character, general competence, and
expertise in the matters of their ministry.
And second, the ability to work in harmony, without conflicts, with the other par-
ties. Not only because the coalition is standing on weak political ground, but also because the country's problems are so great
that it cannot afford the luxury of further
polarization.
To achieve the first – and thus the second
– Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has to
look beyond his Political Spring associates,
and beyond even the New Democracy, to
choose the best.
And, of course, it is time to include Diaspora Greeks in the government. For instance, capable individuals like Dr. Sotiris
Vahaviolos or Theodore Spyropoulos.
He must also appoint as the country’s
EU commissioner a person with knowledge
of the issues and international recognition
and respect.
And we do not mean Evangelos Venizelos or Kostis Hadjidakis, as has been leaked.
It is Dora Bakoyannis, I believe, who
would make the best choice.
VIEWPOINTS
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014
13
Kleptocracy-Bred Extremism Unexceptional President: He’s an Obama, Not a Lincoln
Festers in European Politics
decades of direct
On the heels of
involvement turnthe European Paring Greece from a
liament elections,
democracy to a
Greece and many
kleptocracy cannot
of its European
be expunged from
“partners”
find
the social conthemselves faced
science. The unwith a rising tide of
willingness to bring
Euroscepticism,
even one oligarch
with the electorate
from the Lagarde
resoundingly rejectList to justice for
ing Merkelism in
by Christopher
failure to pay taxes
Greece and elseTRIPOULAS
while entire famiwhere. In France
lies are being
and Great Britain,
Special to
The National Herald
thrown onto the
victories by Marine
street and helpless
Le Pen' s National
Front and Nigel Farage' UKIP individuals imprisoned for preparties, both of which oppose posterous debts and state onEU integration to say the least, slaughts against individual owndoes
constitute
represent a staunch opposition ership
to EU (aka German) hegemony, criminality. Likewise, the fowhile the defeat of the ruling menting of anarchy and the
parties in Greece is a verdict mindless destruction of public
against Chancellor Angela and private property – which in
Merkel's brutal austerity policies some instances even resulted in
which are plunging people all death (Marfin Bank) is no less
across the continent into criminal. And so, it is at the very
poverty and misery. Meanwhile, least hypocritical for Greek poBrussels bureaucrats continue to litical leaders to take the moral
be unwilling or unable to satis- high ground when hopeless citfactorily address issues such as izens display their consternation
illegal immigration and internal by making extremist choices to
demographic shifts within EU try and “shock the system.” If
borders, which are turning into they were truly mortified by the
rise of Golden Dawn, the only
a powder keg.
Greece was the only EU honorable thing to do would be
member state where a party to resign from their post in
from the left placed first in elec- recognition that they have let
tions (SYRIZA) – retaining al- the public down, but honor is a
most the same dynamism from word that has long since been
national elections in 2012, while erased from the collective vothe two parties composing the cabulary of Greek politics.
Worst of all, the absence of
ruling coalition lost a combined
total of 11 percent of their vot- any genuine patriotic discourse
ing bloc. The pro-fascist Golden in Greek politics has allowed exDawn Party also placed a strong tremist nationalist groups to
third, drawing just under 10 dominate this rhetoric and has
percent in Euroelections and cast any “love for country” in a
passing the 15 percent mark in negative light. This, in turn, has
Athens' mayoral election. This, led to a depatriotization in poof course, was condemned by litical discourse, which may alall the other Greek political par- low parties sponsored by Turkties and drew international cov- ish agents to increase their
strength and threaten national
erage.
Other equally troubling de- integrity.
The opportunity for any real
velopments included the “soccerification” of Greek politics, change was lost when the “old
with the president of the guard” failed to be swept out of
Olympiacos soccer club becom- power at the height of the Greek
ing the new “shadow” mayor of crisis. Nonetheless, it is surely
Piraeus and laying the ground- naïve to believe that the same
work for a new party based band of politicians who sent
solely on the affinity of his Greece plunging to its current
team's fans, and the strong sorry state will ever be in a posishowing of a pro-Turkish party tion to raise the country’s standin the northeastern Greek ing internationally and rebuild
provinces of Xanthi and Rodopi, what they have spent decades
strengthening Turkish machina- destroying through corruption
and partisanship. This holds true
tions in the area even further.
