email:vema@bigpond.net.au

JULY 2007 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

PAGES 8/26- 9/27

In this issue...

PAGE 15/33

90th anniversary of

Australia’s saddest year

PAGES 10/28 & 11/29

Provost Norm

McFarland - Just

an ordinary bloke

Pilgrimage to Patmos:

Island of the Apocalypse

PAGE 5/23

Environment Minister George Soufliasannounced a host of measures on July 9addressing the issues of flooding, soil ero-sion and reforestation in response to theblaze that burned down over 4,000hectares of Attica’s last remaining fir-treeforest.

But environmentalists and academicsbelieve that more must be done to counter-balance the main consequence of the fire - achange in the region’s micro-climate.

“I want to stress that we have set targetsand timetables that are hard to achieve. Werealise this is a very important issue forAttica, and we will try to respond to citizens’demands,” Souflias said after meeting withAgriculture Minister Evangelos Basiakos, aswell as regional, forestry and other officials. According to the environment minister, byJuly 19 the Army’s Geographical Servicewill produce aerial photographs mappingthe burned areas, and within a week of thisthe areas will be declared reforestable. TheParnitha Forestry Department has alreadystarted compiling an assessment of the woodthat is available for anti-erosion and anti-flooding works.

Souflias estimates that the study outliningthe necessary works will be ready by thebeginning of August, but said that construc-tion of some projects would start even earli-er.

Regarding reforestation, the necessarystudy will be ready by the end of September,the minister said and added that onNovember 1 - after the first rainfalls - refor-estation will begin. Grazing will be forbid-den in the affected areas, more guards willbe hired and the area will be monitored bysatellite in order to detect land poachers andillegal buildings springing up. According toSouflias, illegal constructions will be torndown immediately.

The minister also announced a host ofmeasures for the protection of local fauna.Entry in the Mola area will be forbidden,and wounded animals will be cared for andfed. But citizens will not be allowed to feedanimals or intervene for fear that their effortswill have negative effects. Souflias esti-

mates that his plan will cost approximately30 million euros.

Measures welcomed

Environmentalists welcomed Souflias’plans saying they are a step in the rightdirection. But in two separate press confer-ences, non-governmental organisations(NGOs) stressed that more must be done torevive Parnitha and to ensure that measuresare taken to counterbalance the effects thecatastrophe will have on the region’s micro-climate and quality of life.

During a press conference organised byfive environmental groups on July 11,George Sfikas, the honorary head of theHellenic Society for the Protection of Nature(HSPN), told journalists that the NationalForest’s boundaries should be extended toinclude nearby public forests, and that forestmaps and a forest registry must be immedi-ately compiled for the whole country.

Martin Gaitlich, also from HSPN, toldjournalists that the ministry should notattempt to introduce non-indigenous speciesinto the affected area.

Constantinos Liarikos of environmentalgroup WWF agreed and stressed that

Parnitha is not a recreational ground. “Itsone and only primary reason for being is thepreservation of biodiversity,” he said andadded that for this to be achieved manythings would have to change, such as limit-ing traffic on the mountain.

Temperatures rising

WWF and Greenpeace, along with scien-tists from the National Technical Universityof Athens (NTUA) and the University ofAthens (UoA), warned during a press con-ference on July 10 that Parnitha’s burningmeans that “Athens has lost its most impor-tant mechanism for defervescence” and thatquality of life will suffer.

Dr Manthos Santamouris from the UoAexplained that Parnitha’s forest was one ofthe most important cooling mechanisms forAttica’s climate. Now that it has beenreplaced with charred trees, the air passingover the area will be heated instead ofcooled, adding to the city’s already heavyheatload, in the same way that additionaltraffic does. “Simply put, it’s as though wedoubled the number of cars in the Atticabasin,” he said.

‘CASINO’ - THE MOST FORMIDABLE ‘TERRORIST’

Parnitha fire

aftermath

Our Primate’s View

UNESCO slams seven ‘new’ wonders of the world listPAGE 2/20

Amorgos: home to the

improbable and impracticalPAGE 18/36

The burning of Parnitha forest will have the same effect on the city

as thedoubling of vehicles on its streets overnight, scientists warn

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA2/20 JULY 2007

SOVIETS INVADE

CZECHOSLOVAKIA:

August 20, 1968

On the night of August 20, 1968, approx-imately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia tocrush the "Prague Spring"--a brief periodof liberalization in the communist coun-try. Czechoslovakians protested the inva-sion with public demonstrations and othernon-violent tactics, but they were nomatch for the Soviet tanks. The liberalreforms of First Secretary AlexanderDubcek were repealed and "normaliza-tion" began under his successor GustavHusak.

PARIS LIBERATED:

August 25, 1944

After more than four years of Nazi occu-pation, Paris is liberated by the French2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4thInfantry Division. German resistance waslight, and General Dietrich von Choltitz,commander of the German garrison,defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow upParis' landmarks and burn the city to theground before its liberation. Choltitzsigned a formal surrender that afternoon,and on August 26, Free French GeneralCharles de Gaulle led a joyous liberationmarch down the Champs d'Elysees.

JAPAN SURRENDERS:

September 2, 1945

Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay,Japan formally surrenders to the Allies,bringing an end to World War II. By the summer of 1945, the defeat ofJapan was a foregone conclusion. TheJapanese navy and air force weredestroyed. The Allied naval blockade ofJapan and intensive bombing of Japanesecities had left the country and its economydevastated. At the end of June, theAmericans captured Okinawa, a Japaneseisland from which the Allies could launchan invasion of the main Japanese homeislands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthurwas put in charge of the invasion, whichwas code-named "Operation Olympic"and set for November 1945.

JULY 27, 1949 First jet makes test flight

On this day in 1949, the world's first jet-propelled airliner, the British DeHavilland Comet, makes its maiden test-flight in England. The jet engine wouldultimately revolutionize the airline indus-try, shrinking air travel time in half byenabling planes to climb faster and flyhigher.

JULY 29, 1958NASA created

On this day in 1958, the U.S. Congresspasses legislation establishing theNational Aeronautics and Space Admini-stration (NASA), a civilian agency re-sponsible for coordinating America's acti-vities in space. NASAhas since sponsoredspace expeditions, both human and me-chanical, that have yielded vital informa-tion about the solar system and universe. Ithas also launched numerous earth-orbitingsatellites that have been instrumental ineverything from weather forecasting tonavigation to global communications.NASA was created in response to the So-viet Union's October 4, 1957 launch of itsfirst satellite, Sputnik I.

AUGUST 5, 1962Marilyn Monroe is found dead

On August 5, 1962, movie actress MarilynMonroe is found dead in her home in LosAngeles. She was discovered lying nudeon her bed, face down, with a telephone inone hand. Empty bottles of pills, pre-scribed to treat her depression, were lit-tered around the room. After a brief inves-tigation, Los Angeles police concludedthat her death was "caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugsand that the mode of death is probable sui-cide."

AUGUST 6, 1945Atomic bomb is dropped on

Hiroshima

On this day in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanesetime, an American B-29 bomber, theEnola Gay, drops the world's first atombomb, over the city of Hiroshima.Approximately 80,000 people are killed asa direct result of the blast, and another35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000would be dead by the end of the year fromthe effects of the fallout.

UNESCO slams seven

‘new’ wonders of the world list

The UN body for culture blasted a private initiative that drewnearly 100 million internet and telephone voters to choose seven“new” wonders of the world.

“This campaign responds to other criteria and objectives than thatof UNESCO in the field of heritage,” said Sue Williams, the spokes-woman for the UN cultural body that designates world heritage sites.“We have a much broader vision,” she told AFP.

Voters chose the Great Wall of China; India’s Taj Mahal; the cen-turies-old pink ruins of Petra in Jordan; the Colosseum in Rome; thestatue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro; the Incan ruins of MachuPicchu in Peru; and the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza inMexico.

British actor Ben Kingsley and US actress Hillary Swank hosted aceremony at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light, broadcast in more than 170countries to an estimated 1.6 billion viewers.

A private Swiss foundation launched the contest in January, allow-ing voters to choose from 21 sites shortlisted out of 77. It said it hadgathered nearly 100 million votes by the end of polling at midnighton Friday.

According to its backers, the campaign aimed to update the origi-nal list of seven world wonders, drawn up about 200 BC, of whichonly the pyramids of Giza remain today.

Shortlisted sites that missed the final cut included Sydney OperaHouse; the Acropolis in Athens; Paris’Eiffel Tower; the Easter Islandstatues; Britain’s Stonehenge; Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples;New York’s Statue of Liberty; and the Alhambra in Spain.Christian Manhart, UNESCO’s press officer, criticised the ballot,saying it sent out a “negative message to countries whose sites havenot been retained”.

“All of these wonders obviously deserve a place on the list, butwhat disturbs us is that the list is limited to just seven,” he said, point-ing out that “seven were adequate in antiquity because the antiqueworld was much smaller than today,” only comprising the area sur-rounding the Mediterranean.

The privately sponsored campaign was the brainchild of a Swissfilmmaker and museum curator Bernard Weber, following thedestruction of Afghanistan’s giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan by theTaliban in 2001, and part of the money made on yesterday’s ceremo-ny was to go towards rebuilding the massive sculptures.

But Manhart said: “UNESCO is not in favour of rebuilding theBuddhas,” pointing out that valuable remains of the old statuesremain in the rocky niches that make up the site.

“If you build new statues in these niches you destroy those re-mains,” he said.

In light of the strong Islamist presence in Afghanistan, Manhart alsoinsisted it would be difficult to rebuild another religion’s “idols” inthe country.“Mr Weber does not have a mandate from the Afghan government,and without a mandate you can’t do anything,” he said.Egypt, home of the Giza pyramids, was also critical, dismissing thenew list of wonders as worthless.

“This contest will not detract from the value of the pyramids, which

is the only real wonder of the world,” Egypt’s antiquities supremoZahi Hawass told AFP. “This competition has no value because it isnot the masses who write history.”

China did not broadcast the event, leaving thousands of tourists atthe Great Wall unaware of its new status.

“As usual there are a lot of tourists here today, but I don’t think theycame here because the Great Wall was chosen as one of the sevenwonders of the world,” Hu Yang, an official at the Badaling GreatWall near Beijing, told AFP.

“All the same it is a great honour for all of China.”Indians handed out sweets and set off fireworks outside the Taj

Mahal, a 17th century marble mausoleum built by Mughal ruler ShahJahan in memory of his wife.

“It’s a victory of love, the message which the Taj stands for,” saidRakesh Chauhan, president of the Agra Hotel and RestaurantAssociation.

Faruq Hadidi, head of Jordan’s tourism ministry, meanwhile saidthe flow of tourists to Petra would “double” from its current level of400,000 visitors a year.

In Peru, hundreds gathered at 2,430 meters to greet the announce-ment that the ruins of Machu Picchu had made it on the new list.

“The selection of Machu Picchu is an example of what Peruvianscan achieve when we unite” as they did by voting in favour of “thenew marvel”, trade and tourism minister Mercedes Araoz toldreporters.

Thousands also cheered, waved flags and broke into Mayan dancesat the archaeological ruins on Mexico’s Yucatan, when Chichen Itza,which attracts more than one million tourists a year, made it to thefinal list.

In Rio de Janeiro, which hosted one of the Live Earth concerts, hun-dreds of thousands of singing and dancing revellers broke into hugeapplause as they were told the city’s landmark Christ the Redeemerstatue was a new “wonder”.

AFP

Shortlisted sites that missed the final cut included Sydney OperaHouse, the Acropolis in Athens and Paris’ Eiffel Tower

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21

“Cleanliness is/is not

next …”

So often magazines tell us that our houses,and the way we decorate them, reveal a lotabout us as individuals, and our innerthoughts. For some people, certainly, theirhouses are works of art. For others, housesare places that continue to evolve over thelife of a family – the rooms and their con-tents changing to meet the needs of familymembers from birth to old age. If it wasn’tfor taxes perhaps we would change ourentire location as our families grew up, butthe cost of selling, buying, and shifting tendto discourage this practice. One result is, ofcourse, that if one buys a house previouslyoccupied by an elderly ‘empty-nester’ cou-ple, it tends to have quite a number of fea-tures that make a house more liveable:handrails alongside stairs, a generous andconvenient supply of power points, andwashing lines inside carports, for starters.

What might a house say about us? Onefamily I knew, when my children wereyoung, always prided themselves on being‘guest ready’. Their house was spotless;just the sort of place that made me felt likea total failure as a housewife. Then … oneday I popped in unexpectedly and my life

changed forever. Well, what changed weremy expectations of myself. When I enteredthis friend’s house the first thing I noticedwere vegemite sandwiches, or rather, theremains. They formed an interesting trailfrom the doorway, all the way through thehall and into the family room at the rear ofthe house. Mess was everywhere. I shouldhave felt completely at home in such achaotic setting, but I was too stunned.Seeing my face, the lady of the house tooka deep breath, shrugged her shoulders andsaid (and I have never forgotten thesewords), “Sorry about the mess, but thecleaner’s taken the week off”. This was hersecret!

How a family works out its finances is amatter of individual priority and ours hasnever stretched to hiring a cleaner, and, asstrange as it may sound, it never occurredto me that any of my friends had cleaners.Don’t get me wrong; there are times whenI utterly despair over the mounting piles ofwashing, books and paperwork clutteringup every table top and chair, not to mentionthe floor despite the lovely description inone of the artist Mirka Mora’s books*where she refers to children’s clutter not asbeing surrounded by mess, but by theirlives.

So my family continues to live in chaos.The difference that unexpected visit yearsago had on me, though, was that it mademe realise in a flash that I didn’t have themost untidy children in the world and Iwasn’t the worst house cleaner in existence.It’s simply a matter of priorities.

* Mirka Mora, My life: Wicked but virtuous.

Talking

Pointby Ann Coward

New Democracy’s

popularity

NEW DEMOCRACY has been damaged by the bondscandal but will still win the next general election, albeitby a reduced margin, because nobody trusts Pasok to man-age the economy. That, broadly speaking, seems to be theprediction of a majority of Greeks in four different opinionpolls taken in late May and early June for variously affili-ated media.

Two of the four polls, which ask for voter intent, find aone- (GPO) and two- (MRB) point conservative lead - wellwithin the margin of error, but consistent with older pollsunsullied by the bond. And the three polls that asked thequestion found that over 60 percent of voters expect NewDemocracy to win. All this strongly suggests that Pasok’sefforts to sustain the bond topic with television appear-ances and parliamentary inquiries have not given it votes.

If this position holds, it will be the second time Pasok hasfailed to mire the conservatives in parliamentary commit-tee hearings. The first was a sustained inquiry into thebiggest act of political espionage in recent history throughthe Vodafone network - something New Democracy wasthe victim of but tried to cover up.

The latest scandal, in which the government seems to haveinsinuated bond issues into pension fund portfolios at dis-advantageous prices, broke upon the Greek public onMarch 1. The conservatives withstood a political gale last-ing two months before making Employment MinisterSavvas Tsitouridis walk the plank on April 28.

The explanation for New Democracy’s immunity this timearound is probably in what VPRC found - that while 20percent of Greeks blame the ruling conservatives most forendemic state corruption, 34 percent still blame the depart-

ed socialists even more; and that margin actually widenedby six points over the past month.

There is a second major socialist weakness. The party isputting its voters out to graze while New Democracy ismanaging to herd its faithful. For instance, GPO finds thatwhile 77 percent of New Democracy voters give theirparty good marks for performance, only 62 percent ofPasok voters do the same for theirs. The picture is similarwith the personalities of the party leaders. Prime MinisterCostas Karamanlis wins the approval of 85 percent of hisvoters, but George Papandreou only inspires 69 percent ofthose who voted for him in 2004 - and that has gone upfrom an embarrassing 47 percent on the eve of the bondfiasco.

Overall, the most important measurement in Greek politicsis whom voters find most suited to be prime minister.Karamanlis still enjoys leads over Papandreou of between11.6 points (MRB) and 23 points (VPRC).

All this does not mean that voters are letting NewDemocracy off the hook. According to Metron Analysis,three-quarters of voters think Tsitouridis was a scapegoat;and according to GPO 69 percent find the bond impossibleto dismiss, including 52 percent of conservative support-ers. Minorities still want Finance Minister GeorgeAlogoskoufis and his deputy, Petros Doukas, to go.

Unfortunately for Pasok, Greeks think the grass is paler onits side. Not only do Greeks still blame Pasok for state cor-ruption; 36 percent say New Democracy is best equippedto resolve corruption compared to just 25 percent forPasok.

But it is the dissatisfaction with both that grabs the head-lines. Another 36 percent says that neither party can cleanhouse.

The result is spillage to small parties. The Left Coalition,once fearing for its political life, is set to re-enter parlia-

ment handsomely above the three percent threshold; andthe right wing Laos is now set to enter for the first time.

Greeks seem to think that the remedy to corruption is notalternation between two parties, but a dilution of their abil-ity to govern alone. The most pro-government poll, that ofVPRC, commissioned by Kathimerini, says 59 percent ofvoters now prefer a coalition government. MRB foundthree-quarters in favour of a five-party parliament. Howelse to explain the fact that great majorities want partiesthey don’t vote for to enter parliament - two-thirds forLAOS and 70 percent for the Left Coalition, according toGPO.

To an observer, the state of Greek democracy is not ahealthy one. People are voting for ruling parties they donot fully trust. Despite their cynicism, they are not protect-ed enough from outrage. Angered by continuing corrup-tion, or perceived corruption, they want to prise their par-ties’ insular gene pools open by forcing coalitions - a des-perate measure in a country where parties do not collabo-rate. The last coalition, between communists and conser-vatives, had only one agenda - to get rid of the socialists -and floundered through two elections in 1990.

Polls between general elections are always somewhattinged with the triumphalism of protest at the incumbent.Some of the seepage to the marginalia, left and right, mayultimately be sucked back in on election week. But thedemocratic deficit is now a clear liability for the two-partysystem.

Karamanlis may rest on Greece’s exit from excessivedeficit procedure and people’s distrust of Pasok at the helmof the economy to return him to a second term; but he willlikely only win a third by forcing his ministers to employtechnocrats rather than chums, and live up to his promiseof transparency.

