Monthly Archives: February 2016

Stella Bompotsiari teaches Greek to people from all over the world through her online school, Greek LOL

“The idea of an online school has always been on my mind,” says Stella Bompotsiari, the founder of Greek Lessons OnLine.

Stella studied Greek literature in Greece and then started looking for a master’s degree that would inspire her and help her make a difference in the future of education.

In the meantime, Stella travelled to many countries around the world, broadening her horizons, until she decided to join her brother Panagiotis in North Carolina, USA.

While in the States, she found that there were many people – not necessarily of Greek background – who wanted to learn Greek and even enrol in a language school.

“I realised that joining a Greek school is not always feasible for a plethora of different reasons,” she says, explaining that she has since then been trying to find a way to make learning Greek easy for people of all ages around the world.
“In 2005, I applied for an E-Learning Master’s Degree, offered by UCL, Institute of Education in London. My studies in E-Learning opened my eyes to a whole new world in education.”

Stella was very inspired by these courses, and with her partner, Pavlos Ksinas, she started looking at how a Greek online school could operate.

Like all Greeks, after acquiring her MA, she wanted to go back to her country and find a job to implement all this new knowledge in her way of teaching, but life had other plans.

“The financial crisis, along with the high unemployment rate, were of course constraints in this effort, making me feel like I was the most useless and unsuccessful human being in the world,” Stella stresses.
“However, not having a full-time job as a secondary school teacher meant that I had more time to do things I liked. Thus, I did what I liked the most. Together with Pavlos, we started working seriously to design our online Greek school.”

And this is how Greek LOL was born, aiming not only to teach the Greek language using the most effective method but also to bring students closer to the Greek culture and history in the most interactive, easy and fun way.

Stella and Pavlos created a website which offers student-centred live, private and group lessons as well as separate classes for young and adult students of all levels.

“Our method of teaching and learning the Greek language is very easy for all people to follow as long as our students have a computer and a high-speed internet connection,” Stella says.

All the Greek lessons are conducted via a specially designed virtual classroom with the use of up-to-date learning materials according to the age and the level of each student. The lessons are not delivered via Skype, but using a videoconferencing environment with an integrated interactive board, where both teachers and students in the online classroom write and complete exercises.

Apart from the online classroom functions, the online school of Greek Lessons OnLine does not merely assign a teacher to deliver yours or your child’s lesson. There is a specific program of study, which is being followed by all teachers and is always adapted to the needs of each student.

“Our educational material is constantly being updated and enriched with songs, videos, quizzes and many more educational tools,” Stella goes on.
“We employ amazing tools to teach the language and to enrich the vocabulary of our students. In addition, the school management is closely monitoring the conduction of all courses and especially for young children, we are constantly in contact with the parents. We want to be sure that we do everything for you to learn Greek.”

The teachers working for Greek Lessons OnLine are very experienced, qualified and the most suitable people to design your Greek online course, tailored to your own needs – the hours you wish depending on your level and requirements you might have.

“Even native Greek speakers can sometimes get lost among broken English and Greek,” Stella adds.
“The Greek language is something more than just ‘Yia sou’ – it consists of grammar, syntax, expression, and what is more, passion.”

Greek LOL educators enrich their lessons with quizzes, flashcards, videos, and songs as a commitment to making Greek language learning easy and enjoyable at both ends. Despite the physical distance, Stella and her teachers all feel really ‘close’ to their students, who are active, constantly interacting with the materials and not just passively watching their teacher.

“The first time I had the chance to see one of my students in person was when Leonardo from New Mexico visited me in Greece,” she remembers, admitting that it took her a while to realise there was no screen between them.
“Our students come from many different parts of the world, yet we all share the same passion for Greek language and culture. How amazing is this?
“I am based in London and our other teachers live in Greece, France and Italy, while our students come from Australia, Morocco, Doha, Lebanon, France, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, New Mexico, New York, Washington DC, Texas, Alabama, Oregon and so on.”

Instead of investing your time in the long drive to Greek school, Greek Lessons OnLine is bringing the teacher to your own home, guaranteeing security and consistency.

“We also take the responsibility of providing you and your children very high quality lessons, which you will appreciate from the very first free trial session.
“Imagine this as opening a window to the beauty of knowledge, from the safety and comfort of your own home.”

For more information head to the Greek Lessons OnLine website at http://www.greek-lol.com or phone +44 7477 473 475.

source:neos kosmos

Volunteer returns to Melbourne with harrowing account of asylum seeker deaths.

A Melbourne lifeguard who volunteered to help asylum seekers crossing from Turkey to Lesvos says he saw 31 people drown this month because they were in international waters.