And while it is clear that the for both the left and the right
number-one reason for Greek sides of the political spectrum.
European officials know it,
voters' erratic behavior at the
polls is the unprecedented aus- which is why they will continue
terity measures that have been to advance the same vicious
forced onto the country and its agenda regardless of which
official guinea-pig status in An- party gets elected because they
gela Merkel's Europe, everyone are certain of Greek politicians’
but the politicians seem to have allegiance to their offices and
the privileges that accompany
gotten the point.
The sudden “puritanical” them instead of to their people.
view of the entire lot of Greek The Greek people know it,
political parties against the ex- which is why they have adopted
tremist Golden Dawn party has increasingly more extreme
only served to strengthen the choices at the ballot. The only
latter. While the allegations ones who don’t seem to realize
hurled against it by the ruling it (or at least pretend they don’t)
and opposition parties alike that are Greek politicians. Instead of
it is a “criminal organization” blaming the voters who chose
may very well be true, these extremist parties like Golden
“crusaders” neglect to concede
one important fact: that in the
eyes of the people, the vast majority of the other large parties
are also “criminal organizations.” And so, Greek politicians'
aversion to the rise of Golden
Dawn is akin to the pot calling
the kettle black.
While the average Greek
politician may not be as directly
linked as Golden Dawn cadres
to violent assaults, the 6,000plus suicides that resulted from
the inhuman austerity measures
applied upon the people and the
Dawn, they should blame themselves for cultivating the
groundwork that brought this
fascistic party to the forefront.
The only likely solution to reversing the growth of this dangerous party would be the symbolic resignations of today’s
party leaders (ruling and opposition). Before one can correct
a situation, one must repent. It
would be the first step in curing
the ills of Greek politics.
Follow
me
@CTripoulas
on
Twitter
Americans, and Greek-Americans in particular, remember
the name Spiro Agnew. His was
the first high-level scandal of the
Nixon Administration, one that
came before Watergate. Vice
President Agnew pleaded no
contest to accusations of tax evasion, as part of a deal to avoid
the even more serious charges
of having accepted over
$100,000 in bribes while Governor of Maryland. Agnew resigned the Vice Presidency on
October 10, 1973, and two
months later, on December 6,
Congress completed the confirmation of his successor, whom
President Richard Nixon had appointed, Gerald Ford.
“I’M A FORD, NOT A
LINCOLN”
“I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln,”
the new vice president told the
nation. A clever play on words
that not only suggested Ford’s
modesty, but also lowered any
expectations that he would be
the next great American leader
– one who might find his likeness carved on Mount Rushmore
alongside Lincoln’s and those of
some of the other greats.
Less than a year later, on August 9, 1974, Ford became
America’s 38th president, immediately upon Nixon’s resignation,
amid near-certainty that he
(Nixon) would have been impeached, and convicted, for his
role in the Watergate scandal.
Even though he had been
Nixon’s second-in-command,
Ford was not perceived by the
scandal-worn nation as culpable
in the whole sordid mess. Appearing to be far more open,
forthright, and transparent than
his predecessor, Ford, the nation
long,
national
reasoned, was kept
nightmare is over,”
in the dark about
he said.
the secretive goYears
later,
ings-on at the
Ford’s harshest critNixon
White
ics, including liberal
House.
America
lion
Edward
had embraced its
Kennedy, softened
new
president
their attacks and
warmly.
conceded that, in
of
that
All
retrospect, they unchanged just a
derstood – and even
month later, when
agreed – that Ford’s
Ford
pardoned
by CONSTANTINOS E.
decision was best
Nixon, thereby renSCAROS
for the nation. Save
dering the ex-presfor the usual smatident immune from
Special to
The National Herald
tering of conspiracy
criminal prosecutheorists – who
tion.