ATHENS NEWS

JULY 2007

Editorial

STATEMENT BY HIS EMINENCE

ARCHBISHOP STYLIANOS

DEAN OF ST ANDREW’S

GREEK ORTHODOX

THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

I perhaps should not have responded at all to the recent, unexpected and highly

offensive statements of the Vatican, regarding both Orthodox and other non-Roman

Catholic Christians, except with eloquent silence.

However, after voluntarily resigning from the Official Theological Dialogue

between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, of which I was Co-Chair

for twenty pain-staking years, so that I would no longer have any involvement in

such an impious ‘game’, I would have to state -to that which has recently been pub-

lished on the topic- just the following:

I could never have imagined that my humble estimations of Cardinal Joseph

Ratzinger and his overall work prior to his elevation as Pope would prove so soon

to be justified and indicative. After his elevation we saw his sudden transformation

into the most ardent herald of Medieval ‘fables’ of the Papacy.

With the supposed resumption of the ‘Official Theological Dialogue’, I intend to

return to the topic of these ‘undermining’ rapid developments in more detail, which

in an enormous hypocrisy tragically contradict the most promising endeavours of

the Second Vatican Council in Ecclesiology and Ecumenism.

By His Eminence Archbishop STYLIANOS

Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA4/22 JULY 2007

Greece through the agesA Greek-American reflects on his connection to Greece’s past and present

GEORGE COUFOS

I grew up during the 1960s, a Greek-Americanin an ethnic neighbourhood in Boston. My par-ents emigrated from the village of Vassaras inthe Peloponnese. At home we spoke onlyGreek - or rather, we spoke “Greeklish”, anodd synthesis of two languages, much moreGreek than English. Although I was born in the US, I could barelyspeak real English when school began.Speaking only when necessary, I remembermy embarrassment as I struggled to pronouncethe words. I also remember scornful looksfrom some teachers, true blue bloods of oldBoston suffering through the influx of uncouthinterlopers. As children, we played in the streets andalleys. Ethnicity was more prominent in ourminds then, prompting the usual stereotypicaljokes and prejudices conveyed through chil-dren’s humour. There were sarcastic remarksat the markets and occasional taunting by theassimilated. The message was clear: recentimmigrants were something less. Society has since changed drastically, only insome ways for the better. Being foreign in theUS today carries an exotic flair; a somewhatironic twist for a country whose main exportsare its store brands - exports that smother thecharacter and uniqueness of importers with tra-ditions older than time. My mother’s name was Eugenia, and she oftenused the more acceptable “Jean”. My daughterinherited my mother’s name and goes by“Evyenia”. She could use the shortened “Nia”,but she loves her name, and most respondaccordingly. Thanks to my parents’ exuberance, my senseswere exposed to the light, sounds, smells andpeople of Greece early on. I became fascinatedby Greek history and origins, insatiably takingin writings from every historical period. With this awakening, my visits to Greece tookon a depth of experience. I was awed walkingthe archaic streets of Plaka, viewing theancient temples and the more recent monu-ments in memory of the thousands of victimsof the German occupation and its aftermath. Shadows of the past hung in the air, an insepa-rable part of the Greek atmosphere. Echoes of

tragedy, joy, celebration and mourning dancedtogether in the dazzling light. Under their spell,I found a thread running through it all - theentire catastrophe, as long and fulfilling asCavafy’s road to Ithaca. The eyes of every Greek betray these contra-dictions - Athens as the Cradle of Democracy,as well as the underlying feuds, petty infight-ing and ostracism. I watched the 2004Olympics on television. The beauty and spec-tacle of the Opening Ceremony was amazing.I can only guess at what went on behind thescenes, very likely another epic struggle, pos-sibly several, but the outcome speaks for itself. Travel writer Lawrence Durrell, who spentmuch of his time in Greece, believed humansare a product of their landscape, and that ifevery Greek citizen were to vanish tomorrow,the soil would inevitably produce a new cropof people with the same traits and characteris-tics.

The role of the church

The Orthodox Church is clearly at the core ofHellenism. As a child, I vividly remember thedark solemnity of our family’s church, St Johnthe Baptist, in the South End of Boston. I served as an altar boy. Father HarryHatzopoulos was an old hand with a dry senseof humour, and with his helpers he had a for-midable team. Words were few and move-ments precise during the liturgy. I attended Greek School in that same building.Kirios Spiros Bouzianis was stern and all busi-

ness. For any mischief or laughter, even asmile, he’d pull my ears so hard I could hearthe cartilage stretching. These memories pass through my mind likethe Meltemi. The smell of frankincense andburning candles, the chiding of the priest or awink as we made eye contact in the midst of amass. As I reflect on my entire experience at StJohn’s during those years, I feel a connectionwith Byzantium. There was an archaic qualityin the experience; a certain weight to the rever-ence and ceremony within that old building.There was even talk of a coming messiah-likefigure who would lead us to one day recaptureConstantinople from the demonised Turks. The congregation consisted of a cross-sectionof people from across the vast range of theGreek experience. Just 40 years removed,surely there were some who had survived thecatastrophe at Smyrna in 1922, others who hadsurvived the German occupation and still oth-ers of the original Athenian manges, beateninto submission by time.

The captains’ history

The early 19th century produced some famil-iar Hellene archetypes. Heroes namedKolokotronis, Botsaris, Koundouriotis andMiaoulis. Like the ancients that accompaniedAgamemnon, each of them led a band of men.As a new twist, they were called “Captains”and each brandished a unique nickname,attracting followers through the Greek form ofmachismo; self-assured, unshakeable, firm in

their convictions and fostering reassurancethrough their confidence. Most jockeyed and petitioned for favouramong the great powers, who assumed theroles formerly played by Zeus, Apollo,Poseidon and Athena. Great victories were fol-lowed by internal squabbles, until they lostalmost everything they had gained. In the end,only the intervention of the “gods” made vic-tory and the creation of the modern Greek statepossible. In recent history, modern-age Gods spoke toand through their agents in ways reminiscentof Homer. During WWII a “winged messen-ger” from the north advised the leftwingAndartes to settle with the allies as the Germanevacuation loomed. In Yalta it was agreed thatGreece would go with the west, while theSoviets took the northern Balkans. The Captains and their bands were, for themost part, oblivious to these political manoeu-vres. Even the politically savvy Communistswere unaware why they were discouraged byStalin. Fuelled by extreme suffering and desperationduring the wars, the Greek poets of that gener-ation created some of the richest, most soulfuland poignant poetry ever produced. Cavafy,Elytis, Ritsos, Solomos, Seferis are names ofliterary giants; their body of work captured theessence of the Greek experience. They conjured up the powerful imagery of acollective Hellenic consciousness; a dream-scape littered by corpses rotting in theMediterranean sun and swelling stomachs ofmalnourished children. Trudging on, these great poets and their peoplebroke through the nightmare, reaching thebranch of the orphaned olives and grapevinesto salvation. They provided the inspiration thatlifted the country out from the pit of misery,suffering and humiliation. Even with the trauma behind them, the peoplereturned as empty, spent human shells. Then,as if by design, the soil produced a new waveof spiritual artistry in Theodorakis andKazantzakis. These men recalled the lost spir-its of the Greeks, reminding them of who theyhad been and would again become.

ATHENS NEWS

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LEFT: Nobel laureate Odysseus Elytis captured the essence of the Greek experience in his work RIGHT: Kolokotronis, a familiar Hellene archetype of the early 19th century

Greece is the word in foreign mediaResearch by the general secretariat of information and communication

suggests that Greece is becoming more newsworthy abroad

Greece is enjoying a reputation for greatertrust and respect in the foreign media, accord-ing to research carried out by the general sec-retariat of information and communication.

Reports mentioning Greece in the foreignpress, radio and television during two six-month periods (June-December 2005 and2006) suggest a growing interest abroad inGreek economic affairs, as well as traditional-ly newsworthy subjects, such as culture andtourism.

According to Panos Livadas, the general sec-retary for information, the heightened world-wide interest in all matters Greek reflects thecountry's growing stature within southeastEurope and further afield.

"This research shows that those attributesremain strong, which is very positive for tradi-tional industries like tourism, but also that thepositive attributes that came out of theOlympics - like creativity, stability, the highquality of services and teamwork - have con-

tinued to strengthen",said Mr Livadas.The figures, which were collated from 39

general secretariat offices in 33 countries,show that there is almost as much interest inthe Greek economy within the Americanmedia as there is in the news outlets ofBulgaria and Romania, countries which haveseen considerable Greek investment and havea natural interest in the financial mechanismsand conditions needed to adopt the euro.

"The American interest was particularly eye-catching," said Livadas. "For centuries thisarea was the powder keg of Europe. It has onlybeen in the last 10 years that our relationshipwith neighbouring countries has switchedfrom being a hurdle to a tool for growth. Theyshare the same vision for democracy and free-dom of economy and have aspirations toascend to European organisations. Today theylook up to Greece as an example. We have sat-isfied targets, which are now their targets."

ATHENS NEWS

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 5/23

Our Primate’s View

By ArchbishopStylianos

of Australia

JULY 2007

If there is a conclusion at which almost all psychologists, educatorsand sociologists converge today, without hesitation, (despite the known flu-idity and conjecture which forever characterizes these areas of anthropolog-ical studies), it is the conviction that:

“The more man remains satisfiedwith little, the more content he feelsin the present world of frequentdeceptions and delusions, with itsinescapably painful contradictions”.

For modern man to comprehend the truth of the above ‘principle’– which, of course, was not dictated by the authority of a divine Revelationbut by a systematic experiential observation – it would suffice to rememberwhich are the most essential factors that ensure a ‘balance’ between thecounter-active impulses and strengths of the intelligent person.

There should not remain any doubt that the balance in question isto be found in the ‘golden mean’ between the two ‘extremes’, that is, in‘abundance’ on the one hand, and in ‘compunction’ on the other.

It should also be said that the ‘balance’ to which we refer has, fromlong ago, been characterized as ‘peace’ and ‘prosperity’ (rather than thecolourless and neutral term ‘happiness’!).

However, ‘peace’and ‘prosperity’ in human life are inconceivablewithout ‘justice’ whose first presupposition is ‘good will’ (in other words,‘good’ intent and disposition!) regardless of whether man lives ‘alone’ or inany form of ‘family’ and ‘community’.

It is obvious from the above that whatever person or action (realor imagined) drives away our peace, this understandably becomes a sourceof terror and insecurity at every moment of our lives, be we ‘awake’ or‘asleep’.

Justifiably, then, in recent times (given the rise in globally expand-ing and technologically developing Terrorism in the extreme) all responsi-ble Governments are attempting to protect human victims primarily, as wellas priceless socio-political creations and means of communication which, as‘public utilities’, constitute historical landmarks of civilization.

The tragedy of the situation is such that one could epigrammatical-ly declare that “everyone and everything today is exposed to every threat”.Not only the so-called ‘activists’ who are engaged in ‘ideological’ or ‘reli-gious’ struggles of mutual destruction, but also the infinitely more populousinnocent, as they live or move unsuspectingly in their homes, in hospitals, inschools, in public buildings and, generally, in institutions of common bene-fit.

In the face of what, at first glance, is seen as ‘scaremongering’ or‘alarmism’ by the State, albeit exaggerated at times, it is not possible for anunbiased critic not to acknowledge an estimable degree of social sensitivi-ty and responsibility in the ‘vigilance’ displayed by Governments.

Nonetheless, as exaggerated as the estimates by State ‘welfare’ forits people or material goods might be (either through predictability or sta-tistically after the event) when faced by the danger of ‘imminent assault’, by‘unforeseen invasion’ or by ‘guerrilla bomb attacks’, as occurs withTerrorism, they cannot, even infinitesimally, approximate the permanentlythreatened or silently obliterated ‘victims’ of that most atrocious ‘Curse’,mainly in capitalistic societies, which answers to the name ‘Casino’.

Certainly, we should declare that, initially, the so-called ‘games ofchance’ as a part of daily routine with which man has attempted occasional-ly to ‘entertain’his ‘boredom’, or to ‘fill’his ‘spare time’ could not possiblyalways evolve into the resistless obsession of ‘gambling’, as described for usby the eminent ‘anatomist’of the human soul, Fyodor Dostoevsky (himself avictim of gambling!).

In any event, the small amounts which the ‘player’ might risk (inGreek the word ‘dice’ = ‘kyvos’ is derived from the verb ‘diakyvevo’ = ‘torisk’) could not possibly ever reach such ‘heights’ so as to humiliate and, inthe end, totally destroy entire lives and families, as occurs today around theso-called ‘green tables’, ‘roulettes’, etc.

Whoever has not seen, even as a visitor passing through, the orgyof senselessness and dehumanization which is gradually consummated (farfrom the gaze of wider publicity!) in the demonically conceived facilities ofa modern Casino, will never be in a position to imagine the atrocity of‘Gambling’ in all its ‘glory’.

However, through elementally realistic meditation, even the most‘uninformed’ yet ‘prudent’ person could deduce certain incontestabletruths, as we shall expound conclusively in closing this presentReport/Protest.

Besides, from the sporadically ‘denounced’ instances reportedthrough contemporary media when, in some way, details are ‘leaked’ withregard to tragic impasses of individuals and families, one can easily concludehow many crimes are induced by this lawless ‘operation’and callous ‘indus-try of death’.

Another ‘parameter’of this whole problem which we are, nonethe-less, not permitted to ignore or to hush, is that the dangers and crimes of themodern ‘Casino’ are neither localized nor restricted to the notoriously ‘sin-ful’ regions of the world to where the ‘Tycoons of wealth’ are attracted, as ifby an overpowering magnet, along with the accompanying ‘vice’ of‘International Prodigality’. The ‘ambition’ to acquire a ‘Casino’ as quick-ly as possible (as a supposedly strong attraction for tourism and economicdevelopment!) is not resisted today even by the most remote and underdevel-oped Nations.

* * *

However, let us now look very briefly at which basic truths an ‘ele-mentally realistic meditation’ secures for us.

First of all, what does this ‘recipe’ mean?‘Elementally realistic meditation’ is three words. Each of them

is an ‘outstretched finger’ that points to the correct direction at every ‘cross-road’.

‘Element’ is that which is given in Nature, before man. Givenfrom God the Creator, it constitutes the ‘roots’ of the world. Whoever doesnot respect the ‘roots’, cannot hope for a plant or a flower or ‘fruit’.

Physics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy and all the so-called ‘nat-ural philosophies’ are based on these ‘elemental’ ‘foundations’of the world.They are ‘discovered’ by human ‘thought’ or ‘meditation’. Man does not‘invent’ them with his unwholesome ‘imagination’.

Those ‘things’, therefore, that are physically ‘accomplished’, andnot the ‘apparitions’ or the ‘names’, dictate the reverent hierarchy of ‘real-ism’, to the exact opposite of ‘idealism’.

Following these general observations, it becomes apparent that, atleast for the faithful member of the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the followingtruths and relationships must stand as self-evident.

1. Inanimate ‘money’ is only for ‘use’. It does not allow for ‘cultivation’as, for example, the ‘animate’ or ‘organic’ creations. Consequently, it is‘pieced together’ which is why it is called a ‘coin’!

2. Inanimate ‘money’ is ‘useful’ only as a means. Never as a direct ‘end’and especially never an ‘end in itself’.

3. Inanimate ‘money’ is always related to man’s work, to which it refers,thus ‘rewarding’ it externally.

This is the meaning of the relevant commands in DivineRevelation, as for example:

a) “in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread” (Gen. 3:19).b) “if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).

It is precisely this personal ‘toil’ and ‘sweat’ of man at work thatelevates even the most menial of a Monk’s ‘handiwork’ to ‘prayer’! TheLatin Monks used to say Laborare est orare (that is, “work = prayer”), whichexpressed, above all, practical usefulness, as a rule.

4. If, from all of the above analyses, it becomes clear that the mod-ern industry of ‘grabbing’ and ‘plundering’ from those who areweaker in character, continues to triumph more and more under thebanner of the Casino, one asks which lawful and moral institutioncould halt this incomparable wound of contemporary societies.

The ‘Justice and Welfare State’, as proclaimed at least by theconstitutionally legislated and democratically elected Government, underthe circumstances, would acquire a proportional strength. As much as theState Authorities attempt to cover up their responsibilities with sophisticateddeclarations and excuses, they remain unconvincing.

Suffice for one to recall the legal threats published recently in themedia with regard to the two well-known giant Casinos (Melbourne andGold Coast) in order to appreciate, from the alleged ‘profit losses’, how enor-mous are the amounts of money that are trafficked under the wizardry andthe intoxication of this most remorseless crime.

Even worse is the fact that, in the end, the two relevant StateGovernments appear themselves to support the ‘debauchery’, claiming tohave a supposed ‘lawful right’ (!) since they collect the ‘lion’s share’ whichthey calculate as one of the most stable sources of public revenue.

As for the Religious Organizations and Churches, it should bestressed that, to the degree that each one of them respects the human personas the ‘highest’ and ‘unique’ value in the whole of Creation, it depends onwhether they hypocritically ‘close their eyes’ in order to reap analogous eco-nomic gain ‘on the side’ or, on the contrary, they uncompromisingly con-demn the moral and social abjection induced by Casinos and by the curse ofGambling, generally, in our days.

An example of compassion and vigilance which, by the grace ofGod, our Archdiocese is striving to maintain in combating this huge problem,is the Annual Booklet of the activities of the Greek Welfare Centre, as pro-moted every September according to the various fields of endeavour, espe-cially in addressing the dangers of Gambling.

This most valuable Information Booklet which, as is known, is dis-tributed free of charge at all our Churches, and in continuation is implement-ed in practice through specific Seminars, should not go unnoticed by anyresponsible person.

May these efforts exerted by our Archdiocese receive the appropri-ate response in order to thwart the curse of ‘Casino-mania’ with its incalcu-lable victims.

Translated by FSS

‘CASINO’ - THE MOST

FORMIDABLE ‘TERRORIST’

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA6/24

Understanding Grief

The term grief is generally used to describe a group of emo-tions that people feel when faced with a loss. The grief reac-tion differs for each individual and may also vary in intensityand duration.

The most commonly identified stages of grief are adaptedfrom the research of Dr Elizabeth Kubler-Ross where sheidentified 5 stages of grief experienced by a person wheninformed of a terminal prognosis. These stages have now beenaccepted as stages that people experience when they have losta loved one/friend. These stages include:

1. Shock/Denial This is generally one of the initial stages of the griefexperience where people refuse to accept the realityof the death. Examples of denial may include settingthe table for the person that has died or making statements such as “this cannot be happening”.

