The National Herald€¦ · Father Alex Karloutsos, who has held the position since 1998....
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The National Herald A WEEklY GREEk-AmERiCAN PUBliCATiON August 24-30, 2013 www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 16, ISSUE 828 $1.50 c v Bringing the news to generations of Greek-Americans O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 NEWS For subscription: 718.784.5255 [email protected] By Constantine S. Sirigos TNH Staff Writer NeW YORK – To illuminate im- portant issues and people, a filmmaker must get people’s at- tention. It helps if the issues are potentially explosive. Richard Ledes does not shy away from such things. He is currently working on a documentary on the perceptions of the Greek-American commu- nity in New York on the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in Greece, but he also has a more literal relationship with explosives. When his father John moved his family from Washington, DC to New York, he bought a house that had a basement filled with dynamite. “My father was sold the house on the condition that he would continue to allow the previous owner, who had lost everything in Fidel Castro’s rev- olution, to store dynamite,” he said. “He continued to fly over Cuba and drop sticks of dyna- mite until he blew himself up.” Viewers can also speculate about the significance of being exposed to radically different cultures when he was growing up. The original English spelling of Ledes was Costaledes. The family came to Greece during the infamous exchange of pop- ulations between Greece and Turkey and his grandfather shortened it to Ledes, rhyming with “Wheaties.” When he mar- ried his mother, Sally Chapman, who is from Baltimore, with sturdy WASP roots, the pronun- ciation was Americanized to rhyme with “seeds.” His father John still lives in that home of 50 years in Ka- tonah, NY. That is where Ledes filmed “Fred Won’t Move Out.” Fred’s family wants to move him to closer to them and near his wife Susan, who has moderate Alzheimer’s and is about to be moved to a care facility. It is a poignant movie that explores what happens when the people we love start slipping away, even though they are still right next to us. His films also include A Hole in One, his first of feature length, and The Caller, starring Frank Langella and Elliott Gould, which has been de- scribed as a “contemplative thriller” about corporate corrup- Greek-Am. Ledes and His Array Of Films Documentarian’s Focus is on Family, Society, Hellenism By Sara Polsky Curbed.com NeW YORK - A Greek-American newspaper (The National Her- ald) earlier this year reported that Santiago Calatrava was the frontrunner to design the rebuilt Church of St. Nicholas down- town. The Post hears from multiple sources that the rumors are in- deed true: out of a dozen final- ists, Calatrava has been chosen for the project—though he has- n't yet signed a contract, so it's certainly possible that he'll be out of the Archdiocese's price range. The rebuilding of the church has been a matter of contro- versy for years. The original church was destroyed on 9/11 and will be rebuilt on the former Deutsche Bank site at 130 Lib- S. Calatrava Gets Nod for St. Nicholas Continued on page 3 Continued on page 3 By Andy Dabilis TNH Staff Writer ATHeNS – While insisting that Greece would not be allowed to write down its debt, German Fi- nance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has admitted that two bailouts of $325 billion have failed to right the faltering Greek economy and that a third would be needed. The surprise declaration from the usually tight-lipped Schaeuble came a month before the Sept. 22 German federal elections in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking re- election and as she has tried to dismiss the idea that Greece needs more aid. Schaeuble said at a campaign event that, “There will have to be another program in Greece,” but said there not be a debt re- duction in which Greece would impose losses on its interna- tional lenders. Merkel has been trying to downplay what critics said is the dire situation of the Greek econ- omy which Greek Prime Minis- ter Antonis Samaras has been showing signs of recovery and as the government reported a primary surplus of €663 million ($888.07 million) in June from €73.1 million ($97.91 million) in the same month last year. The Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) is putting up the rescue packages of aid that are keeping the Greek economy alive but is reluctant to let Greece walk away from some of its debt as it did with private in- vestors in 2011, hitting them with 74 percent losses. There has been division within the Troika too though with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the EU and ECB should accept losses on its loans but that her agency would not. If Greece puts a so-called “haircut” on public lenders then taxpayers in the other 16 Euro- zone countries would have to pay the bill for generations of German Finance Minister Admits that Greece Will Require a Third Bailout Theodore Kalmoukos TNH Staff Writer SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – The newly-built church of the Dor- mition of the Virgin Mary, a building that is a smaller replica of Aghia Sophia that has the form and structure of the origi- nal in Constantinople, has been inaugurated. The new church was erected to remind the Diaspora faithful of the Orthodox and Greek spirit which has left an indelible mark in Constantinople. The Archbishop of America, Demetrios, officiated at a cere- mony which encapsulates the dreams and awaiting of the de- voted, assisted by the man who first envisioned it, the Head Priest of the Ecumenical Throne, Father Alex Karloutsos, who has held the position since 1998. Constandinos Lazarakis, the Vicar of the community also as- sisted. Talking to Ethnikos Kirix, Fa- ther Karloutsos stressed that, “It Archbishop Demetrios of America officiating at the Thyranoixia (opening of the doors) service of the newly-constructed Greek Orthodox church, Dormition of the Theotokos, in Southampton. Over Protests, Ataturk Museum Opens in Thessaloniki Members of Greek far-right organization hold Greek flags as they protest outside the Turkish Consulate in the Northern port city of Thessaloniki Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. The pro- testers are against the opening of the newly renovated museum of Kemal Ataturk, that was in- augurated last week. See related story on page 7. By Michael Howard Saul Wall Street Journal NeW YORK - As John Catsima- tidis stood near a tiny table of assorted cheeses in a Lower East Side art gallery amid dozens of wine-sipping professionals, the self-made billionaire business- man unbuttoned the rumpled jacket of his Paul Frederick suit and gestured toward his heart. “I’m tough,” the 64-year-old New York City Mayoral candi- date said as he opened his jacket, his large frame on full display for the crowd. “But as I show everybody—I have a heart. I’m a softy.” Mr. Catsimatidis, who was born on the Greek island of Nisyros in 1948 and moved with his family to New York City when he was six months old, has spent the past 40-plus years building his company from a single grocery store into a con- glomerate with holdings in real estate, energy and aviation. He’s known as the owner of Gristedes, Manhattan’s largest grocery chain, but that is only a tiny, not-so-profitable slice of his diverse business portfolio. Mr. Catsimatidis is ranked No. 132 on Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest people in America. He has an estimated net worth of $3 billion, accord- ing to the magazine, but he says his actual net worth is between $3 billion and $5 billion. As he seeks the Republican nomina- tion for mayor in the Sept. 10 primary, Mr. Catsimatidis said he’s willing to spend whatever it takes to win City Hall. “Money is not an object. It’s getting the message across to everybody,” he said, estimating he will ultimately spend about $8 million on the primary and, presuming he wins, as much as $19 million in the November general election. As of early August, he’d spent about $4 million on his cam- paign, roughly 2.5 times the amount spent by his main op- ponent, Joe Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who worked as a deputy mayor in Rudy Giuliani’s administration. Public and private polling shows him trailing Mr. Lhota, but he has gradually narrowed the gap since launching his first TV ad in May. Mr. Catsimatidis, a former Democrat who considers Bill Clinton among his coterie of friends, is also planning to run on the Liberal Party line. He said he is the only GOP candidate who has any chance of winning Money No Object In Catsimatidis Run Continued on page 3 By Theodore Kalmoukos TNH Staff SALT LAKe CiTY, UT – Metro- politan Isaiah of Denver in a let- ter to the Parish Council dated August 8, 2013 provides “cover” to his two priests Gilbert and Kouremetis of the Salt Lake City community in Utah for what ap- pears to be dubious dealings of the benevolent accounts which they controlled, as TNH re- vealed in its last week’s edition. Isaiah finds nothing wrong that the priests were using the benevolent accounts to write checks one of them for his sons and the other for his secretary. Isaiah calls the audit “witch- hunt” and is asking is the audit committee members “have any sense of morals.” Isaiah has kept both churches, the Holy Trinity Cathedral and Prophet Elias, closed for three consecutive Sundays. TNH has learned that Archbishop Demetrios of Amer- ica is extremely upset with Isa- iah and also with Gilbert and Kouremetis. Members of the Archdiocese’s legal team are in close contact with the officials of the Salt Lake City parish try- ing to prevent intervention by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Opinion among high ranking officials at the Archdiocese as well as at the Ecumenical Patri- archate in Constantinople is widespread that Isaiah should submit his resignation on his own. TNH has also learned that Kouremetis is looking for a way out of Salt Lake City. He con- tacted Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey requesting relo- cation, but Evangelos is hesitant to bring him there. but he is hes- itant to take him in the New Jer- sey Metropolis. Isaiah stated in his letter among other things that “from the photocopies which you sent to me, I realize that the audit committee has overstepped its bounds in two areas; 1. It included the funds of the benevolent fund which is never a part of the annual bud- get of a parish, due to the fact that it is considered a confiden- tial fund to help those in need, and 2. It included cancelled checks and payment informa- tion for the years 2009,2010, and 2011. “On the basis of this infor- mation, I would say that this is nothing more than a witch-hunt to embarrass your priests. Does the current audit committee not have any sense of morals. What is its purpose regarding this pro- cedure? And if these funds are confidential, since they have only one signatory on the checks, are not the Zions Bank and the Chase Bank of Salt Lake City liable for divulging confi- Isaiah Covers up Priests’ Suspicious Dealings Continued on page 4 By Jake Coyle AP Entertainment Writer We’re The Millers is an iden- tity comedy with identity issues. Jason Sudeikis plays a pot dealer who, as a disguise for smuggling a huge shipment of weed, forms a fake family to drive an RV across the Mexico border. He gathers local stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), surly homeless teenager Casey (Emma Roberts) and his young, naive neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter). The whole concept has two motives: to lampoon the idea of the traditional all-American family, and as an excuse to get Aniston to take off her clothes. Both are worthy endeavors, but everything in We’re The Millers feels forced - a hodgepodge of comedic rhythms made to lurch from one crude gag to another. Despite obvious comedic tal- ents, Sudeikis and Aniston have each had difficulty finding their place in the movies, and neither really fit their parts: small-time Denver pot dealer (dispatched for the pick-up by Ed Helms’ po- lite but ruthless drug lord) and bitter stripper with a heart of gold, respectively. The concealed identity shtick would have been more fruitful if the characters’ personalities weren’t just as thin as their cha- rade. But with such stereotype un- derpinnings, We’re The Millers remains the broadest of carica- tures. The film, too, comes from mixed sensibilities. The script was begun by Wedding Crashers scribes Bob Fisher and Steve Faber, and finished by Hot Tub Time Machine writers Sean An- ders and John Morris. Dodge- Aniston Strips In We’re the Millers Movie Twight of the Gods The full moon rises in the sky in front of the Apollo's temple at ancient Corinth about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Athens, on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Attractions were free. AP PhOTO/VASiliS PSOmAS New Dormition of Virgin Mary Church Opens its Doors Continued on page 4 TNh/COSTAS BEJ Continued on page 5 Continued on page 7 AP PhOTO/NikOlAS GiAkOUmidiS
Transcript of The National Herald€¦ · Father Alex Karloutsos, who has held the position since 1998....
The National HeraldA wEEkly GrEEk-AmEriCAN PuBliCAtioN
August 24-30, 2013
www.thenationalherald.comVOL. 16, ISSUE 828 $1.50
c v
Bringing the newsto generations ofGreek-Americans
o C VΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915NEW
S
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By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer
NeW yORK – To illuminate im-portant issues and people, afilmmaker must get people’s at-tention. It helps if the issues arepotentially explosive. RichardLedes does not shy away fromsuch things.
He is currently working on adocumentary on the perceptionsof the Greek-American commu-nity in New York on the rise ofthe neo-Nazi Golden Dawnparty in Greece, but he also hasa more literal relationship withexplosives.
When his father John movedhis family from Washington, DCto New York, he bought a housethat had a basement filled withdynamite.
“My father was sold thehouse on the condition that hewould continue to allow theprevious owner, who had losteverything in Fidel Castro’s rev-olution, to store dynamite,” hesaid. “He continued to fly overCuba and drop sticks of dyna-mite until he blew himself up.”
Viewers can also speculateabout the significance of beingexposed to radically differentcultures when he was growingup.
The original English spellingof Ledes was Costaledes. Thefamily came to Greece duringthe infamous exchange of pop-ulations between Greece andTurkey and his grandfathershortened it to Ledes, rhymingwith “Wheaties.” When he mar-ried his mother, Sally Chapman,who is from Baltimore, withsturdy WASP roots, the pronun-ciation was Americanized torhyme with “seeds.”
His father John still lives inthat home of 50 years in Ka-tonah, NY. That is where Ledesfilmed “Fred Won’t Move Out.”Fred’s family wants to move himto closer to them and near hiswife Susan, who has moderateAlzheimer’s and is about to bemoved to a care facility. It is apoignant movie that exploreswhat happens when the peoplewe love start slipping away,even though they are still rightnext to us.
His films also include A Holein One, his first of featurelength, and The Caller, starringFrank Langella and ElliottGould, which has been de-scribed as a “contemplativethriller” about corporate corrup-
Greek-Am.Ledes andHis ArrayOf FilmsDocumentarian’sFocus is on Family,Society, Hellenism
By Sara PolskyCurbed.com
NeW yORK - A Greek-Americannewspaper (The National Her-ald) earlier this year reportedthat Santiago Calatrava was thefrontrunner to design the rebuiltChurch of St. Nicholas down-town.
The Post hears from multiplesources that the rumors are in-deed true: out of a dozen final-ists, Calatrava has been chosenfor the project—though he has-n't yet signed a contract, so it'scertainly possible that he'll beout of the Archdiocese's pricerange.
The rebuilding of the churchhas been a matter of contro-versy for years. The originalchurch was destroyed on 9/11and will be rebuilt on the formerDeutsche Bank site at 130 Lib-
S. CalatravaGets Nod forSt. Nicholas
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 3
By Andy DabilisTNH Staff Writer
ATHeNS – While insisting thatGreece would not be allowed towrite down its debt, German Fi-nance Minister WolfgangSchaeuble has admitted thattwo bailouts of $325 billionhave failed to right the falteringGreek economy and that a thirdwould be needed.
The surprise declarationfrom the usually tight-lippedSchaeuble came a month beforethe Sept. 22 German federalelections in which ChancellorAngela Merkel is seeking re-election and as she has tried todismiss the idea that Greeceneeds more aid.
Schaeuble said at a campaignevent that, “There will have tobe another program in Greece,”but said there not be a debt re-duction in which Greece wouldimpose losses on its interna-tional lenders.
Merkel has been trying todownplay what critics said is thedire situation of the Greek econ-omy which Greek Prime Minis-
ter Antonis Samaras has beenshowing signs of recovery andas the government reported aprimary surplus of €663 million($888.07 million) in June from€73.1 million ($97.91 million)in the same month last year.
The Troika of the EuropeanUnion-International MonetaryFund-European Central Bank(EU-IMF-ECB) is putting up therescue packages of aid that arekeeping the Greek economyalive but is reluctant to letGreece walk away from some ofits debt as it did with private in-vestors in 2011, hitting themwith 74 percent losses.
There has been divisionwithin the Troika too thoughwith IMF Managing DirectorChristine Lagarde said the EUand ECB should accept losses onits loans but that her agencywould not.
If Greece puts a so-called“haircut” on public lenders thentaxpayers in the other 16 Euro-zone countries would have topay the bill for generations of
German Finance MinisterAdmits that Greece WillRequire a Third Bailout
Theodore KalmoukosTNH Staff Writer
SOUTHAMPTON, N.y. – Thenewly-built church of the Dor-mition of the Virgin Mary, abuilding that is a smaller replicaof Aghia Sophia that has theform and structure of the origi-nal in Constantinople, has beeninaugurated.
The new church was erectedto remind the Diaspora faithfulof the Orthodox and Greek spiritwhich has left an indelible markin Constantinople.
The Archbishop of America,Demetrios, officiated at a cere-mony which encapsulates thedreams and awaiting of the de-voted, assisted by the man whofirst envisioned it, the HeadPriest of the Ecumenical Throne,Father Alex Karloutsos, who hasheld the position since 1998.Constandinos Lazarakis, theVicar of the community also as-sisted.
Talking to Ethnikos Kirix, Fa-ther Karloutsos stressed that, “It
Archbishop Demetrios of America officiating at the Thyranoixia (opening of the doors) serviceof the newly-constructed Greek Orthodox church, Dormition of the Theotokos, in Southampton.
Over Protests, Ataturk Museum Opens in ThessalonikiMembers of Greek far-right organization hold Greek flags as they protest outside the TurkishConsulate in the Northern port city of Thessaloniki Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. The pro-testers are against the opening of the newly renovated museum of Kemal Ataturk, that was in-augurated last week. See related story on page 7.
By Michael Howard SaulWall Street Journal
NeW yORK - As John Catsima-tidis stood near a tiny table ofassorted cheeses in a Lower EastSide art gallery amid dozens ofwine-sipping professionals, theself-made billionaire business-man unbuttoned the rumpledjacket of his Paul Frederick suitand gestured toward his heart.
“I’m tough,” the 64-year-oldNew York City Mayoral candi-date said as he opened hisjacket, his large frame on fulldisplay for the crowd. “But as Ishow everybody—I have aheart. I’m a softy.”
Mr. Catsimatidis, who wasborn on the Greek island ofNisyros in 1948 and moved withhis family to New York Citywhen he was six months old,has spent the past 40-plus yearsbuilding his company from a
single grocery store into a con-glomerate with holdings in realestate, energy and aviation.
He’s known as the owner ofGristedes, Manhattan’s largestgrocery chain, but that is only atiny, not-so-profitable slice of hisdiverse business portfolio.
Mr. Catsimatidis is rankedNo. 132 on Forbes magazine’slist of the 400 richest people inAmerica. He has an estimatednet worth of $3 billion, accord-ing to the magazine, but he sayshis actual net worth is between$3 billion and $5 billion. As heseeks the Republican nomina-tion for mayor in the Sept. 10primary, Mr. Catsimatidis saidhe’s willing to spend whateverit takes to win City Hall.
“Money is not an object. It’sgetting the message across toeverybody,” he said, estimatinghe will ultimately spend about$8 million on the primary and,
presuming he wins, as much as$19 million in the Novembergeneral election.
As of early August, he’d spentabout $4 million on his cam-paign, roughly 2.5 times theamount spent by his main op-ponent, Joe Lhota, a formerchairman of the MetropolitanTransportation Authority whoworked as a deputy mayor inRudy Giuliani’s administration.Public and private polling showshim trailing Mr. Lhota, but hehas gradually narrowed the gapsince launching his first TV adin May.
Mr. Catsimatidis, a formerDemocrat who considers BillClinton among his coterie offriends, is also planning to runon the Liberal Party line. He saidhe is the only GOP candidatewho has any chance of winning
Money No Object In Catsimatidis Run
Continued on page 3
By Theodore KalmoukosTNH Staff
SAlT lAKe CiTy, UT – Metro-politan Isaiah of Denver in a let-ter to the Parish Council datedAugust 8, 2013 provides “cover”to his two priests Gilbert andKouremetis of the Salt Lake Citycommunity in Utah for what ap-pears to be dubious dealings ofthe benevolent accounts whichthey controlled, as TNH re-vealed in its last week’s edition.