In the first month of 2016, Lesvos remains the primary gateway into Europe for the greatest migration surge since the Second World War.

More than 850,000 people, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Afghanistan, entered Greece by sea in 2015 according to the UNHCR, and already in 2016, another 35,000 asylum seekers have arrived – most through Lesvos – despite freezing winter temperatures and storms.

Earlier this month St Kilda Surf Lifesaving Club’s captain Simon Lewis spent nine days on the island as a volunteer in a joint venture between the Greek Lifeguards and the International Surf Lifesaving Association.

On his return he told reporters that his team helped save 517 people in 10 days but that he witnessed one horrific event that would remain with him forever.

Mr Lewis said he had to stand by helpless as 31 asylum seekers drowned beyond Greek waters because his team was not allowed to intervene.

“That’s the nature of lifesaving, we put ourselves in that situation to help prevent people from drowning and yet because it’s across the way in international water, you’re restricted and can’t actually do anything about it,” Mr Lewis said.

Unless asylum seeker boats are sinking, volunteers are unable to assist because helping people cross international borders illegally could see them charged with people smuggling.

One more heartbreaking case that Mr Lewis encountered was a mother trying to throw her child five metres to safety.

“We realised what she was about to do, you know, throw us the baby and so we had to pull away from her and put some distance between us. Just seeing her face, that heartbreak.”

Mr Lewis said he was aware of about 2,000 refugees who made the perilous journey to the area in the time he was there.

“These boats are the dodgiest. [They are] built like an inflatable boat, with a fake Chinese engine, they all have fake life jackets on.
“These people make the journey because they think it’s better than being on land, and that says everything to you [about] their situation, to try to get to freedom, because it’s a better option than anywhere else.”

Mr Lewis ran a crowdfunding campaign that’s raised more than $22,000 for a new rescue jet ski for local Greek lifeguards.

This week Greece responded furiously to proposals to modify the Schengen agreement, which would see the country’s borders sealed off from the rest of Europe.

EU interior ministers meeting in Amsterdam on Monday discussed moving the southern frontier of the passport-free travel zone, which includes most of the EU, to the north, and deploying joint police forces along the FYROM-Greece border.

European states are increasingly putting pressure on Greece to do more to limit the influx of migrants into Europe.

Greece’s migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas denounced the plans, calling it an “experiment” that would turn Greece into a “cemetery of souls”.

Source: ABC/Newsweek

Seven Greek Australians received an Order of Australia Award this week.

Among the hundreds of people awarded an Order of Australia this Australia Day in recognition of their outstanding service both locally and abroad, at least seven were of Greek background.

With Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull having scrapped knights and dames from the Order of Australia last year, those awarded fell under just four categories.

Professor Minas Theodore Coroneo from Vaucluse, New South Wales received the Australian Order (AO) in the General Division, for his distinguished service to ophthalmology (study of the eye), along with his contribution to the research and development of innovative surgical technologies and devices, and to maintaining eye health in regional and Indigenous communities.

During an interview with SBS, the professor expressed his gratitude for the honour, and said he only wishes that his parents were still alive to witness his achievements, which he attributes to their hard work and determination to educate their children.

Also a recipient of an AO was George Pappas from Hawthorn, Victoria. Mr Pappas was awarded for his distinguished service to the community through roles with tertiary education, medical research and defence organisations, in addition to his ongoing contribution in business, namely management consulting.

Awarded under the third category as a Member of the Order (AM) was Queensland’s Dr Vlasis Pitsonis Efstathis, who was recognised for his service in the community health sector, through leadership roles with a range of organisations, and to medicine as a practitioner.

Mr John Vrodos from the Northern Territory’s Stuart Park also received an AM for his significant service to the Northern Territory’s Greek community, through a range of executive roles relating to sporting and cultural organisations.

Finally, four Greek Australians were awarded a Medal of the Order (OAM), including Stathis E Efstathis of Raby Bay, QLD for service to the Greek community of Queensland; Gerald Nicholas Kostos from Toorak, VIC for his service to the community through a range of sporting organisations; and the late Spiro John Notaras from Grafton, NSW for his service to the community of Grafton.

Though women made up one-third of the Australia Day honours, where the Greek Australian recipients were concerned, 2016 proved to be a boy’s club, with not one Greek Australian female awarded.

*Please note, there may have been other prize winners of Greek origin who were not identifiable due to name changes.

source:Neos Kosmos

Η ομάδα του έσωσε πάνω από 500 πρόσφυγες από πνιγμό.