2. Anger

This is the stage of starting to accept the reality of thesituation. Anger can manifest itself in many differentways, from feelings of irritability, blaming others orGod, to severe emotional outbursts of anger. Oneform of anger includes, being angry with the personthat has died.3. BargainingAt this stage, people try to believe for briefmoments that what has happened can be changed.During this stage people generally make an offer toGod to take away the reality of what has happened.For example, “take me instead”, or “I will not to doanything wrong if my loved one could come back”.

4. Depression Depression is experienced approximately 6 weeksafter the loss and can last up to a period of one year.Emotions experienced during this stage include feel-ings of hopelessness and overwhelming sadness.

5. AcceptanceThis is the final stage of grief and it is a realizationthat the person has gone. A goal is created that looksat a different type of future that includes the memo-ries of that person but not the actual relationship.

Although these stages are generally recognised within themental health profession, some people may not go througheach stage or may go through these stages in a somewhat dif-

ferent order. Each person’s reaction to grief is largely individ-ual, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. It is importanthowever that people eventually reach the fifth stage, accept-ance.

When people feel that they are not coping with grief it is crit-ical to seek professional/psychological assistance. Throughpsychological treatment, support is gained in the time of grief,long-term coping skills can be developed and assistance canbe gained with restoring personal power and/or control overones life. During this difficult time if people experience anydesire to harm or kill themselves, or any unusual physicalsymptoms, it is imperative that treatment is sought immediate-ly by contacting the Area Mental Health Crisis Team, their GPthen 000.

For more information, ask your local GP for possible refer-ral to a psychiatrist or your local psychologist. Reference: Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: On Death and Dying.Tavistock Publications Limited, 1970.

Mina Candalepas is a Registered Psychologist. She is the sole direc-tor of a Clinical Private Practice in the Campsie Professional MedicalPractice, Sydney NSW. Her particular speciality is in trauma andchronic pain management and she also provides psychological thera-py for depression, anxiety, work-place issues and/or injuries, relation-ship issues, self esteem and grief.

Therapy is conducted in either English or Greek. All services are byappointment ONLY and strictly confidential. Her contact details areTel (02) 9591 7714, Mob 0410 493 806.

Mental Health

By Mina Candalepas*Psychologist MAPSReg NSW PS0057198

JULY 2007

ProviCare - counselling and rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abuse ph. 1800 010 575

Photographic Exhibitions about Cyprus in Brisbane

On 5 July, 2007 the Cyprus High Commis-sion in cooperation with the Justice forCyprus Committee and the Cypriot Com-munity of Brisbane, has opened two photo-graphic exhibitions at Carindale Library,Creek Road, in Carindale ShoppingCentre, Brisbane: “The March of the Mis-sing” and “Cyprus: Pictures of Peacekeep-ing”.

The event was attended by local politicians,prominent members of the community and anumber of visitors to the library. Anna BlighMP Member for South Brisbane, the DeputyPremier of Queensland, who officially openedthe exhibition, spoke at length about the issueof the missing in Cyprus and the contributionof the Australian police serving as peacekeep-ers on the island.

In his remarks, HE Mr Achilleas Antoniades,High Commissioner for Cyprus, after thankingthe Deputy Premier and soon to be Premier ofQueensland, considered this composite exhibi-tion. He spoke of the difference and the con-nection the two exhibitions present.

The pictures from The March of the Missing,

were taken by a Melbourne photographerGeorgia Metaxas and they show relatives ofmissing who emigrated to Australia since1974, during their annual pilgrimage throughthe streets of Melbourne to the ParliamentHouse, to express their anguish.

The issue of the missing persons in Cyprus isone of the most tragic aspects of the recent his-tory of our troubled island. As a result of theTurkish invasion of July 1974, 33 years agothis month, about 1500 Greek Cypriots havegone missing, causing untold agony to theirrelatives and loved ones. They are people ofall ages, men and women, civilians as well asyoung men in uniform. Their whereabouts arestill unknown, despite the efforts of an investi-gation committee set up in 1981 by the UN.The Turkish army seems to have a lot to hide.Investigations are also impeded because theCommittee has no jurisdiction to conductinvestigations in Turkey, where a great numberof Greek Cypriots were taken as prisoners ofwar.

The fate of a small number of about 500Turkish Cypriots is also being investigated bythe Committee. These are people claimed as

missing by the Turkish Cypriot leadershipsince the time of intercommunal troubles in the1964-1966 period, despite the fact they haveall been declared dead by their leadership andnotified their relatives accordingly.

Unfortunately that catastrophe has not yetbeen put right and that is why we still need apeacekeeping force on the island. This iswhere the Australian policemen and womencome in. They have been on the island forover 43 years, helping the two communitiessolve problems of everyday life, which alwaysexist regardless of what the military or politi-cians may say or do.

The presence of these policemen, only 15 atthe moment, has undoubtedly strengthened thebonds of friendship between Cyprus andAustralia. It certainly is a point of commoninterest for the Cypriot Australian communitybut also for the hundreds of policemen andtheir families who have had the experience ofserving or visiting Cyprus.

The pictures in the Cyprus: Pictures ofPeacekeeping collection, are the labour of loveof policemen who served in Cyprus and wereselected after a competition organised by the

High Commission in co-operation with theUN Police Association of Australia. The firstprize, a return ticket to Cyprus, was won by MrLeon Kemp of Hobart. This man must be verylucky because actually he won two prizes. Thesecond was the ticket. The first was the beau-tiful bride he picked up during his tour of dutyin Cyprus.

The pictures were selected, beside their artis-tic merit, to show a variety of aspects ofCyprus life from the whole island. Most ofthem were taken before the Turkish invasionof 1974 and the imposed artificial division.They show a bit of the life of the peacekeeper,the people, the history, the landscapes and thereligious character of the island. This exhibi-tion is above all an expression of appreciationto the Australian policemen for their excellentwork in helping us keep the peace, and to theAustralian people for their patience in keepingthem there for so long.

The collected photographs are been present-ed to the public at Carindale Library,(Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre) 1161Creek Road, Carindale. The exhibition willremain open until 5 August 2007.

LEFT: (L to R) Charles Kapnoulla, HE the High Commissioner Achilleas Antoniades, Steve Liassi, Anna Bligh MP Member for South Brisbane Deputy Premier of Queensland, Ross Vasta MP,Member for Bonner, Jim (Dimitri) Raptis OBE, Honorary Consul of Greece in Brisbane and Andreas Zacharia. MIDDLE: The Cyprus High Commissioner addressing the audience. RIGHT:

Photo from the exhibition.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 7/25JULY 2007

Two Greeks

among the “smartest

Australians”

Two Greeks are among the “smartestAustralians”, according to a list pub-lished - following a months-longstudy - by the weekly Australian jour-nal, “The Bulletin”. They are epidemiologist JonathonKarapetis, who is director of theMenzies School of Health Research inDarwin, and George Parthimos fromthe Melbourne-based company, TorianWireless.

Politicians defend

pay rise, saying

they work hard

Politicians around the country havedefended their latest payrise, whichwill push state premiers to almost$300,000 a year - more than five timesthe average wage.

Federal and state MPs were at painsto point out that the rise was decided byan independent body, the Remune-ration Tribunal, not politicians.

But Australian Greens senator BobBrown queried the tribunal’s independ-ence, saying one of its members, JohnAllen, had headhunted Treasurer PeterCostello’s wife for a $150,000-a-yearjob at ANZ Bank.

“I contend that if you are going tohave an arms’ length tribunal, it is verydifficult to accommodate that with amember of the tribunal who has beenheadhunting, to her advantage, thetreasurer’s wife to a position like that,”Senator Brown told reporters.

“The Remuneration Tribunal, if it isreally to be analysing the work ofpoliticians on behalf of the Australianpeople and not the government, needsto be further at arms’ length than that.”The base salary for federal back-benchers will jump from $118,000 to$127,000 next month.

Prime Minister John Howard willreceive a $21,000 rise to $330,000 ayear while Opposition Leader KevinRudd will get an extra $15,000.

The 6.7 per cent pay rise will flow onto state politicians.

Mr Howard said politicians - particu-larly frontbenchers - worked harderthan many business executives andprofessionals on huge salaries.

“I do understand that wheneverthere’s a pay adjustment, no matterwhat the circumstances are, that it’sunpopular with the community and Ido respect the fact that the averagewage is below what a member of par-liament is paid,” Mr Howard toldreporters.

“But I also point out (that) people inthe business community and in the pro-fessions carrying no greater responsi-bility are often remunerated at a muchhigher rate.”

Senator Brown and independent fed-eral MP Peter Andren will try to blockthe pay rise in parliament, whileAustralian Democrats leader LynAllison is considering donating herincrease to charity.

AAP

2007 seen as second warmest

year as climate shiftsThis year is on track to be the second warmest since records began inthe 1860s and floods in Pakistan or a heatwave in Greece may heraldworse disruptions in store from global warming, experts said recent-ly.

"2007 is looking as though it will be the second warmest behind 1998,"said Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit at Britain's Universityof East Anglia, which provides data to the UN InternationalMeteorological Organisation (IMO).

"It isn't far behind... it could change, but at the moment this looks unlike-ly," he told Reuters, based on temperature records up to the end of April.

Jones had predicted late last year that 2007 could surpass 1998 as thewarmest year on record due to rising concentrations of greenhouse gasesemitted mainly by burning fossil fuels and an El Nino warming of thePacific Ocean.

Almost all climate experts say the trend is towards more droughts,floods, heatwaves and more powerful storms. But they say individualextreme events are not normally a sign of global warming because weath-er is, by its nature, chaotic.

"Severe events are going to be more frequent," said Salvano Briceno,director of the Geneva-based secretariat of the UN International Strategyfor Disaster Reduction.

The 10 warmest years in the past 150 have all been since 1990. Last yearranked number six according to the IMO.

NASA, which uses slightly different data, places 2005 as warmest aheadof 1998.

Among extreme events, more than 500 people have died in storms andfloods in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in the past week.

Temperatures in Greece reached 46 celsius this week as part of a heat-wave across parts of southern Europe. Parts of China have also had a heat-wave in recent days.

And torrential rains have battered northern England and parts of Texas,where Austin has had its wettest year on record so far.

The UN climate panel, drawing on the work of 2,500 scientists, said thisyear it was "very likely" that human activities led by use of fossil fuelswere the main cause of a warming in the past half-century.

It gave a "best estimate" that temperatures will rise 1.8-4.0 celsius thiscentury.

Briceno said the world had to work out better policies to prepare for dis-asters, saying that climate change was adding to already increasing risksfaced by a rising human population of about 6.6 billion people.

Irrespective of warming, many people were cramming into cities, forinstance, settling in plains where there was already a risk of floods or

moving to regions vulnerable to droughts. "We need to reduce all the underlying risk factors, such as by locating

communities out of hazard-prone areas," he said. "We now have a clear-er picture of what is going to happen and it's urgent that governments givethis higher priority."

REUTERS

Facts & Stats

Australia’s international make-up is chang-ing, with fewer Europeans calling Australiahome and more Asians and Africans settlingDown Under.

The 2006 census shows more than one in fiveAustralians were born overseas, with a signifi-cant shift in the mix of immigrants since the1996 census.

People born in England continue to make upthe largest proportion of immigrants, at 19.4 percent, but their number is down 15,000 from1996.

Italian- and Greek-born residents are alsomore scarce.

The number hailing from Italy is down 39,000

compared with 1996, when Italians were thethird largest group of overseas-born Australians.The number born in Greece fell by 17,000,sending that country from sixth to ninth on thelist of countries of origin.New Zealand remains the second largest group

of overseas-born immigrants, after growing by98,000 to 389,500 people.

But the most significant growth is in the num-ber of people from China.

Chinese are now the third largest group ofoverseas-born Australians, overtaking Italy,Vietnam, Greece and Scotland in the pastdecade.

The ranks of Australians born in China haveswelled to 206,600 (4.7 per cent) from 111,000

(2.8 per cent) in 1996.Immigrants from Vietnam, India and the

Philippines also grew in number.The census also showed growth in immigra-

tion from countries suffering war or unrest since2001. Increases were recorded from Sudan(14,000), Zimbabwe (10,000), Afghanistan(7,000) and Iraq (11,000).

Western Australia has the largest proportion ofoverseas-born residents - 27 per cent - andTasmania the lowest - 11 per cent.

Of the capitals, Sydney has the highest propor-tion of overseas-born, almost one third of itspopulation, while Hobart has the lowest at 12per cent.

AAP

International population changing: census

Greek police find hundreds of stolen relicsGreek police have found more than a thou-sand pieces of artefacts dating back toancient Greece after raiding a suspect'shouse near the southern city of Corinth,police said.

A 58 year-old man, who was also found witha dozen ancient and Byzantine period coins onhis person, was arrested and will be chargedwith antiquities theft.

"The suspect is probably part of a wider group

active in the Corinth area, as the artefacts seemto come from illegal digs in the region," policesaid.

"The confiscated artefacts are not very valu-able as they are mostly small items, but all suchactivity is illegal."

Police confiscated more than 1,300 itemsincluding small ancient clay idols, urns, potteryshards and bronze rings, dating from betweenthe 6th and 4th century BC, police said.

A further raid on the suspect's house subse-quently found excavation equipment and booksdetailing Mycenean and Classical antiques,police said.

There are thousands of archaeological sitesscattered around Greece, and the governmenthas pledged to crack down on the illegal exca-vation and smuggling of its national heritage.

REUTERS

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA8/26

Windows to Orthodoxy

JULY 2007

Pilgrimage to Patmos: Island of the ApocalypseBy Guy Freeland*

Shortly after midnight, Monday May 7, the Eve of the feast ofSt John the Theologian

My wife and I have just disembarked from the night ferry thathas brought us from Rhodes to the holy island of Patmos. “Yes,yes,” we had been told, “there will be plenty of taxis meetingthe ferry.” Of course, not a taxi to be seen on the windsweptquay.

The only other people on the quay are another pair of aban-doned waifs. Yes, there was one taxi when the ferry arrived butthis had taken a group off some time ago. The driver said hewould return. But where is he?

Eventually, the taxi driver does return and scoops up our fel-low wayfarers. He will return for us.

Now we are quite alone. I think of John the Evangelist arriv-ing as an exile on this small barren rocky Dodecanese island.Perhaps he too was unceremoniously dumped onto a desertedquay in the dead of night without a donkey in sight to take himup the mountainous hill to the shelter of a cave. My mind isbeginning to wander.

Well after 1 a.m.

The taxi driver does return – Alleluia! – and drives us to ourhotel perched on top of a cliff several kilometres out of Patmos’charming little port of Skala. Fortunately, we had phoned aheadand a young man is still up and waiting for us. We head for thestairs. “No, no, not that way – outside, outside.” He leads us outinto the night and down endless tortuous steps cut into the cliffface. Good gracious! Are we going to spend what is left of thenight in a cave?

Eventually, we arrive at a door and our intrepid guide leads usinto a room. Almost all of the furniture is made of concrete, thebed a concrete slab with a mattress on it. We collapse onto thebed (which is in fact surprisingly comfortable) and enter intothe untroubled sleep of the just.

Around 7.30 a.m.

The first glimmerings of waking. There is a sound of flutter-ing wings around my head. I can even feel little ripples of air onmy face. Surely it must be an angel! Had I, for some extraordi-nary reason, been chosen to receive a new apocalyptic vision?My eyes open. Our little whitewashed cell is bathed in lightand, lo and behold, there is a sparrow that, all unbeknown, hasspent the night with us.

I open the doors onto the veranda, releasing our featheredfriend, and survey the scene. The view is of the sort for whichpeople have killed. At the bottom of the cliff immediatelybelow is a picturesque little chapel at the water’s edge of a bay.The iridescent blue Aegean beneath a cloudless sky is as calmas the sea of crystal before the throne of God. Steep cliffs riseon the opposite shore and a sweeping sandy beach skirts thecentre of the bay.

The contrast with the night before could not be greater. Andyet, some aspect of the mystery of this holy place was revealedin the darkness of the night that is lost in the Paschal brightness(it is Monday of the Week of the Samaritan Woman) of thisPatmos May morning.

We take our time and then order a taxi into Skala – no prob-lem this morning. Above Skala looms the mountainous hillcapped by the great fortress monastery of St John theTheologian, undoubtedly one of the greatest monasteries of theOrthodox world. The Monastery was founded in 1088 follow-ing the grant by Emperor Alexios I Comnenos of the, thendeserted, island to St Christodoulos in exchange for land ownedby the Saint. Today, there are around 30 monks.

Surrounding the grim fortifications is a coronet of smallwhitewashed houses of the quaint village of Chora. Furtherdown the hill are the famed Patmias Theological School, found-ed in 1713, and the so-called “Apocalypse”, the complex ofbuildings which incorporate the Cave of the Apocalypse.

It doesn’t take us long to acquire a set of wheels and we headoff up the hill to the Apocalypse. The Cave of the Apocalypseis where Patmian tradition says the Apostle and Evangelist Johnthe son of Zebedee and a brother of James, alone of theApostles known as “the Theologian”, received the visionrecorded in the last book of the New Testament, Revelation/the

Apocalypse. Steep steps descend down from the entrance hall to a small

chapel dedicated to St Anne that opens up into the cave proper.Here, it is said, John the Theologian had his vision. The roof ofwhat the Guidebook describes as “the God-carved cave” isdivided into three sections by a cleft – surely a signature of theHoly Trinity! It was through this cleft, we are also told, that Godspoke to John with a voice “like the sound of many waters”(Revelation 1:15).

Down close to the floor there is a “halo” of silver surround-ing a small cavity in the rock wall where, the Guidebookassures us, the head of the Apostle rested when he had hismomentous vision. A second halo of silver surrounds a smallercavity that John supposedly used to lever himself up from hisrock bed. Finally, higher up the wall is a rock ledge on which(of course) Prochoros, the Apostle’s disciple, wrote downJohn’s words. What more proof could the pilgrim require? Hm.

Well, Patmos is certainly not the place to reveal niggles ofdoubt. However, there is no denying the awe-inspiring atmos-phere. It is a place, if ever, where “old men shall dream dreams,and … young men shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28 RSV.) WithJacob one might exclaim, “How awesome is this place! This isnone other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heav-en.” (Genesis 28:17.)