Isaiah finds nothing wrongthat the priests were using thebenevolent accounts to writechecks one of them for his sonsand the other for his secretary.Isaiah calls the audit “witch-hunt” and is asking is the audit
committee members “have anysense of morals.”
Isaiah has kept bothchurches, the Holy TrinityCathedral and Prophet Elias,closed for three consecutiveSundays. TNH has learned thatArchbishop Demetrios of Amer-ica is extremely upset with Isa-iah and also with Gilbert andKouremetis. Members of theArchdiocese’s legal team are inclose contact with the officialsof the Salt Lake City parish try-ing to prevent intervention bythe Internal Revenue Service(IRS).
Opinion among high rankingofficials at the Archdiocese aswell as at the Ecumenical Patri-archate in Constantinople is
widespread that Isaiah shouldsubmit his resignation on hisown.
TNH has also learned thatKouremetis is looking for a wayout of Salt Lake City. He con-tacted Metropolitan Evangelosof New Jersey requesting relo-cation, but Evangelos is hesitantto bring him there. but he is hes-itant to take him in the New Jer-sey Metropolis. Isaiah stated inhis letter among other thingsthat “from the photocopieswhich you sent to me, I realizethat the audit committee hasoverstepped its bounds in twoareas; 1. It included the fundsof the benevolent fund which isnever a part of the annual bud-get of a parish, due to the fact
that it is considered a confiden-tial fund to help those in need,and 2. It included cancelledchecks and payment informa-tion for the years 2009,2010,and 2011.
“On the basis of this infor-mation, I would say that this isnothing more than a witch-huntto embarrass your priests. Doesthe current audit committee nothave any sense of morals. Whatis its purpose regarding this pro-cedure? And if these funds areconfidential, since they haveonly one signatory on thechecks, are not the Zions Bankand the Chase Bank of Salt LakeCity liable for divulging confi-
Isaiah Covers up Priests’ Suspicious Dealings
Continued on page 4
By Jake CoyleAP Entertainment Writer
We’re The Millers is an iden-tity comedy with identity issues.Jason Sudeikis plays a potdealer who, as a disguise forsmuggling a huge shipment ofweed, forms a fake family todrive an RV across the Mexicoborder. He gathers local stripperRose (Jennifer Aniston), surlyhomeless teenager Casey(Emma Roberts) and his young,naive neighbor Kenny (WillPoulter).
The whole concept has twomotives: to lampoon the idea ofthe traditional all-Americanfamily, and as an excuse to getAniston to take off her clothes.Both are worthy endeavors, buteverything in We’re The Millersfeels forced - a hodgepodge ofcomedic rhythms made to lurchfrom one crude gag to another.
Despite obvious comedic tal-ents, Sudeikis and Aniston haveeach had difficulty finding theirplace in the movies, and neitherreally fit their parts: small-timeDenver pot dealer (dispatchedfor the pick-up by Ed Helms’ po-lite but ruthless drug lord) andbitter stripper with a heart ofgold, respectively.
The concealed identity shtickwould have been more fruitfulif the characters’ personalitiesweren’t just as thin as their cha-rade.
But with such stereotype un-derpinnings, We’re The Millersremains the broadest of carica-tures.
The film, too, comes frommixed sensibilities. The scriptwas begun by Wedding Crashersscribes Bob Fisher and SteveFaber, and finished by Hot TubTime Machine writers Sean An-ders and John Morris. Dodge-
Aniston StripsIn We’re theMillers Movie
Twight of the GodsThe full moon rises in the sky in front of the Apollo's temple atancient Corinth about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest ofAthens, on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Attractions were free.
AP Photo/VAsilis PsomAs
New Dormition of Virgin Mary Church Opens its Doors
Continued on page 4
tNh/CostAs BEJ
Continued on page 5
Continued on page 7
AP Photo/NikolAs GiAkoumidis
By Susan DunneHartford Courant
St. George Greek OrthodoxCathedral in Hartford has manyicons inside. Jon Sideriadis wentto that church every Sundaywhile growing up in Rocky Hilland would stare up at the gold-leafed paintings of haloed saintsand martyrs. However, he was-n't thinking about the storiesthose icons told. He made uphis own stories.
"I would imagine they werewarriors," Sideriadis said.
At home, he would go intothe woods alone with his toysand act out those stories. As theyears went by, the stories gotmore and more detailed. Hedidn't talk much about them.
"He was creating this worldwith so many different elements
to it, but he didn't know how toshare it when he was young,"said Sandra Guze, his artteacher at Rocky Hill HighSchool.
That has changed. Sideraidisnow is working on a book ofmyths telling the story of hisimaginary world. He's illustrat-ing the book, too. An exhibit ofeight of those elaborate and fan-tastical illustrations, "As-tromythos," will be up until theend of August at Green StreetArt Center in Middletown,where Guze is now the programand education coordinator.
"I was a fan of EdmundSpenser ['The Faerie Queene'],Tolkien, the 'Star Wars' movies.They created their own uni-verse," said Sideraidis, who livesin Manchester.
Sideraidis, who graduatedfrom Rocky Hill High in 2002,went to Rhode Island School ofDesign and then to Universityof Hartford, where he got a lowresidency MFA. He now is anadjunct professor of illustrationat U of H.
In his spare time, he writeshis myths. "My goal is to rein-vent the fantasy genre, with astory something like 'TheOdyssey' and 'Rime of the An-cient Mariner' or 'Paradise Lost.'It's an epic poem, in rhyminghexameter. I write six lines aday. On the weekends, 12.Sometimes it takes me an hourto write two lines. They have torhyme and each stanza is apoem in itself."
To create an illustration,Sideriadis pencil-sketches theimage he wants, then blows thesketch up to the size he wants.He scans the work, prints it onwatercolor paper and mountsthe paper onto a board. Fromthere, he oil-paints the picture,sometimes using gold leaf andshell gold to create haloes andaccents on letters, so it resem-bles an illuminated manuscript.
Sideriadis coined the word"astromythos," a combination ofthe Greek words for "star" and"myth." His paintings reflectthis, showing an otherworldlyuniverse where humanoidstravel intergalactically. Many be-ings have haloes similar to thoseseen in Eastern Orthodox icons.Some paintings feature text inGreek, which Sideriadis speaksand writes fluently. In the sto-ries, all characters and settingshave Greek names Sideriadiscoined.
"These are allegories. Theyare a vehicle to create new sym-bols and new stories," he said.He added that the haloes do notnecessarily mean the creature isholy. Some creatures have hornsas well as haloes. "The dualityleaves it open to interpretation."
Sideriadis studied manymythologies before creating hisown. His favorite is Greek, buthis images and stories also areinspired by Norse myths and artof the Byzantine empire. He alsoread folk legends and fairy talesto find common threads that runthrough all the world's narrativetraditions.
It's not easy creating an en-tire universe all by yourself, butSideriadis is determined to fin-ish the job.
"It's probably going to takeme my whole life," he said."That's OK. It's all I want to do."
Astromythos, Works by JonSideriadis will be at GreenStreet Arts Center, 51 Green St.in Middletown, until Thursday,Aug. 29. Gallery hours are Mon-day to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5p.m.; and Friday 9 a.m. to noon.Admission is free. Details:http://www.wesleyan.edu/greenstreet/.
COMMUNITY2 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Vote on our website!you have the chance to express your opinion on our website
on an important question in the news. The results will be pub-lished in our printed edition next week along with the questionfor that week.
The question this week is: Do you think President Obamawas right to cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin after Russiagranted asylum to edward Snowden?o yeso Noo Maybe
The results for last week’s question: Will President Obamabe more actively supportive of Greece than some of his recentpredecessors were?18% voted "yes"71% voted "No"11% voted "Maybe"
Please vote at: www.thenationalherald.com
NeW yORK- Stephanie Nikolo -poulos breathed new life into a“dead” language at the 3rd An-nual New York City Poetry Fes-tival on Saturday, July 27, whenshe read the opening lines ofHomer’s The Odyssey in theiroriginal Homeric Greek.
Homeric Greek is an archaicversion of the Attic–Ionic dialectof Ancient Greek, which fadedaway as Koiné became the lin-gua franca of the Hellenisticworld around 300 BC. TheseAncient Greek dialects are nolonger spoken today. They con-tinued to evolve over time, dueto commerce and politics, andeventually took the form of Me-dieval Greek and then ModernGreek language. Although it isno longer used conversationally,Homeric Greek continues to beread and studied by today’sscholars.
Nikolopoulos read at thetwo-day festival by invitationfrom poet RA Araya as part ofMiguel Algar�n’s Brooklyn Po-etry lineup. Algar�n is one ofthe cofounders of the NuyoricanPoets Café.
The lineup also includedHillary Keel, Sarah Sarai, Car-men Bardeguez-Brown, KateLevin, Carlos Manuel Rivera,Sparrow, Bonafide Rojas, andKeith Roach. The multi-lingualpoets infused German, Spanish,and English, in addition toHomeric Greek.
“Language,” Nikolopoulossays, “is a part of our identity. Itspeaks to our ancestry, wherewe grew up, and our educa-tion.” She recalls readingHerodotus in her Scripps CoreIII class Greeks andOthers/Greeks and Us and com-ing to a greater understandingof how widely the AncientGreeks traveled, which influ-enced their language and liter-ature.
There are about 6500 lan-guages spoken around theworld today, but it’s projectedthat by 2100 half of them willbecome extinct. Working withpoetry activist Bob Holman,Nikolopoulos has written aboutendangered languages forBOMBlog and The BrooklynRail.
Poet Breathes Life into“Dead” Language at NYC
Stephanie Nikolopoulos reciting her work
n THRU NOVEMBER 2TARPON SPRINGS, FL - Nightin the Islands also will be of-fered Saturdays, Sep. 7, Oct. 5,and Nov. 2 from 6-11 PM theCity of Tarpon Springs will pre-sent Night in the Islands – a freeevent on the world famousSponge Docks. Enjoy Greek mu-sic, dancing, and dining! Andwe will offer an hour of freeGreek dance lessons by the Lev-endia Dance Troupe from 6-7PM. The event features live mu-sic by Ellada, an exciting Greekband composed of three of themost accomplished Greek mu-sicians in the state. Ellada willperform nisiotika, the lively tra-ditional music of the Greek is-lands, as well as old and newGreek favorites. Ellada includesLeonidas Zafiris, bouzouki; EliasPoulos, vocals; and Dino The-ofilos, keyboard. The festival issupported in part by a grantfrom the National Endowmentfor the Arts.
n AUGUST 22-25PORT JEFFERSON, NY – TheGreek Orthodox Church of theAssumption presents its annualGreek Festival, August 22-25.This festival is a communityevent put together by the fami-lies of The Assumption commu-nity and we invite you to joinus in the festivities. This 4-dayevent will feature such culinarydelights as gyros, pastitsio,moussaka, souvlaki, spanako-pita & tyropita and much more.We look forward to your partic-ipation in our Annual Greek Fes-tival/Raffle. Come see a spec-tacular fireworks show onFriday and Saturday Aug 23rdand 24th! Hours: Thursday, Au-gust 22 – 5 – 10 PM, Friday, Au-gust 23, 5 – 11 PM, SaturdayAug. 24, 1–11 PM, Sunday, Aug.25, 1–10 PM. Where: ParishGrounds, 430 Sheep PastureRoad in Port Jefferson. Direc-tions: LIE Exit 64 (Route 112).Go North to Port Jefferson (passRt. 83, pass Rt. 347) Go overRailroad tracks. 1st traffic lightafter RR tracks - make a LEFTonto Sheep Pasture Road. Fol-low Sheep Pasture Road to theSTOP sign - make a LEFT andthen a RIGHT (You are still onSheep Pasture Road). After nextSTOP sign, you will see theChurch on the LEFT hand side...For more information call 631-473-0894. Admission: $2.00,free under 18.
n SEPTEMBER 4ASTORIA – Get-Out-The-VoteRally for John CATSimatidis!The 2013 Independent Repub-lican for NYC Mayor. A Mayorfor all New Yorkers and a ProudMember of the Omogeneia. JoinUs on Wednesday, Sept. 4th, 6-8PM at the Cretan House,32-3331st Street in Astoria. Open tothe Public. Everyone is wel-come. John will meet with usand share his passion and visionfor NYC. Appetizers and refresh-ments will be served. RSVP to:[email protected],917.856.3735 or, [email protected] is NOT a fundraiserand no funds will be solicited.
n SEPTEMBER 15MANHATTAN – The Church ofthe Annunciation invites you to“Welcome Back & GodparentSunday,” on Sunday, Sep. 15.Now that the summer is slowlywinding down we are preparingto welcome the entire commu-nity back to the AnnunciationChurch. We will celebrate every-one's return by honoring ourgodparents and godchildren. Amemorial service will be heldfor our godparents and godchil-dren who have fallen asleep inthe Lord, and an artoklasia willbe offered for the health andwellbeing of those who are stillalive and with us. 302 West 91stStreet. 212-724-2070.
n SEPTEMBER 16ROSLYN, NY – The HellenicAmerican Networking Group in-vites you to their next gatheringat Limani Restaurant, 1043Northern Boulevard, Roslyn,NY on Monday, Sep. 16. Therewill be a cash bar and Limaniwill once again graciously pro-vide their delicious appetizers.The mission of this organizationis to create an environment thatfacilitates meaningful businessconnections with fellow Hel-lenes. It’s about unifying theHellenic professionals and the
Hellenic entrepreneurs, bringingtogether our like-minded com-munity to create a platform forthe growth and advancement ofHellenes.
n SEPTEMBER 19-22GREENLAWN, NY – The St.Paraskevi Greek OrthodoxChurch presents its Greek Festi-val 2013, Sep. 19. Come join usfor a little taste of Greece andenjoy homemade Greek special-ties such as gyro, souvlaki,mousaka, spanakopita, Greekbeer and more! Also featuringtraditional Greek dance perfor-mances, guided Church tours,flea market and vendors andGrand Raffle! Hours: Thursday,Sep. 19, 6 – 10 PM, Friday, Sep.20 and Saturday, Sep. 21, 11AM–11 PM, Sunday, Sep 22, 12noon–9 PM. Where: ParishGrounds, 1 Shrine Place, Green-lawn, NY. For more informationcall 631-261-7272.
n OCTOBER 3MANHATTAN – Please join usat the Inaugural Banquet forThe Hellenic Initiative on Thurs-day, Oct. 3 at 583 Park Avenuein Manhattan. “Investing in theFuture of Greece” featuringPresident Bill Clinton will honorthree outstanding individualsfor their service to people ofGreece and all funds raisedthrough the banquet will sup-port programs to support recov-ery and renewal in Greece.George Stephanopoulos will bethe Master of Ceremonies. Thehonorees include Andreas Dra-copoulos on behalf of TheStavros Niarchos Foundation;Muhtar Kent, chairman andCEO of The Coca Cola Com-pany; and Andrew N. Liveris,chairman and CEO of The DowChemical Company. We are de-lighted to celebrate their long-standing commitment and manycontributions to Greece, espe-cially in response to the eco-nomic crisis. John Catsimatidis,Dennis Mehiel, George Stamas,George Svokos are the event Co-Chairs. Visit THI’s website toregister to attend at: www.the-hellenicinitiative.org. Hotel Ac-commodations in Manhattan:Rooms have been reserved atthe following hotels in Manhat-tan for Oct. 2-4. If you wouldlike to make a reservation,please phone the hotels directlyand ask for the Hellenic Initia-tive Banquet rate. The Renais-sance Hotel ($369 per night)Phone: 212-753-8841; The Fitz-patrick Hotel ($329 per night)Phone: 212-355-0100. Banquettickets are $500 each, withpackages for hosts at $2500,supporters at 15k, patrons at25k and vice chairs at 50k.
n OCTOBER 31 –NOVEMBER 3
WASHINGTON, DC – DC-Greeks.com, in association withlocal and national Hellenic or-ganizations, invites Greek-American young adults fromacross the country to our Na-tion's Capital this November forthe 5th edition of the one of themost diverse and inclusiveGreek events on the calendar!Pan-Hellenism Weekend 2013will provide Greek-Americanand Philhellene young adults 18and over with an affordable,fun, classy, and quality eventwhich allows attendees from DCand over two dozen differentstates the opportunity to net-work in a relaxed and welcom-ing environment without theburden of meetings and agendasthat so often detract youngadults from attending othermore established Greek conven-tions. Highlights of the weekendinclude Thursday and SaturdayHappy Hours, Friday and Sun-day Night Greek Nights, andSaturday Late Night Bouzoukia!For full details including aschedule of events, visit the Pan-Hellenism Weekend 2013 pageon DCGreeks.com!
n NOTE TO OUR READERSThis calendar of events sectionis a complimentary service tothe Greek American community.All parishes, organizations andinstitutions are encouraged toe-mail their information regard-ing the event 3-4 weeks aheadof time, and no later than Mon-day of the week before theevent, to [email protected]
GOINGS ON...
HE WILL MAKE US ALL PROUD
A proud member of the Omogeneia and the FIRST Greek-American to ever run for
New York City’s mayoral seat.Together, we can make it happen!
For Mayor of New York, 2013JOHN CATSIMATIDIS
A NEW YORKER FOR ALL NEW YORKERS
www.cats2013.com
Jon Siderakis: Art MeetsFantasy in Middletown
in New York - a city in whichDemocrats outnumber Republi-cans six to one - because he hascross-over appeal.
His critics say he doesn’thave a grasp of the issues facingNew York and isn’t ready forprime time. Mr. Catsimatidis hasnever before held public officeor worked in government. “Helacks the gravitas. He’s no RudyGiuliani and he’s not MikeBloomberg,” said Council Mem-ber Eric Ulrich, a Queens Re-publican who is backing Mr.Lhota. “Running a supermarketis a lot different than running acity.”
Dan Isaacs, Chairman of theNew York Republican CountyCommittee, which is backingMr. Catsimatidis, said he be-lieves the candidate’s rags-to-riches, “Only-in-America” storyis inspiring and exemplifies hisleadership abilities. Still, Mr.Isaacs said, Mr. Catsimatidis is“not your conventional candi-date” in terms of his “manner-isms and appearance.”
At 10 a.m. on Aug. 13, forexample, Mr. Catsimatidis wason the Upper East Side toprotest the placement of agarbage transfer station. Hewore a dark suit with a large,eye-catching stain. He pointedto his size 13 shoe, stomping hisfoot to demonstrate that mayorsput their foot down on bad pro-posals.