Ο Αυστραλός ναυαγοσώστης, Simon Lewis, ζήτησε να πάει στη Λέσβο εθελοντικά, προκειμένου να βοηθήσει πρόσφυγες οι οποίοι από την Τουρκία επιχειρούν, μέσω του Αιγαίου Πελάγους, να φθάσουν στη Λέσβο.

Η πρώτη του δήλωση στα ΜΜΕ είναι ότι «ποτέ δεν πρόκειται να ξεχάσει την τρομακτική αυτή εμπειρία».

Τα 10 χιλιόμετρα που διασχίζουν οι πρόσφυγες από την Τουρκία στη Λέσβο είναι πολύ επικίνδυνα, είναι εντούτοις ο μόνος τρόπος για να περάσουν χιλιάδες Σύροι πρόσφυγες που ζητούν καταφύγιο στην Ευρώπη.

Ο Simon Lewis, ο οποίος είναι επικεφαλής του ναυαγοσωστικού κλαμπ St. Kilda, πήγε στην Ελλάδα ως μέλος μιας ομάδας διάσωσης των προσφύγων, μέσω κοινής επιχείρησης του Οργανισμού Ελλήνων Ναυαγοσωστών και του Διεθνούς Συνδέσμου Ναυαγοσωστών.

Ο ίδιος δήλωσε ότι μόνο η δική του ομάδα βοήθησε να σωθούν 517 άτομα μέσα σε δέκα μέρες, τονίζοντας ότι η ευγνωμοσύνη εκείνων που έσωσαν ήταν κάτι απερίγραπτο.

Από την άλλη πλευρά, προσθέτει, ότι ήταν φοβερό να βλέπει κανείς ανθρώπους να πνίγονται και να μη μπορεί να τους βοηθήσει γιατί βρίσκονταν σε τουρκικά ύδατα, όπου δεν είχαν πρόσβαση για να τους προσφέρουν βοήθεια. Ο αριθμός εκείνων που πνίγηκαν μέσα σε δέκα μέρες που βρίσκονταν ο ίδιος εκεί ήταν 31 άτομα, είπε.

Αναφερόμενος στον τρόπο και τα μέσα που χρησιμοποιούν οι πρόσφυγες για να φθάσουν στη στεριά, θα πει ότι είναι ‘απίστευτος’.

«Οι βάρκες-φουσκωτά έχουν κατασκευαστεί από τα πιο φτηνά και ψεύτικα υλικά, με ψεύτικα σωσίβια και άχρηστες κινεζικές μηχανές. Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι ρισκάρουν τη ζωή τους, προσπαθώντας να δραπετεύσουν από μια εφιαλτική κατάσταση, να βρουν την ελευθερία τους και είναι ο μόνος τρόπος που τους προσφέρεται».

Το διάστημα που ήταν εκεί, είπε, έφτασαν πάνω από 2.000 πρόσφυγες.

Με την ευκαιρία των εορτασμών της Ημέρας της Αυστραλίας, ο δικηγόρος και ακτιβιστής των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων, Julian Burnside, δήλωσε ότι η εμπειρία του Simon Lewis εμπνέει και εκφράζει πλήρως το τι σημαίνει να είσαι Αυστραλός.

«Ωστόσο, η στάση της Αυστραλίας όσον αφορά τους πρόσφυγες, τα τελευταία χρόνια, είναι επαίσχυντη», τόνισε, προσθέτοντας ότι «ένας τρόπος που μπορούν οι Αυστραλοί να βοηθήσουν στο να σωθούν ζωές είναι να υιοθετήσουν μία πιο ανθρωπιστική προσέγγιση στο θέμα των προσφύγων γενικά».

Το να σώζεις ζωές, όπως έκανε ο Simon Lewis, είπε, εμπλουτίζει τη δική σου ζωή.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Victorian war veteran and RSL legend passes away

A tireless advocate for marking the duty and sacrifice of Australian servicemen and women, Brigadier Keith Rossi died on 20 January in Melbourne at the age of 94.
His death is mourned not only by veterans and their families, and the RSL of which he was a member for more than 70 years, but by Australia’s Greek community who have lost a true friend and supporter.

Despite the fact that he did not serve in Greece during WWII, Brigadier Rossi was a regular attendee on behalf of the RSL at commemorative events marking the WWII Greece and Crete campaigns. He played an important role in the creation of the Australian Hellenic Memorial in Melbourne’s Domain Gardens as a member of the Memorial’s committee from 1995.