Around 1 p.m.

Time to round up a spot of lunch and meditate on my visit tothe cave.

Unfortunately, the fact is that there is a real problem about theauthorship of Revelation. One has only to compare the Gospelof John with Revelation for strong doubts to surface as towhether they could be by the same person. The language, liter-ary style and patterns of thought are totally different. Further, itreally beggars belief that the disciple beloved of Christ couldhave written (or dictated) Revelation without betraying, evenindirectly, his intimate friendship with the Saviour.

Analysis of the text of the Apocalypse by scholars has now allbut closed the issue. Perhaps most convincing are studies of thevocabulary. Authors use simple basic words with relative fre-quencies that vary very little over a lifetime, even if changesoccur in literary style. If one compares two reasonably longtexts and finds that the frequency of use of basic vocabulary iswildly different one can conclude that the texts are almost cer-tainly not by the same author.

The relative frequency of basic vocabulary of Revelation andthe Gospel have proved to be massively different.

Ah, but, you might say, Orthodoxy is the Church of tradition,and surely one should put tradition before the quibbles of mod-ern scholars. (I confess that I have myself on occasion observedto students that tradition often wins out in the end.) But theproblem in this case is that tradition is divided.

Many Fathers from Irenaeus (c.130-c.200) on assume thatJohn the Evangelist is the author of Revelation, but Eusebius(c.260-c.340), the Church historian, says that opinion was even-ly divided on the issue. He quotes a very long extract from awork of Dionysius (“the Great”) of Alexandria (d.c.264) inwhich the Father effects a complete demolition job on the beliefthat Revelation was authored by the same person as the Gospelof John and 1 John.

Dionysius says that he believes that there were two Johns atEphesus, where the Apostle is known to have lived and died,and that the tombs of both were said to be there. Revelationcould, then, be the work of this second John. Papias (c.60-130)records the existence of the two tombs and informs us that thissecond John was known as John the Presbyter.

While tradition is rock solid on the attribution of the Gospeland 1 John to the Apostle (some modern scholars are up thecreek on this one), there were widespread doubts as to whetherhe wrote 2 and 3 John. The author of these two epistles identi-fies himself not as the Apostle but as “the Presbyter” (= elder).So it seems quite possible that 2 and 3 John and Revelation areby the Presbyter.

Although on Patmos one is told that it is the vision recordedin Revelation that Prochoros wrote down on that rock ledge, theauthor of the fifth century apocryphal Acts of John, the sourceof the story, has John dictating the Gospel. Later, iconographers have followedthe Acts, depicting Prochoros in the cave taking down theGospel, not Revelation.

But where does this leave the tradition that John theTheologian was exiled on Patmos? Were both Johns exiled onthe island? Was it John the Presbyter who was exiled there andhad the vision? Eusebius, who is inclined to reject the attribu-tion of Revelation to the Apostle, nevertheless asserts that therewas “ample evidence” that the Beloved Disciple was exiled onPatmos. And indeed tradition does seem firm on this point.

If we accept that the Apostle was exiled on Patmos, perhapseven wrote part of the Gospel there, what does this say aboutRevelation? Personally, I am convinced that, although it is ahighly contrived literary construction with much added materi-al, the book really does record actual visionary experience.

But is the author (quite likely the Presbyter), while seeming-ly attributing the book to the Apostle, in fact elaborating on anexperience he himself had, possibly at Ephesus? Perhaps. Afterall pseudonymous works, particularly apocalyptic works, werecommon in Antiquity. But there is no suggestion, other than theone reference to the Patmos exile (Revelation 1:9), that thewriter really is attributing the work to the Apostle.

Another “perhaps” occurs to me. Perhaps the Presbyter hadheard the Apostle speak of a vision that he had had while onPatmos. And perhaps it is this vision which the Presbyter usesas a base for an apocalyptic work entirely of his own composi-tion.

The reference to Patmos might, then, be more an acknowledg-ment of the Presbyter’s source of inspiration than a seriousattempt to present the Apostle as the author. Who knows? AsWinston Churchill said of Soviet Russia, Revelation “is a riddlewrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. An inevitable conclu-sion to any meditation on the book.

Around 7.40 a.m., Tuesday May 8, the feast of St John theTheologian

I make the steep climb up through the narrow traffic-freestreets of Chora to the Monastery. Three cruise ships are in portand the souvenir shops are already opening up in expectation ofa great morning ahead.

Eventually, with seriously depleted “puff”, I arrive and passthrough the portal, where monks in days gone by used to hurldown rocks and empty vats of boiling oil on pirates and otherunwelcome guests.

The church is not anything like as crowded as I had anticipat-ed. May 8 is one of the great days of the year at the Monastery,and it is the patronal festival of our beautiful little chapel of StJohn the Theologian at St Andrew’s Theological College.However, the monastery keeps the other feast of St John on theEastern calendar, September 26, as its panigyris.

The nave of the twelfth century domed cross-in-squareKatholikon is ablaze with a myriad candles which irradiate thevivid colours of the (largely early seventeenth century) muralsand the Russian icons on the intricately carved and gildediconostasis, two of them gifts from Catherine the Great.

Two enormous circular trays of kollyva, decorated with astriking geometrical pattern, rest on small tables either side ofthe screen. The church has that extraordinary feeling of loveand warmth which typifies churches dedicated to the BelovedDisciple.

Somehow, I find myself propped up in the monastic choir

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right next to the mayor and a venerable white-bearded monk onpsaltes-duty. There is time before the Divine Liturgy begins tolet the chanting of the psalmody and the ambient iconographypercolate into my being.

The Liturgy is splendidly concelebrated by many priests.Being a creature of cathedrals and parish churches, there aredetails of monastic usage that catch my attention. For example,during the singing of the Gospel the two chanters strike up-turned brass bowls with small hammers to a distinctive rhythmthat enhances the reading and the sense that Christ is indeedpresent and speaking to us.

To pass from the sublime to the trivial, never having witnessedthe procedure, I have sometimes wondered how one extin-guishes candles on high chandeliers. Now I know. You get amonk to come in with a feather duster attached to the end of along pole and gently fan the flames to extinction. Simple.(Though why it should be thought that just before theCommunion of the laity is the right time to perform this ritualis a bit of a mystery.)

My niggles about the Patmian tradition of yesterday give waythis morning to the absolute certainty of the presence of theBeloved Disciple concelebrating with us on this perfect morn-ing of his May feast.

Leaving the courtyard, complete with a Woolworths-sized bagof kollyva, I stop to peer over the battlements at the breathtak-ing view. But I can see tourists from the cruise ships ascendingthe mountain en masse. I will leave inspection of the iconogra-phy and museum till tomorrow.

Around 9.30 a.m., Wednesday May 9

The cruise ships have left and very few of the souvenir shopshave bothered to open. Apart from the friendly monks, my wifeand I have the Monastery almost to ourselves as we navigatethrough its narrow passageways. The interior of the Monasteryis in sharp contrast to the massive grim fortifications of theexterior. It has a very welcoming and domestic feel.

The much photographed courtyard has an arcade of massivearches. The arches are supported by an assortment of ancientcolumns and capitals, some taken from the fifth to sixth-centu-ry Christian basilica dedicated to John the Theologian, whichoccupied the site before St Chritodoulos commenced construc-tion of the Monastery, or even the temple of Artemis, the origi-

nal hilltop shrine.We enter the exonarthex of the Katholikon on the east side of

the courtyard. It is adorned with seventeenth to eighteenth-cen-tury murals, including a cycle of the miracles of St John. In theesonarthex is a precious icon of John, possibly dating from thetwelfth century but heavily over-painted. The largely seven-teenth-century murals are dark and difficult to identify. Off theesonarthex is the chapel of St Chritodoulos where the founder’sremains rest in a silver-covered shrine.

We do not spend long in the nave but pass on into the adjoin-ing Chapel of the Theotokos. Here we linger to examine theoutstanding twelfth century frescos discovered, beneath overly-ing murals of 1745, following the Santorini earthquakes of1956. Apart from some damaged areas, the frescos completelycover the walls and barrel-vault of the chapel.

On the east wall is a striking Hospitality of Abraham (= OTTrinity) with the enthroned Theotokos and Child below. Anum-ber of the icons depict Sunday Gospel readings and there aremany images of saints, the most unusual of which is a set ofnine Patriarchs of Jerusalem. There are more medieval frescosin the Refectory, but unfortunately it is closed. We thereforemake our way to the Museum.

The building of the Museum is another blessing which grewout of the damage caused by the 1956 Santorini earthquakes.The New Vestry (as the Museum is called) was opened by theEcumenical Patriarch Demetrios I during the celebrations in1988 marking the 900th Anniversary of the Monastery’s foun-dation.

An enormous wealth of priceless artefacts – manuscripts,early printed books, vestments and sacred vessels, icons, churchfurnishings, and much else – is excellently displayed anddescribed. This is beyond doubt one of the most importantOrthodox collections anywhere. I will restrict myself to men-tioning just four representative items.

The Monastery has from the time of St Christodoulos stressedthe importance of scholarship. The Saint himself commencedthe Library collection, which now contains, in addition to alarge collection of printed books, over 1000 manuscripts. Myfirst item is the Library’s oldest work.

Item 1. Two of the 33 sheets of the Codex Porphyriusof the Gospel of Mark owned by the Monastery. Theletters are written in silver and gold on purple vellum.It is believed to be the work of Emperor Theodosios II (408-450).

Item 2. The Monastery’s foundation charter, a chrysobull (= golden bull) of 1088 signed by EmperorAlexios I Comnenos, granting the island to St Christodoulos.

Item 3. An icon of Christ, known as ‘The Bridegroom(Nymphios) of the Church’ or ‘Ecce Homo’ (Behold,the Man) attributed to El Greco (Domenicus Theotokopulos) of c.1500. It is this icon which is venerated at the famous Patmos Great Thursday litur-gical drama of the Washing of the Feet.

Item 4. The mitre of Ecumenical Patriarch Kyprianos(1708/9-1713/14), known as “the good diamond crown”. It is decorated with over 200 precious jew-els.

Reluctantly, we descend the long winding road past theApocalypse to the quay for the last time, there to board a ferryfor Kos.

* Guy Freeland teaches Hermeneutics and Liturgical Studies at StAndrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College.

Questions & AnswersWho was the Prophet Elias?

The Orthodox use the name “Elias” to refer to theHebrew prophet recorded in the standard EnglishOld Testament versions as “Elijah.” This is basedon the first translation of the Hebrew Old Testamenttext which was made, the Greek Septuagint transla-

tion. The Prophet Elias lived in the 9th century before the timeof Christ. He is held to be one of the chief prophets of the OldTestament.His great struggle was against the introduction of the pagancults of the Canaanites and the Phoenicians among theHebrew people of his time. The dramatic encounter betweenthe Prophet of God, and the Prophets of Baal, supported byKing Ahab is recorded in the 18th chapter of 1 Kings(Septuagint, 3 Kings. ch.18). Elias’prayers that the God of theHebrews send lightning to burn the sacrificial offering on thestone altar was heard. But the prayers of the prophets of thefalse god Baal went unheeded.With Enoch, he was given the gift of not dying but of beingtranslated into heaven. The book of 2nd Kings (Septuagint,4th Kings) in the secound chapter descibes this strange event.As Elias was walking with his disciple Elisha (Greek Elisefs,or Eliseus) “behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire ser-parated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwindinto heaven” (2:11). Usually, therefore, the icon of thePhrophet Elias in the Orthodox Church shows him on or witha fiery chariot.It is taught in the Scriptures that his return is necessary for thedeliverance and the restoration of the Kingdom (Malachi3:5ff, Mark 9:11 – 12). Following the Transfiguration of ourLord, where Elijah and Moses appeared with Juesus, the Lord

identifies Elias with the role of the Forerunner John theBaptist. “The disciples asked him, ‘Then why do the scribessay that first Elijah must come?’ He replied, ‘Elijah doescome, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijahhas already come.

….Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to themof John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:10 – 13). Elias was men-tioned at the crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:46 – 47).Generally, in the New Testament, Elias is presented as the typ-ical representative of the Old Testament prophets who pro-ceeded the coming of Jesus Christ.The Prophet Elias is honored as one of the great saints of theOrthodox Church. He is commemorated each year on July 20.The Apolytikion (Troparion) of the feat is: “The gloriousElias, angelic in body, pillar of prophets, second herald ofChrist, by sending grace upon Eliseus from on high, dispelsdisease, cleanses lepers and overflows with healing for thosewho honor him.”

* * * * *

From the Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers, by Stanley S. Harakas, published by Light and Life.

If you have any questions about the Orthodox faithwhich you would like answered in the VEMA, send

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The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA10/28 JULY 2007

PROVOST NORM McFARLAND –

JUST AN ORDINARY BLOKECorporal Norm McFarland raised himselfuneasily from his stiff camp bed as the break-ing sun began to rise over the horizon to theeast of Mt. Olympus. Still not used to the chillin the spring climate at this time of the morn-ing, Norm placed his heavy coat around hisshoulders and shivered. He looked towards thesun, hoping that Apollo’s rays would be wel-coming. The steam from his breath took hisinterest as he focused towards the sunrise. Itrose lightly and mistily in the frosty, still air.Not long to go now, he thought and realisedthat the crucial day had finally arrived. Lamiatoday and then retreat – what an unpleasantword he thought – “…retreat”. As if the wholeGreek Campaign had been a failure. The real-isation angered him, more so because of theway the Campaign had been concluded, not inthe way it had begun. Today would be a quietday, he assessed. Most of the action had takenplace over the past few days as men andmachinery manoeuvred their way back to thePeloponnese and embarkation for portsunknown. Word was that Crete was to be astaging point for a last hurrah – or perhapsNorth Africa and the Middle East to help breakthe back of Rommel’s Force, the Affrikacorps,who were threatening to destroy Churchill’smaster plan.

Norm drank his sweet tea (he had not acquireda taste for the Greek café which he foundgrainy and heavy) with a quiet reserve, notadding much in the conversation going onamongst the other Provosts. Usually a goodeater, he didn’t feel all that hungry today –besides with the cookhouse gone, what wasthere to look forward to? Bully beef and bis-cuits? Not likely! Only five remained todayand the safe of the National Bank of Greece inthe centre of Lamia seemed like a goodenough place as any to hole up until orderswere received. Today’s chatter seemed to bemore about home and family as well as sportand cards. Norm usually was quite involved,being gregarious by nature, but tody he wasquite subdued, concentrating on the job athand. The second man to disembark in Piraeusas part of the Second Anzac contingent, hecould see himself similarly numbered – sec-ond…last to leave Greece.

Historically, the Greek Campaign began with adramatic knock at the door, an Italian ultima-tum and the defiant OXI – NO! response byGeneral Metaxas, then Prime Minister ofGreece on the morning of the 28th of October1940.1 Records and writings2 indicate thatMetaxas had been expecting this situation butthat the Fascist Italian Government of BenitoMussolini, so closely aligned with NaziGermany, had acted hurriedly and rashly,angering Hitler immensely. Once committed,Italy found the Greeks tougher opposition thanexpected – his earlier provocations had cer-tainly steeled their resolution and it becameapparent that Hitler would have to bail out hisAxis partner if the Campaign was to endbefore Operation Barbarossa could escalate.

Initially, the Greeks acted alone in theirdefence. The Allies had other areas to with-stand and Churchill was mindful of the effectan Allied Defence Force might have on theEuropean Front as a whole.

The “Big Picture” scenario, played out in the

London Bunker of the War Ministry, had beeninconsequential to Norm McFarland who hadat that point begun training and preparing foractive duty a long way from the emergingflashpoint. Service to his country was all hecared for and, along with many thousands ofother brave young Australians; he had madethe personal decision to enlist.

Provost Cpl. Norm McFarland c.1940 (aged 17).