“Yeah, he’s got a dirty suitand maybe he’s got a stain onhis tie or his shirt. But you knowwhat? He’s real,” Mr. Isaacs said.“And I’d rather have a guy likethat than someone who’s per-fectly coifed and is full of bull—. And that ain’t John. John calls
it like he sees it. He’s honest.”Rudy Washington, a former
deputy mayor who worked withMr. Lhota in Mr. Giuliani’s ad-ministration but who is backingMr. Catsimatidis, said Mr. Cat-simatidis is a “man of integrityand honesty.”
His business acumen, hesaid, is what New York Cityneeds. Mr. Catsimatidis employsabout 8,000 people, nearly2,000 of whom work in the city.
“He knows how to createjobs,” said Mr. Washington, whobacked Mr. Catsimatidis beforeMr. Lhota entered the race.While Mr. Washington said hehoped Mr. Catsimatidis prevailsin the primary, he said, “The cityloses nothing if Joe wins.”
Bill Cunningham, a formercommunications director for bil-lionaire Mayor MichaelBloomberg who helped steerMr. Bloomberg to victory in
2001, said Mr. Catsimatidisfaces an uphill battle. Voters inthe primary tend to be moreconservative, he said, and theyprobably aren’t keen on Mr. Cat-simatidis support of Mr. Clinton,a Democratic hero.
“He’s running against a life-long Republican,” Mr. Cunning-ham said, referring to his oppo-nent, Mr. Lhota. “On resume,and temperament and experi-ence, (voters) may look at Cat-simatidis and say, ‘He has won-derful experience in thebusiness world but Lhota has
much more experience in gov-ernment and politics.’“
Mr. Catsimatidis has dis-missed Mr. Lhota as a “bureau-crat” who doesn’t have bigideas. He’s questioned Mr.Lhota’s temperament and sug-gested that New York doesn’twant to return to the “mean-ness” of the Giuliani era. TheLhota campaign has said Mr.Catsimatidis doesn’t have a“comprehensive” vision for thecity.
Mr. Catsimatidis grew up on135th Street in Harlem and nowlives in a full-floor Fifth Avenueapartment. He studied electricalengineering at New York Uni-versity and dropped out, hesaid, eight credits shy of hisdiploma. “I don’t think SteveJobs finished either,” Mr. Catsi-matidis said, referring to the co-founder of Apple. “Do you thinkhe was a failure?”
If elected, he doesn’t plan togive up his business, saying hewould let his family take agreater role in management.
Mr. Catsimatidis said he as-pires to be a 21st-centuryFiorello La Guardia, Mayor from1934 to 1945. “I think NewYorkers need a La Guardia,someone who’s going to fightfor them.”
On the issues, Mr. Catsima-tidis signature proposal is tobring the World’s Fair back toNew York. He said he’d promotearts and music in schools andwould work aggressively to bet-ter train teachers. He said he isconcerned about the concretebarriers attached to bike lanes,calling them “monstrosities”that need to be removed.
On the night of Aug. 15,when he showed up late at theart gallery in Lower Manhattan,he complained about traffic on
Seventh Avenue, saying, with-out explanation, that the streetthinned to one lane. “I will fixthat,” he said, prompting cheers.
Ronni Anderson, Director ofthe gallery and a Democrat, saidshe’s open to voting for Mr. Cat-simatidis in November buthadn’t made up her mind. “I liketo see someone who is self-made,” she said.
Mr. Catsimatidis’s wife,Margo, who worked for Mr. Cat-simatidis before they married in1988, told the crowd her hus-band understands New Yorkers.
“I’m with this man 40 years,and there’s not a day that goesby that I’m not amazed by whathe does and how much he lovesthis city,” she said. “He is thesame guy that gets the samebills you guys get - the waterbill, the this bill, this tax, that(tax.) He gets it. He gets it onevery level.”
COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013 3
tion, for which he won the Madein New York award at the 2008Tribeca Film Festival.
SUCCeSS HAS MANyDiFFeReNT AROMAS
Ledes has a younger brother,George, who runs the cosmeticsindustry trade publication busi-ness started by their father. Hissister, Sara, is an accountant inthe DC area and the youngest,Baily, also works in the perfumebusiness, but Ledes took a dif-ferent path, and his calling cameearly.
He began to make filmsaround eight years old. He wasvery interested in writing and al-ways enjoyed stories, so whenhe got a super 8 camera, his pathwas obvious. He also wrote po-etry, which he did through hisdays at Amherst College, wherehe won prizes for them.
His love for writing was in-fluenced by his studies of Latinand Greek, but one of his life’spivotal moments, which alsostimulated his love of Greece,came when his grandfather paidfor him to participate in theArchdiocese’s Ionian Village inthe Western Peloponnese.
“I was around 12 and it wasthe summer camp’s first year. Iwas blown away by the range ofGreek people I met there,” hesaid, discovering, “They are notat all monolithic.”
Controversy and film was partof the experience. His campmates “were very outspokenagainst the Greek junta,” whichmade the priests nervous.
“At one point one of the gen-erals showed up for theatricalperformances by the campers.We were all out there on thestage covered with Zs, he said.The letter “Z” was a reference tothe Costa-Gavras film about rightwing political violence in Greece.
“Yes, I wore a Z. We gotthrough it and the audience werelike stone, but it was a strikingexperience for me. At the time Iwas very interested in politics.”It was the Vietnam era and histeachers back home were verypolitically active.
“I had the advantage of goingthrough my rebellious years withgood stuff to rebel against. I did-n’t have to look far,” and hisschooling allowed him to reflecton literature and philosophy.
His study of Attic Greek con-tinued through Amherst. He was
particularly interested in Greektragedy and he still thinks of filmas occupying a similar positionin modern culture in that “it hasa role to play in a democracy,both entertaining and stimulat-ing thought and discussion.”CReATiViTy UNDeR ATTACK
That is why he is concernedabout the economics of film mak-ing and distribution that aremaking it very hard for indepen-dent film makers to make a liv-ing, and forcing many to rein-vent themselves at 50.
His general critique of hecalled the dominance of “financecapitalism” is that it helps bigbusiness but not entrepreneursand “people who have greatideas.” “The very existence offilm making as a profession isunder siege,” he said.
He is also very interested in“some strands of Europeanthought that emphasize lan-guage and speech and commu-nity and the role of language.
“I think it’s both typical andhorrifying that the NSA shouldbe collecting every piece of writ-ten language that we transmit,”through the internet “in a waythat makes us all second guesswhat we are writing and com-municating,” he said, agreeingthat it has a chilling effect “on
our self-expression and our rela-tionships.”
Ledes also is concerned aboutthe decrease in funding for writ-ing and the arts which he thinksis a detriment to our society. Hebelieves literature and art are vi-tal for social progress and har-mony. “They make for a morehumanistic society, make itharder to set groups against eachother.”
The arts and humanitarianconcerns are important for bothLedes and his wife, Kathy. Theyare now working on a not-forprofit working on animal rightson the island of Amorgos. He be-lieves preventing the abuse ofanimals is am important part ofhaving a human society, but healso feels it is healthy for Greeksin need to also have the oppor-tunity to give through humani-tarian endeavors.
His wife loves music and isactive with the Little Orchestrasociety which was founded bytheir dear friend, the late DinoAnagnost.
His son Wilder Alexander is14 and is interested in writingand computers, and daughterAva is interested in arts andcrafts – a reflection of his wife’sprofession as a jewelry designer.Ava is also interested in photog-
raphy and gymnastics – heclaims that credit for his side,however, since his father was ahigh school gymnast.
GReeKS UNDeR ATTACK“I would love to do a film in
Greece,” he told TNH. He is in-trigued by a piece of ancientGreek history related to the is-land of Mytiline, where his fatherin law Michael Jaharis has roots,but he is also interested in mak-ing films about modern Greekhistory, and is very concernedabout the Greek crisis.
He knows Hellenes have a lotto offer, however, he hopes thatthe modern contribution of Hel-lenism will not be that Greek en-trepreneurs will invent the nextphone app, but that through
them “ancient Greece will lay thefoundation for large humanistideas,” that will shape a betterfuture.
Such ideas would be in con-flict with the model of financecapital of which the UnitedStates is the leading proponent,but he said that among Greek in-tellectuals, social criticism andthe idea of humanizing “theother” goes back as far as Homer“where often the Trojans comeoff looking better than theGreeks.”
Which is ironic for today’sGreece. Ledes he is stunned bythe notion of Greek racial purityrising again, and he juxtaposedthe phenomenon with the mem-ory that “My mother’s mother
used to tell me they should neverhave let people like my fatherinto this country. She was a na-tivist in the 1920s,” a movementthat caused ethnic groups likethe Greeks to establish the Orderof AHEPA.
Nevertheless, he is disturbedby the media’s portrayal of thesupport Golden Dawn is receiv-ing in Greece. “That is a way ofstigmatizing the Greek and jus-tifying,” the crushing austeritymeasures.
He concluded by saying “Idon’t blame the Greeks at all forwhat is happening. Whateverfaults the Greeks have go back along way,” and have nothing todo with the causes of the currenteconomic crisis.”
Greek-American Filmmaker Ledes is Focused on Family, Society, HellenismContinued from page 1
ABOVe: Greek-American film maker Richard ledes with hisfamily: (l-R) ledes, Ava ledes, Kathy Jaharis and Wilder ledes.ABOVe RiGHT: Richard ledes and cinematographer ValentinaCaniglia. ledes says “i work with images, but i work the way awriter works, in terms of editing, putting images together.”Writing is for him “a primary, foundational way of working.”BOTTOM RiGHT: elliott Gould and Judith Roberts from film“Fred Won't Move Out.”
In John Catsimatidis’ Campaign for Mayor of NYC, Money is no Object
erty Street, where the churchand the Port Authority alsosigned an agreement to build anon-denominational bereave-ment center.
Given the delays and bud-getary woes at the nearby trans-portation hub, also of Cala-trava's design, the architect maybe an odd choice for this project.On the other hand, the churchknows he can handle this kindof situation.
S. Calatrava GetsNod for St. Nick’s
Continued from page 1
Continued from page 1
“I think New Yorkersneed a La Guardia,someone who’s goingto fight for them,” sayscandidate Catsimatidis.
PhotoGrAPhEr JACquEs GoBErt
dential information? Can thishappen to other people who dobusiness with these banks?”
He also wrote that “I dili-gently inquired of both priestsholding the benevolent fundsabout the items listed. With thebenevolent fund of Prophet EliasChurch I received concise infor-mation from the priest of thedrastic situation the recipient
was in due to serious problemswhich had arisen. Having re-flected on the information I hadreceived, I can say most defi-nitely that the assistance givento this individual was truly of abenevolent nature.”
Isaiah sounds upset with thefact that the parish acquired in-formation on the two benevo-lent accounts: “I still cannot un-derstand how the auditcommittee, which is responsible
for the 2012 budget of theparish has information from theZions Bank for the years 2009,and 2010. If this is not a witch-hunt, what is it?
“Secondly, in regard to theinformation I have of the benev-olent fund of Holy Trinity Cathe-dral, I spoke extensively withthe priest since the expendituresinclude members of his family. Isaw that six expenditures are re-lated to a professor of our Holy
Cross School of Theologyand seminarians studying forthe holy priesthood. I know fora fact that all seminarians at ourschool of theology, as well asstudents at all colleges have un-expected needs that require fi-nancial assistance. As to theother five expenditures, theyhad to do with worship servicesinvolving visiting clergy andchanting.
“Again, I recognize such ex-penditures as normal, as in allof our parishes in the Archdio-cese.”
He completely ignores thefact that Gilbert was writingcheeks to his sons “for car re-pairs” but he once more wrote“finally, I really cannot under-stand your logic in this investi-gation of your two priests, re-garding confidential benevolentassistance, a period coveringthree years and pertaining toabout twenty-five thousand dol-lars, when your parish did notgive its annual commitment tothe Archdiocese for 2011 in theamount of one hundred thou-sand dollars which the otherparishes of this Metropolis paid.Your payment for 2012 is delin-quent as well as this year's.”
Isaiah blames the ParishCouncil saying that “it appearsthat for the past fifteen months[it] has done little or nothing tobring unity and increased in-come to the parish. You are oneof the wealthiest parishes in theArchdiocese with two milliondollars in separate accounts andyou are crying poverty.” Hethreatens the council that hewill request the Archbishop toremove them. He wrote that “itappears that the time is comingto the point when the Arch-bishop can declare canonicaldisorder with the removal of thecurrent council and assumingthe administration of the parishuntil it conforms to the UniformParish Regulations of the Arch-diocese (Article 16).
“I am hopeful that you willnot allow this to occur. As mem-bers of Christ's Church you haveaccepted a sacred obligation toserve the Lord and His people.It is not too late to do this.”
TNH revealed last week thatGilbert and Kouremetis hadopen benevolent funds accountssupposedly to assist discreetlyand confidently people in need,but instead Gilbert wrote checksto his sons and Kouremetis paidhis secretary’s house rent. Hehad also authorized her as acosigner on the account.
According the documents ac-quired by TNH and had beensent to Demetrios and Isaiah, 11checks were paid to Gilbert’ssons over 9 months totaling
$4,637.18 for car repairs, assist-ing with church services, school-books, and undetailed reasons.Also a check of $75.13 was is-sued payable to Gilbert for alunch with another cleric namedMaximos.
Gilbert opened the benevo-lent account in February 2006and he closed in May 2013 afterthe parish council had startedauditing the finances of theparish and requested to examineall the accounts that use theChurch’s tax ID number.
From Kouremetis’ benevolentaccount 14 payments weremade for household rent for theChurch secretary’s benefit total-ing $12,835.00 ($600 of thiswas a cash payment – says forrent).
Also, the records show that4 cash payments to the Churchsecretary totaling $1,337 plus $215.49 in other miscellaneouspayments.
The documents show that$13,787.49 expenditures fromthe benevolent account went tothe Church secretary.
According to the records sentto Demetrios and Isaiah, an-other $7,212.70 or another 25%of the total contributions madeto the benevolent account wereunidentified, including a $2,000payment to law firmScally&Reeding.
Parishioners, donors, andalso the parish were contribut-ing to the benevolent accountsof the two priests trusting thattheir contributions would beused for philanthropic purposesassisting people in need. Gilbert,Kouremetis, Demetrios, and Isa-iah all failed to respond toTNH’s request for comment.
On July 24, Parish CouncilPresident Dimitrios Tsagaris in-formed Isaiah in writing, attach-ing a number of revealing doc-
uments of Gilbert’s andKouremetis’ benevolent ac-counts, including copies ofchecks. Isaiah not only did noth-ing but he closed the churchesas TNH has reported becausethe Parish Council was forced toreduce the salaries of the priestsby 40% due to lack of funds atthe parish.
Isaiah in a letter dated Feb-ruary 4 sent to Gilbert, who hadcomplained to him that theParish Council was requestingto audit his benevolent accountinstructed him no to give anyinformation the audit commit-tee. He also instructed Gilbertnot to keep records: “If this isthe case, and it is, you must notkeep lasting records of the gooddeeds which are being donewith the funds you receive forthis purpose.”
The Parish Council wrote tothe archbishop that “rest as-sured that our community's con-cern is not that of divulging thesources that funded the Benev-olent Fund accounts; the con-cern is appropriateness of theexpenditures of the funds, andthe Parish's liability under theIRS laws.
“Items for your considerationthat merit further investigationshould include but not limitedto the following:
• Why does the "ProphetElias Greek Orthodox ChurchBenevolent Fund" Zions BankAccount No.: 0041-45001, con-tain the name of ElizabethMichaelsen as an owner and sig-natory party to the account, inaddition to Michael A.Kouremetis?
• In view of the fact that Eliz-abeth Michaelsen has been along time employee of and actedas the secretary to Fr.Kouremetis, she became the pri-mary dollar amount beneficiaryof the Benevolent Fund. Pleasenote the payment of rents, at-torney's fees, etc .
• Who authorized her towrite checks for her own bene-fit, and to sign the name of Fr.Michael Kouremetis?
• Who informed/authorizedthe payee bank to accept andpay the checks signed by some-one other than MichaelKouremetis, as it is evident bysome of the signatures on thesample checks?
• What are the IRS implica-tions of paying an employee ad-ditional funds without issuingan IRS 1099 Form? We havebeen advised that this affectsboth Ms. Michaelsen and theunderage family members of anemployee. There are additionalserious IRS concerns raised bythe auditors as set forththerein.”
Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver Covers up His Utah Priests’ Suspect Dealings
COMMUNITY4 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013
is indeed very moving for us be-cause we can serve the Ortho-dox and project our faith in theright way because we as Christ-ian Orthodox have a traditionof the Mother Church of Con-stantinople and our Church isthe most Byzantine and whensomeone sees it, it’s like theysee Aghia Sophia. We have theCross of (Emperor) Justin andthe doors are exactly as they arein Aghia Sophia, 13 feet tall.They are royal doors.”
He explained that, “Whenyou enter through the narthex(lobby) into the main Churchthere are royal doors and whensomeone goes into the sanctu-ary step there are royal doorsagain. We will open them onlywhen we have celebrationsabout Bishops and the VirginMary and when Head Priestscome and, unfortunately we willhold funerals as well.”
The shape of the church islike cross-like from the SixthCentury with a dome 60 feethigh while the interior will bepainted with holy icons ofByzantine art with holy topicsfrom the life of Christ and saintsof the Orthodox Church.
Father Karloutsos added,“We’re probably going to be theonly ‘Green’ Church because thecompany Dow Chemical is of-
fering us Dow shingles for theroof so this way we won’t spendmoney on electricity and heat-ing. It is the most modern thatexists and it’s the first time thishave been given to the church.”
He added, “We dug out theland 10 years ago but someGreeks had sued us and delayedus but this turned into a bigblessing because young peoplecame along who know how tobuild churches. And also therecame other people as benefac-tors such as a couple who of-fered us $2 million and imaginethat the man is a Protestant andthe woman is a Jew. “
He continued: “In answerwhy he did something like that,he said because we had helpedthem spiritually. They came tome for advice and wanted to of-fer something to the church.They want to remain anony-mous.”
Father Karloutsos said theproject cost $12 million and saidwas paid in full. “I was thinkingabout this yesterday becausewhen I came here in 1998 I wasupset with Archbishop Spyridonand I had decided to serve acommunity because everybodyknew I was involved in politicaland economic issues and Iwanted to go to a humblechurch.
“This also helped me spiritu-ally as a human being because
many times when you go tograndiose things you lose thesimpler and essential things.When Archbishop Demetrioscame he asked me to help withLeadership 100 and told me tokeep the community becauseeveryone now says that you areboth a good shepherd and agood priest. And let me tell youI was happy with this and thiswas God’s Will. People startedcoming, the congregation wasincreased, we couldn’t have aGreek school the way we shouldnor a Sunday School. We could-n’t serve the elderly and nowsincerely I am happy becausenow we can serve our people.”
He stressed: “Buildings areone thing, but the most beauti-ful church is a person’s soul andheart and that when God isthere then the complex will fillwith love. If there is no love,whatever you do, the complexwill be a big grave.”
