Daily Archives: November 11, 2014

Από αριστερά προς τα δεξιά, ο πρόεδρος της Κοινότητας Dandenong, Γεώργιος Κ. Μπαφίτης και ο πρωθυπουργός κ. Ουίτλαμ

Τον ευχαρίστησα και του υποσχέθηκα ότι θα κάνω το παν ώστε να είναι κοντά μας και ο επίσκοπος Θεουπόλεως, κ. Παντελεήμων, αντιπροσωπεύοντας τον Μακαριστό Σεβασμιότατο Αρχιεπίσκοπό μας, κ. κ. Ιεζεκιήλ, καθώς επίσης και ο Γενικός μας Πρόξενος της Μελβούρνης κ. Βαλσαμάς-Ράλλης, και ότι θα τον ειδοποιήσω επί αυτού του θέματος το συντομότερο δυνατόν.

ώς προϊστάμενος του ιερού μας ναού Αγίου Παντελεήμονος, ανέλαβε να επισκεφθεί τον επίσκοπο και τον πρόξενό μας, τους οποίους γνώριζε προσωπικά αρκετά καλά και είχε συχνές επαφές μαζί τους και οι οποίοι του υποσχέθηκαν μετά χαράς ότι θα είναι παρόντες και, μάλιστα, εκείνη τη Κυριακή θα συμμετάσχει σε Πανηγυρική Θεία Λειτουργία και ο θεοφιλέστατος επίσκοπος Θεουπόλεως Παντελεήμων.

Πράγματι, αφού είχαμε προετοιμαστεί καταλλήλως για την επίσκεψη του πρώτου Άρχοντα της χώρας που θα επισκεπτόταν το Dandenong, αλλά και την Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Κοινότητα για πρώτη φορά. Την Κυριακή, 3 Μαρτίου 1974 και γύρω στις δέκα πρωινή ώρα, έφθασε με τη συνοδεία του ο λαοφιλής και μεγάλος φιλέλληνας πρωθυπουργός της Αυστραλίας κ. Ουίτλαμ, στην Κοινότητά μας. Είχα την τιμή ως πρόεδρος να τον υποδεχθώ στην εξωτερική είσοδο του προαυλίου και αφού τον καλωσόρισα στη Κοινότητά μας εκ μέρους όχι μόνο της τοπικής μας παροικίας, αλλά και όλων των Ελλήνων της Βικτωρίας, και ανάμεσα σε πολλά χειροκροτήματα, περπατήσαμε προς την είσοδο του ναού. Όταν φθάσαμε μπροστά στο ναό, ο κ. Ουίτλαμ σήκωσε το κεφάλι του ψηλά και διάβασε με άπταιστα Ελληνικά τις λίγες λέξεις που ήταν γραμμένες πάνω από την μπροστινή πόρτα του Ιερού Ναού «Εν Εκκλησίαις ευλογείτε τον Θεόν». Ακολούθως, μπήκαμε στον ναό όπου παρακολούθησε με προσοχή τη Θεία Λειτουργία και στο τέλος βγάλαμε λίγες αναμνηστικές φωτογραφίες. Κατόπιν, όλη η συνοδεία και το εκκλησίασμα βγήκαμε από το ναό και βαδίσαμε προς τη διπλανή κοινοτική αίθουσα, με τον κόσμο να χειροκροτεί και να φωνάζει το όνομα του πρωθυπουργού. Φθάνοντας στην κατάμεστη διπλανή αίθουσα, οι επίσημοι αλλά και άλλοι ανέβηκαν στη εξέδρα. Ως πρόεδρος, είχα την τιμή να τον καλωσορίσω και επισήμως και να πω δυό λόγια στην αγγλική προς τον υψηλό επισκέπτη μας, ο οποίος, στο τέλος, λαμβάνοντας το λόγο, είπε για μια ακόμη φορά τα καλύτερα λόγια για την Ελλάδα και τους Έλληνες.