Norm was born a “Mexican Bandit” (as north-erners affectionately know Victorians) on 2nd

July 1923. He was the youngest of four chil-dren and the only boy. His father, a railwayengineer, was tragically killed in an accidentwhen Norm was seven and with only a smallweekly compensation payment of 10/- and theDepression looming, it was a very difficulttime for his family. After basic education atOakleigh Public School, he won a MeritCertificate (similar to bursary in those days)and attended Caulfield Technical College andhad high hopes of becoming a French Polisheror follow a career in Medicine but with limit-ed finances at that time, he found himself dis-appointed that neither career option eventuatedAfter four years there, he left and became amessengerLife then for most families was harsh. Herelates “…the lack of work – even for veryskilled people- was a reality. We lived on a

charity arrangement, similar to the Susso(Dole) but arranged by the Church ofEngland. This was helpful on a monthly basisfor food but it was still difficult for mother tomake ends meet. Like many other widows anddeserted wives, she had to go out and domenial domestic work for about ?£2 perweek.” Interestingly, Norm does not embellishhis mother’s efforts at the time but accepts itjust as she did – “…that’s what we had to do.”His matter of fact approach to life was com-monplace and steeled many of the soldiers inthe Second AIF who had grown up in this dif-ficult time for the hardships that were to lieahead.But there were good times too. Outdoor activ-ities like athletics and cricket kept him busyand he fondly remembers times with theChurch Youth Group doing things that did notcost a lot “…good, clean fun…” By 1938, hecame to Sydney to live with his married sisterand in May 1940, enlisted in the Second AIF –a decision that was to initially surprise andanger his mother. “When war began in 1939,I rang my mother and told her I wanted toenlist – she refused at first to allow it becauseI had to put my age up by eighteen months butwhen she realised I was serious, she relented.”Legally, Norm was too young to enlist but bylying about his age, he filled out the necessarypapers without the requirements of BirthCertificates at the old Sydney Showgroundand began the preparatory, rookie training offive days all new recruits would go through inCentennial Park. His early life in the hinterlandof the Melbourne outskirts had well preparedNorm both physically and mentally for whatwas to lie ahead in the coming months.Initially, he wanted to be a Signalman and wassent to Seymour in Victoria but he was notsuited to the tasks. Then, he went toPuckapunyal and was instructed in the layingof mines and driving trucks. Still not sure ofwhat was in store; he boarded the ‘QueenMary’, which had been commissioned as atroop ship and sailed for India. At Fremantle,he tasted his first glass of beer and six dayslater, arrived in Bombay. Here, they disem-barked and underwent mountain training. Hethen embarked on the ‘Selwyn’and headed forEgypt and Palestine for desert training. “It wasthen that I finally realised that I was not goodenough for the Signal Corps,” he relates “and

I asked to be transferred to the Military Police– the Provost Corps.” In his convoy there were18,000 ex-Sydney troops, all heading forNorth Africa and the great unknown…This “…unknown…” was that the AustralianSixth Division and the New Zealand Divisionhad already been commissioned to go toGreece, in support of the British servicemenwho had been sent there by General SirArchibald Wavell, General Officer Comman-der in Chief of the Middle East. HansonBaldwin3 aptly puts it that he was trying “… torob Peter to pay Paul.” He was a leader withmany problems and few resources. Ethiopia,Syria and Iraq threatened disaster. In answer tothe Churchill plea, he sent the above – some58,000 men – to support the Greek Army care-fully judging his numbers required and send-ing indeed the bare minimum. Some might sayin hindsight that this clearly inadequate num-ber, pitted against the Behemoth of PanzerDivisions that rolled in through Yugoslavia tothe north and into the Axios Valley on the 8thApril were heading for disaster. Some mayeven suggest they were being sacrificed.Within two days the SS had capturedThessaloniki, Greece’s main northern city andpushed down towards the Monastir Gap. Theweather that year was unkind and with snowstill falling, the resistance found some breath-ing space. Hitler clearly worried that thisCampaign would prove a costly delay, sent inhis crack Panzers to spearhead the advance –the 9th Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler. AsGilbert writes, “Instead of Yugoslavs, the SStroops faced better-trained Australians andNew Zealanders of the British ExpeditionaryForce. German casualties mounted…”

However, the lads who had disembarked atPiraeus in March 1940 (including a youngCorporal Norm McFarland) saw this as anorder, a duty and a service. According toNorm McFarland, it had never been the plan togo straight to Greece at all. It was commonknowledge after they left India that they weregoing to the Western Desert in Palestine. Infact, he had been ordered to attend Sarafand, aPolice College in the Middle East. Another 10NCOs’ were to go to Beit Seera as support toconvoys going to Alexandria and then Greece.Once ordered to Greece, McFarland continues“we were not part of the British Contingent atany time. We were under the direct commandof Blamey4 and once we arrived in Greece, wedisembarked and were sent to Dafni, just out-side Athens for orientation and training.”According to Lieutenant-Colonel G.W. Wahlertin his comprehensive study of the AustralianProvost Service, the 1st Australian Provostswere among the first Australian soldiers toarrive in Greece. :“By early April, they were assisting the move-ment of the AIF and New Zealanders into theirdefensive positions in mountainous terrainnorth of Larissa.”5

This British Expeditionary Force (BEF) as itbecame cumulatively known was to experi-ence a frustrating and dangerous campaign asit tried its utmost to move north quickly, hop-ing to support the Greek contingents that weredesperately trying to stave off the inevitable.

What people forget about this crucial month in1941 is that it turned the War around. Delaying Hitler at an Allied cost of 12,000 menwas a bonus in that Operation Barbarossa – theInvasion of Russia – was stalled for the time

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being as Hitler diverted the energies of hisEastern Front and North Africa Campaign intrying to get Mussolini out of the mess he hadrecklessly made by invading Greece premature-ly. This and the immediate Cretan Campaign inApril – May was not what Hitler had plannedfor that moment. German High Command hadleaked Barbarossa, officially from December18th, 1940 6 and Greece was not even a twinklein his eye. Hitler was justifiably enraged by IlDuce’s act and felt obliged to act as the seniorpartner.As the hastily prepared and ill equipped BEFmoved north, they were surprised to find mass-es of Greek troops moving south at the sametime towards the safety of the pass ofThermopylae. The nemesis of Xerxes revisitedone might suggest…? McFarland recounts:“All the way up to Lamia we were subjected tovery heavy dive bombing – 5th column activi-ty7 was very strong!” and “…traffic control wasa key to our movement. The Germans knew thisso their plan was to wipe out traffic control, asthere were not many back roads going norththat could accommodate our heavy machinery.Our role as Provosts was to maintain the flowof guns and ammunition”. He found the goingsevere and dangerous. Constantly they were onthe lookout for air activity designed to disruptand destroy their plans. “There were times whenhe got only a few hundred metres down the roadbefore receiving a call from one of our buddiesahead telling us to stop and find shelter. Therewas no long-range forecast of attack. When itcame, we, the Provosts relayed it (to the con-voy) and then it was usually a desperate seek-ing of shelter in the forests until the dangerpassed. Once gone, we could come out and sur-vey the damage.”In Wahlert’s book, personal quotes to the brav-ery and heroism of the Provosts are recorded.One in particular by Claude Simpson of the2/8th Battalion, is particularly succinct: “Wewouldn’t have known where to go if it wasn’tfor… the provost fellas, standing there withtheir hurricane lamp and telling us where togo”.8

The Germans, it must be said, had the greatestrespect for the Greek and Allied Divisions theywere fighting against. As in the Cretan investi-gation I did three years ago, I was personallytaken by the statement that, even thoughinvaders, the Germans were to be respected inreturn for the way they fought “…as profes-sionals.” Credit to Germany, they neverattacked by air at night. Indiscriminate damagewas not their concern. They were soldiersattacking soldiers – but as dawn broke, youcould be sure that they would be on ourtails…”9

He continuously saw Greeks along the road.Often they would come out from their villagesand gaze at the sight of the long train of trucksand heavy artillery as it snaked its way north.They said very little but Norm sensed in theirfaces and manner a welcome for the job theywere doing. Their traditional garb and strongdemeanour would change once the GermanOccupation was complete. Later, atrocitieswould make them desperate and yet, deter-mined, to survive. Now, they had time andfiloxenia to offer at times warm milk, homemade olives and fetta cheese – a taste for whichNorm never acquired! But it was the childrenthat captured Norm’s interest when he had afew precious minutes to take in his surround-ings from the important and painstaking job hewas doing. They would appear on the side ofthe road as the convoy passed, wistfully lookingthrough eyes not yet damaged by what was tocome. Hunger had not made them gaunt or hag-gard as yet.Private R.J. Andrews 46470 of the 2/4th 19thBrigade 6th Division is now a man well into hisnineties living on the north coast of New SouthWales but Roy still vividly remembers the dayshe spent on trucks moving north towards Volosafter deployment at Dafni. “Air raids followedyou everywhere, he remembers “and we wereattacked three or four times a day. The trucksstopped and we ran for the safety of the nearby

forest cover.” He fondly recalls an old Greekwho sensing their fear, presented them with a40 Gallon drum of home made wine to dulltheir fright – it worked!10

Norm sees the more serious side - “Our job wasto keep the convoys going and we did so forabout twelve hours at a time.” In this dangerousexercise, Norm recollects that he only had touse his gun once or twice He was issued with aholster gun – a 45 Welby – as there was noroom on his bike or person for rifles. Once,when a crazed man came at him from the bush-es on the side of the road with a gun. “Ismashed his fingers with the revolver,” headmits “…after I rode the bike straight athim.,” he adds, almost apologetically.Other times, he drew it to warn people away ashe was not able to speak and relate ‘oncomingdanger’.He adamantly makes two statements: “Perso-nally, I witnessed no collaboration betweenGreeks and Germans” and “We were so awareof the danger that our convoys possessed thatwe deliberately kept people away for their ownsafety.”People got on with everyday life and showed astoic reserve in this time of danger. Norm is ledto believe that unless crossed, the Germanstreated the Greeks fairly well – unless they wereGreek Jews.

The Northern Campaign was indeed a series ofblunders and misunderstandings, caused moreby a lack of adequate communications anddefences that were tenuous to say the least. Retreat of the AIF began on 12th April. TheAustralians had been moving north and with-standing since the 19th of March but the situa-tion became untenable. Wahlert is unsympa-thetic in his description of this event describingit as “…not a particularly proud moment in ourmilitary history…” for “…the majority of theforce was close to panic.” Vehicles were leftwhere they stopped. Some officers abandonedtheir men in the retreat…othersdeserted…whole operation came close to beinga rout.”11 Senior Commanders came to the forehere: they personally put their lives on the lineto show men how to react – in particularBernard Freyberg who would appear later in theCretan Campaign and Mackay of the 6thAustralian Division – Norm McFarland’s own.Blamey’s evacuation to Egypt at this point hashad mixed reception over the years butMcFarland feels strongly that he had no otherchoice.12 The situation was extremely confuseddue to the breakdown in communication andthe coup de grace for the Greeks was, when onthe 21st of April the Leibstandarte capturedYanina, to the rear of the Greek Northerndefences. Due to his lack of orders from theGreek and Allied High Command, GeneralDrakos took it upon himself to surrender hisforces. This surrender took places at Larisawhere 16 Greek Divisions laid down arms andallowed the Germans easy access throughWestern Greece down to the Corinthian Gulf.Two days later King George left Greece and theInvasion of Greece was complete.Now with the ‘Head’gone came the disposal ofthe ‘Body’. Even though Thermopylae was strengthened byBEF soldiers (22-24th April.), Germansadvanced on two fronts – North and West,threatening to encircle the Allied defences. Itwas decided to evacuate the Australians andNew Zealanders first via the small fishing vil-lages of Megara, Porto Rafti and Rafina. Thiswas due to the fact that Piraeus had been madeuseless on the 6th April when German Bomberssank the ammunition ship, Glen Fraser, fullyladen. The impact had been so severe that it diddamage to Athens, eleven kilometres to thenortheast and sank eleven ships where theymoored in Piraeus Harbour. Furthermore, thisact had prevented the necessary supplies beinglanded just when they were needed. So severewas the effect still that evacuation had to takeplace as far south as Kalamata at the bottom ofthe PeloponneseFrom Anzac Day on, the Allied position wasbecoming desperate. Troops were ordered tothe south for embarkation to Crete or Egypt

before they were cut off. All transport andheavy artillery (or what remained of it) wasordered to be destroyed.With the aid of the Royal Navy, over 50,000BEF troops were evacuated – many for theisland of Crete where more adventure and hard-ship waited.

All in all, the hazardous business of being aprovost took its toll on their numbers. Officially,three military policemen were killed in Greecewith a further twenty-four reported as missingin action – assumed captured. Fourteen wereseriously wounded.”13

In early 2007, I retraced the steps of the BEFand spent ten days passing through the areasoutlined in the historical accounts and moreimportantly for myself, the path of these secondAnzac’s. I was blessed by a scenic journey inperfect weather and although winter, not a hintof bitter cold or rain. As I cruised along themodern motorway linking Athens withThessaloniki, I found it difficult to empathisewith conditions of sixty-five years ago. Onceoff the modern convenience however, little haschanged. I walked the same path that soldiersfrom Leonidas till Norm McFarland hadwalked at Thermopylae and felt in awe.

Thermopylae

The Bralos Pass was equally daunting and yetmagnificent. Volos, Lamia and Larisa on theedges of the Thessaly Plain are thriving citiesstill holding a charm and a legacy akin to thebygone era. In Larisa, I was fortunate toencounter two gentlemen, introduced to me asinhabitants during the Australian Occupationprior to the German advance. Over a café, theyspoke of their experiences and most important-ly, recollections of the Australians in the GreekCampaign.

“When Metaxas denied the Italians at 6 a.m. on28th October 1941, air strikes began on Larisafour hours later and continued unabated eachday. We were warned each time and had time toreach air raid shelter. However, on the 21stDecember, the warning system did not workand about fifty people were killed before myeyes in the Square of the city. I was an eightyear old at the time, taking food to my father’sshop. My recollections of the British andAustralians are that they had a Medical Corpshere that helped the local population as well bygiving injections against cholera and other dis-eases. They were kind and friendly. They cer-tainly helped us survive. We never saw theItalians.

As an eight year old then and now in his midseventies, Evangelos Pougrikas, is clear in hismemories of the War. Like many of his genera-tion, they are etched in his brain and come for-ward vividly when encroached by those likemyself who wish to know how it really was –and how Norm McFarland came to find himselfin that blown out safe of the National Bank ofLamia waiting for the ‘Big Picture’ to concludethis particular chapter…Norm’s only regret is that he never returned toGreece. The Greek Government has honouredhim on two occasions for his services to theDefence of Greece – one only a short time agowhen presented with a Medal and Certificate bythe Greek Prime Minister ConstantinosKaramanlis in Canberra. Life is too full for aman who has devoted his whole life to the sup-port of others. Avery active Legatee for over 25years and now in his mid eighties, Norm is stilla role model for men less than half his age. Hisdynamism has never dimmed as the years haveprogressed he has learned to adapt to life’s chal-lenges. He married, had three daughters, all ofwhom he talks and displays photos of proudlyand four grandchildren. Sadly, he lost his devot-ed wife, Daphne about five years ago andalthough living alone, has many, many friends.The Norman McFarland’s of this countrydeserve recognition. They are an example to thegeneration of today – an example of what serv-ice, duty and humility mean. Their examplegives us hope and inspiration for the future.

1 “When Metaxas denied the Italians at 6 a.m. on 28thOctober 1941, air strikes began on Larisa four hours laterand continued unabated each day.” Evangelos Pougrikasinterview.2 Pp.138-9 Heurtley W.A. et.al. A Short History ofGreece (1967)3 P. 62 Baldwin H. W. Battles Lost and Won – great cam-paigns of WWII4 McFarland speaks kindly of Blamey. He had the respectof his troops in Greece but the fact that he “got out quick”has labelled him historically as a scapegoat. He was neverreally respected by the British High Command and hisbackground in the Police Force did not endear him to thecareer soldiers that controlled the BEF. However, his logis-tical training in civilian life was just what the Provostsneeded.5 P.96 Wahlert L/Col. ‘Provost – Friend or Foe? 6 Fuehrer Directive No. 21 Baldwin p.597 Covert activity such as espionage.8 P. 98 Wahlert Op. Cit.9 In his Official History, Vol.2 Gavin Long (p.89-90),states the fact that the Luftwaffe would not attack at nightbut that “…from about 0700, dive-bombing and machine-gunning attacks were continuous…”10 Interview with R. J. Andrews, Ballina NSW (March2007).11 P.96 Wahlert Op.Cit12 Refer to earlier footnote.13 P.98 Wahlert Op. Cit.

Acknowledgements:

In the compilation of this article, I would like to thankKaterina Kapasani - The Australian Embassy – Athens.Rob Speers – Director, Board of Studies.Professor Alanna Nobbs – Macquarie University.Karl Van Dyke – Curator, Macquarie University Museumof Antiquities.Roy Andrews. – North Coast, NSW.Angelo and Sue Jones – Alstonville, NSW.Evangelos Pougrikas – Larisa, Greece.Katerina Armata – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese ofAustralia.Nickolas Halkitis – Proprietor “Symi Visitor” Newspaper,Greece.Hornsby Legacy.And last but not least…Norman McFarland.

George Moscos 11/07/2007

George Moscos B.A. Dip. Ed. M.N.E.i.T.A. M.A.C.E.

Resume:

• A Secondary Teacher with more than thirty years ofteaching experience.• Had an extensive teaching career in a diverse number ofschools, working especially in multicultural, westernSydney and boys’ education. • At present, is Relieving Deputy Principal and HeadTeacher, HSIE at Asquith Boys High School• A Higher School Certificate Marker for 30 years, • A Senior Marker for 15 years.• Supervisor of Marking in Ancient History (2002-2006)• Has worked with the Department of SecondaryEducation, where he was seconded in 2000 to liaise withbusiness in the development of Part time Traineeships inVET. Since then, he has been a Member of manyRegional Committees in that area.• Presented for the Board of Studies on Committees andIn-service Training on numerous occasions. • In 2001, he was honoured for his teaching with a NEiTA(National Excellence in Teaching) Award for “ Excellencein History Teaching” and by the CommonwealthGovernment with an “Australian Teachers Prize forExcellence.”• HSC Distance Education Presenter at Dubbo for over 10years.• Was a Facilitator for the “School to Work Programme”in 2003, presenting across the State.• Has organised and led Soccer Tours to New Zealand(2003) Vanuatu (2004) Fiji (2005), Malaysia (2006) andThailand (2007) in the furthering of International SportingRelations and has hosted Tours from the USA (2002).• In 2003, awarded the Premier’s Australian MilitaryHistory Scholarship to further his study on an aspect ofthe Battle of Crete. In early 2004, he visited WesternAustralia, Europe and the Middle East to complete hisstudy. The completed article was published in 2004/5 in anumber of newspapers and professional journals and waspresented at a Sydney Legacy Luncheon in February2006.• In Jan-Feb-Mar 2007, he travelled to Greece, Egypt andCyprus to research the impact of the 2nd ANZAC’s on thedefence and evacuation of Greece in WW2. Articles andPresentations are to follow.• In 2005 was awarded a Rotary Pride of WorkmanshipAward for his efforts in teaching boys.• Member of the Australian College of Educators(M.A.C.E.) and the History Teachers’ Association ofNSW.• Member of Legacy (Hornsby Division) 2006-

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA12/30

Health

What is gastroenteritis?

Gastroenteritis is an infection of the gastroin-testinal tract that causes diarrhoea and vomit-ing. It is very common in young children.Viruses are the main cause of gastroenteritis inyoung children and the most common virus tocause gastroenteritis in this age group isrotavirus .

Gastroenteritis can also be caused by bacteria.This is usually due to the ingestion of contam-inated food.

What are the symptoms of gastroenteritis?

Children with acute gastroenteritis may expe-rience fever and abdominal pain. They willhave diarrhoea with frequent loose, watery,green motions which may be blood-stained.The child may experience vomiting early inthe illness.They may be hungry and thirsty andmay become dehydrated due to decreasedfluid intake or increased fluid loss from thevomiting and diarrhoea.

What are rotaviruses?

Rotaviruses are RNA viruses. They have acharacteristic ‘wheel like’ appearance whenviewed under an electron microscope. In 1973,an Australian researcher Ruth Bishop and hercolleagues described these viruses as the causeof infant gastroenteritis.

What is rotavirus gastroenteritis?

As we have discussed already, rotavirus gas-troenteritis is the most common cause of seri-ous gastroenteritis in infants and young chil-

dren, and it accounts for at least fifty percent ofall hospitalised cases of gastroenteritis in chil-dren less than five years of age.