He said that, “It is an upcom-ing community and also thanksto the Stavros Niarchos Founda-tion, which gave us $180,000for three years, we have decidedto establish an institute of lan-guage and civilization,” explain-ing that, “This year we will havea Greek, a Romanian and aRussian school and bringing thisway all the Orthodox under theEcumenical Patriarchate, theArchdiocese, the morale.”
He also said that the commu-nity is comprised of 260 familiesand he stressed that, “In ourcommunity we have 35 races ofpeople, Italians, Jews, Russians,Ukrainians, Georgians, most ofwhom have become Orthodox,
while there are some familieswhere the husband or the wifeis Roman Catholic but we bringthem to us, open our hearts tothem, bring them in our fam-ily.”
The community of the Dor-
mition in the Hamptons is 90miles from New York City andis considered one of the bestsummer resorts in the country.
In answer to whether thecommunity maintains its Greek-ness, he said, “I will give you asmall example. Last week wehad 35 children for a Greek les-son in a summer course. We willhave 35 children in the Greekschool, 17 in the Russian and12 in the Romanian. The lessonswill be held at the same timebut when we do the Greekdances all children will comeand learn them,” he said.
He added to the questionabout if the other Orthodox feelcomfortable, “Of course, verycomfortable because we’re notnationalists. The Greek spiritwas never nationalistic, it em-braced the world and in thatway enchanted the world andeveryone became Greek.”
He also said that, “It is for usa great honor and a blessingthat the Archbishop will comefor the door opening and a mealwill be held at the restaurantAmmos that Mr. Markos is of-fering for 300 people.”
Dormition of Virgin Mary Church, a Replica of Aghia Sophia, Opens on LI
Fr. Alex Karloutsos, Protopresbyter of the ecumenical Patriarchate, presiding priest of theparish, is showing the epitaphios of the Mother of God to His eminence Archbishop Demetriosof America and to the congregation.
Special Import / Export IssueOctober 2013
Place your ad by September 26th and be part ofthis culinary renaissance
This edition highlights the hottest trends in specialty foods and wines, combined with the most traditional Greek products and recipes. Don’t miss out!
For more information contact: [email protected] or call: 718-784-5255, ext. 108
COMING THIS FALL!
www.thenationalherald.com
The National Herald
Metropolitan isaiah of Denver
Continued from page 1
Continued from page 1
Hundreds of Greek Orthodox faithful filled the new church ofthe Southampton parish, which opened on August 15, the FeastDay of the Theotokos. The Church is a Byzantine- style a replicaof the Aghia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople.
By Phylis (Kiki) SembosSpecial to The National Herald
Strolling lower Manhattan,Yiannis and Barbara looked fora place to have dinner. Theyvery seldom ate out – excepting
for Sunday dinners at Aunt Cal-liope’s house, Yiannis’ sister. Heknew that the finer restaurantswere pricey. But, it was a specialdouble occasion. Besides hisbirthday, Barbara would begraduating from high school
soon.A place called Ilios came in
sight. Taking a moment to studythe menu, noticing the priceswere a lot better than therestaurant two blocks up, theyentered. A maitre d’ seated themat a blue-clothed table againstthe wall, handing each a menuand left. But, his face blotchedred when he saw that the priceswere not like the menu dis-played outside. He called theMaitre d’ and pointed it out.
“Those, sir, are lunch prices.You’re two hours late for lunch.”explained the stiff-backed gen-tleman, haughtily, looking atYiannis over his long, thin nose.Not placated, Yiannis told himit was a deception, “A trick… agimmick to get us in here.” But,Barbara begged him not to fuss.“Please! I love this place, Pop!Look! It has paintings of Greeceon the walls. It’s so picturesque!Almost like being there.”
With hesitating acquies-cence, he capitulated, pickingup the menu as if it was soiled.A steak cost triple what he’dhave paid at the super market.The were little different fromthe entrees. The drinks were outof range – anyone’s range, hewas convinced, flipping themenu. Their waiter came withpad and pencil standing besideBarbara. “Are we ready?” heasked. Yiannis fumbled, “I…need a little more time.” But,Barbara told the waiter her or-der, beginning with Crab Soup,grilled vegetables, “…and forthe entrée I’d like chicken Fric-assee with oven baked pota-toes.” Yiannis’s hands began toshake. “Oh!” she added, “I for-
got a Greek salad for two.” Hebegan to worry if he’d have tosend her home while he washeddishes in the kitchen. Or, if thewaiters would lift him up, bod-ily, and throw him out into thestreet. Sweating, he mentallyadded up Barbara’s order and ifhe could eat anything at all. Hethought he’d brought enoughmoney but… “I’ll have the soup.Bring some bread – freshlybaked.”
“What will you have to drink,sir?”
“Water. I have an ulcer.” heexplained.
“Pop! You don’t have an ul-cer.” she whispered when thewaiter left them. “Why are younot having a glass of wine, atleast?” she grew quizzical. “And,only soup?”
“I’m really not very hungry.Your mother said I’m gainingtoo much weight. My pantsdon’t fit anymore. That’ll meanbuying new clothes. Can’t dothat!” Barbara tried to convincehim to order something more.Growing irritated, he insistedhe’d be satisfied with his order.Shrugging her shoulders, shesaid nothing more. Instead, sheleaned back and listened to thelovely soft, Greek instrumentalmusic that floated through thebeautifully decorated restau-rant, wishing her mother couldbe there, too. The food came onlovely ornate plates. But, forYiannis, his soup could havebeen dish water. Barbara’sdessert, a sumptuous honey-soaked Baklava, activated Yian-nis’s saliva glands. His stomachroared, especially, when the billcame. His hands shook until he
discovered that he had justenough to cover it all – withvery little for a tip. ‘It’s eitherthem or me!’ he mumbled.
About to leave, their atten-tion went to the brass doorswhere Areti and his sister, Cal-liope entered, approaching thetable, exchanging hugs andkisses while a surprised Yiannisasked them why they had come.
“We searched every restau-rant along the avenue. Have youforgotten? It’s your birthday!”
“Yeah! Birthday.” he sighed,stuffing his hands into his emptypockets.
“We wouldn’t let you cele-brate this day with only Bar-bara. We came to celebrate withyou. Our treat, of course!” said
his sister, fondly. Their treat?Suddenly, the music soundedlike it was piped in from heaven;the décor was the most beautifulhe’d ever seen, his appetite be-came voracious and the pricesweren’t so bad, really. “I’m starv-ing.” He announced, patting hisstomach.
“Pop! What happened toyour ulcer?” eyeing her father,suspiciously. “And, your weightgain?”
“Oh, that! Comes and goes –like birthdays.” he told her, sit-ting back down.
“But, it’s too late! The bill ispaid, Yiannis.” His sister toldhim, grabbing his hand, “Let’sgo to my house and have a littlesomething there.”
ball: A True Underdog Story di-rector Rawson Marshall Thurberkeeps the tone appropriatelybreezy, but understandablystruggles to find the right senseof timing.
We’re The Millers aims for anuclear family farce, pushing itone step further than its obviousinspiration, National Lampoon’sSummer Vacation: not only arethey not the gleaming picture offamily life they might seem,they’re not even a real family.This naturally opens up a realmof jokes along the lines of Kenny,in a kissing lesson, smoochinghis supposed mother and sister.
Every pit stop is a chance forgratuity. There’s a camp outwith swingers (Nick Offermanand Kathryn Hahn) and a run-in with pursuing drug dealersthat inanely becomes Aniston’sstrip tease.
As she did in Horrible Bosses(which also co-starred Sudeikis)the actress trades on the thrillof her sexuality, which wouldn’t
be necessary if a good romanticcomedy script captured her girl-next-door snark. But it’s startingto look unlikely she’ll ever findanother The Good Girl — or isreally seeking it.
As a diversion, one could doworse. Sudeikis’s smart-aleck,Midwest charm, masking amore devious instinct, does a lotto carry the film. The formerSaturday Night Live player hasstruggled to transition to lead-ing man roles, though heshowed promise in the littleseen A Good Old FashionedOrgy.”
But he’s straining here tokeep the ship righted. When theend-credit bloopers roll,Sudeikis and Aniston, free of thecontrived plot, look like they’refinally having fun.
We’re The Millers, a WarnerBros. release, is rated R by theMotion Picture Association ofAmerica for crude sexual con-tent, passive language, drug ma-terial and brief graphic nudity.Running time: 110 minutes.One and a half stars out of four.
COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013 5
Jennifer Aniston StripsIn We’re the Millers
www.GreekKitchennyc.com
We invite you to join us in prayer to commemorate the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.Wednesday, August 28, Great Vespers with Artoclasia at 7:00pm
His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Ζela will officiate this eveningassisted by the Very Rev. Arch. Vasilios Bassakyros & other clergy.
Thursday, August 29, Matins at 9:15 amfollowed by the Divine Liturgy with Artoclasia at 10:15 am
His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Ζela will officiateassisted by the Very Rev. Arch. Vasilios Bassakyros & other clergy.
The Philophohos Society will host a reception on both days.
Sunday, September 1, The beginning of the Ecclesiastical year, Matins (όρθρος) will be conducted at 9:15 a.m.
followed by the Divine Liturgy 10:15 a.m.
The Priest Vasilios Bassakyros and the Parish Council
ST JOHN THE BAPTISTGREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH143 East 17th St., New York, NY 10003 • (212) 473-0648
OUR ANNUAl FeSTiVAl Will TAKe PlACeON SΑTURDAy SePTeMBeR 28
Unhappy BirthdayGREEK AMERICAN STORIES
By Steve FrangosTNH Staff Writer
CHiCAGO- Greeks in Houstonby Irene Cassis and Dr. Constan-tina Michalos is the latest vol-ume found in the Arcadia Pub-lishing Company’s Images ofAmerica series that focuses onGreeks in the United States(Charleston, South Carolina: Ar-cadia Publishing, 2013). Nownumbering an additional sevenvolumes, these Arcadia photo-historical accounts that focus onthe Greek experience in NorthAmerica are an invaluable visualaids. I should quickly note thatroughly another half dozen orso of these Arcadia publications,while not focusing exclusivelyonly Greeks, do offer some cov-erage of Greeks within theirpages. The Tarpon Springs(2002) and the Carvel Ice Cream(2009) volumes are among themost notable of that group.
With the Greeks in Houstonvolume, we find a gathering of221 black and white historicphotographs (not counting thecover) as well as a judicious ar-ray of documents. Given whatwe read in this volume’s Ac-knowledgment’s page, that theAnnunciation Greek Orthodoxcommunity of Houston has is-sued both a 65th and a 90thcommemorative historical vol-ume, “which provided sourcematerial for this volume.” Thisis a rare advantage since com-munity commemorative vol-umes are not widely circulatedoutside their host parishes. AsArcadia Publishing is a nationalpress anyone can now have achance to see this valuable col-lection of historic images.
As we learn again from theacknowledgments page anotherform of continuity exists heresince Mary Wells Sharpley andCassis coauthored both Annun-ciations’ 65th and a 90th vol-umes. In 2009, Dr. Michalosedited Our Precious Legacy: The
History of the Greek-OrthodoxCommunity in Houston, Texas(Annunciation Greek OrthodoxCathedral). Clearly the Annun-ciation parish is fortunate tohave two such individuals dedi-cated to such a project. Again,in the true spirit of cooperationthe authors of this new Arcadiavolume have sought out the helpof Mary Poulos and Carol Vari-tan of the Archives Committeeat the Annunciation Cathedralfor historical information andpersonal memories. Ann Poulosadministrative assistant to fatherMichael Lambakis, dean of theCathedral also provided neededinformation.
This volume is composed of
an introduction, ten chapters,and a conclusion. The ten chap-ters are thematic: Coming toAmerica; A New Home in Hous-ton; The Church is Planted; TheChurch Blossoms; The GreatWars; Greek American identity;a Greek Presence in Houston;The Church Flourishes; A Radi-cal Decade and The JourneyContinues.
For those not generally awareof the internal structure of GreekAmerica: “In 1967, Houston be-came the See of the Eighth Arch-diocesan District, and the An-nunciation Church was elevatedto the status of a cathedral. To-day, the Greek community ofHouston has three churches: the
original Annunciation Greek Or-thodox Cathedral, St. Basil theGreat Greek Orthodox Churchin west Houston, and St. Johnthe Theologian near the ClearLake area. With the addition ofthe Polemanakos EducationalBuilding, the S.P. Martel Audi-torium, and the Steve G.Caloudas Athletic Center, theAnnunciation Cathedral com-plex now encompasses twoblocks.” As one might expect af-ter reading even this short pas-sage the Greek communities inTexas are not unknown by otherHellenes around the nation. Farfrom it. Aside from decades ofnews accounts in the Greek-American press (and the host ofpublications the community it-self has issued) published ac-counts on the Greeks of Houston(and other Hellenes in Texas)are readily available in any num-ber of historical accounts, refer-ence books, Internet sites, news-paper stories and much more.
Arcadia Publishing’s highlysuccessful standard format isone that mixes black and whitephotographs with brief captions.Since the photographs all focuson a single community the im-ages and abbreviated accountsall form one overall account.While sections such as the intro-duction or conclusion exist forlonger written information, theArcadia volumes are not meantto be narrative histories. So, anyconsideration of this book mustbe conscious of its basic form.
With Greeks of Houston, theintent is clear this is most cer-tainly a visual history of thoseGreeks who attended the An-nunciation Cathedral and orevents surrounding that collec-tive. It is not framed or offeredas the history of all Greeks inHouston or even that region ofTexas. Although from time totime given the history and per-sonal experiences of various in-dividuals who live outside of thecity of Houston but who at-
tended the Annunciation parishsee inclusion. While it is clear,to the attentive reader, that thereare two voices writing these cap-tions (and so two inherently dif-ferent points of view) in the endthe stated purpose of presentingthe history and experiences of aselection of parishioners fromthe Annunciation Greek Ortho-dox Cathedral is accomplished.
Even given the word limit im-posed on the individual pho-tographs certain captions are es-pecially fine. The description ofthe cover photograph or the con-cise explanations of the localAHEPA and GAPA chapters in-cluding their internal goals aresuccinct but crystal clear. Thereare also those occasional cap-tions which do not ring true.First, the vast majority of theGreeks from the 1880 to 1920waves of sojourners did notcome to the United States be res-idents. That was a gradualprocess. Certainly those drivenfrom their native villages bywars or other reasons had nochoice is an accepted part ofModern Greek history. But thevast majority of Greeks whocame to the United States be-tween the years 1880 and 1920did so with the stated intentionof ultimately returning home.So portraying these Greek so-journers as being intentional im-migrants upon their arrival is atbest a conflation of intentionsthat happened over a long pe-riod of time and at worst a dis-tortion.
On page 12 in the captionthat discusses the first Greek Or-thodox wedding performed inHouston Archimandrite Theocli-tos Triantafilides is described ascoming from “SS ConstantineSerbian Orthodox Church inGalveston” and that he “was aRussian priest sent to Galvestonby Czar Nicholas.” In these fewwords, volumes of dispute arecontained.
It is an accepted fact of his-
tory that Theoclitos Triantafil-ides, born Theodore Triantafil-ides in November 1833, was anethnic Greek. Triantafilides be-came a monk and was by all ac-counts an incredibly educatedman able to speak Greek, Russ-ian, Serbian and Arabic. In timeFather Triantafilides became thetutor first for Prince George ofGreece and later for the CzarAlexander III’s children. It wasCzar Alexander who sent Tri-antafilides to Galveston. TheSaints Constantine and HelenChurch in Galveston was estab-lished by Greeks in 1862 butover time went from a Greek toa pan-Orthodox to a Serbianparish. On October 22, 1916,just short of his 83rd birthday,Archimandrite Triantafilidesdied. None of these facts are indispute.
It is of little matter whichGreek Orthodox Church inNorth America is “the first” orthe “oldest.” It is the factual his-tory of Greeks in North Americathat is important. Many mightbe unaware that no Greek eth-nic Archdiocese existed in Northor South America until 1922.Many of the early Greek ethnicpriests that served in Greek eth-nic parishes around the nationwere under the direction of theRussian Archdiocese prior to1922.
Coming to terms with an ac-curate understanding of the hu-man complexities found in anycommunity is difficult. But oldprejudices have no place in con-temporary historical accounts es-pecially when so much is alreadypublished that reveals the dif-ference between ethnic prideand documented fact.
A careful reading of Greeksin Houston provides a service-able addition to the growingnumber of photographic-histo-ries on the Greeks in the UnitedStates.
Seeing Hellenes of the Lone Star State: the Greeks in HoustonALL HISTORY
Continued from page 1
British actor Will Poulter (l), US actress Jennifer Aniston (C),and director Rawson Thurber arrive for the German premiereof the movie "We're the Millers" in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 15.
AP Photo/dPA, JoErG CArstENsEN
OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS6 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013
By Paul VitelloNew York Times
Penelope Casas, a Greek-American writer from Queenswho was an authority on thefoods of Spain, and helped in-troduce Americans in the 1980sto a continental Spanish cuisinedistinctly different from its Mex-ican and South American coun-terparts, died on Aug. 11 inManhasset, on Long Island. Shewas 70. The cause was compli-cations of treatment forleukemia, said her daughter,Elisa.
Mrs. Casas wrote many in-fluential books on Spanish cook-ing, beginning in 1982 with“The Foods and Wines of Spain,”which is considered a classic
and is in its 12th printing. TheNew York Times’s restaurantcritic Mimi Sheraton called it“one of the best works on Span-ish food ever presented to theAmerican public.”
Her 1985 cookbook, “Tapas:The Little Dishes of Spain,” wasamong the first to chronicle forAmerican readers the Spanishculinary tradition of tapas bars,or tascas, where Spaniardsgraze between meals over ap-petizers like baby eel, grilledsausage and prawn fritters, sip-ping sherry. That book also be-came a classic, riding an earlywave of enthusiasm for tapas inthe United States. “Tapas” wasreissued in 2007 in a revisededition.
Upon its original publication,
Craig Claiborne, the Times foodwriter and editor, called thetapas book “exceptional,” andanointed Mrs. Casas “the lead-ing American authority on thefoods of Spain.”
It was a happy resolution towhat had been a first bristly ex-change between the critic andMrs. Casas, who until the early1980s was unknown except as“Mrs. Penelope Casas, of White-stone, Queens,” the signatureshe used in her many letterspublished in The Times’s foodand travel sections. In the late1970s, she had written a politenote to Mr. Claiborne correctinghis spelling for a spaghettilike
tapas dish — baby eels tossedin olive oil.
The Spanish word for babyeels was “angulas” — not “an-guilas,” as he had written — shesaid. Mr. Claiborne initially dis-missed her complaint, insistingin a note of reply that he wasright and she was wrong. Shestood her ground, though, sentanother letter with considerableetymological proof and so im-pressed Mr. Claiborne with herculinary erudition that he in-vited her to cook him a meal.