Keith Rossi enrolled as a cadet in the militia in 1937 at the age of 15. His service record showing his date of birth as 13 October 1919 is incorrect; he was told to say he was 17 by the recruiting officer. He transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in March 1941, where he first served as a wireless operator. His operational service began in Egypt six months later where he undertook artillery training before joining the 2/2 Australian Field Regiment.

Postings to Ceylon (1942) and New Guinea (1943/1944) followed, before he saw out WWII in Morotai and Borneo. After the war he remained a professional soldier and in 1970 served in Vietnam.

A member of the Citizen Military Forces until 1976, following his Army career Brigadier Rossi devoted his life to the RSL which he had joined in 1943, and became a volunteer historian working five days a week at ANZAC House in Melbourne. Direct and insightful, there his assistance to those seeking his deep knowledge and robust advice became legend.

Joining the many tributes to the brigadier, Steve Kyritsis OAM, president of the Hellenic RSL sub branch Victoria, said: “Keith was a Philhellene and supporter of the Hellenic RSL. His knowledge as a historian was always helpful to matters relating to Australian and its Allies’ military history.
“We have lost a great soldier, veteran, and historian who devoted his whole life for the RSL.”

Brigadier Rossi was given an honorary life membership of the Pancretan Association of Melbourne in 2012, which described him as “a stern supporter of the Greek community and the Cretan fraternity”.
Victoria RSL state president, Major General David McLachlan, said his former colleague would be greatly missed.

“Keith received an OBE (Military) in 1964 and was recognised with an AM in 1999 for his service to veterans and their families. He held a wealth of military history knowledge and, with a sharp mind, was a significant contributor to ANZAC House.”
Brigadier Rossi was predeceased by his wife Nan and two sons.

RIP Keith Vincent Rossi. AM. OBE. RFD ED (Ret’d). Born: 13 October 1921. Died: 20 January 2016

source:Neos Kosmos

The Hague — Over 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children have disappeared in Europe, the EU police agency Europol said on Sunday, fearing many have been whisked into sex trafficking rings or the slave trade.

Europol’s press office confirmed to AFP the figures published in British newspaper The Observer, adding that they covered the last 18-24 months.

The agency’s chief of staff Brian Donald said the vulnerable children had disappeared from the system after registering with state authorities following their arrival in Europe.

“It’s not unreasonable to say that we’re looking at 10,000-plus children,” Donald said, adding that 5,000 had disappeared in Italy alone.

“Not all of them will be criminally exploited; some might have been passed on to family members. We just don’t know where they are, what they’re doing or whom they are with.”

Donald said there was evidence of a “criminal infrastructure” established over the last 18 months to exploit the migrant flow.

The Observer reported that Europol found evidence of links between smuggling rings bringing people into the EU and human trafficking gangs exploiting migrants for sex and slavery.

“There are prisons in Germany and Hungary where the vast majority of people arrested and placed there are in relation to criminal activity surrounding the migrant crisis,” Donald said.

Over one million migrants and refugees, many fleeing the Syria conflict, crossed into Europe last year.

“Whether they are registered or not, we’re talking about 270,000 children,” Donald told the paper.

“Not all of those are unaccompanied, but we also have evidence that a large proportion might be,” he said, adding that the 10,000 is likely to be a conservative estimate.

He said many of the children are “visible”, and not “spirited away and held in the middle of forests”.

‘Most vulnerable group’

Raffaela Milano, Save the Children’s Italy-Europe programme director, said that “unaccompanied minors who travel without adults are the most vulnerable group of the migratory flow”.

“Many minors, in fact, make themselves ‘invisible’ to the authorities to enable them to continue their journey in Europe, for fear of being sent back,” she said.

Many children arrive first on the Greek islands before making the journey to relatives across Europe.

Laura Pappa, president of the Greek charity Meta-Action, a group accompanying children who travel without relatives, said they “face a destiny that is worse than that of the rest of migrants waiting to be relocated”.

She said they often have to wait for around seven months to be reunited with relatives, and that procedures can be slow and complicated.

“There are some people that present themselves as uncles and take the children. It’s not easy in this mess to cross check the identity of the ‘uncle’.”

Pappa said the group has helped 3,000 children reach family, but that it “is not enough”.

Escalating tensions

Britain is one country that has said it will take in migrant or refugee children who have been separated from their parents.

Despite the constant risk of death and deportation, migrants continue to stream into Europe, risking their lives to escape poverty, repression and conflict.

Many children are among the refugees and migrants who have lost their lives making the perilous crossing in the Mediterranean.

In the latest tragedy, the Turkish coastguard recovered the bodies of women and children were washed up on a beach after their boat sank, leaving at least 37 people dead.