Rotavirus is found in all countries in the worldand almost every child in the world will sufferat least one infection by the time they are threeyears of age. Worldwide an estimated six hun-dred thousand children die each year fromrotavirus gastroenteritis. Worldwide rotaviruscauses nearly two million hospitalisations eachyear.

What are the symptoms of acute rotavirusgastroenteritis?

Like any type of infective gastroenteritis, chil-dren with rotavirus gastroenteritis developacute vomiting, diarrhoea and fever. Thesymptoms can develop very quickly and thismay lead to babies and children becomingdehydrated. The diarrhoea can last for five toseven days.

How is rotavirus gastroenteritis treated?

Rotavirus infection is treated with oral rehy-dration therapy. That is, the child is given flu-ids orally to maintain hydration. If the infec-tion is severe and the child is becoming dehy-drated, then admission to hospital may berequired for rehydration via an intranasal tubeor intravenous drip.

There is no specific medication given to treatthe virus. The virus passes through the gas-trointestinal tract.

How is rotavirus infection transmitted?

Rotavirus is highly contagious. It passesthrough the gastrointestinal tract .The livevirus can therefore pass from infected infantsvia the child’s faeces to other infants and

adults. Even with high standards in sanitationand hygiene, infection with rotavirus is diffi-cult to avoid. The virus can be spread from aninfant’s nappy to contaminated toys, baby playareas and food preparation areas.

Children in close communities such as childcare centres are at an increased rate of infec-tion.

Rotavirus is a seasonal disease. In Australia,the peak incidence occurs over the winter peri-od.

Rotavirus vaccine

Two rotavirus vaccines have been available inAustralia since May 2006.In March 2007, the Australian Governmentannounced that rotavirus vaccines would befunded under the National ImmunisationProgramme commencing in July 2007 forbabies born after 1st May 2007.

Different states and territories may choose tooffer one or other of the two available vac-cines: RotaTeq or Rotarix.There are differ-ences in the composition and number of dosesrequired of each vaccine.

Rotavirus vaccines are administered orally atthe same time with the other vaccines on thechildhood immunisation schedule at either 2,4, and 6 months of age (RotaTeq) or 2 and 4months of age (Rotarix). The interval separat-ing the doses should be no less than fourweeks and there are upper limits for theadministration of the first and final doses of thevaccine.

At this stage the Australian Government hasplaced strict age limits for the administrationof the oral rotavirus vaccines. The reason forthis is that with a previous type of rotavirus

vaccine NOT available in this country, therewere significant adverse effects; a type ofbowel obstruction,intussusception, which wasthought to be associated with the first dosebeing given to children over three months ofage. For this reason, the clinical trials on thenew vaccines limited the administration of thefirst dose to children under three months ofage, and did not give subsequent doses to chil-dren past a certain age.

The main reasons that catch-up immunisationor the immunisation of older children is notrecommended is because of the theoreticalconcerns regarding intussusception and thelack of data in infants and older children; andthe fact that the main burden of the rotavirusdisease is in children less than three years ofage. Older children are usually protected fromdeveloping severe disease due to rotavirusbecause they have acquired partial immunityfrom being infected earlier in life.

Similarly, vaccination of adults is not recom-mended because it is likely that they have par-tial pre-existing immunity and are not likely toexperience severe rotavirus disease.

If given correctly at the recommended age, therotavirus vaccine is the best way to protectchildren against rotavirus disease. The vaccinewill not prevent diarrhoea and vomitingcaused by other infectious agents, such as bac-teria and other viruses, but it is very good atpreventing severe diarrhoea and vomitingcaused by rotavirus which causes approxi-mately half of all episodes of hospitalised gas-troenteritis in infants and young children.

* The information given in this article is of a gener-al nature and readers should seek advice from theirown medical practitioner before embarking on anytreatment.

HEALTH NEWS

WITH DR. THEO PENKLIS *

GASTROENTERITIS IN CHILDREN

AND THE NEW ROTAVIRUS VACCINES

JULY 2007

If you think you’re not

wanted at 50, you’re wrongFifty-year-olds are still perceived as being past their sell-by date in the workforce, even though they add value to acompany through their past work experience.

Asurvey by career management firm Linkme.com.au foundthat nearly three-quarters of Australians believe that by theage of 50 finding new employment is almost impossible.

Mature workers - 41-55 year olds - have an even grimmerperception of their own situation with a massive 82 per centbelieving that finding employment after 50 is near impossi-ble.Worse still, the survey of 2,000 respondents found 51 per centof boomers believe it is almost impossible to get a job afterthe age of 45.

“Considering that economic growth for Australia is greatlydependant on mature age workers staying in the workforcefor as long as possible, these statistics are staggering,”Linkme.com.au CEO Campbell Sallabank says.

He says mature age workers currently make up one third ofthe workforce compared with one quarter two decades ago,and have a lower unemployment rate than the combinedlabour market.

“I can see how a grim perception of being unemployable atthis age might come about,” Mr Sallabank says.

“Mature workers often have skills and experience gainedthrough many years in the work force and therefore are gen-erally seeking higher end jobs which tend to be harder tofind.”But he says that over the past two decades the average age ofthe Australian worker has increased to 39 years from 35

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 13/31JULY 2007

By Yiannis Elafros - Kathimerini

In a country like Greece, where tourismplays a major role in the economy and theenvironment, the debate over the optimumtourism development model is a crucialpolitical issue.

The choice is whether to consume the coun-try’s cultural and natural heritage – the legacyof millennia – within just a few decades for thesake of real estate developers, tour operators,financiers and stockbrokers, or to exploit thatlegacy in a sustainable way that will protectand highlight it.

The Special Tourism Zoning report, issuedfor public “negotiation” by the Environment,Physical Planning and Public Works Ministryin cooperation with the Tourism DevelopmentMinistry, has led environmental groups – suchas the Hellenic Society for the Protection of theEnvironment and Cultural Heritage – to seekits withdrawal, for the following reasons.

It is not prompted by a need to confront theproblems posed by unrestricted tourism devel-opment that is destroying the natural, built andcultural environment (which is what attractstourists in the first place), nor does it drawattention to the risk posed by the overconcen-tration of these activities in certain areas.According to the Technical Chamber ofGreece, the plan “places the greatest emphasison facilitating investments and increasingtourism, rather than adopting the principles ofsustainable development.”

Secondly, it promotes the concept of holidayhome complexes, that is tourist settlements ofhomes for rent by individuals; these homeswould cover up to 70 percent of the total builtenvironment. That means widespread concretecover.

By building private villages, major construc-tion firms will be guaranteed profits even if therest of the investment is not followed up.

In areas designated as potential candidatesfor such units (for example the western

Peloponnese, eastern Crete and Magnesia),large firms have already bought land.

A particular threat is posed to the country’sstill unspoiled areas where land is cheaper andthere are no obstacles for potential buyers.Uninhabited islands and rocky islets, places ofgreat natural beauty, are at risk of becomingstatic “cruise ships.” Even regions protected bythe Natura program can be the target oftourism investors if they pay “a little more.”

The new plan reduces the mandatory dis-tance a hotel must be built from the shorelineto 100 meters (on flat land) or 50 meters (on aslope). For cases in between, a complicatedmathematical formula is proposed, which willprobably result in land-grabbing. Moreover theplan does not provide for the demolition ofillegally constructed buildings on beaches. Nordoes it envisage measures to stop widespreadconstruction outside town limits, a practicethat has long plagued the Greek countryside.

Greece has great potential for winter tourism,for hiking, agritourism, cultural tourism andother specialized forms of tourism. Yet it is thelack of golf courses that Minister GiorgosSouflias draws attention to in the plan.

“We have only six golf courses compared to500 in France, 200 in Italy, 300 in Spain and 76in Portugal,” he said.The facts that Greece is increasingly affected

by drought and a golf course needs as muchwater as a town of 11,000 inhabitants do notseem to bother him.

The plan also overlooks another approach

that would protect and highlight local architec-ture and cultural attractions (as adopted inmany parts of Italy).It makes no mention of developing local qual-

ity (and organic) farm products or of agri-tourism. Its entire philosophy is light yearsaway from proposals such as the one put for-ward by the Hellenic Society: “New hotelsshould conform to the principles of bioclimat-ic architecture and be as autonomous as possi-ble regarding the recycling and reuse ofresources such as water and renewable energysources.”

This article first appeared in the June issue of ECO,a Kathimerini supplement.

For the Bibliophiles…The Early Church: the Story of emergent Christianity

from the apostolic age to the dividing of the ways

between the Greek East and the Latin West.By Henry Chadwick (Penguin)

The first seven chapters deal with the early Christian period. Throughout chapters 8 – 17, whichfocus more on the Byzantine period, reference is often made back to this early period. The finalchapter, on liturgy, music and art of the Church, provides a good starting point if one is unfa-miliar with important writers on each of these subjects from the early Church period. Easy toread, and written for a general audience, Chadwick’s book provides an overview and a ‘way in’to more in-depth study, especially with regards to the overlapping of the pagan and Christianperiods.

New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity: a Review of the

Greek inscriptions and papyri published in 1976By G.H.R Horsley (The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre,

Macquarie University, 1981)

Archaeological research in the 20th century has added invaluable resources to our understand-ing of the early Christian (pre-Byzantine) period. Associations, conferences and schools ofenquiry, usually based within university departments, provide the means by which students andothers who have an interest may access the information contained in recently unearthed scrolls,papyri, carvings and so on. Unlike the aforementioned book, a journal such as this is not forthe beginner but adds quite detailed information to, for example, the ban on magic and divina-tion in Egypt in the 2nd century AD – a problem that continued to plague the Roman Empirewith 12 edicts against magicians being further issued early in the 4th century. Fascinating read-ing for those who already have some knowledge of the early Christian period.

A.C.

ProviCare - counselling and rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abuse ph. 1800 010 575

Environment and Public Works Ministry’s vision for tourismNatural, cultural heritage consumed within decades by property developers, tour operators

Mr Giorgos Souflias

Greek police find hundreds of stolen relicsGreek police have found more than a thou-

sand pieces of artefacts dating back to ancientGreece after raiding a suspect’s house nearthe southern city of Corinth, police saidrecently.

A 58 year-old man, who was also foundwith a dozen ancient and Byzantine periodcoins on his person, was arrested and will becharged with antiquities theft.

“The suspect is probably part of a widergroup active in the Corinth area, as the arte-facts seem to come from illegal digs in theregion,” police said.“The confiscated artefacts are not very valu-

able as they are mostly small items, but allsuch activity is illegal.”

Police confiscated more than 1,300 itemsincluding small ancient clay idols, urns, pot-tery shards and bronze rings, dating frombetween the 6th and 4th century BC, policesaid.A further raid on the suspect’s house subse-

quently found excavation equipment andbooks detailing Mycenean and Classicalantiques, police said.

There are thousands of archaeological sitesscattered around Greece, and the governmenthas pledged to crack down on the illegalexcavation and smuggling of its national her-itage.

REUTERS

Plan for a cooler city Less car use, more efficient buildings ‘will offset Parnitha fallout’

The damage wreaked on Mount Parnithawill have disastrous consequences for theair quality and temperatures in Athensunless crucial countermeasures are imple-mented, scientists and environmentaliststold a press conference recently.

Until last month’s fire, Parnitha had func-tioned as the capital’s air conditioner, offset-ting the heat emitted by some 2.5 million carsin Attica, experts said. “It is as if the number ofcars in Athens doubled,” said AthensUniversity professor Matthaios Santamouris.“The climate of our city will change.”

Santamouris, other academics and represen-tatives of Greenpeace and WWF Hellas urgedcitizens to leave their cars at home and usepublic transport more often. They also pro-posed the extension of rail-based public trans-port networks. “If we curb the heat emitted byvehicles we may be able to win back part ofwhat we lost on Parnitha,” Santamouris said.

Also high on the list of proposed countermea-sures was the preservation of parts of the citythat have not been built up. “No more newstructures should be built in Athens. We don’tneed any more, we can reuse existing build-ings,” said Yiannis Polyzos, vice president ofthe National Technical University of Athensand president of the Urban EnvironmentLaboratory. According to Polyzos, the unde-veloped expanses of land in Athens have a sur-face area roughly equal to the 4,200-acreexpanse of forestland burnt on MountParnitha.

The creation of more parks would also help,he said. Another measure that could bringdown the temperature in the capital by at leasta couple of degrees, according to experts, is the

replacement of standard tiles on rooftops withspecial tiles that repel heat. Painting tiles a“cool” color like green was also suggested.The public sector needs to set the examplehere, experts agreed.

An equally beneficial effect can be achievedif the same principle is applied to roads andsidewalks.

Environmentalists also urged authorities toadopt a European Union directive on the ener-gy efficiency of buildings. Most Athens build-ings do not repel heat effectively while alsospewing more heat into the atmosphere due toexcessive use of air conditioners.

KATHIMERINI

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA14/32

THE SCIENCE

OF AGEING

Ageing is an inevitable natural process pro-grammed into our genes at conception. Butageing is not entirely the work of our genes; itis our genes’ interaction with rest of our livesthat shape us. We can slow the process byadopting healthy lifestyle habits such as eatingnutritious foods and engaging in physicalactivity. It is estimated that 70 to 80 percent ofthe average person’s life expectancy maydepend on an individual’s lifestyle choices andthe remaining 20 to 30 percent depend ongenes.

In the beginning of 20th century, the averageAustralian life expectancy was 57 years. Asthe century progressed, advances in sciencehelped to extend human life. Today, the aver-age life expectancy is around 80 years. [Lifeexpectancy refers to the average number ofyears that a person is expected to live in agiven population while life span refers to themaximum age attainable by a member of aspecies. The current official world record forlongevity is 122 years, reached by a Frenchwoman].

What causes ageing?The process of ageing is not fully understood.There are many theories that are put forward inits explanation. Here we will discuss one of themost popular theories of ageing ‘free radicaltheory’. Free radicals are atoms or groups ofatoms that are extremely unstable and highlyreactive. When they are present in excessiveamounts they begin attacking body at cellularlevel. Free radicals attack our cell membranes,enzymes and genetic material. Free radicalsare also thought to be associated with the dis-eases of ageing, also known as degenerativediseases such as cancer and heart disease. Ithas been postulated that the phenomenon ofageing is in fact nothing more than ever-

increasing accumulation of changes caused byfree radicals.

Extending life span:So, can the life span can be increased and theageing process slowed? The answer is definite-ly ‘yes’. You can feel better at sixty than youdid at thirty by making healthy changes in yourdiet and lifestyle. Following are some of theinterventions that are commonly recommend-ed for reducing the ageing process.

1. Caloric restriction and ageingThe longest-lived people in the world todaycan be found on the Japanese island ofOkinawa. There are more people over 100years here than anywhere else in the world.Scientists believe one of the reasons for theirlongevity is their low-calorie diet. Their mainsource of protein is plant based, which is highin other nutrients.Based on population studies, it could be saidthat individuals who are severely overweightor severely underweight have the shortest lifespans, while those whose weight is just belowthe average weight for their height have thelongest life span.

2. Physical activity and ageing“Many of the physical limitations that accom-pany ageing occur because people becomeinactive, not because they become older.”

Apart from low caloric diet, another factorresponsible for the longevity of the Okinawanpeople of Japan is their engagement in contin-uous work.Researchers have estimated that for every hourof exercise, there is a two-hour increase inlongevity.The many remarkable benefits of regular phys-ical exercise are not limited to the young.Compared with those who are inactive, olderadults who are active weigh less, have greaterflexibility, have more endurance, better bal-ance, better health and live longer. Most stud-ies have shown that an unfit individual carrieseight times more risk of having a heart attackor stroke than a physically fit individual.Physical activity also increases blood flow tothe brain, thereby preserving mental ability,alleviating depression, and supporting inde-pendence. Muscle mass and muscle strengthtend to decline with ageing, making older peo-ple vulnerable to falls and immobility. Falls area major cause of fear, injury, disability andeven death among older adults. Many losetheir independence as a result of falls. Regularphysical activity tones, firms and strengthensmuscles, helping to improve confidence,reduce the risk of falling and lessens the risk ofinjury

3. Nutrition, lifestyle factors and ageingFollowing are the lifestyle factors that caninfluence on a person’s health and age:� Regular and adequate sleep� Eating well-balanced meals, includingbreakfast, regularly� Regular physical activity� Not smoking� Not using alcohol or using it in modera-tion� Maintaining a healthy body weight

Good nutrition helps to maintain a healthybody and can therefore ease the ageingprocess. Nutrition can improve quality of lifein the later years. Two aspects can motivate adults to pay atten-tion to their diets:

� Support health� Slowing ageing

Interestingly, the strategies that can help toachieve these goals are practically the same.

Dietary antioxidants:Compounds that prevent free radical damageare known as antioxidants or free radical scav-engers. The body has several enzymes thatprevent the damage induced by specific typesof free radicals. The level of antioxidantenzymes and the levels of dietary antioxidantssuch as beta-carotene, determines the life spanof mammals. Human beings live longer thanchimpanzees, cats, dogs and many other mam-mals because we have a greater quantity ofantioxidant enzymes. Presumably, the reasonwhy some people outlive others is that theyhave higher levels of antioxidants in their cells.Several studies in animals have demonstratedthat dietary antioxidants can definitely increaselife expectancy. We are just beginning to seehuman evidence. What we do know now isthat antioxidant nutrients reduce the risk ofgetting cancer, heart disease and many dis-eases linked to ageing, including cataracts,macular degeneration and arthritis.

Dietary antioxidants of extreme significance inlife extension include vitamin C and E, seleni-um, beta-carotene, flavonoids, sulphur con-taining amino acids and coenzyme Q10. Notsurprisingly, these same nutrients are also ofextreme significance in cancer prevention asageing and cancer share many common mech-anisms.

Flavonoids:Flavonoids are plant pigments that offerremarkable protection against free radicaldamage. These compounds are largely respon-sible for the colour of fruits and flowers.Flavonoids appear to protect our body fromagents such as allergens, viruses and carcino-gens (things that can cause cancer). The mole-cules of flavonoids have unique antioxidantand free radical scavenging activity and areactive against a wide variety of oxidants andfree radicals.The best way to assure an adequate intake offlavonoids is to eat a varied diet rich in fruitsand vegetables. The best dietary sources offlavonoids include citrus fruits, berries, onions,parsley, legumes, green tea and red wine.