After the meal, which wasserved at the Casases’ summerhome in East Hampton, not farfrom Mr. Claiborne’s, he called
his literary agent, who helpedMrs. Casas get her first bookcontract. She and Mr. Claiborneremained friends until his deathin 2000.
Mrs. Casas published sevencookbooks, including “Delicioso!Regional Cooking of Spain”(1996), “Paella! SpectacularRice Dishes From Spain”(1999), and “La Cocina deMama: The Great Home Cook-ing of Spain” (2005).
In all of them, she took painsto describe Spanish culinary cul-ture as well as its ingredients.The tapas tradition, for instance,emerged among the fiercely in-dependent-minded people ofAndalusia in the 19th century,she wrote, partly because it per-mitted them “to eat by whim,free from rules and schedules.”
Mrs. Casas’ first exposure toanything Spanish came in herninth-grade Spanish class atGarden School, a private highschool in Jackson Heights,Queens. She later majored inSpanish literature at Vassar. Herfate as a Spainophile wassealed, her daughter said, dur-ing a semester abroad in Madridin the early 1960s, when shemet her future husband, Dr. LuisCasas, who would collaborateon several of her books.
At the time, though, he wasa medical student, and the sonof her student-exchange hostmother.
The young couple spent a lot
of time tapas bar hopping. In a1979 interview, Mrs. Casas toldMr. Claiborne, “We rarely gothome before 5 in the morning,and then got up to make an 8o’clock class.”
Penelope Fexas was born onMay 25, 1943, in Whitestone,Queens, one of two children ofAntonia and Achilles Fexas,Greek immigrants. Her fatherwas an optometrist. Her onlysibling, Tom, an influential de-signer of racing yachts, died in2006.
Besides her daughter, Elisa,she is survived by her husbandand a granddaughter.
The Spanish governmentawarded Mrs. Casas the Na-tional Gastronomy Prize in1983, in recognition of her roleas a herald of the Spanish cook-ing tradition in the UnitedStates. Her last book, “1,000Spanish Recipes,” completedshortly before her death, is tobe published in 2014.
In interviews, Mrs. Casas saidshe hoped to clarify the identityof Spanish food for Americans,who generally confused it withMexican and South Americancuisines.
“People thought of Spanishcuisine as spicy, full of ricedishes,” her daughter said.“They had no real sense of whatSpanish food was. She wouldtalk about tapas bars, and theywould think she was saying ‘top-less.’ ”
Penelope Casas, 70, Helped Introduce Continental Spanish Cuisine in United States
Penelope Casas, of Queens, wrote many books and chronicledthe tradition of tapas bars.
LC OPERATORS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec.of State (SSNY) 7/15/13 Office in Kings Co. SSNYdesign. Agent of LLC upon whom process may beserved. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC2040 E 3rd St Brooklyn, NY 11223. Purpose: Anylawful activity. Registered Agent: Edward Dayan2040 E 3rd St Brooklyn,NY 11223.
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NeW yORK (ANA-MPA)- ArtistSteven Antonakos, a prominentmember of the Greek diaspora,died in New York City aged 87,passed away last weekend.
Known for his use of neonlights in sculpture, Antonakoshad exhibited his work at Farosgallery and the Onassis CulturalCenter, both on Syngrou Avenue,and became widely known forhis installation "Search", specifi-cally designed for the Old OliveFactory in Elefsina in 2011, hislast show in Greece.
The same year he had alsopresented a gift to the Christianand Byzantine Museum inAthens in memory of the institu-tion's late director and friendDimitris Konstantios.
Antonakos, baptisedStylianos, was born in Gythio,
Lakonia prefecture, in 1926. In1930 his family emigrated toNew York City, which became hishome to the end of his life. Hisart, which also included workson paper, examined the connec-tion of color with space and hadmade a name for him as early asthe 1960s because of the newway he used neon lights in geo-metric sculptures, panels andpublic works.
His works were shown in over250 group and over 100 solo ex-hibitions in the US, Europe andGreece, while over 45 of hislarge-scale public works havebeen installed in the US, Europeand Japan, in museums and pub-lic spaces. In Athens, his instal-lation "Procession" is on perma-nent display at the Ambelokipimetro station.
Artist Steven Antonakos
Steven Antonakos, Artist WhoUsed Lights in Sculpture, 87
DEATHS
n LAZAROPOULOS, MATINA MEDFORD, NJ (From the Med-ford Courier-Post, published onAug. 9) – Matina LeonidaLazaropoulos (nee Xidis), 83, ofMedford, New Jersey diedWednesday, August 7, 2013 athome. Mrs. Lazaropoulos wasborn in Poulakida, Nafplion,Greece and emigrated to theUSA in 1973, before moving toMedford over 20 years ago. Shewas preceded in death by herhusband Leonidas in 1997. Mrs.Lazaropoulos is survived by herson Pete (wife Krissa); grand-children Leonidas, Taso,Michael; sister Sophia Mavro-giannis; brother Michalis Xidis.Memorial donations in memoryof Mrs. Lazaropoulos may bemade to Saint Irene Philopto-chos Society of St. Thomas
Greek Orthodox Church 615Mercer Street, Cherry Hill, NJ08002.
n THEOHAROS, HELENNEWARK, NJ (From the Star-Ledger, published on Jul. 22) –Helen (Mamoukaris) Theoharis,89, of North Plainfield, N.J.,passed away on Saturday, Jul.20, at her home. The funeral ser-vice will be celebrated at 10:30a.m. from the Greek OrthodoxChurch of St. George in Clifton,N.J. Born and raised in NewYork City, Helen went to live inGreece during the German oc-cupation. Upon returning to theU.S., she lived in Brooklyn, Jer-sey City, N.J., and Nutley beforemoving to North Plainfield in2000. She was the owner ofNeptune Liquor & Deli in JerseyCity from 1970 to 1990. Thebeloved wife of the late NicholasTheoharis, she is survived by herloving daughter, Irene Tantaros,and her husband, Nick; hergrandson, Gregory Tantaros, andher siblings, Christine Demosand Nick Mamoukaris.
n TRIFON, DESPINA FLINT, MI (From from FlintJournal, published on Jul. 31)– Despina Trifon, of Burton, age69, died Monday, Jul. 29 at herresidence. Funeral service willbe held at 11AM Friday, Aug. 2at Assumption Greek OrthodoxChurch, 2245 East BaldwinRoad, Grand Blanc, Father An-gelo Maggos officiating. Burialin Evergreen Cemetery. Thosedesiring may make contribu-tions to Assumption Greek Or-thodox Church or Gentiva Hos-pice. Visitation 12-3pm and5-8pm Thursday at the SwartzFuneral Home, 1225 West Hill
Road, Flint. A Trisagion Servicewill be held at 7pm Thursdayevening at the funeral home.Despina will be at the churchfrom 10:30am Friday until thetime of the service. Despina wasborn in Rhodes, Greece, thedaughter of Emmanouil IoannisGiannouris and Andrianna Ha-zoglou. On October 8, 1961 shemarried Everett Trifon and hepreceded her in death in 2010.Despina was a member of As-sumption Greek OrthodoxChurch. Surviving are children,Georgia (Alex) Kocoves of WestBloomfield, Andrea (Dave) Gor-don of Milford and Nick Trifonof Grand Blanc; grandchildren,Lauren, Dean, Evan, Drew,Chloe, Alex and Ethan; siblings,Anastasia Kleanthis, George andAnna Giannouris, Stergoula andDimitri Potsos, Ioannis Gian-nouris, Vasilia Varvoudakis andbrother-in-law, Nick (Anna)Georgiou; many nieces,nephews; Godchildren, familyand friends. Your condolencesmay be shared with the familyat swartzfuneralhomeinc.com
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THeSSAlONiKi- With thestrong support of Mayor YiannisBoutaris, who is eager to luremore Turkish tourists, Thessa-loniki has inaugurated a mu-seum dedicated to Mustafa Ke-mal Ataturk, the founder of theModern Turkish state, underwhose charge Greeks were dri-ven out of Asia Minor.
The building, at the housewhere Ataturk was believed tohave been born in 1881, took ayear to renovate. Boutaris said itwill help strengthen ties betweenGreece and Turkey, two long-standing rivals, and with Greeknationalists still seething over the400-year-long Ottoman Occupa-tion even though it ended twocenturies ago.
Nationalist groups, includingmany former Army reservists,marched in protest near thebuilding
The three-level house lieswithin the Turkish Consulatecomplex and has been declareda modern monument by Greekcultural authorities. It was re-stored to the look it had 132years ago.
Ataturk, who led Turkey’s de-feat of Greek expeditionaryforces in the 1919-22 war, livedpart of his childhood in Thessa-loniki. He became Turkey’s first
President, heading efforts at rec-onciliation with Greece, and diedin 1938.
Under Ataturk’s leadership,Turkish forces drove Greece outof Smyrni in 1922 and many
Greeks were massacred in thecity although he wasn’t directingthe Turkish forces there. Boutarissaid the historic significance ofAtaturk should be rememberedbut his critics have accused him
of coddling Turkey.Before the Greek army won
back Thessaloniki 100 years ago,the area was known as the KocaKasim Pasa district. It was builtbefore 1870 and in 1935 the
Thessaloniki City Council gave itto the Turkish State.
In an interview with the WallStreet Journal this year, Boutarissaid Greece should capitalize onthe chance to show visiting Turksall the sites in Thessaloniki wheretheir ancestors ruled. “Thessa-loniki was a booming city of theOttoman Empire,” he said duringa trip to Istanbul.
Boutaris’ role in resurrectingAtaturk’s memory in Greece hashad vehement critics during this100th anniversary of his own citybeing freed. He said that display-ing Greek pride was “ethnic pop-ulism,” and that, “With the Euro-pean Union, I feel like a partner.”he added, “With the Turks, I feellike a brother.”
Boutaris even refused to at-tend a parade re-enacting theGreek army’s liberating marchinto his city in 1912, an eventwhich included hoisting thebiggest Greek flag in his country.
Also, two monks earlier thisyear year interrupted a ceremonyof the delivery of an icon fromMt. Athos to the city by screamingat the Mayor: “Boutaris, youbum!”
In April, Boutaris gave permis-sion to a group of students fromthe Muslim School of Komotini,in northern Greece, to visit and
pray in Thessaloniki’s New (Yeni)Mosque – for the first time in 88years – which drew fire fromGreek Orthodox priests and na-tionalists.
Writing for the newspaperKathimerini, he said the movewould “promote the city by high-lighting the full range of its his-torical and cultural legacy.”
Thessaloniki, Greece’s secondlargest city, retains several Ot-toman and Jewish structures.“The students’ visit… is a clearsign of respect and religious tol-erance not just toward our Mus-lim citizens but also toward soci-eties with majority Muslimpopulations,” he added.
Buses with tourists fromTurkey arrive on a daily basis inThessaloniki, as Kemal Ataturkand Nazim Hikmet, an early20th-Century acclaimed Turkishpoet, were born there. There arealso many Ottoman monumentsin the city that attract Turkishtourists
“If our perspective on historyhere in Thessaloniki is hostile toeveryone else who has lived inthis city before, who will be leftfor us to do business with?” An-tonis Kamaras, an aide to theMayor told the Wall Street Jour-nal, trying to defend the idea ofhonoring Ataturk.
GREECE CYPRUSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013 7
Despite Protests, a Museum Dedicated to Ataturk Opens in Thessaloniki
ATHeNS – After moving swiftlyto oust the head of the country’sprivatization fund TAIPED, Ste-lios Stavridis, for accepting aride on the private jet of a busi-nessman who had just boughtthe state gambling monopolyOPAP, the Greek governmentsaid it would press on with de-layed sales of other enterprisesand properties.
A furious Finance MinisterYannis Stournaras, said to be an-gered over the appearance of aconflict of interest betweenStavridis and Dimitris Melissani-dis, who heads the Greek-Czechconsortium Emma Delta thatbought a 33 percent stake inOPAP, demanded his resignation.
Stavridis, who insisted he haddone nothing but admitted hehad put the government in anawkward position, complied butnot after issuing a defense inwhich he accused the govern-ment of “hypocrisy.”
“I am not a monk and I won’thide,” Stavridis said. He said heaccepted the favor from Melis-
sanidis so he could get to hissummer home on the island ofKefallonia instead of taking anearly morning commercial flightand that he was not compro-mised as the deal had alreadybeen done and signed.
“I don’t regret it at all, quitethe opposite in fact,” he said,adding that, “Everything I do iswith absolute transparency andis practical. I want to be trans-parent and not be ashamed ofwhat I do,” he said.
Stavridis added that Melis-sanidis had held a hostile stanceduring negotiations for the saleof OPAP and that offer to givehim a ride on his jet showed con-ciliation. “He offered to accom-modate me after the signingwhich was ceremonial in na-ture,” Stavridis added.
He also noted that it YannisEmiris, TAIPED’s Managing Di-rector, who had the lead role inthe negotiations that brought in654 million euros ($872.16 mil-lion) which was 78 million euros($104.02 million) less than the
minimum price the governmenthad set.
He said he understood thathis decision to travel on Melis-sanidis’ jet “may raise somequestions in the public mind”but said “public opinion has atendency to focus on appear-ances.”
Greece’s major oppositionparty the Coalition of the RadicalLeft (SYRIZA) said the affair was“a first, clear admission of thedirty relationship” between thegovernment of Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras, the NewDemocracy Conservative leaderwho rules with the PASOK So-cialists, and business interests.
SYRIZA denounced the pri-vatization program as “one ofthe greatest scandals in modernEuropean history,” arguing thatpublic assets were being soldwell below their value. The partysaid that, if elected, it would notrecognize any signed deals “thatcontravene the public interest.”
The privatizations, combinedwith harsh spending cuts and
public sector reforms includingthe firing or transfer of 40,000workers, are conditions of twobailouts totaling $325 billionfrom the Troika of the EuropeanUnion-International MonetaryFund-European Central Bank(EU-IMF-ECB) keeping the
Greek economy alive.But the privatization effort is
far off target and Stavridis is thesecond head of the agency to beousted in six months. His pre-decessor Takis Athanasopoulosstepped down after he wascharged by a prosecutor with
breach of duty over his formerrole as Chairman of a state util-ity.
Greece had initially pledgedto raise 50 billion euros ($67 bil-lion) by 2015 from the privati-zations, an ambitious targetquickly scaled back to 24 billioneuros by 2020.
TAIPED has so far signeddeals worth 2.85 billion euros,and is aiming to reach a total of3.2 billion by the end of this yearafter suffering a setback whenthere were no bids for the stategas company DEPA. Russian en-ergy giant Gazprom pulled outat the last minute even thoughSamaras met with the company’sCEO amid fears by EU officialsthat Russia would be getting toobig a foothold in Europe.
The fund has said it willlaunch a new bid to privatize theDEPA gas firm, and its short termplans include selling stakes inthe country’s biggest ports of Pi-raeus and Thessaloniki, as wellas the Thessaloniki water com-pany.
Greek Privatization Chief is Out, But Government Presses on with Sales
wild Greek overspending.Greece in 2011 hit private in-
vestors, including those in theDiaspora and Cypriot banks thatnearly went bankrupt, with 74percent losses in a desperate bidto write down its debt accumu-lated by decades of wild over-spending and packing publicpayrolls with hundreds of thou-sands of needless workers in re-turn for votes.
Schaeuble didnt’ specify howmuch would be needed butGreek officials reportedly said itwould be less than either of thefirst bailout of $152 billion orthe second for $173 billion.
HOW MUCH?Schaeuble has said in the
past that international lendersmay have to consider a new aidprogram for Greece after thecurrent one expires at the endof 2014, but didn’t say it wasinevitable as he now did.
He had come to Athens inJuly to show support for Sama-ras’ implementation of moreausterity measures, includingthe coming firing of as many as40,000 public workers over thenext two years.
His comment comes on theheels of Germany’s central bank,the Bundesbank, also reportingthat Greece needs more aid.There was no indication of howmuch would be needed but DerSpiegel reported that the Bun-desbank told Germany's FinanceMinistry and the InternationalMonetary Fund that a recent 5.7billion euros ($7.62 billion) pay-ment to Greece was approved"due to political constraints.”
That was a suggestion that it
was done to keep Greece calmuntil after Merkel could dealwith federal elections. A Bun-desbank official denied that wasthe case, however.
Germany is the biggest con-tributor to bailouts for Greecethat are wildly unpopularamong German voters althoughMerkel has insisted on big paycuts, tax hikes, slashed pensions,and the firing of scores of thou-sands of Greek public workersin return.
German media have specu-lated that Merkel will agree tothe debt cut but wanted to waituntil after the elections in a po-litical gambit and her politicalrivals have accused her of flat-out lying to Germans.
THe VieW FROM ATHeNSSchaeuble’s comments didn’t
just toss a curveball into theGerman campaign but caughtAntonis Samaras flat-footed too.Samaras has been seeking to de-flect criticism by pointing outthat Greece has a primary sur-plus – not counting interest pay-ments, municipal budgets orpension debt that would other-wise create a deficit – and thathe believes the economy will be-gin to turn the corner sometimenext year.
In Athens, a Greek financeministry official told Reuters anew bailout would focus onplugging an expected fundingshortfall over 2014-2016.“Greece and its lenders are ex-amining several ways to plugany funding gap that Greece willface over the next few years,”the official said on condition ofanonymity.
The IMF said there could be$14 billion hole in the economy
that needs to be filled althoughSamaras, who pushed throughunpopular austerity measureson the demand of the Troika,ruled out more pay cuts, taxhikes or slashed pensions. Thegovernment is going ahead withplans to transfer or fire 40,000public workers.
Greece got an aid tranche of5.8 billion euros ($7.75 billion)
from the Troika in July andstands to receive another 1 bil-lion euros ($1.3 billion) in Oc-tober on condition it meets fiscaltargets. Troika envoys are dueback in September to check thebooks again.
Merkel, who backed aid forGreece on condition of austerity,told the newspaper RuhrNachrichten Greece will not be
allowed another debt write-down.
“No, I don’t expect a newhaircut for Greece. We are mov-ing ahead step for step. Thereis no question that a lot has tochange in Greece. But we alsosee clear progress and recognizethis,” she said.
“In the Eurozone, we alwayssaid that we would evaluate the
Greek situation again at the endof 2014 or in early 2015. Itmakes sense to stick to this time-line,” she added.
The EU’s finance chief, OlliRehn, said other options besidesa bailout should be considered,such as giving Greece more timeto repay what it owes althoughmany analysts said the debt is un-sustainable and so is repayment.
German Finance Minister Admits that Greece Will Require Third Bailout
Members of Greek far-right organizations, most of them former reservists of the Greek army,protest outside the Turkish Consulate in the Northern port city of Thessaloniki.
AP Photo/NikolAs GiAkoumidis
Stavridis in bussinessman Dimitris Melissanidis’ jet, smilingnext to a female flight attendant, on his way to Cephalonia.