Essentially, there was no plau- thought Ford and Nixon made
sible evidence to suggest that an “I’ll pick you as VP, then I’ll
Nixon had either planned or resign, you’ll become president,
knew about the principal Water- and you’ll pardon me” quid pro
gate crime – a break-in at the quo deal – most of the nation,
Democratic National Commit- by Ford’s death in 2006, undertee’s offices at the Watergate Ho- stood.
Not so 30 years earlier, in
tel in Washington, DC. The implications, however, were that 1976, when Ford ran for reelecNixon played a significant role tion (or rather, election, as he
in covering up the evidence once had never been elected to begin
it surfaced, thereby criminally with). The country replaced him
obstructing justice. And painful in a close contest, favoring freshthough it was for him to quit the faced Washington outsider,
presidency, resignation does not Jimmy Carter.
In the ensuing four decades,
by itself establish exoneration
from criminal liability. Other- presidential historians have, by
wise, suspected murderers or and large, given Ford average
bank robbers, for instance, could grades. Hardly anyone ranks him
simply quit their jobs and avoid among America’s best or worst
presidents. He always seems to
prosecution.
Rather than subject the belea- fall somewhere in the middle.
Aside from the Nixon pardon,
guered nation to more Watergate
anguish, including watching now forgiven, forgotten, and
their former leader paraded from even vindicated, virtually nothjail cell to courtroom in a prison ing Ford did makes it to the forejumpsuit, hands cuffed behind front of heated debates about the
his back like a common thug, presidents.
Franklin Roosevelt, John F.
Ford pardoned Nixon so that the
nation could begin a much- Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson,
needed healing process. “Our Ronald Reagan, and even
Just your average Barack: From left to right, Presidents Barack
Obama, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Gerald Ford.
Some think Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest,
Richard Nixon, have their
staunch admirers and detractors.
Much like a debate about what
to eat for dinner: sushi or steak.
Ford, on the other hand, is more
of a benign side dish – like
coleslaw – which almost never
generates a strong opinion one
way or the other.
IS OBAMA THE NEW FORD?
This brings us to Barack
Obama, the current president
who, like some of the others, is
often the subject of intense debate. And even though his presidency is not quite yet over – a
lot more can happen in the next
two years to affect it positively
or negatively – it seems that if
things continue to go the way
they’re going, historians will
wind up ranking Obama somewhere in the middle.
Sure, Obama will always be
remembered as the first AfricanAmerican president. Then again,
John Quincy Adams was the first
son of a president, William
Henry Harrison was the first
Whig – and had the shortest
tenure (he died after 32 days in
office), and William Howard Taft
was the heaviest – weighing over
300 pounds, he once got stuck
in the White House bathtub.
Along those lines, Obama,
too, a half century from now is
more likely to be a trivia question
than a president remembered for
having done particularly good or
bad things.
Sorry, Obama worshippers,
who think he’s the greatest thing
since FDR, or detractors, who insist he’s “the worst president
ever.” Like Adams, Harrison,
Taft, and Ford, and coleslaw, he
is simply unremarkable. An
Obama, not a Lincoln.
like Lincoln, or one of the worst, like Johnson. The more likely
scenario, however, is that he will be remembered as neither
spectacular nor destructive, but rather quite ordinary, like Ford.
LETTER FROM ATHENS
Cleaning Ladies of Greece Reveal the Power of Shame
The first stop for anyone
coming to Greece, apart from
celebrities and reality TV talentless twits who head straight to
the islands, should be the grimecovered Finance Ministry in
Syntagma Square, the heart of
Athens and scene of hundreds
of protests, strikes and riots
against austerity.
You’ll see, or hear, a gallant
band of cleaning ladies who’ve
been there since last September,
protesting their suspension and
then firing as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s heartless government decided to get rid of
the lowest-paid workers to meet
demands of international
lenders.
It’s despicable beyond parody
and ridicule. Finance Minister
Yannis Stournaras and Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave the goahead to dismiss janitors, school
nurses, crossing guards, municipal police and teachers but exempted Parliament workers,
managers, consultants and government friends and the politically protected.