Ginkgo biloba extract:The Ginkgo biloba extract, standardized tocontain twenty-four percent ginkgoflavogly-cosides has demonstrated remarkably benefi-cial effects in improving many symptomsassociated with ageing. Ginkgo biloba is espe-cially useful in treating conditions linked toreduced blood flow to the brain, such as dizzi-ness, ringing in the ears, headache, short-termmemory loss and depression.

Many symptoms common in the elderly are aresult of insufficient blood and oxygen supply.Ginkgo biloba extract has demonstratedremarkable effect in improving blood and oxy-gen supply to tissues.

DHEA:

The primary role of the adrenal hormone dehy-droepiandrosterone (DHEA) is as a precursorto all other steroid hormones in the humanbody including sex hormones and corticos-teroids. Because DHEA levels tend to declinewith ageing, it has been suggested that raisingDHEA levels through supplementation may

offer some protection against effects of ageing.

Over the last decade, a number of studies havedemonstrated that declining levels of DHEAare linked to such conditions as diabetes, obe-sity, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease,arthritis and autoimmune diseases. In addition,DHEA shows promise in enhancing memoryand improving mental function in the elderlyas well as increasing muscle strength and leanbody mass, activating immune function andenhancing the quality of life in ageing men andwomen.Lot of research still needs to be done in thisarea to confirm the beneficial effects of DHEAin respect its ability to increase the life span.

Again, this is one of the supplements (unlikevitamin C which is quite safe) that should betaken under observation of an health care prac-titioner to watch for any unwanted effects, andthe levels need to be checked before startingthe supplement.

Melatonin:Melatonin (not to be confused with melanin –the compound responsible for skin pigment) isa hormone manufactured from serotonin (animportant neurotransmitter) and secreted bythe pineal gland, a small pea-sized gland situ-ated at the base of the brain. The exact functionof melatonin is still poorly understood but it iscritically involved in the synchronisation ofhormone secretion. The pineal gland is aninternal clock that signals the secretion of var-ious hormones at different times to regulatebody functions.

Melatonin plays a key role as the biologicaltimekeeper of hormone secretion. Melatoninalso helps control period of sleepiness andwakefulness. Release of melatonin is stimulat-ed by darkness and suppressed by light. Inaddition to its role in synchronizing hormonesecretion, melatonin has been shown to pos-sess antioxidant effects. Melatonin has a placein the treatment of insomnia, jet lag, and possi-bly even some forms of cancer. Like DHEA,melatonin supplementation needs to be moni-tored by a general practitioner.

In summary:Slowing the process of ageing or reversingsome of the signs of ageing does not occur injust few days. There is no ‘magic bullet’ in thisregard.

The following steps can help to reduce the age-ing process and premature ageing:� A positive mental attitude� A healthy lifestyle: exercise, sleep andhealthy habits� A healthy diet – high intake of vegetableand fruits (as they have a high content of vita-mins, minerals, flavonoids, and fibre.� Supplementary measures

o High potency multivitamin andmineral supplement

o Vitamin Co Vitamin Eo Ginkgo bilobao DHEAo Melatonin

CLINICAL INSIGHTS INTO HEALTH AND NATURAL SOLUTIONS

JULY 2007

* Christina Scalone is a very experienced and successfulnaturopath with over 20 years experience. She holds aDegree in Health Science, a Diploma in Botanical Medi-cine, Diploma in Homoeopathy and a Diploma in Nutri-tion. She has maintained a full time practice, has held aposition as a senior practioner/ naturopathic consultant, aclinic manager and trainer for Blackmores and is a clinicstudent supervisor as well as a lecturer at the AustralianCollege of Natural Therapies. She also maintains her ownprivate practice with successful results.

BY CHRISTINA SCALONE*BHSc, Dip. Bot. Med, Dip.Hom, Dip. Nut

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 15/33JULY 2007

Passchendaele is a byword for the monstrous futility of war.It was the costliest campaign of Australia’s bloodiest yearever, 1917.

Like Gallipoli, it was marked by great courage and ended upachieving nothing.

It was the last huge engagement of the trench warfare whichblighted the western front in World War I.

The four-month stunt, as the first Anzacs used to call it, costwell over half a million lives - some 300,000 on the Allied side,including more than 36,000 Australians.

And four months later, the German army won back every inchof ground taken in just three days.

The Queen has been in Flanders fields recently commemorat-ing the battle’s 90th anniversary, along with Belgium’s QueenPaola, Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery and lead-ers from New Zealand and Canada.

They laid wreaths at Tyne Cot cemetery, on a ridge capturedby Australian forces during the grim battle.

So prolonged was the slaughter that the cemetery remains thelargest commonwealth burial site in the world.

Passchendaele overlooks the Belgian city of Ieper, which wasbetter known to the soldiers by its French name Ypres.

That in turn was known to Aussie diggers not fussed by thedelicacies of pronunciation as “Wipers”.

The extent of the destruction can scarcely be imagined, butaerial photographs show the village of Passchendaele was liter-ally bombed out of existence.

They indicate more than one million artillery shell holes in anarea of one square mile.

The British alone fired more than four million shells in thebattle at a cost of some 22 million pounds.

Passchendaele is notorious for several reasons.For the first time Germany used mustard gas, which, apart

from being extremely painful, caused skin blistering, lung dam-age, eye irritation and even blindness.

The battle also took place in woeful conditions.The troops fought on reclaimed marshland which was swam-

py at the best of times, even without rain.But seemingly incessant downpours and the continuous vol-

leys of shells rendered the landscape a bog which proved virtu-ally impassable.

Troops walked to the front over paths made of wooden duck-boards laid across the mud.

Those carrying heavy equipment who slipped off the pathwould sometimes drown in the “liquid mud” before they couldbe rescued.

Even the newly developed tanks bogged down, and the land-scape became littered with dead bodies.

The remains of soldiers, as well as bombs and gas canisters,are still dug up every year by Belgian farmers ploughing the

fields of West Flanders.“It was no longer life at all,” recalled German General Erich

Ludendorff.“It was mere unspeakable suffering.“And through this world of mud the attackers dragged them-

selves, slowly, but steadily, and in dense masses.“Caught in the advanced zone by our hail of fire they often

collapsed, and the lonely man in the shell-hole breathed again.“Then the mass came on again. Rifle and machine-gun

jammed with the mud. Man fought against man, and only toooften the mass was successful.”

The Allied strategy was to drive a hole in the German lines,advance to the Belgian coast and capture the German subma-rine bases there.

But the Germans were well-entrenched, with mutually sup-porting pillboxes, and the troops became cannon fodder.

The Germans lost around 270,000 men, and the British Em-pire forces 300,000.

Wounded took the casualties to an estimated three-quarters ofa million.

Some 90,000 British, New Zealand and Australian bodieswere never identified, and 42,000 were never recovered.

The battle was called to a halt after Canadian reinforcementsreplaced decimated British, Australian and New Zealand unitsand captured the ruined village on November 10, 1917.

The Australian War Memorial notes that the year ended muchas it had begun, with the diggers bogged in the muddy trench-es of France and Belgium.

And little did they know that the ground they spent so muchblood on conquering would be taken back from them the fol-lowing March.

The War Memorial says the name Passchendaele “wouldinvoke painful memories of suffering and grief for a whole gen-eration”.

AAP

90th anniversary of Australia’s saddest year

Canadian Pioneers carrying trench material to Passchendaele quitting work while German prisoners carrying wounded pass by, 1917

Cyprus leaders to meet over

stalled reunification talksTurkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat accepted an invita-

tion to meet his Greek Cypriot counterpart, President TassosPapadopoulos, in a bid to break the deadlock in reunificationtalks. No date has been set for the meeting on the future of thedivided island.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots agreed a year ago to start two-tiernegotiations - with technical committees tackling everydayconcerns and working groups dealing with substantive issues -but there has been little activity.“ As the side which has, for the past 10 months continuouslyemphasised the need for a meeting with Papadopoulos to dis-cuss the problems during this process, we respond toPapadopoulos’ suggestion positively,” Talat was quoted as say-ing by the private Dogan news agency.

Talat said there should be regular meetings between Cyprus’scommunity leaders.

“It will be difficult to solve all the disagreements of the pastone year in just one meeting,” he said.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south - repre-sented by the internationally recognised government - and aTurkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after afailed Athens-backed coup by supporters of union with Greece.In 2004, Greek Cypriot voters rejected a UN reunification planthat Turkish Cypriots accepted in a separate referendum.

The United Nations has repeatedly pushed the two sides toreopen negotiations.

Nominate your local heroes

for Aussie of the Year - HowardPrime Minister John Howard (photo) has called on all

Australians to nominate outstanding people in their communi-ties for Australian Of The Year award.

Mr Howard officially opened nominations recently for the2008 award categories.

More than 100 people gathered for today’s event at OldGovernment House in the western Sydney suburb ofParramatta.

As well as Australian Of The Year, there are awards for YoungAustralian Of The Year (aged 16 to 25), Senior Australian OfThe Year (60 or over), and Australia’s Local Hero.

Mr Howard highlighted the different ethnic and cultural back-grounds of the 2007 award recipients, which he said embodiedthe qualities that made Australia a great country.Environmentalist Tim Flannery is the current Australian of theYear.

“Each has had a completely different life experience yet all ofthem are imbued with a very special unifying Australian spiritwhich is at once enthusiastic, it’s completely unpretentious andit is also completely optimistic,” he told the audience.

“The greatest privilege in the world is to be an Australian.”The first person to be nominated for 2008 Australian of the

Year is Peter Langmack, 35, a teacher at Shalvey Public Schoolin western Sydney, for his efforts in helping disadvantaged chil-

dren achieve their dreams through softball.He was nominated by Amelia Griffen, school captain at

Toongabbie Public School, also in Sydney’s west.Mr Howard encouraged everyone to think of people they

know who do extraordinary things in everyday life.“If you think someone has done far more for the community,

get ahold of one of these nomination forms, put one in and younever know,” he said.You can obtain a nomination form by phoning 1300 655 193,or by going online at www.australianofthe-year.gov.au.

AAP

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA16/34 JULY 2007

Cyprus and Malta cleared the final hurdleyesterday to joining the eurozone onJanuary 1, 2008, when EU finance ministersset the rates at which the single currencywill replace their pound and lira respective-ly.

“It’s an historic day for us. It’s a new begin-ning,” Cypriot Finance Minister MichalisSarris told reporters, vowing to keep tight fis-cal discipline once his country adopts the cur-rency now shared by 13 nations, includingGreece.

Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzideclared, “This is an historic moment forEurope, for the eurozone and for Malta.”

The EU’s 27 ministers decided the Cypruspound would be replaced at a rate of 0.585274pounds per euro as expected and that 0.429300Maltese lira would be worth 1 euro.

Those rates are the same as their central par-ity levels in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II,the currency stability test for joining the euro,in which the two Mediterranean islands’ cur-rencies have been stable over the last twoyears. The two countries will be the second andthird new member states to adopt the euroamong the 10 that joined the bloc in 2004. Thefirst, Slovenia, entered the club on January 1this year.

Cyprus and Malta will add 1.2 million citi-zens and 0.2 percent to the eurozone’s 8-tril-lion-euro economy. Their main industry istourism.

“I congratulate Cyprus and Malta,” saidPortuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixei-ra dos Santos, whose country now holds theEU’s rotating presidency.

“I expect that the adoption of the euro in thesetwo countries will encourage them to keepwith such policies and also to keep the sound-ness of their economy and improve the com-petitiveness of their economies,” he added.

In the ERM II, the currencies of euro candi-dates are allowed to fluctuate within a marginaround a central parity rate. Since both curren-cies were stable in the ERM II, the chosen con-version rate will not have any impact on theireconomies.

Criteria

Cyprus and Malta were invited to join theeuro after meeting tough criteria on inflation,interest rates, budget deficits, public debt andforeign exchange stability. The next in line isSlovakia, which wants to join in 2009, but aEuropean Central Bank memo obtained byReuters last month posed a question mark overits ability to keep inflation in check. Thebiggest EU newcomers - the Czech Republic,Hungary and Poland - are likely to adopt thecurrency only after 2010 due to their highbudget deficits.

Political dimension

Sarris has repeatedly said Cyprus’s euroadoption should help in any future talks onreunification between Greek Cypriots, whorepresent the divided island in the EU, andTurkish Cypriots, whose breakaway state innorthern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey.“There will be no discussion which currencywill be the common currency of the reunifiedCyprus so it will take away one of the issues onthe table,” he told Reuters last month.

Gonzi said Malta was doing all it could toavoid a spike in inflation or perceived inflationwhen the euro is introduced, but was still vul-nerable to imported price rises.

“We are confident that we have taken all thesteps domestically,” he said. “We are alreadyslightly concerned about what is being dis-cussed in international fora about cerealprices... and stagflation.” (Reuters)

Cyprus, Malta to become

eurozone’s new members

St Euphemia College

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

ST. EUPHEMIA COLLEGE 19TH ANNUAL BALL 2007LIST OF DONATIONS

Parent’s & Friends Committee $40,000

Mr Con & Mrs Mimi Ange

(plus $10,000 each year for 5 years) $10,000

Mr George Ferizis & Family $10,000

Mr & Mrs Taleb (R.I. Taleb Australia Pty. Ltd)

$3,500

Mr Con & Jenny Angelakis $2,000

Anonymous $2,000

Bank of Cyprus $1,000

Mr Arthur Georgoulas (Sweet Fantasy) $1,000

Mr Andrew Kapos $1,000

Mr Nick & Mrs Mary Kotsidis $1,000

Mr Dragan & Mrs Vukica Miladinovic $1,000

Mr Chris Papachristou – Watkins Taylor Insurance

$1,000

Mr Nick & Mrs Joanna Saroussidis (Poseidon Cleaning

Services) $1,000

Mr Tim and Mrs Amelia Stathis $1,000

Mrs Christine Theophilou $1,000

J. & C. Hardy Funerals (Mr & Mrs Spence) $700

Mr John & Mrs Dina Mitrothanasis $500

Floral Creations by Helen (Mr & Mrs Delimitros)

$500

Imbrian Association $500

Mr Michael Chambouras $500

Mr Chris Christou $500

Mr Panagiotis Chrysou $500

Mrs Kyriaki Houtris $500

Mr John & Mrs Katsiris $500

Mr Michael Katzakis $500

Mr Christos Koliris $500

Kosmos Newspaper $500

Laiki Bank $500

Mr John Manetas (Quick Spark Electrical) $500

Mr Nick Retsas $500

Mrs Lambrini Gourvelos $300

Mr & Mrs Plomaritis $300

Mr Dimitrios Papapetrou $150

Mr & Mrs Souleles $150

Mr & Mrs Tsanis & Family $150

Anonymous $150

Anonymous $150

TOTAL AMOUNT $ 85550

RAFFLE TICKET WINNERSPrize Winners

1st Prize Return Ticket to Greece donated by Cynthia TheoDonated by Mr L. Polyviou – Kyrenia Travel Ticket Number: 9947

2nd Prize Two return Tickets to the Gold Coast G. DeiddaTicket Number: 304

3rd Prize 51cm colour TV Elpis BollasDonated by the Ladies Auxilliary Ticket Number: 0298

4th Prize Microwave Oven Anastasia ParasirisDonated by Mr & Mrs Madouris Ticket Number: 5195

5th Prize National CD Player Nicolas Zafiriou

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 17/35

Food & Wine

JULY 2007

Food Poisoning:

a colourful historyBy Imogen Coward and Taliésin Coward

Roses are red, dilly dillyviolets are blue,

arsenic is green*, and not good for you...

Fantasy novels, like historical novels can be amost curious source of culinary information.Intriguing scraps are tossed to the reader, invit-ing an exploration into the past accompaniedby intense rummaging through referencebooks and web-pages in a hunt to discoverwhere the truth ends and the fantasy begins.Take, for instance the bright green pepperminthumbugs offered to people on ‘hogswatchnight’ by Lord Downey in Terry Pratchett’sDiscworld fantasy novel series. For those notfamiliar with the books, Lord Downey is headof the assassins guild and the peppermint hum-bugs he gives out are (in the novels) suspectedof being poisonous, largely because of theirpretty green colour. The suspicions in thenovel allude to the arsenic compound copperarsenite, a toxic pigment invented in the late18th century that was used, among otherthings, as a green food colouring in sweets.

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were atime of great discovery and invention withmany new pigments coming into being. It wasalso a time when competition between confec-tioners rose to new heights. Once regarded aspurely medicinal foods sold only by apothe-caries, sweets had passed through the phase ofbeing the exotic food of the upper classes, tobecome popular treats desired by the masses.

Industrialisation allowed confectioners to pro-duce more sweets than ever before. With this,though, also came the cutting of corners byunscrupulous manufacturers to raise profitsand/or attempt to price rival confectioners outof the market.

The tales of cocoa powder being added to withpowdered brick are perhaps unsurprising.More shocking though are the other additiveswhich some manufacturers resorted in theirbid for prettier, brighter, more handsomesweets and a larger share of the market. The1820 Treatise on the Adulterations of Food byFrederick Accum suggests, among otherthings, that the red colour in sweets was com-monly achieved with red lead (toxic wheningested and resulting in the poisoned persondeveloping a greyish hue). Indeed, accordingto the modern sweets history writer, TimRichardson, the use of toxic compounds ofmercury, copper, lead and arsenic (such a pret-ty green) were quite widespread and theprospect of accidental poisoning from sweetswas very real. One example on record is thepoisoning, in 1850, of two girls who became illafter eating sweets which contained arsenic.

The use of toxic ingredients in the 18th and19th centuries though was not restricted tocolourings. Publicans were sometimes knownto adulterate beer and enhance its intoxicatingeffects with cocculus indicus, a toxicfruit/berry. Accum’s 1820 treatise also men-tions a near-fatal episode of corner cutting thatoccurred when Cherry-laurel leaves were usedas a substitute for almond essence, resulting in

two children who consumed the food beingrendered unconscious for ten hours.