Continued from page 1
NiCOSiA- A bailout of 10 billioneuros ($13 billion) from interna-tional lenders that came withharsh austerity measures andconfiscation of 47.5 percent ofbank accounts over 100,000 eu-ros ($130,000) is already crip-pling the Cypriot economy, thecountry’s statistical service CYS-TAT said.
Gross Domestic Product(GDP) fell 1.4 percent from thefirst quarter, when it fell 1.7 per-cent That is the eighth consecu-tive quarterly contraction. Non-seasonally adjusted GDP fell 5.4percent from a year earlier.
The Cypriot economy, thethird-smallest in the 17-nationEurozone, is expected to shrink13 percent this year and nextcombined, according to officialsfrom the Troika of the EuropeanUnion-International MonetaryFund-European Central Bank(EU-IMF-ECB) that is putting upthe rescue package.
But that came with a require-ment that Cyprus find another13 billion euros ($17 billion) inrevenues and cuts because the
Troika said the country could notsustain its debt nor repay theloans otherwise.
Capital controls, limiting de-positors to take out 300 euros($390) per day from personal ac-counts and tight restrictions onbusinesses have prevented a runon the banks but the institutionsare slowly being drained.
Cypriot banks had garneredbig deposits from foreigners, par-ticularly Russians who lost nearlyhalf their money and have re-sponded by taking out as muchas they can and investing almost€50 billion ($65 billion) abroadin the first quarter of 2013, withalmost half, €23.7 billion,($31.62 billion) moved to theBritish Virgin Islands. Accordingto the Wall Street Journal, thelatest first quarter figures re-vealed a massive drop in Russiandirect investment in Cyprus, withjust €2 billion invested on the is-land from January to March,compared to €15.8 billion in thelast quarter of 2012.
The Moscow Times quotedAlexei Devyatov, Chief Economist
at UralSib Capital, saying that“the figures are, apparentlylinked to the financial problemsin Cyprus.”
Going after Russian moneyhas had an unintended conse-quence as well, with the NewYork Times reporting that it mayhave backfired as depositors arebeing given shares in the Bankof Cyprus and much of it is end-ing up in the hands of rich Rus-sians and foreigners, even thoughmany Cypriots lost much of theirsavings as well.
“The Russians, though badlybruised, are now in a position toget something that has previouslyeluded even Moscow’s most au-dacious oligarchs: control of a so-called systemic financial institu-tion in the European Union,” theTimes reported.
“They wanted to throw outthe Russians but in the end, theydelivered our main bank to theRussians,” said the Cypriot Pres-ident, Nicos Anastasiades, in aJune interview.
Instead, it has pulled Russiaeven deeper into Europe’s finan-
cial system by giving its plutocratsmajority ownership, at least onpaper, of the Bank of Cyprus, thecountry’s oldest, biggest and mostimportant financial institution.
“Whoever controls the Bankof Cyprus controls the island,”said Andreas Marangos, a Limas-sol lawyer whose clients includemany Russians.
The biggest single chunk ofshares – around 18 percent – issupposed to go to depositors wholost money in Cyprus’ now-de-funct Laiki Bank, but this stake islikely to be controlled by Cyprus’central bank. As a result of aforced conversion of Bank ofCyprus deposits into shares, how-ever, a diverse and so far unor-ganized group of depositors,most of them Russians, will endup with a controlling stake.
Economic uncertainty and themagnitude of the country’s reces-sion are the key short-term risksto the 10 billion-euro ($13.3 bil-lion) agreed on March 25, DeliaVelculescu, the IMF’s missionchief told Bloomberg newsagency.
Cyprus’ Crisis Killing Economy, Russians Reinvest Abroad
EDITORIALS LETTERS8 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013
Greek Cabbies Getting BetterBut Still Far from Being Ideal
To the Editor:I have to say I had the
biggest laugh, reading Eleni Kri-tikou’s article, “The long Shift:Crisis Transforms Cabbies intoBeing Customer-Friendly (TNH,
Jul. 20). Well, I guess they fi-nally woke up. But my opinionis that there are still people outthere that haven’t learned theirlesson.
They were quick to jumpwhen the unions told them tostrike, not thinking of any of us.People trying to get home totheir children and spouses, theelderly who need help, thetourists who depend on the cabdriver for help and the suddenemergency. We also are fright-ened for our lives, walking onthe street alone. Even in the so-called good neighborhoods. Thisis a problem for the police, whoneed a lesson in better policing.Everyone does not have thetemperament for a cab driver’sjob. One has to know the citywell. To be able to handle thecustomer’s personality. Speakingforeign languages helps. I’vehad hard times in the past get-ting a cab. The drivers took asmany fares as they could fit in,not thinking of anyone’s comfortor safety. Many smoked, not car-ing if the customers had a prob-
lem with it. They had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
Still, there are problems. Re-cently, I took a cab to and fromthe same place many days.Never was the price the sameor even close. No one gave mea receipt, even if I asked for one.The driver became suddenly
deaf. Until these problems aresolved, the cab drivers will notbe trusted. I would rather takeother forms of transportation.The price is always the same. Itis on time and I can go justabout everywhere I want, too.
Alexandra SimonedisAthens, Greece
Bus BlundersThe recent death of a 19 year-old in Athens, who reportedly fell
out of a bus there while encountering a ticket inspector (the youngman had no ticket) is a tragic loss of life indeed. But it also shedslight on the utter incompetence of the public bus system in Athensas well as in other parts of Greece.
Greece’s main opposition party, SYRIZA, linked the passenger’sdeath to Greece’s ongoing economic crisis, suggesting that theyoung man was unemployed and could not afford the 1.20 euro($1.60) fare. But the problem is far more extensive than cost.
Unlike buses in New York City, where passengers hop aboardonly through the front door and can proceed only after they haveswiped their MetroCard (purchased and loaded at a machine, usingcash or credit card), Athenian bus riders have to buy their ticketsfrom a newsstand – and quite often, the newsstands are out oftickets. Therefore, buses are often full of folks riding without tick-ets, and it is common for ticketless passengers to attempt to buy aticket from fellow riders that have extra ones – hardly a likely sce-nario, considering tickets are so hard to find to begin with.
Moreover, those with tickets must punch them through a ma-chine (often, there are two on a bus), though the bus driver hardlyever gets involved, and ticket inspectors are few and far between.Particularly because passengers scramble for the precious few seatsavailable on non-air conditioned buses during sweltering Atheniansummers, those lucky enough to get a seat are not likely to squanderit by getting up to go punch their ticket. The end result? Busesfilled with passengers riding for free.
This really happens – we’re not making it up. In fact, we couldn’tconjure up such a backward system even if we tried: it is a casewhere fact is truly more baffling than fiction.
How hard would it be to install a MetroCard-like system inAthens? Can you imagine the revenue that the city – and the coun-try – would collect as a result? Is it really that difficult for Greeksto figure this out? We see it as a no-brainer, and continue to scratchour heads about why it remains a proposal rather than a reality.
And the Band Played onIt is painfully clear by now that the majority of the Greek politi-
cians do not understand the dire financial situation the averagecitizen is in: plainly put, they just don't get it. Otherwise, theywould not behave the way they do.
They are reminiscent of the orchestra on the Titanic, whichcontinued to entertain the passengers even as the ship was sinking.
The problem to which we are referring is corruption. It is oneof the top issues damaging Greece, according to public opinion.Yet the politicians continue to exhibit an indifference that is beyondcomprehension.
Specifically OPAP, Greece’s sports betting agency, which hadbeen suspected of corrupt practices in the past. The governmentrecently decided to privatize it, and a few companies showed in-terest in bidding for it – not surprisingly, as it is one of the moreprofitable entities in Greece.
Yet, one after the other, companies dropped out. The ones thatacquired it are controlled by, you guessed it, Socratis Kokkalis andDimitris Melissanidis, two businessmen deeply immersed in thediaploki: the machinations of Greek political life.
The purchase was cheered as the first “big success” of Greece’sprivatization program. The minister of finance was present at thesigning ceremony, presumably to guarantee transparency.
And as soon as the signing was over, Stelios Stavridis, Presidentof the organization that sold OPAP, was flown to the island of Ke-fallonia on Melissanidis’ private plane.
When the finance minister read that in a newspaper, we are ledto believe, he fired Mr. Stavridis. That decision, at first glance,seems exemplary. The minister acted as he should have.
Yet there is a serious question left unanswered: was the problemjust a question of appearance or substance? Otherwise, what wasso wrong about using the private plane, if the transaction of OPAPwas above board?
Will the minister form a commission to investigate the issuefurther?
Stavridis on his part claims that he is clean. But he also said thefollowing that might be worth paying attention to: “I am not sureif the airplane trip was the excuse or the reason for my firing.”
Our sources in Athens tell us that this issue is “deeper thanmeets the eye.”
In any event, whether or not any light is shed on this case, thebitter taste of corruption remains, and the public servants don'tget it.
And that is butter on the bread of opposing parties chomping toseize power: namely SYRIZA and, worse yet, Golden Dawn.
Bloated with BailoutsGerman Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble announced this
week that Greece would need yet another bailout – a third one.Not a new haircut, and not forgiveness of part of the loan, but abailout. That was widely expected
Everyone assumed that this proclamation would not be an-nounced before the German elections, which are scheduled forSeptember 22. With the polls showing German Chancellor AngelaMerkel a safe favorite for reelection, however, the decision to an-nounce now rather than later was probably done so to avoid beingaccused of having misled the German people. Besides, it is unlikelythat it would foil Merkel’s reelection bid.
Meanwhile, Greece is projecting a different reality – that eco-nomic recovery is just around the corner. Therefore, anyone whothinks Germany is doing Greece a favor with the promise of a newloan package ought to think twice.
Germany has already lent $320 billion to Greece. Accordingly,a new bailout is neither as simple nor as pleasant as it mightappear on the surface.
First, because the bailout has been changed into bail-in, as thedepositors of the banks of Cyprus know all too well. Second, be-cause the conditions of the previous two bailouts have yet to besatisfied, and so to add a third set of conditions seems quite over-whelming.
One might wonder, then, at what point will Greece finally tellGermany: “thanks, but no thanks, we have had enough bailoutsalready.”
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AGORA – THE ORIGINAL MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
1. TNH’s ASSOCiATe eDi-TOR SHAReS HiS POiNT OFVieW
Dan, Congressman Steve Kingof Iowa has gotten himself intoa heap of trouble – heavily re-buked not only by Latinos, notonly by Democrats, but also byhis fellow Republicans, includingHouse Speaker John Boehner –for suggesting that for everyyoung person brought to theUnited States illegally by his orher parents that is a high schoolvaledictorian, “there’s another100 out there, that they weigh130 pounds and they’ve gotcalves the size of cantaloupes be-cause they’re hauling 75 poundsof marijuana across the desert.”If interpreted to mean that aMexican is 100 times more likelyto be a drug smuggler than avaledictorian, the statement iscertainly fraught with racialovertones.
But before we as a nationrush to yet another politicallycorrect knee-jerk reaction to astatement that possibly thoughnot indisputably was rooted inracism, let us not allow emotionsto get in the way of uncoveringthe facts.
First, the targets of King’scomments are the DREAMers,i.e., the potential beneficiaries ofCongress’ proposed DREAM Act,formally known as the Develop-ment, Relief, and Education forAlien Minors Act of 2011. TheAct is often described as beingnecessary because of truly inno-cent victims – small children thatwere brought here by their par-ents illegally – which have livedin the United States their entirelives, and now, on the cusp ofadulthood, after having exceledin primary and secondary school-ing, would like to fulfill theirdream of graduating from col-lege and remaining pillars in thecommunity for years to come.
A closer reading of the Act,however, unveils that it pertainsto a considerably broader rangeof beneficiaries. A 15 year-oldgang member from Mexico,Greece, or any foreign countryfor that matter, shoots and killsa rival gang member, and thenflees the country to avoid prose-cution. He enters the UnitedStates illegally and remains un-der the radar, doing honest workas a busboy or day laborer andstaying out of trouble with thelaw. Though he never went toschool in the United States, hepasses a proficiency exam at age18 (an extremely watered-downversion of the SAT) that allowshim – just like tens of thousandsof other young adults whodropped out of high school andnever even earned a GeneralEquivalency Diploma (GED) – tobe admitted to one of the count-
less proprietary colleges through-out the United States. That per-son, who three years ago com-mitted murder, would qualifyunder the DREAM Act. The Act’srequirement that the person beof “good moral character” is lim-ited to “since the date the alieninitially entered the UnitedStates.” Anything before that ap-parently gets a pass.
It is cases like that to whichCongressman King was referringwhen he prefaced his “can-taloupe” comment with “theyweren’t all brought in by theirparents.”
Although I do not have exactstatistics to support this, I relyon my tried-and-true theory thatwhen examining the various sub-divisions of the human race,there are far more “good apples”than “bad apples.” Accordingly,I have no doubts that the major-ity of illegal aliens in the UnitedStates are not murderers, or evenmarijuana smugglers. To the ex-tent that King implied that, he iswrong, and the backlash againsthim is well-deserved.
On the other hand, the ma-jority of them are not valedicto-rians, either. They are just aver-age folks, like the majority oftheir American-born counter-parts. Some might be high schooldropouts, or might have barelygraduated with a low C average.Some might drink and drive,serve probation for vandalism,or simply loaf around the housedisinterested in doing anythingproductive: just like many oftheir American-born counter-parts whose ancestors came fromEurope many decades ago.
Should the DREAM Act belimited to valedictorians andother overachievers, or should itinclude any young illegal alienthat has not committed a felony?At the very least, King’s contro-versial comments point to thefact that there is more – or less –to the DREAM Act than meetsthe eye.
2. DAN GeORGAKAS Re-SPONDS
Dino, I think you are far toogenerous regarding Congress-man King. His comments aboutLatinos are vulgar racism calcu-lated to gain extremist votes.Rhetoric of this kind poisons thenature of political discourse.Imagine our reaction if duringthe period of intense Greek im-migration some xenophobic Con-gressman proclaimed that Greekimmigrants think they are thechildren of Plato and Aristotle,but they are just discarded Ot-toman riffraff.
I agree with you that theLatino immigrant wave hasabout the same ratio of achieversand non-achievers as previouswaves. Your questions about theDREAM Act also make sense. Nolegislation is ever perfect, but ra-tional discourse, not racistrhetoric, is the pathway to pro-ducing better legislation.
The presence of illegals in im-migrant waves is not unusual. Inhis Greek Americans: Struggleand Success, the late CharlesMoskos noted that just between1957-1964 over 30,000 Greekseamen jumped ship in Americanports. To that number might beadded many others that man-aged other illegal entries orstayed in America after theirvisas had expired. Ultimately,such “illegals” generally found alegitimate place in a communitythat is now considered a modelfor other immigrants. Latino il-legals will likely follow the samepattern.
We need only look to Greeceto see the ultimate consequencesof vindictive rhetoric and the ab-sence of a coherent immigrationpolicy. The number of illegals inthe United States is proportion-ally much smaller. Moreover, ourimmigrants see the United Statesas a destination, not a way sta-tion to another nation. That said,concentrations of illegals in-evitably create serious social
problems.The chief virtue of the
DREAM Act is that it addresses acomplex aspect of the new im-migrant dynamic. Why shouldyoung adults illegally brought tothis country when they were chil-dren be punished for the acts oftheir parents? Clearly, as indi-cated by the valedictorians thatstrongly support the DREAM Act,America has given these immi-grants educational opportunitiesunavailable in their native lands.
Is it not short-sighted to pre-vent them from becoming citi-zens of the country in which theywere raised and whose languagethey speak?
Much hostility to the DREAMAct would abate if part of theprocess of getting on a fast trackto citizenship required two yearsof public service. This servicewould involve general commu-nity development or assistancein restoration work, such as thatneeded in the wake of naturaldisasters. By this public service,those benefiting would havedemonstrated their commitmentto the United States and not sim-ply a desire to access the oppor-tunities at hand once their statusis legalized.
I think there must be realpenalties for the parents. Other-wise, they will have been re-warded for breaking the law. Anannual financial payment (con-sider it payback geared to in-come) that is not onerous butnot a token amount may be sucha measure. Whatever the penalty,such a provision and a public ser-vice obligation for their childrenwould make future illegals thinkmore carefully about followinga similar strategy.
That reforms in immigrationpolicy are imperative is obviousto all. The DREAM Act, if care-fully crafted, could be a positivestep forward in commencingthose much-needed reforms.
3. WHAT’S yOUR OPiNiON?
Is Congressman King Totally Wrong about DREAM Act?
By Dan Georgakas and Constantinos e. Scaros
From time to time, an issue emerges andinspires various minds to converge, often atodds with one another, to discuss it. Hopefully,collective enlightenment will result from suchconversations. The Ancient Greeks did that in
the Agora, the original marketplace of ideas,and we, their modern-day descendants, aspireto continue that tradition.
We respect one another’s opinion very much,but often times we will disagree on particularissues. We would never fabricate a differenceof opinion for the sake of writing an interestingcolumn.
Rest assured, anything we write here areour sincere, heartfelt thoughts.
We will share them with you every twoweeks. We hope you enjoy them, and we lookforward to your taking part in the discussionas well – by contributing letters to the editor inresponse, and/or commenting on our website:www.thenationalherald.com
Representative Steve King (R –iA) has taken a lot of heat for his remarks about the DReAM Act.is there any truth to what he said?
VIEWPOINTSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013 9
It’s always been true that afool and his money are soonparted, and especially if it’s aGreek fooled into believing inthe government.
A few years ago, with the be-ginning of the Greek economiccrisis caused by four decades ofNew Democracy (ND) Capitalistand PASOK Anti-Socialist ad-ministrations hiring hundreds ofthousands of needless workersin return for votes – a crime inmost civilized countries –Greece said it wanted to raise$3 billion by selling bonds tothe Diaspora.
The government knew thosepeople are more gullible thanHome Shopping Network ad-dicts who probably have unusedabdominizers and treadmillsnow being used as clothingracks too.
After it was apparent that thecrisis was getting worse, the Di-aspora Bond idea was set aside,but it didn’t keep Greeks fromaround the world into pouringmoney into Greek bonds.
Then, in 2011, Finance Min-ister Evangelos Venizelos, whowould graduate to ruining PA-SOK as its failed leader AND be-come Deputy PrimeMinister/Foreign Minister in thecurrent coalition headed byPrime Minister Antonis Sama-ras, the ND leader, stiffed in-vestors with 74 percent losses.
That destroyed the Cypriot
banking system, ledto untold numbersof Cypriots losingmuch of their lifesavings, pushedGreek banks towardinsolvency andnearly wiped outpeople in the Dias-pora who weresheep willing to beshorn.
When he wascampaigning lastyear, Samaras, whocan’t tilt at wind-mills because he isone, promised hewould hold harmless the faithfulof the Diaspora and make surethey got their money back if hewas elected.
The moment he got into of-fice he promptly reneged andgave people who believed in hisword the big “Na!” and walkedaway from them.