Tensions are escalating across the continent over the increasing numbers of migrants, with many right-wing groups calling for more immigration restrictions and tighter borders.

On Saturday, Swedish police said dozens of masked men believed to belong to neo-Nazi gangs gathered in Stockholm and handed out leaflets calling for attacks against young unaccompanied migrants.

And anti-fascist and far-right protesters clashed in a southern German town where unknown assailants threw a hand grenade into a refugee shelter on Friday, as the country scrambles to integrate the over one million asylum seekers it welcomed last year.

source:jordantimes.com

Arsenal will face Hull in the FA Cup fifth round, while Manchester United travel to Shrewsbury and Liverpool face Blackburn if they beat West Ham.

Guus Hiddink has described drawing Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round as “a final” and warned that Chelsea have at last found their winning touch this season.

Chelsea have lifted the FA Cup five times since the turn of the century and are the defending Premier League champions while City won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012 and 2014.

• Terry: This will be my final Chelsea season

The two clubs will now meet at Stamford Bridge on the weekend of Feb 19-22 in what is Manchester City’s third successive away draw against Premier League opposition in this season’s FA Cup.

It’s a final,” Hiddink said. “Already a final now. A huge game, so start the final next round.”

There are two other all Premier League ties, with Bournemouth hosting Everton and Tottenham Hotspur having been drawn at home against Crystal Palace.

The defending champions Arsenal have received another favourable draw after their weekend win against Burnley and will play Hull City at the Emirates Stadium in what is a repeat of the 2014 final.

In the other matches, Manchester United face a trip to League One Shrewsbury Town, Reading play West Bromwich Albion or Peterborough, and Blackburn Rovers have been drawn at home against Liverpool or West Ham United.

Chelsea remain unbeaten under Hiddink, winning four and drawing four, culminating in their emphatic 5-1 win against MK Dons on Sunday to progress into the last 16 of the FA Cup. Oscar scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in the match while Eden Hazard also scored his first club goal of the season.

• MK Dons 1 Chelsea 5: Five things we learnt

Chelsea were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the start of the season but Hiddink, who won the FA Cup in 2009 and still has a perfect record in the competition, believes that they have now turned a corner. “The players have responded very well to the way we are working,” he said.

“It was important to get some results. There were draws in the beginning, and the standard of this club means we need more than draws, but we have to find some ­security at first. Now we are moving into the area of victories. The players responded.

“There is quality in the team, but also the will to do, also, a very disciplined tactical work as we demand. That’s more in the direction of the defensive, well-organised work they do. Not just the defenders, but also the creative players working hard. That’s benefiting the team.”

source:telegraph.co.uk

A 100-metre stretch of road at Wacol was littered with dead or dying kangaroos, says RSPCA, which is appealing for witnesses.

The RSPCA says a driver has deliberately run down and killed 17 kangaroos on the outskirts of Brisbane.

The animal welfare group said it was appalled by the incident that left a 100-metre stretch of road at Wacol littered with kangaroo carcasses.

The animals were discovered on Monday morning, between a women’s prison and a nearby men’s one on Grindle Road.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said many of the kangaroos were young.

“One of them we had to euthanase, 16 of them were dead,” he said on Monday. “They’ve definitely been deliberately run over. You can quite clearly see the tyre tracks where they’ve gone off the road to hit them.”

Beatty appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

source:theguardian.com

Athens (AFP) – Two thousand people joined a rally in Athens Saturday organised by the far-right Golden Dawn Party to mark the anniversary of the 1996 Imia crisis that brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war.

Black-clad party members held torches and waved Greek and party flags, shouting ultra-patriotic slogans, as they marched from the Golden Dawn’s main office in northern Athens to the nearby Ministry of Defence.

In central Athens, meanwhile, counter-demonstrators gathered in defiance of a government ban on gatherings in the centre of the city.

Police put the number of people at the Golden Dawn rally at 2,000 with around 500 counter demonstrators in central Athens.

In January 1996, Greece and Turkey clashed over the sovereignty of a handful of rocky islets, called Kardak by Ankara and Imia by Athens, situated a few miles from the Turkish mainland.

The two countries sent marines to two neighbouring islets in a sign of an imminent armed confrontation, but then withdrew their troops after heavy diplomatic pressure by the United States.

Greek authorities on Friday announced a ban on all public gatherings in central Athens to avert any clashes between far-right activists and anti-fascists counter-demonstrators.

Police concerns were also raised after 12 Germans, thought to be members of a far-right group who arrived in Athens to take part in Saturday?s event, were attacked on Thursday by anti-fascists.

source:yahoo.com