Τού προσέφερα εκ μέρους της Κοινότητάς μας, έναν ελληνικό αμφορέα, βγάλαμε αναμνηστικές φωτογραφίες και αφού μας αποχαιρέτησε, αναχώρησε με την συνοδεία του και με λίγη καθυστέρηση, εν μέσω χειροκροτημάτων και με το σύνθημα «Ουίτλαμ – Ουίτλαμ» να αντηχεί πολύ ώρα μετά την αποχώρησή του.
Αυτά εν ολίγοις για την επίσκεψη του φιλέλληνα πρωθυπουργού της Αυστραλίας αείμνηστου Γκοφ Ουίτλαμ.

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

Η Αυστραλία στην 24η θέση στην διεθνή κατάταξη όσον αφορά το χάσμα που υπάρχει μεταξύ των δύο φύλων.

Η Αυστραλία κατέχει την 24η θέση στον κόσμο όσον αφορά το χάσμα που υπάρχει μεταξύ των δύο φύλων, αποκαλύπτει διεθνής έρευνα.
Τα βασικά σημεία-κριτήρια υπήρξαν η οικονομική συμμετοχή των δύο φύλων, η μόρφωση, η υγεία και η πολιτική ισχύς.

Πιο αναλυτικά, η Αυστραλία επέδειξε αναβάθμιση στο θέμα της μόρφωσης και κάποια βελτίωση στο χώρο εργασίας, σχετικά με τη μισθοδοσία και τις υψηλόβαθμες θέσεις.
Στον τομέα, όμως, της πολιτικής, η Αυστραλία έχει λιγότερες γυναίκες σήμερα από ό,τι πριν στην κυβέρνηση. Η υπουργός Εξωτερικών, Julie Bishop, είναι η μόνη γυναίκα στην ομοσπονδιακή κυβέρνηση.

Να σημειωθεί ότι το 2006 η Αυστραλία βρισκόταν στην 15η θέση στον κόσμο, όσον αφορά το χάσμα μεταξύ των δύο φύλων.
Η Επίτροπος κατά των Φυλετικών Διακρίσεων, Elizabeth Broderick, αποδίδει το φαινόμενο στην αλλαγή κυβερνήσεων. «Αν συγκρίνουμε τι συνέβαινε πέρυσι που είχαμε γυναίκα πρωθυπουργό και περισσότερες γυναίκες στο κυβερνητικό σώμα, δεν θα πρέπει να μας εκπλήσσει που έχουμε πέσει τόσο χαμηλά. Πιστεύω ότι είναι ένας χώρος στον οποίο θα πρέπει πραγματικά να δώσουμε ιδιαίτερη προσοχή» κατέληξε.

Οι σκανδιναβικές χώρες είναι εμφανώς σε πλεονεκτική θέση αναφορικά με τη θέση των δύο φύλων, καταβάλλοντας ιδιαίτερη προσπάθεια για να «κλείσουν» το χάσμα μεταξύ ανδρών και γυναικών.

Αξίζει, επίσης, να σημειωθεί ότι η Ρουάντα κατέλαβε την έβδομη θέση για το λόγο ότι έχει τις περισσότερες γυναίκες στο Κοινοβούλιο, οι δε Φιλιππίνες κατέλαβαν την ένατη θέση λόγω του μεγάλου αριθμού γυναικών που ακολουθούν ανώτερες σπουδές, αποκτούν προσόντα και κατέχουν υψηλές θέσεις στον επαγγελματικό χώρο.

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

In Australia and other allied countries, including New Zealand, Canada and the United States, 11 November became known as Armistice Day – a day to remember those who died in World War One. The day continues to be commemorated in Allied countries.

After World War Two, the Australian Government agreed to the United Kingdom’s proposal that Armistice Day be renamed Remembrance Day to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars. Today the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day.

Why Is This Day Special To Australians?

At 11am on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months.

In November, the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years and became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war.

In 1997, Governor-General Sir William Deane issued a proclamation formally declaring 11 November to be Remembrance Day, urging all Australians to observe one minute’s silence at 11 am on 11 November each year to remember those who died or suffered for Australia’s cause in all wars and armed conflicts.

The Poppy

Since 1920, the red poppy has been used as a symbol of commemoration to soldiers who have fallen in times of war.

During the First World War, poppies were among the first plants to bloom on the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium. According to soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. Poppies grew in profusion over the earth which had become the grave to thousands soldiers, making the poppy an appropriate symbol to represent the sacrifice of life and the bloodshed of trench warfare.