Once it became apparent he,too – as had Venizelos – was go-ing to stiff them, a number ofthe disenchanted bondholdersin Greece invaded his party of-fices and demanded theirmoney back while vandalizinghis photo.
When the Greek courts,whose rulings are ignored bythe government when they don’tlike the decisions, said thatGreece had the right to breakits contracts with investors, their
fate was sealed,even if they de-served it by fallingfor this folderol.
Greek govern-ments are reallyjust thinly-dis-guised PonziSchemes to stealas much money asthey can and dis-tribute it amongits own elite, whodon’t pay taxes butmake everyoneelse do.
A lot of peoplein the Diaspora
don’t like this kind of negativeattitude about Greece but can’tdispute its accuracy, and if wereamong the many burned wouldbe the first in line throwingrocks or worse.
While it is a futile exercise, agroup of bondholders are goingto try to get back their money,which will happen on the 12th…. of Never.
The Financial Times (FT) re-cently detailed how the now-faithless hope to recoup theirlosses, led by IoannisMarinopoulos, who followed theadvice of his banker and trans-ferred all his savings into Greekgovernment bonds.
He is Chairman of FPOED,an association representing15,000 individual Greek bond-holders seeking compensation
for being forced to accept theso-called Private Sector Initia-tive, which was just a bunch ofcodswallop chicanery to stiffpeople who were owed money.
“A year ago we were a Face-book group of a few hundredunhappy people. Now we’remore militant.
We’re determined to takewhatever legal measures are re-quired to get our money back,”he said.
FPOED is one of severalGreek investor groups consider-ing class actions against finan-cial institutions over allegedmarket trading abuses beforeGreece lost access to interna-tional capital markets in April2010.
It has the help of John Kyri-akopoulos, a former chief exec-utive of Greece’s largest statepension fund who heads theAthens office of Kyros Law, afirm based in Boston.
If anybody can get yourmoney back it’s a Boston lawyer,but Kyriakopoulos has as muchchance on this one as Greecehas of willing the World Cup inBrazil next year.
The odds on both are nowrunning at about the same assomeone solving the mystery ofPi or the likelihood of the nextfool not buying a Greek bond.That’s 100 percent.
The horrific events in Egypthave unleashed a flood of com-mentary concluding that theArab Spring is over. Many arguethat the so-hopeful Arab Springhas been drowned in a sea ofblood unleashed by conflict be-tween a fanatic jihadist move-ment that has hijacked the rev-olution and an implacablebrutal and bloodthirsty militaryestablishment determined tohang on to power at any cost.
The short-term thinking thatmarks the current Westernmindset drives these conclu-sions. When Egyptians massedin Tahrir Square and broughtdown Husni Mubarak, a re-spected Egyptian journalist toldme that the revolution hadbrought one transcendentalchange; the Arab people nolonger feared their govern-ments. The events in Egypt andSyria validated that statement.
The quick collapse of theregimes in Tunisia and Egyptlulled us into believing that theRevolution would be short andeasy. The violence in Libyashould have warned us other-wise; especially where the dic-tatorship has deep roots in thepopulation. Qaddafi’s alienationof every Arab leader, Libya’sproximity to Europe, and theweakness of the regime’s mili-tary combined to make a limitedforeign military interventionsufficient to help the rebels win.Syria and Egypt are much morecomplicated situations andwestern leaders are smart notto want to get involved deeplydespite their rhetoric and thehand-wringing.
We cannot predict what di-rections the Arab Awakening (amore apt name than Spring)will take nor is the outsideworld in a position to influenceits movement. We do not under-stand what has occurred be-cause this is a real revolution. Itshares historical precedent withthe French Revolution, Conti-nental Europe’s 1848 Revolu-tion, and Russia’s Bolshevik Rev-olution. The Arabs also enduredoppression, poverty, brutalityand subjugation for centurieswithout a murmur and suddenlyrose in a spontaneous act ofrage against their oppressors.We smugly proclaim that be-cause the Arabs have never haddemocracy, only authoritarianrulers can govern them. We saidthe same about the French in1789, the Central Europeans in
1848, and the Rus-sians in 1917. Ittook a century ofwar and chaos toestablish democ-racy across Europeand the Russiansare still struggling.And yet, we expectthe Arabs to get itright in a fewmonths?
Our views arealso distorted bythree more falseassumptions: webelieve that historydoesn’t matter;only one system of democracy(ours) works; and that brownpeople are not up to self-gov-ernment.
History crippled the indepen-dence Arabs achieved duringWWI. They had just spent morecenturies than the Greeks underOttoman rule, a mentally-dead-ening regime that classified itssubjects vertically by religionand horizontally by class andwealth and ignored ethnicity. Infact, the Ottoman rulers did notregard themselves as ethnicTurks until the rise of national-ism in Europe. The Arabs foughthard for their independencefrom the Turks only to have itstolen from them immediatelyby the French and British. By1920, Paris and London subju-gated 90% of the Arab popula-tion. The British and Frenchmay have brought many bene-fits in the way of infrastructure,health services, education, etc.(although we will never knowif free Arab governments mighthave done just as well), but theymost certainly did not bring anyform of democratic government.When some Arab states finallyachieved complete indepen-dence after WWII, the Frenchand British left them with a “de-mocratic” system that concen-trated power in the hands ofthose who benefitted financiallyfrom colonialism. They weresoon overthrown by militarycoups, not revolutions, whichproceeded to establish Europeanstyle totalitarian regimes. Theother revolutions can teach usonly one important lesson: itwill also take the Arabs a longtime to sort it out. A quick lookat the two most brutal and per-sistent conflicts can tell us why.
As elsewhere in the Arabworld, the very first popular rev-olution in Egyptian history un-
leashed suppressedpassions none of usknew existed. TheMubarak regime, toensure Americansupport, crushedany secular democ-ratic opposition butenabled the MuslimBrotherhood to sur-vive as the only or-ganized group whocould successfullywin elections. Thefact that Egyptianpeople no longerfear their govern-ment brought down
both Mubarak and Morsi andthe Muslim Brotherhood. Thepeople of Egypt have shown thatthey have the will and courageto face down dictators and evenbudding dictators whom theyoriginally supported. However,twenty percent or so of Egypt’speople who support the MuslimBrotherhood have also lost theirfear of Government and appearprepared to die facing the Army.The Egyptian Army has resortedto brutal violence because it hasno skills in dealing peacefullywith popular demonstrationsand no experience doing any-thing else.
In Syria we saw a reversechain of events. The Syrianregime and its security appara-tus demonstrated that it toolacked the will and the skill todeal with peaceful demonstra-tions other than shooting them.The regime’s brutality pushedthe peaceful demonstrationsinto open revolt.
Unlike Egypt, the Syrianregime’s power rests upon alarge coalition of minorities andbusiness groups who fear phys-ical extinction should the rebelswin.
On the rebel side, better-or-ganized political jihadists aretaking over the rebellion by sys-tematically removing the secularleadership. But again, both sidesshare a determination fight anddie for their causes. UnlikeEgypt, outside powers have in-tervened to ensure that the sidethey support does not lose.
In this country, politicians ea-ger to bash the president insistthat he “do something.” The factis that there is very little he cando. Cutting military aid to Egyptmay make a couple of senatorsfeel good but will have ab-solutely no effect on the Egypt-ian military’s determination to
crush the Brotherhood. For theArmy and the Muslim Brother-hood this is a fight to the death.To be perfectly honest, thesesame senators do not reallywant him cut aid to the Army.American aid to the EgyptianArmy has only one justification:keeping the Egyptian militaryon good terms with Israel. Cut-ting U.S. military aid wouldeliminate the only lever wehave. Similarly, even an outrightAmerican military assault on theregime In Syria would not causeit to give up. For the regime sup-porters, perhaps a third of thepopulation, surrender meansdestruction. Victory for therebels does not guarantee eithera democratic or a pro-westernoutcome. The secular Sunnirebel leadership is simply not inthe same class as the jihadistleadership. Our principal inter-est in Syria remains a desperateneed to keep the conflict fromengulfing the larger neighbor-hood. To do so requires outsideparties to combine in imposinga stand-down of violence thatleaves each party secure in itsown turf until something betterworks out. This requires us tomake common cause with theRussians, Turks, Iranians,Saudis, and Iraqis. Readers willrecognize that talking in a co-operative fashion with each ofthose countries will enragesome segment of the Americanbody politic.
Turkey’s Erdogan embracedthe Islamist part of the Revolu-tion in a misguided effort to sella new Ottoman Empire; notsomething popular amongArabs. In fact, the Arab Awak-ening appears to have spread toTurkey instead; inspiring thevery first popular demonstra-tions in its history.
Obama has not handled thecrisis with particular brilliancebut can argue that he has en-gaged in damage control. Otherthan “feel good,” his critics haveno better ideas.
The Hon. Ambassador Theros ispresident of the U.S.-QatarBusiness Council. He served inthe U.S. Foreign Service for 36years, mostly in the Middleeast, and was American Ambas-sador to Qatar from 1995 to1998. He also directed the StateDepartment’s Counter-Terrorism Office, and holds nu-merous U.S. Government deco-rations.
It Ain’t over ‘Till its Over, and Arab Spring Ain’t over Yet
LETTER FROM ATHENS
Diaspora Bondholders Decry: in Greece We Don’t Trust
by ANDYDABILIS
Special to The National Herald
There is nodoubt that Egypt isin a mess. Certainly,it is not the firsttime that the coun-try has been on theedge of politicaland economicchaos, but on thoseoccasions, Egyptsurvived. UnderKing Farouk, Egyptemerged out ofBritish colonial rulewith an unstablegovernment and anuncertain future.Although techni-cally the country achieved inde-pendence in 1922, it only reallyachieved full sovereignty afterthe Second Word War. Completeindependence finally came in1952, when the Free Officers, agroup within the Egyptian armedforces, overthrew the monarchyand established a republic.
Two years later, in 1954,Gamal Abdel Nasser toppled therepublic and assumed dictatorialpowers. The only serious oppo-sition to Nasser came from theMuslim Brotherhood. The Broth-erhood advocated the transfor-mation of Egypt into a societygoverned by the laws of Islam,but these notions clashed withNasser’s secular and socialist vi-sion for the country. Initially, theBrotherhood believed thatNasser would transform Egyptinto an Islamic state, howeverthey were bitterly disappointed.
Not long after (October1954), the Brotherhood at-tempted to assassinate Nasser,which led to mass arrests, tor-ture, and executions. There hadbeen previous persecutions ofthe Muslim Brotherhood, but onthis occasion, the organizationfaced a serious challenge yetmanaged to survive by going un-derground. Its resilience andtenacity derived from the abilityof the Brotherhood to sustain theloyalty of millions of ordinaryEgyptians who looked to theBrotherhood for charity andmoral support.
The organization of Muslimbrothers was created in 1928 byHassan al-Banna in response tothe chaotic times that overtookthe Arab world after the end ofthe Ottoman Empire. In particu-lar, the termination of the Ot-toman caliphate by Ataturk lefta void in the Muslim world. Thecaliph, a title held by the Ot-toman sultans since the 16thcentury, was not so much a reli-gious leader, but a representativeof the core of the Muslim com-munity at large. The caliph wasthe moral pinnacle of Islam, butwithout clerical trappings. Hewas not a pope or patriarch buta one who by his very existencerepresented the unity of Islam.The end of the caliphate, conse-quently, left the Muslim worldwithout a moral centre, and withthe exception of Turkey, theBritish and French had colonizedthe majority of the Muslim coun-tries.
Perhaps, not so ironically, oneof the first supporters of theBrotherhood was the Britishdominated Suez Canal Company,that gave the Brotherhood 500pounds to help build mosques inIsmailia, located in the CanalZone. For the British, the MuslimBrotherhood offered a conve-nient means to counter the grow-ing nationalist movement inEgypt that was driven by secularideas - in this case an anathemato the Brotherhood and to theBritish. After the Second WorldWar, the Central IntelligenceAgency covertly assisted Nasserby offering advice as to how todeal with the Brotherhood andalso facilitated the travel of for-mer Nazis who specialized incounterterrorism to help theEgyptian strongman destroy theMuslim Brotherhood. Later,when Nasser allied himself withthe Soviets, the Eisenhower Ad-ministration, through the CIA,established a working relation-ship with the Brotherhood, thistime to bring down Nasser.
Regardless of these covertmachinations, the West consid-
ered the MuslimBrotherhood, untilthe advent of al-Qaeda, the premierterrorist organiza-tion in the MiddleEast. Despite thechallenges of fend-ing off Nasser’s in-telligence service,the Mukhabarat, abyproduct of theCIA sponsoredEgyptian-Nazi col-laboration, theBrotherhood estab-lished branches inGaza, where they
are known as Hamas, as well assmaller offshoots in Syria andother parts of the Middle East.
After Nasser’s death in 1970,Anwar Sadat assumed powerand came to terms with both Is-rael and the United States. HosniMubarak succeeded Sadat andcontinued to maintain Egyptianrelations with Israel and, ofcourse, benefit from the over $1billion annual military subsidyfrom Washington. This arrange-ment continued into the postArab Spring period even afterMorsi, a senior member of theBrotherhood, was elected presi-dent.
For a few short months, withthe exception of the grumblingeconomy, the world seemed rightin Egypt. Western liberals pattedthemselves on the back feelingquite righteous that democracywas finally established in theland of the Pharaohs. Unfortu-nately, it soon became apparentthat Morsi and his fellow MuslimBrothers were not interested indemocracy, but rather how to es-tablish an Islamic autocracy. In-tolerance quickly followed nar-row mindedness that sooncharacterized the Morsi regimecausing Egyptians to take to thestreets and the squares in protestof the Islamization of Egypt. Thearmy, led by General Abdul-Fat-tah al-Sissi, who is also the de-fence minister and deputy primeminister, stepped in and over-threw the elected, albeit by thenarrowest of margins, govern-ment of Egypt.
Whether these actions were acoup, countercoup, or preemp-tive strike to stop Morsi fromturning the country into an Is-lamic republic is a matter of se-mantics. It is obvious that thearmy, the Muslim Brotherhood,or the millions who took to thestreets have any fundamentalunderstanding of how a democ-racy works – at least in the West.Democracy, for many in Egypt,is a means for acquiring powerand then the mechanism bywhich to keep their opponentsfrom power. It is quite clear nowthat a Muslim Brotherhood dom-inated government would notoperate in any manner resem-bling a democratic process, andthe same can be said for the agovernment controlled by themilitary.
This current state of affairsleaves Washington in aquandary. Should the UnitedStates cut off the 1.3 billion inmilitary aid to the EgyptianArmy, insist that General al-Sissirestore Morsi or another a newgovernment, pull the army outof the streets and stop killing theMuslim Brothers? Are there anyrational alternatives? If theUnited States terminates mili-tary aid, the Saudis will be morethan happy to step in, whichwould be a double-edged sword.The Saudis support the more ex-treme Salafists of the EgyptianNoor party and they make theMuslim Brotherhood look likeleftwing liberals. The only realoption, as unpleasant as it maybe, is for the Obama Adminis-tration to continue their supportof the army. Al-Sissi could possi-bly become another Nasser, Sa-dat, or Mubarak, but he mayalso be the leader to oversee anelection and a return to civilianrule.
Andre Gerolymatos is Directorof the Stavros Niarchos Founda-tion Centre for Hellenic Studiesat Simon Fraser University
There is No Easy SolutionAbout the Future of Egypt
By Basil N. MossaidisSpecial to The National Herald
The visit to the United Statesby Prime Minister Antonis Sama-ras was a long-anticipated one.Given what Greece has gonethrough the past several years,enduring a dire economic crisisand various transition govern-ments, his visit to the UnitedStates was also a much-neededone. Albeit the meeting withPresident Obama was in August,when Washington is more deso-late than Athens, in simple termsit will help to provide backingto a Greek government attempt-ing to see light at the end ofwhat has seemed an endless tun-nel. My preference would havebeen for the prime minister to
be invited during another timeof the year with the U.S. Con-gress in session and Washingtonthink tank “insiders.”
However, given the circum-stances, I believe Prime MinisterSamaras made the most of hisopportunity in the UnitedStates, shuttling between NewYork City and Washington andspeaking with key audiences ingovernment, the media, andcommerce.
I had the pleasure to seeSamaras at a reception heldmostly for Greek-American busi-ness leaders in New York. Theprime minister’s task in front ofthe audience to which I was par-tial was to spark interest in in-vestment in Greece. He did notspeak of a “recovery,” but rather
a “Grecovery.” The prime min-ister also emphasized thatGreece must welcome investorsand business with a red carpetand not with the red tape of bu-reaucracy. Are these just fancybuzzwords and gimmickingmarketing lingo tactics? Per-haps. But my impressions werethat the prime minister’s pleaswere sincere and his attempt todeliver this important messageand make it resonate with GreekAmerican business leaders wasadmirable, and if he had to usesome slick marketing savvy todo it, then so be it.
Negotiations are underwaybetween the United States andthe European Union on a newtrade agreement that can poten-tially benefit Greece. There are
also provisions within the Sen-ate-passed comprehensive im-migration reform bill that wouldprovide for temporary nonim-migrant visas for entrepreneurs.But it is uncertain how that billwill look once, and even if, it ispassed into law.
Therefore, perhaps it is inour own hands, the AmericanHellenic community’s hands, totake the lead, spur investmentin Greece, and demonstrate tothe board world of commerceand industry that indeed a “Gre-covery” is underway and that ared carpet does await businessleaders with the savvy to investin Greece.
Basil N. Mossaidis is the execu-tive Director of AHePA.
by DR. ANDREGEROLYMATOS
Special to The National Herald
Post-Samaras Visit Impressions: Time for the American Hellenic Community to Invest
AHePA executive Director Basil Mossaidis speaks with PrimeMinister of Greece Antonis Samaras.
by AMB. PATRICK N.THEROS
Special to The National Herald
JohN miNdAlA
VIEWPOINTS10 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 24-30, 2013
A few days ago I received anemail from Alexi Giannoulias ofthe Hellenic American Leader-ship Council (HALC), who is adistinguished Greek-Americanpolitical figure from Chicago. Gi-annoulias asked the recipientsof the email to sign a petition ti-tled “Give Famagusta back!”[The link is provided at the endof this article]
The proposition sounds rea-sonable on its face, as it de-mands the obvious: that the in-habitants of the Ancient city ofAmmochostos, also known asFamagusta, be allowed back totheir homes. They had beenforcibly expelled from them bythe Turkish military, one of themany war crimes it committedduring the invasion of July 1974and the resulting illegal occupa-tion, which is still in force. Giventhat context, I signed the HALCpetition, naturally.
The webpage text introduc-ing the petition referred to anew proposal by the Republic ofCyprus “to return the ‘ghosttown’ of Famagusta to its rightfulinhabitants.” It goes on to quoteCyprus’ Foreign Minister IoannisKasoulides to the effect that “thereturn of Famagusta can be a‘gamechanger’ for resolving theCyprus problem.”