The women – that’s your first
tip – are mostly aged 50-60,
have no friends in politics but
clean up the crap that politicians
and civil servants leave behind.
For that, they were paid
about 500 euros ($679.60 a
month or $169.90 a week) before taxes, because in Greece
the poor are taxed although the
rich are not.
Stournaras thought it might
help balance the budget and cut
the
country’s
debt
of
$430,000,000,000 by shedding
Greece of the $2,500,000 in
salaries the women receive for
doing work few would want,
even in a crushing economic cri-
the cleaning ladies
sis.
were tax inspectors.
Mitsotakis had
After some big,
promised that no
tough riot police
one would be fired
were seen roughing
– scores of thouup protesting midsands of politicallydle-aged and elappointed
deadderly women, the
wood needed to be
tax
inspectors
– until there was a
spoke out about
full review of everywhat they called
one’s qualifications,
“indescribable vioalthough no one
lence” against the
had bothered until
by ANDY
women whose only
now to check the
DABILIS
weapons
were
falsified diplomas of
mops, pails and
fake doctors.
Special to
The National Herald
pride.
The
cleaning
The inspectors
ladies were easy
prey for the hypocrites who noted that neither Stournaras
abound in politics – until a nor anyone under him had the
Greek court in May ruled in fa- guts to face the same cleaning
vor of an appeal by 397 of the ladies who made sure their of595 who had been put into a fices were kept clean and sent
so-called “mobility scheme” in the dogs instead.
“The Finance Ministry had
(translation: cattle to be fired)
that it was unlawful and uncon- better applied its rigorousness
in combating tax evasion institutional.
You’d think that would have stead of doing this on the backs
settled it, but this being Greece, of the cleaners and everyone
the government routinely ig- who is fighting for the sacred
nores orders not in its favor, so right to work,” the inspectors
the cleaning ladies are still said.
It must be noted that cleanprotesting on the streets outside,
while inside the favored are sit- ing ladies in Parliament are paid
ting at their desks drinking cof- as much as 1,900 euros, or four
fee, playing with mobile phone times more, in a building where
workers receive four months
apps or sleeping.
A first government appeal bonuses for work that includes
was rejected within 24 hours. handing out glasses of water to
Getting that bad news, the gov- Members of Parliament and
ernment appealed again. Since learning how to bow and
that won’t be heard until scrape, although kneeling is the
sometie later in June, the clean- right way to get a position there
ing ladies haven’t been rehired. too.
The cleaning ladies put out
If a U.S. government official
ignored a court order he’d be in a statement on a website dehandcuffs before you could say scribing what they want and it’s
“Corrupt Politician,” but this be- very simple: the right to work
ing Greece, the weak and pow- at a job which pays poverty level
but is all many of them have.
erless have no rights.
The only ones standing up for “Most of us are over 50; very
close to retirement and pension,
which we will never get. Many
of us have a one-parent family
who live on our salary,” they
said, spitting into the wind.
Their plight is grim. “We
have no hope of finding a job,
we are fired without severance
pay without the right to get unemployment benefit, without
the right to healthcare,” they
said.
They are there when envoys
from Greece’s owners, the
Troika of the European UnionInternational Monetary FundEuropean Central Bank (EUIMF-ECB) to check the books
and press the government to go
after tax evaders.
A probe of 2,062 Greeks with
$1.95 billion in secret Swiss accounts in one bank in Geneva
has already found, after looking
at a relative handful, that they
owe 40 million euros – or 20
years pay for the entire staff of
595 cleaning ladies sacrificed by
Mitsotakis to make the numbers
work.
“Eight months ago, our lives
were turned upside down in one
night,” protest organizer Evangelia Alexaki told The Associated Press when the court ruled
the suspensions illegal.
Alexaki, 57, was fired from
her job cleaning a Finance Ministry office on the island of
Corfu. “Protesting wasn’t hard
for us, really. We had no choice,”
she said.
“If you make a living with a
mop in your hand, you’re already fighting to make ends
meet anyway,” she said, but
even they couldn’t get the dirt
off the hands of the people who
fired them.
[email protected]
14
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 7-13, 2014