The sight of poppies springing up amidst the ravaged battlefields of Ypres inspired Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write one of the most notable and popular poems of the period, In Flanders Fields (see following page). It is believed that the poem was written on May 3rd 1915 after McCrae witnessed the death of his 22 year old friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer the day prior.

The tradition of wearing a poppy began just before the armistice in 1918. The secretary of the American YMCA, Moina Michael, read John McCrae’s poem and was so moved by it that she decided to partake in a personal commemorative ritual of wearing a red poppy. She believed this was a powerful way of keeping alive the faith that John McCrae had urged in his poem.

In November 1918 a meeting was held with YMCA secretaries from around the world providing Moina Michael with a chance to discuss the poem and her decision to wear a red poppy. This inspired the French YMCA secretary, Anna Guérun to take the idea further and begin selling poppies to raise money for those affected by the war – particularly widows, orphans, veterans and their families.

The poppy soon became widely accepted throughout the allied nations as a symbol of remembrance which was to be worn on Armistice Day.

Poppies were first sold in Australia in 1921 and continue to be sold by the RSL in the lead up to Remembrance Day every year to raise the much needed funds for the organisation’s valuable welfare work.

(army.gov.au)

In Flanders’ Fields
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders’ fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you from failing hands, we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders’ fields.

source: triplem.com.au

“Fifty years ago they would dive deep to collect sponges, today they climb as high as possible to paint bridges,” Chris Alahouzos, vice mayor of Tarpon Springs, a city in Florida founded by Greek sponge divers and immigrants from the islands of Kalymnos, Halki and Symi, told Kathimerini recently.

Alahouzos moved from Kalymnos to US when he was 12 years old and for the past three years has witnessed a new surge of migration from his homeland. “They choose dangerous but profitable jobs. That is what we Kalymniots are like – daring.”

The remote southeast Aegean island has seen its population plummet from 17,000 in 2011 (when the last census was conducted) to an estimated 11,000 as residents seek their fortunes abroad, mainly in areas with large Kalymniot communities, such as Tarpon Springs, Darwin in Australia and Port-de-Bouc and Pont Saint-Louis in southern France.

“Around 70 percent of the migrants are people who worked in construction, now decimated by the crisis,” said Giorgos Mavros, a municipal councilor in Kalymnos. “But we have also seen the departure of scientists, doctors and civil engineers, professionals who are sought after in Australia.”

“In 2014 I issued around 400 tickets to Australia, about the same as in 2013,” Manolis Mangos, a travel agent on the island, told Kathimerini. “Many had passports as they were born in Australia and had come back when times were good, but others got travel visas and will be taken in by members of the large Kalymniot community once they arrive.” These migrants often have a compatriot guaranteeing them work and are able to extend their visas to three or six months after arriving in Australia, Mangos explained.

The average Kalymniot migrant is 35 years old, in an age bracket that is experiencing 50 percent joblessness. Others are fathers or mothers in their 40s and 50s. Other than Australia and the US, some opt for Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Norway.

“They come to my office desperate, squeezed by banks and completely broke. We have sent about 10 people to South Africa and another 40 to Congo, places where the Kalymniot community once thrived,” Mangos explained. “I estimate that around half the population has left, or more than 8,000. Thankfully they return for their summer holidays.”

For those left behind on the island, life has not been easy.

“There are closed shops and locked-up houses all over the place,” said Dionysis Trikilis, a local physics teacher. “Families are packing up and leaving, even in the middle of the school year,” he added, saying that the number of students at the local high school has shrunk from 270 five years ago to 160 today.

The teacher attributes the huge exodus from Kalymnos not just to unemployment but also to the reduction in subsidies for large families – for which the Kalymniots are renowned – as well as to the reduction in salaries and the drop in construction activity.

The dire situation in which many people on the island find themselves is also attested to by the rise in the number of people asking for assistance.

Amfilochios Sakalleros is a cleric and one of the founders of the Love Bank program. “When we first started the Love Bank in 2006 we provided meals to 60 people,” he told Kathimerini. “Today we feed 200 adults and around 50 schoolchildren who were brought to us by their teachers. Our program survives thanks to the support of Kalymniots living abroad.”