The fact that the petition hasbeen produced by HALC, a seri-ous Greek-American organiza-tion, in support of a specific pol-
icy by the Cypriot government,as expressed so succinctly by Ka-soulides, raises the question asto its efficacy.
The problem is that the issueof the “return of Famagusta” hasa history that should compel pol-icymakers to be cautious in han-dling it. There is also a contem-porary dimension given theObama Administration’s closesupport of the Erdogan regimethat requires very careful ma-neuvering lest the price de-manded for such “return” beprohibitively high (such as in theindirect recognition of the occu-pation regime, thus effectivelyimpugning the very legitimacyof the Republic of Cyprus).
The return of the inhabitantsof Ammochostos/Famagusta totheir homes under United Na-tions auspices was first includedin an American/British plan in1978, with the simultaneous re-sumption of negotiations for acomprehensive Cyprus settle-ment. That went nowhere, asdid a personal agreement be-tween the then-prime ministersof Greece and Turkey, Karaman-lis and Ecevit.
The diplomatic activity relat-ing to the “return of Famagusta”in 1978 was cultivated in partby Turkey and the Carter Admin-istration in order to enable thelatter to overturn the Congres-sional arms embargo, originallyimposed as a result of the crim-
inal invasion andoccupation ofCyprus. Indeed, thea forement ionedEcevit “promise” toKaramanlis to with-draw the Turkishtroops from Ammo-chostos/Famagustawent a long way to-wards reassuringthe Congressionalleadership that aCyprus solution wasin sight, and pro-vided a window formany to vote for therepeal of the em-bargo.
The “return of Famagusta”figured prominently a year laterin a formal agreement reachedin May 1979 between PresidentSpyros Kyprianou and RaoufDenktash under the auspices ofthe UN Secretary General KurtWaldheim; that document gavepriority to the return of Fama-gusta, without awaiting the out-come of the negotiations.
In May 1984 the UN SecurityCouncil adopted resolution 550,which stated among other thingsthat it considers “attempts to set-tle any part of Varosha by peopleother than its inhabitants as in-admissible and calls for the trans-fer of this area to the adminis-tration of the United Nations.”
In 1992 the UN SecurityCouncil adopted resolution 789,
which called forthe return of Fam-agusta to theUnited Nations asa buffer zone forresettlement.
Finally, a Euro-pean Parliamentresolution of Feb-ruary 2010 refersto the Kyprianou-Denktash agree-ment of 1979 andthe obligations de-riving thereof.
As this roughoutline shouldmake clear that the
“return of Famagusta” has a longand hazy history; the issue re-mains unresolved largely be-cause a succession of Turkishgovernments have had little in-centive to change their policy ofethnic cleansing and occupation;at the same Greece, Cyprus andthe Greek-American communityfailed to make the compellingcase that would persuade somein Washington that it would beto the interest of the UnitedStates not to “put its eggs in onlythe Turkish basket.”
The present situation facedby the Cypriot government, andthat of Greece for that matter, ischallenging. Their expectationsof benign American influenceshould be limited, not only be-cause President Obama has de-veloped a close personal rela-
tionship with Prime Minister Er-dogan and the Turks have an or-ganized presence in Washington,but also because US policy is in-creasingly passive as regards theeastern Mediterranean, giventhe explosive events in Syria,Egypt and elsewhere. Indeed theObama Administration has saidlittle and done virtually nothingregarding major catastrophesthat are taking place at this timeand are affecting large numbersof people, not least the persecu-tion of Christian communities inSyria and Egypt, so it is unlikelythat it has much that is positiveto offer in the case of Cyprusand Greece.
The Cyprus government, sup-ported by the Greek governmentas well as the Greek-Americans(and the Greeks of the Diasporamore generally), needs to bevery measured as to what polit-ical cost it is willing to incuragainst what it sees as politicalgain. Simply put, the stakes areexistential.
Or to put it bluntly, at thispoint in time and given the pre-sent regional context, Turkey haslittle reason to make any con-cession (even one that would becosmetic) towards Cypriot, orHelladic Hellenism. Indeed, itcan be argued that Erdogan islikely to choose a hard line vs.Cyprus and Greece, as he maydeem that he needs a victory,having suffered reverses in his
policies related to Syria, the col-lapse of the Muslim Brotherhoodin Egypt, and the concessions heappears to have to make to theKurds.
The leadership of Cyprus andGreece may well have to steeltheir resolve and understandthat not much can be gained byraising unrealistic expectationsregarding forthcoming “negoti-ations.” The Greek governmentcertainly should back that ofCyprus in resisting the harshconcessions, which are likelyaimed to compromise the pre-sent status of the Republic, andthat are sure to be demanded bythe likes of Alexander Downer,the Special Adviser to the Sec-retary-General on Cyprus andothers recruited for this purpose.
In summary, the “return toFamagusta” is certainly some-thing to strive for; at the sametime it should be borne in mindthat the cost should not includegranting legitimacy to the Islam-ofascist Turkish occupation ofsovereign territory of the Repub-lic of Cyprus.
This is the link to the petition:http://action.hellenicleaders.com/p/dia/action3/common/pub-lic/?action_KEY=11562
Aristide D. Caratzas, a trainedhistorian, is an academic pub-lisher and international policyconsultant based in Athens,Nicosia and New york.
New Movement Calling for Return of Famagusta Requires Thoughtful Consideration
By Grigoris ArgerosSpecial to The National Herald
Using up-to-date individual-level census data from the 2011American Community Survey(ACS) we examine the socioeco-nomic status and family/house-hold characteristics of Greek im-migrants compared to theoverall immigrant population.Following previous research, wedefine immigrants by country ofbirth and use the terms “immi-grant” and “foreign-born” inter-changeably. As is the case withevery dataset, the AmericanCommunity Survey is not free oferrors; however, it is still servesas the best source from whichto examine the backgroundcharacteristics of Greek and non-Greek immigrants.
While Greek immigrants con-tinue to remain concentrated ina few states, their population haseither increased or decreased de-pending upon the reference pe-riod used. For one, the Greek im-
migrant population has wit-nessed a nearly 10 percent de-crease during the 2000-2011time period; for another, theirpopulation has increased by 3.2percent from 2010-2011. The to-tal Greek immigrant populationduring the 2000-2011 periodhas fluctuated between a highof 201,880 enumerated individ-uals in 2004 and a low of170,494 in 2010. As of 2011,there were an estimated176,035 enumerated Greek im-migrants residing in the UnitedStates. Relative to the immigrantpopulation as a whole, Greekimmigrants are overrepresentedin the Northeast (48%) and Mid-west (21%). As of 2011, overhalf (56.2%) of Greek immi-grants reside in the states ofNew York (21%), Illinois(10.1%), New Jersey (8.9%),California (8.8%), and Massa-chusetts (7.4%). An additional22% reside in Florida (6%),Michigan (4.8%), Pennsylvania(4%), Connecticut (3.6%), and
Ohio (3.2%). On average, Greek immi-
grants have higher socioeco-nomic status levels as comparedto the overall immigrant popu-lation. Greek immigrants havehigher median household in-come levels and more likely tobe employed in managerial andprofessional occupations relativeto immigrants as a whole (in-come: $54,000 vs. $46,000;managerial and professional oc-cupations: 22% vs. 18%). On theother hand, Greek immigrantsare slightly less likely to have acollege degree or higher relativeto other immigrants (24% vs.25%). Meanwhile, Greek immi-grants are more likely to haveat least a high school diploma(28%) than the immigrant pop-ulation overall (21%). Foreign-born Greeks are more likely toown their homes and have lowerpoverty levels compared to im-migrants as a whole. For exam-ple, 80% of Greek immigrantsare home owners compared
59% for immigrants in general.We also find differences in
family/household status be-tween Greek immigrants and theforeign-born population in gen-eral. On average, Greek immi-grants tend be older, with a me-dian age of 60 relative to thegeneral immigrant population(median age: 44). It is interest-ing to note that 40% of Greekimmigrants are 65 years old orhigher relative to just 15% forimmigrants in general. In con-trast to the general immigrantpopulation, Greek immigranthouseholds are more likely to bemale, married and reside inhouseholds with fewer youngchildren, i.e. less than 18 yearsold.
Finally, but not least, we alsolooked at differences in accul-turation status, as measured bylength of time spent in theUnited States, English languageproficiency, and citizenship sta-tus. While Greek immigrants areless likely to speak only English
in the home context than immi-grants as a whole, they are morelikely, however, to speak Englishwell or very well compared tothe latter group. Attesting toGreek immigrants' higher Eng-lish language fluency skills is thefinding that fewer Greek immi-grants do not speak English inthe home context than the over-all foreign-born population.Greek immigrants are also morelikely to be naturalized citizensthan the rest of the U.S. immi-grant population (81% vs. 50%).Eight out of ten Greek immi-grants have been in the UnitedStates for over 20 years com-pared to the remaining foreign-born population. Though signif-icantly lower than the generalimmigrant population, we alsofind that 5% of Greek immi-grants have been residing in theUnited States since at least 2006,possibly reflecting a slight uptickin immigration from Greece fol-lowing the country's recent eco-nomic crisis.
In sum, the present articleprovided a brief descriptiveanalysis on key socioeconomicand family/household status in-dicators comparing Greek immi-grants to the overall U.S. immi-grant population. Attempting toexplain the aforementioned dif-ferences between the two groupsin a causal manner should beavoided, since further analysesare needed in order to assurethat such differences are dueonly to random chance or not.In other words, we need to as-certain statistical significance be-tween each group’s differenceson the aforementioned vari-ables. Nevertheless, we hope thisbrief descriptive analysis servesas a starting point to engage infurther discussion of Greek im-migrants and their native-borndescendants in the UnitedStates.
Grigoris Argeros is AssistantProfessor of SociologyMississippi State University.
Brief Analysis of Greek Immigrants in the U.S. Compared to U.S. Immigrants Overall
By Vasilios StratigopoulosSpecial to The National Herald
On August 16, CNN reported"Horrible: Christian churchesacross Egypt stormed, torched:"Bishop Angelos, CNN reported,the Cairo-born head of the CopticOrthodox Church in the UnitedKingdom, said he was told by col-leagues in Egypt that 52 churches(some now say as many as 74)were attacked, as well as numer-ous Christians' homes and busi-nesses, in a 24-hour “Day ofRage” that started August 14th.The night before, a mob chantingagainst Coptic Christians wascalling for Egypt to become an"Islamic state" while torching andlooting the Virgin Mary Churchin the village of Kafr Hakim.
Another church reportedly setablaze Wednesday included St.George Church in Sohag, a citysouth of Cairo on the Nile River.Prince Tadros Church in Fayoum,southwest of Cairo, was alsostormed and burned accordingto the official Middle East NewsAgency. An Anglican priest andhis family also narrowly escapedharm after a mob armed withrocks and petrol bombs werekept out his church building bysteel window bars. The ReverendEhab Ayoub, his family, a lay min-ister and a guard were trappedin St Savior’s Church, Suez, forhours while pro-Morsi supporterswere attacking the building. CNNwrites that these and other at-tacks have been blamed on thesupporters of the Muslim Broth-erhood, the Islamist movementwhich backs recently deposedPresident Mohamed Morsi. Theremoval of Morsi has made theseattacks on Coptic and otherChristians in Egypt more frequentand violent.
These attacks are believed tobe an orchestrated attempt to up-root the Coptic Orthodox Chris-tians, who make up approxi-mately 10% of the 84 millionEgyptians, and who have beenan important part of the fabric ofEgypt since the formation of theCoptic Church in Alexandria in43 AD by the Evangelist St. Mark.On July 1, an article titled “Egypt:Christians Being Threatened Notto Join Protests” by RaymondIbrahim described the upcomingthreats of violence against theEgyptian Copts by the organized
Islamic fanatic groups if they ex-ercise their democratic right toprotest peacefully. In Minya, Up-per Egypt, where millions ofChristians live, letters addressedto the Copts threatened them notto join the protests, otherwisetheir "businesses, cars, homes,schools, and churches" might"catch fire." The message con-cluded by saying, "If you are notworried about any of these, thenworry about your children andyour homes. This message is be-ing delivered with tact. But whenthe moment of truth comes, therewill be no tact." It's signed by"People zealous for the nation."
Such threats are not limitedto anonymous letters. During arecent TV interview, Sheikh Es-sam Abdulamek, a member ofthe parliament's Shura Council,warned Egypt's Christians againstparticipating in the June 30protests. "Do not sacrifice yourchildren," he said, as "generalMuslim opinion will not be silentabout the ousting of the President[Morsi]." Notable in all thesethreats is that Christian childrenare specifically mentioned as tar-gets— an effective way at pun-ishing "uppity" Copts. Ibrahimcontinues “These threats are notempty; since the rise of Morsi andthe Brotherhood, the targeting ofCoptic children has increased.Some, especially young girls, areregularly abducted, raped,shamed into converting to Islamand then marrying their rapists.”
The recent attacks on the Cop-tic Orthodox Churches also re-mind Greek Orthodox Christiansof their own tragic historic eventswhen their churches were burnedand when they were targeted forinvoluntary extraction from theirhomeland for their religious be-liefs within the general regionand in Egypt.
The organized and barbaricburning of the ancient and mostlyChristian city of Smyrna remainsindelibly melted into the Greekpsyche. Those fires started in thelate afternoon of September 14,1922 in the Armenian Quarter;four days after the Turkish Armyhad entered the city, and werenot fully extinguished until Sep-tember 22. The Armenian andGreek Christian Quarters weredestroyed while the Turkish Quar-ter survived unscathed. In the af-termath the Greek Orthodox
Archbishop, Chrysostomos ofSmyrna, was tortured and hackedto death by a Turkish mob whilethe Turkish authorities did not in-tervene. Nearly 2000 years ofChristian presence was violentlyextracted by its root (3000 yearsof Greek presence was simulta-neously removed). Some150,000-200,000 Greek refugeeswere also evacuated, while ap-proximately 30,000 able-bodiedGreek and Armenian men weredeported to the interior, many ofthem dying under the harsh con-ditions or executed along the way.
The exodus of Greeks fromEgypt started during and afterthe revolution of 1952. With theestablishment of the new sover-eign regime of Gamal AbdelNasser, rise of Pan-Arab nation-alism and the subsequent nation-alization of many industries from1957 and afterwards, thousandsof Greeks were forced to aban-don the country. Many of themimmigrated to notable countriesof the Greek Diaspora. ManyGreek schools, churches, smallcommunities and institutionssubsequently closed. The danger-ous situation in the Middle Easthad also deteriorated the condi-tions for the Christian Greeks thatstayed back in Egypt. It is esti-mated that between 1957 and1962 almost 70% of the EgyptianGreeks had left the country.
“The events of September” or"Septemvriana," as they areknown to the ethnic Greek in-habitants of Constantinople (Is-tanbul), to describe the pogromthat took place in that city oc-curred fifty-eight years ago onthe 6-7 September 1955. On thathorrific night, similar to the “Au-gust 9-10 Kristallnacht of 1938”in Nazi Germany against theJews, a Turkish orchestratedpogrom set out to physically de-stroy everything Greek Christianin Constantinople. Wave afterwave of frenzied mobs systemat-ically destroyed churches andmonasteries, cemeteries, andbusinesses. The list of destructionincluded: 4,500 Greek homes, 90churches and monasteries, 36schools, 3 cemeteries. Two priestswere burned alive, 14 otherGreeks killed, Greek womenraped, and many thousands ofGreeks were beaten. The level ofvandalism and defilement to thedead and specifically the gravesof the Patriarchs was horrific.
During the 1974 July and Au-gust illegal Turkish invasions ofCyprus “Churches were targetedand vandalized; ecclesiasticalicons and vessels stolen, churchfrescoes and mosaics were re-moved and in many cases weretraced in Europe’s illegal antiq-uities trade markets and auctionsaround the world. The most se-
rious and large-scale damage wasnoted to the islands’ occupiedchurches. Some of the churcheswere demolished, others vandal-ized and some are currently be-ing used as stables, mosques oras part of military camps" writesthe Cypriot Department of Antiq-uities.
In 1996, seventeen Greektourists and an Egyptian tourguide were killed by gunmen inCairo. Another 15 were injured,three critically, when the attack-ers opened fire on a group out-side the Europa Hotel. Accordingto witnesses, four men with gunsdrew up in a white van and firedindiscriminately. The Greektourists were on an Easter visitof the Holy Land sites and hadjust arrived from Jerusalem. Theyhad just finished breakfast andwere about to board a bus to thenorthern city of Alexandria whenthe massacre began. The Islamicgroup, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, ad-mitted it was behind the attackon the Greek tourists. It was saidthey had been mistaken for Is-raelis. In spite of increased secu-rity, attacks on tourists to Egyptcontinued.
What is happening in Egypt,and equally as tragic in Syria,Nigeria, Pakistan, etc., cannottruly be blamed on all, but likehistory has taught us, is mostlikely part of a coordinated effort
rather than the random acts ofunruly mobs. The ChristianChurch, unfortunately, has beenunder attack since the first mar-tyr, St. Stephen, was stoned forhis Christian beliefs. The icons onthe walls of these same churchesbear witness and depict exactlyhow many of these Saints weremartyred barbarically. One wouldthink that in today’s more open-minded, “civilized”, and democ-ratic world that these eventswould have stopped; but, unfor-tunately it would seem that weare walking backwards ratherthan forward into time.
One website catalogues over1008 attacks on Christianchurches around the world sincethe Sept. 11, 2011 terror attacks.Also notable are the plots to killthe Ecumenical Orthodox Patri-arch Bartholomew, the kidnap-ping of Syrian Bishops, priestsand children in the Middle East,and the murder of a Coptic Priestin Sinai in July. Also the fact thatlocal news coverage of suchevents is little to non-existent isequally troubling as we have be-come numb or uncaring past a30 second news segment. St.John, in his book of Revelation,refers to the persecution of theChurch, many argue it is here to-day.
This piece was not written toincite violence or hatred. Insteadit was written with hope andprayer that the recent violencein Egypt stops against Copts andnon-Copts and that peace onceagain takes root. I hope and praythe violence and religious perse-cution against Christians andnon-Christians ends throughoutthe world. I must also state howlucky we are to live in a land ofreligious freedom, but in the faceof rising cases of violence andvandalism against Christianchurches and other houses ofworship within the United Stateswe too must learn to becomemore vigilant… as RudyardKipling wrote “Lest we forget…”what history has taught us againand again.
V. Stratigopoulos, who lives inNew york, have been a freelancecontributor (to journals, newslet-ters, magazines, etc.) regardingmedical, pharmaceutical, andomogenia history and currentevents.
In 24 Hours, 52 Coptic Christian Churches, Maybe up to 74, Were Destroyed in Egypt
by ARISTIDE D.CARATZAS
Special to The National Herald
Coptics Priests and Monks purify with incense the holy cave during a procession within Al-Mahraq monastery in Assiut, Upper egypt, earlier this August.
AP Photo/mANu BrABo