The island’s metropolitan church also runs a free grocery store that provides food to 40 residents, as well as a free pharmacy.

“I hope we can muster up the courage to weather the storm once more,” the priest added.

source: ekathimerini.com

I wonder sometimes who will have the courage to finally explain to the people just how much needs to change in order for Greece to become a normal country. The lies started as soon as we entered the sovereign debt crisis and the memorandum. The entire political system refused to accept the need for reforms. It could hardly do otherwise: In the minds of modern Greek politicians reforms mean suicide, ending clientelism, assigning management to professionals rather than failed politicos and wearing a straitjacket as a means of keeping away from political favors and wasting public funds.

So we ended with half-hearted reforms, which in some cases were not implemented or were eradicated after being approved. The biggest crime of all was that the political system relinquished reform ownership and blamed everything on the memorandum and the troika. Greeks despised the troika and the memorandum as they saw their salaries and pensions being slashed while taxes skyrocketed. There was little, however, in terms of reforms. Schools, universities, hospitals, red tape and justice, among others, remained more or less the same. Fiscal reform was carried out in the same way in which a dentist pulls out a tooth without using anesthesia. In the absence of other policies, lowering labor costs became the easy way to increase competitiveness. This failed to translate into exports and real production, however, as the entire system is anti-entrepreneurship.

Greece’s partners realized relatively early on that this was not a simple case of fiscal crisis, but a challenge to rebuild a country on modern foundations. They started experimenting by involving the troika, the task force and a string of advisers. Seeking out easy solutions they ended up dealing with taxi and milk issues, only to realize that nothing would change without constitutional reform and radical reconstruction.

Today people are tired and in despair, while our creditors fear we might ask for more money. On October 16 the markets showed us what would happen if we were left to our own devices. Opposition SYRIZA is under the illusion that its leader will head to Berlin and get it all: money, a debt write-off as well as a growth deal. Prior to the Euro-election, the government created expectations of outside monitoring coming to an end, an expectation it could not live up to.

When will we exit today’s impasse? Only when a critical mass of Greek citizens throw their support behind a brave, large-scale reform of the kind that only happens every 40 or 50 years. We have yet to realize what has happened and that is why leading personalities capable of expressing this historical need have yet to emerge. It might take one or two election rounds, a few more governments and several “adventures” before we come up with a solution. In the words of a friend, the old is dying but the new is taking too long to be born.

source: ekathimerini.com

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit Athens in December to hold talks with Greek Premier Antonis Samaras, it was announced on Monday.

“On 5 and 6 December 2014, the 3rd annual Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council will convene in Athens, between the governments of Greece and Turkey, under the chairmanship of Prime Ministers Antonis Samaras and Ahmet Davutoglu,” said the Greek Foreign Ministry.

It will be the third such council meeting between the two countries. The last was held in Turkey.

Davutoglu’s visit comes after Greece,  Cyprus and Egypt signed an agreement, the Cairo Declaration, on Saturday to cooperate more closely on a range of issues, including energy.

Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos informed President Karolos Papoulias about the content of the pact on Monday, saying it was part of a systematic effort by the Greek government to demarcate its maritime zone.

“The major gain from the tripartite conference is the invitation that we have issued to all the countries in the region to accept the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and to operate within its framework,” said Venizelos.

Turkey has not signed up the treaty and has been called on by Athens, Nicosia and Cairo to stop harassing Cyprus in its efforts to explore for hydrocarbons in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) it has created south of the island.

Turkey’s naval commander has revealed that he has been ordered to implement new rules of engagement in the Eastern Mediterranean if Turkish vessels encounter Greek, Cypriot, Egyptian or Israeli ships.

Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu told reporters at the sidelines of the Blue Whale naval exercise on Sunday that the country’s navy has been given new instructions in case it faces “a situation” over hydrocarbons exploration in the area.

“Our naval forces elements will continue their mission of situational awareness in the region,” said Bostanoglu, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish navy vessels are currently escorting the Barbaros research vessel, which is in the Cypriot EEZ.

source: ekathimerini.com