The fears over what is added to our food per-sists and, in our modern age of pre-packagedfood and rainbow coloured sweets, barely amonth goes by without one of the commercialTV stations 6.30pm infotainment programsoffering up a piece on food additives . Moreoften than not, the target is food colourings andflavour enhancers and the links to allergies andbad behaviour, especially in young children.Although in the past, as the Terry Pratchettnovels reflect, the history of food additives hasbeen both colourful and dangerous, fortunate-ly for us, in Australia there are quite stringentcontrols over what additives may be used infoods, restricting them to those which are gen-erally believed to be reasonably safe forhuman consumption.

Information on current food standards inAustralia (and New Zealand) can be found atwww. fsanz.gov.au (then follow the appropri-ate links). The books listed below offerinsights into the fascinating world of food his-tory, food additives and the history of sweets.

Reay Tannahill Food in History (London,Review, 2002)Felipe Fernandez-Armesto Food: A History(London, Pan, 2002)Tim Richardson Sweets: A History ofTemptation (London, Bantam, 2003)

* refers to copper arsenite or “Scheele’sGreen”, a pigment invented in 1775 the histor-ical uses of which include colouring sweets

���

Haselgrove Sovereign SeriesSemillon Sauvignon Blanc, 2006

So pale is the colour of this drop that youcould almost mistake the wine for water.One sniff of the citrus-y, fresh aromas andthe grassy after-note though would soon setyou right. A well balanced blend of semillonand sauvignon blanc characteristics, this

wine has a slightlybuttery mouth-feelwith grassy-ness andacidity providing alift. The finish isclean and refreshingwith no cloying ef-fect. Enjoy it chilled.

Cost: under $15

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 18/36JULY 2007

Travel Amorgos: home to the improbable and impractical

We leave Amorgos in an hour. There’s justenough time to revisit Minoa, which we firstapproached at twilight two days previouslyafter a long hike from Arkesini, further to thewest. Minoa, Arkesini and Aegiali (about 20kmto the northeast) were the island’s three majorcities from the Archaic period (7-6th centuriesBC) until the Roman era.

On that first occasion, we managed to read alittle about the site on the information board atthe entrance before the light faded. We learnedthat traces have been found there of a lateneolithic settlement from as early as the 4thmillennium BC but that it is the Hellenistic city,dating from the 4th century BC, that is of mostinterest. Included among buildings alreadyexcavated and identified are a temple to Apollo,a gymnasium, a theatre and a temple toDionysus Minoitis. Also, there is a Roman cis-tern and of particular interest to my travellingcompanion Tom and myself, a finely preservedwater-borne latrine.

Our first trip together, over 20 years ago, wasto Kenya, where we were unlikely consultantson an unlikely project, to determine the marketpotential there for latrines - pit and water-borne.We can bore people very quickly on the sub-ject. But this time there was nobody to tell andnight had fallen. And we could not have gotinto the site in any case because excavations areongoing and it is out of bounds. We walkedround the city walls in starlight and imaginedhow formidable they must have been whenapproached from the sea.

Now, two days later, with just an hour left onthe island, we are back. An ouzo and biscuitsparty is underway in a bamboo shelter at theedge of the site. We are called over. And wequickly realise we have got lucky. Taking abreak is a delightful team of enthusiasticarchaeologists led by Lily Marangou and herformer student George Gavalas. “You spent along time looking at the archaeological collec-tion in Hora yesterday, didn’t you?” saysGeorge. “I saw you.” Within minutes, he is tak-ing us round the site. It is all fascinating but forus, of course, nothing more so than the latrine,a well-appointed four-seater in a room that wasonce plastered and decorated in red, yellow andgreen. Apparently, the structure was discoveredby 19th-century traveller Theodore Bent, but hedid not know what it was. Archaeologist LRossactually peered inside and thought he was look-ing at fortification walls. It was none other thanLily herself, we learn, who excavated them.She is rightly proud of the discovery and wecongratulate her warmly, all set to surprise herwith our specialist knowledge. But she hasmore important things to discuss. She wants toknow if we have been to the Old Tower atArkesini. No, we haven’t. No? Well, why not?she scolds. “It’s the most important monumenton the island.”

An ancient site is a good place to start on thismost easterly Cycladic island. There have beensome extraordinary finds already and muchmore is likely to be on the way. We knowAmorgos was settled from at least the 4th mil-lennium BC and prehistoric cemeteries haveyielded ceramics, fine metalwork and Cycladicmarble figurines, including the largest early(2800-2300BC) such statue found so far. Fromthe Classical era onwards there is archaeologi-cal and documentary evidence that piecestogether a good part of the island’s story fromthen until now. Of particular cultural interest isthe fact that the 7th century BC iambic satiristSimonides (born on Samos) came to live here.He had much to say about the women of theisland, both flattering (the best is like a queenbee) and not (the flaws of women he knew arecompared to less admirable species of ani-mals). The women may also have been behind

their island’s name. We know that in the 5-4thcenturies BC they were weaving fine transpar-ent “Amorgean tunics”, often dyed purple,from the local amorgos flax. The export trade inthem thrived. The glory of Classical and Hellenistic Amorgosmarked the zenith of the island’s development.Afterwards, as elsewhere in the Cyclades, it fellunder Frankish and Ottoman control and wasthe frequent target of piracy until the 18th cen-tury when agriculture and trade once moreflourished. Piracy, though, did strike one moretime before Greek independence, whenManiots under Captain Stekoulis carried out aparticularly brutal raid in 1797. Those days,thankfully, are now long gone and we touristsare the only pirates to come visiting.

On the rocks

Arriving at night, the boat often calls in firstat the port of Aegiali before running in a south-westerly direction along the coast, skirtinground the islet of Nikouria (a former lepercolony), before rounding the headland whichshelters the bay of Katapola. This gives you asense of Amorgos’length (about 29 kilometres)but not its width. Together with Folegandros, itis one of the narrowest of the main Cycladicislands, only 2.5 kilometres across at one point,and its shoreline is mostly sheer and rocky. Androcks, on Amorgos, are used in the most imag-inative ways.

Dominating the old Kastro area of Hora, theisland’s capital that hides in the mountainsabove Katapola, is a rock that is 64m high andfor over 1,500 years one side of it has beenhome to the Keraleousa church. Exactly how ishard to say. Attached, wedged, divinelyglued.... “Improbable,” says Tom in admira-tion. But this will prove to be merely an aperi-tif for the island’s most famous Christian shrinewhich is to be found hanging onto cliffs belowthe Hora.

The legend is that Hozoviotissa was notalways where it is now. People in the 8-9th cen-turies were more sensible but less fortunatethan those who came after. They built at a lowerlevel, but their church was destroyed and thetools were miraculously removed to a higherand far more inaccessible spot which was,according to a document signed much later in1583 by Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II “theGreat”, a site “once considered by the locals aninaccessible ‘God-forsaken place’.” The chiselof the master builder was found inserted intothe rock where the monastery should be built (itis said to be the one on display in the chapeltoday). Next, one of those unmanned boatswith just an icon on board appeared and thisparticular icon of the Virgin Mary allegedlycame from Hozova in Palestine. God had spo-ken.

And so the new monastery of Hozoviotissawas founded by Alexis Comnenus I ofByzantium in the 11th century and it is stillclinging to those same vertical cliffs today at a

present height of 45m and a width of just 4.6m,with seven levels and three monks. Windowsstare out at the Aegean, all different sizes andirregularly spaced, and two huge buttressesseem to have taken on the responsibility ofmaking sure it doesn’t all come tumblingdown. Quite simply, off its rocker. One of themaddest-looking buildings I have ever seen.“Impressively impractical,” is Tom’s assess-ment.

Being a monastery, practicality is hardly theissue. But formality is. There are signs at thebottom of the paved steps leading up toHozoviotissa reminding visitors of the discrim-inatory dress code. The wording is a littleambiguous but the essence of it is that menneed to wear trousers but women mustn’t.Entrance is through a low marble door frame,and a staircase beyond leads to the upper levels.At the top of the stairs is a minder for themonks whose task is to enforce the clothingrules. Once in his line of sight, you don’t nor-mally make it beyond the first two steps in thewrong attire. For people dressed appropriatelymore steps lead up via more levels to the chapelat the top. It is rather a wonderful little sanctu-ary, with its icons and treasures and incense andone of the monks is stationed there to explain alittle about the monastery’s history. Outside is aterrace that can make you feel quite dizzy if youlean over the edge and look down into thewaters of the Aegean, rather a long way below.

Next stop is a reception room, the walls hungwith portraits of former monks (and militaryleaders), where visitors are given a glass of thelocal honey and raki liqueur and a loukoumi.Then comes the descent. And since there isonly that one narrow staircase leading up fromthe bottom level, there can be some waitingtime. The monk’s minder has to act like a cuck-oo clock. Out he pops to the top of the stairs togive the same old message, politely, to yetanother incorrectly dressed visitor, and back hecomes into the waiting room, slapping his fore-head and rolling his eyes to vent his frustration.Out he pops, back he comes. But now, as wewait, he pops out for a long time. An unholyargument is in progress in Greek. He is facingup to some irate women who have just exhaust-ed themselves climbing the steps from theirtour bus and have no intention of not seeing themonastery. Back he comes, at last, and beckonsfor us to go down, evidently still unaware ofjust what he is up against. We descend to findthe stairs blocked and we don’t know where tolook. Four steps below us a woman hasremoved her trousers and her husband (pre-sumably) is removing his shirt so she can wrapit round her thighs and pass it off as a skirt. Weedge past and leave them to it.

Hora and beyond

Amorgos’ Hora is one of the best-preservedcapitals in the Cyclades (thanks in large part,we are told, to Lily Marangou’s efforts) and oneof the pleasures of being on the island is to get

lost in its quiet alleys, designed with foresightnot just to keep out pirates but cars and motor-bikes as well. Originally built as a retreat fromthe men of the black sails, the medieval part ofthe town centres round the Kastro rock with theimprobable church, a warren of arches and pas-sages and thick stone walls. Not far below isLoza, the main square, its cafes shaded fromthe morning sun by a large eucalyptus tree, thetraditional blues and whites interrupted by thesurprise of a green door or a wall of purplebougainvillea. And from there the streetsspread out in a maze of steps and corridors fullof barrel-vaulted churches and houses with ironbalustrades and whitewashed walls that seemto bubble from all the little indentations thatmark this style of Cycladic building. Are thesepurely decorative or do they act as a kind ofcooling system? And for how long have theybeen ‘traditional’? Lily would know.

One day, we walk from Hora viaHozoviotissa Monastery to Aegiali. It looksimpressive on the map, a route that probablycovers half the island and follows its spinealong the narrowest section. And it is impres-sive, not least because you walk beneath thelimestone ridge that runs down from MountProphet Elijah (698m) and cross over from oneside of the island to the other. This is the bestway to get an idea of how steep and narrow thisold island is and why, in antiquity, Aegiali musthave seemed so independent of the other citystates - Arkesini and Minoa. It is quite a trek,the path winding and uneven.

The sun is already going back down into thesea when we meet a couple of cheerfulgoatherds. Where have you come from, theyask. Hora. How long did it take? Oh, about anhour, we reply. They grin. In that case, it’ll onlytake you another ten minutes to get to Aegiali!Off they go, chuckling. It will take us a goodhour-and-a-half.

Twilight restores the richness of colour to theland and sharpens the contours of the LittleCyclades, the islands that lie to our north-westacross a pool of calm water. On evenings likethis, it is easy to forget how treacherous the seacan be and what a long and turbulent historythese empty hills have witnessed. We leave thepath and go cross country towards the distantchurch of St Mamas and from there into tidyPano Potamos which leads down, via manysteps, into the charming little port of Aegiali. The second time we have been here. And thesecond time at night. We really ought to see itin daylight.

Next time. Because with one hour left on theisland, over ouzo and biscuits, Lily Marangouhas extracted a promise that there will be a nexttime. It is very important to visit the Old Towerat Arkesini, she repeats, when we try and failonce again to get in a word about our ownexpertise in latrines. “So what happenedthere?” we ask. “Everything,” says Lily,“though we don’t know yet exactly what.”

ATHENS NEWS

LEFT: A view of ancient Arkesini, one of the island’s three major cities from the Archaic period until the Roman era. MIDDLE: A large eucalyptustree shades Loza Square’s cafes from the morning sun. RIGHT: Hora is one of the best-preserved island capitals in the Cyclades

JULY 2007 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 19/37

A walking robot that adapts to different terrain is helpingscientists understand how humans move and could one daylead to improved treatment for spinal cord and otherinjuries, German researchers said recently.

Previously, RunBot the robot’s inventors said the 30-centime-tre-tall machine could only walk forward on flat surfaces andwould topple over when encountering a slope.

But using an infrared eye, the robot can now detect an inclinein its path and adjust its gait after four or five attempts to navi-gate up the slope, researchers said. The machine, which simplyfalls over until it learns to walk uphill, takes 3-4 stride lengthsper second, a touch faster than the normal human gait of about1.5 to 2.5 stride lengths per second.

“It is trial and error learning,” said Florentin Woergoetter, aresearcher at the University of Goettingen who helped designRunBot.

“It needs about four or five falls to learn this.”Woergoetter, who published his findings in the journalComputational Biology, compared the process with the way achild learns to walk. He said just like humans, RunBot leans

forward slightly and uses shorter steps to navigate uphill.A key is the robot’s “brain” - in this case the infrared eye con-

nected to the control circuits - which directs the machine tochange its gait when needed. Previous research suggests themotor control system in humans consists of a hierarchy of lev-els where interactions between muscles and the spinal cordwork largely on their own until a higher level of control - thebrain - is needed. This relationship can help explain how someparaplegics are able to use their legs on a treadmill while sus-pended in a harness, and was key to the research, Woergoettersaid. Studying a robot to gain a better understanding of how dif-ferent parts of the body work when walking could have practi-cal applications to improve health care for humans, he added.

This could include designing better prosthetics for amputeesor helping therapists work with patients with spinal cord andother severe injuries with a goal of getting them mobile again.“The robot is essentially a model of the human biped walking

and can be used to improve understanding and for better treat-ment methods,” Woergoetter said.

REUTERS

Walking robot offers clues to human movement

The loss of at least 4,000 hectares of forestin two days last week is an environmentaldisaster that we are unlikely to make up inthe next generation. Half of that grim tallyconsisted of pine and shrubs in the south-ern reaches of Mount Pelion, which caneventually recover. The forest that burnedon Parnitha, however, consisted of firs overa century old.

Firs are notoriously slow growers, and onlythrive in the shade and humidity provided bya vanguard. Forestry experts who havelearned from a reforestation experiment atMount Mainalo in the Peloponnese say that intoday’s warming climate, it will be very diffi-cult to resurrect Parnitha.

The tragedy of Parnitha is that it was a badlystrategised and narrowly lost battle.Firefighters were called to Dervenohoria onthe evening of June 27 to extinguish a rela-tively small blaze, possibly caused by a powertransformer, but their pump was broken. Asecond vehicle was unable to put out the firebefore nightfall and high winds whipped it outof control. The fire brigade then allowed thefire to gallop across 15 kilometres of forest,reaching the Parnitha National Park.Residents had been doing a better job withshovels and branches, the Dervenohoriamayor suggests.

The fire brigade is not the only one to blame,however. The interior, development and pub-lic order ministries and their respective serv-ices revealed disgraceful malcoordination andbureaucratic jealousy.

Parnitha was perhaps condemned on thesecond day of the fire by a bizarre decision,according to Public Order Minister VyronPolydoras, not to deploy water-scoopingplanes for fear that they should disrupt thepower supply by shedding their loads onhigh-voltage lines. The Public PowerCorporation declares that it shut down powerto those lines, but the fire brigade says it wasnever informed.

Pelion, too, might have been saved, but wasdeprived of firefighting planes in the criticalearly hours because those had been dis-patched to a blaze at Agia in Thessaly.

Greece needs to come to terms with the factthat we are becoming a warmer, more highlyinflammable planet. In this environment, themeasure of the fire brigade’s effectivenesswill be the periods of high stress on resources. Last week was a case in point. The firebrigade answered calls to over 1,300 forest

fires in June, but 317 of them started duringthe three days of the June 26-28 heatwave,when temperatures touched 46 degreesCelsius. Any one of them might have devel-oped into a major conflagration.

If the country is to deal effectively with itshotter future, substantial new measures needto be taken in fire detection, prevention andextinction.

Other Mediterranean countries have suc-cessfully installed extensive networks of heatsensors and cameras in forests that alert themto fires. Pasok toyed with such a system in thelate 1980s, and the idea is making a come-back. The municipality of Omiroupoli onChios is installing a system in the autumn.Today Greece has vastly improved infrastruc-ture to monitor such information; its quarter-of-a-billion-euro Olympic security system isdesigned to feed information from remotesensors to command bunkers. We should takeadvantage of this with a pilot scheme inforests that lie near cities.

Prevention is perhaps the most neglected,and important, stage. Building and maintain-ing fire breaks and clearing the forest floor oftinder are unglamorous jobs that used to bedone by interested locals, who also reapedfree firewood. The budget for such work to betaken over by contractors is nonexistent.

A bureaucratic problem is about to be addedto the budgetary one. Earlier this yearPolydoras announced the reinstatement of theforestry service for fire prevention but notextinction. The service has always beenunderfunded. For two decades it has fought alosing battle with the fire brigade to maintainits firefighting jurisdiction. It lost Attica in thelate 1980s and the rest of Greece in 1998. It isnow unlikely to relish the role of second fid-dle to its nemesis. Since city fire brigadesunderstand forests less well than the firebrigade, an attempt to amalgamate the twoforces seems in order.

Underinvestment in prevention is particular-ly unjustified in light of the fact that 24 mil-lion European Union euros earmarked for for-est protection in the 2000-2007 financial per-spective was left untouched by Greece.

Effective extinction is a matter of time.Unchecked early on, fires pick up speed, tem-perature and size to the point where they liter-ally cannot be fought. In such cases the fireusually has to be ambushed at the next fire-break or road, but even such a defensive lineis not guaranteed to hold.

In order to be effective, therefore, the fire

brigade must invest in its ability to respond inthe early moments of a fire. Although Greecehas one of the biggest fleets of water-scoop-ing aircraft globally, recent experience hasshown that twenty-two Canadairs aided byhelicopters are no longer enough to servicethe country in summer. Last September,planes were again in short supply duringsimultaneous large-scale fires in Halkidikiand Mani, because some had been dispatchedto control blazes in the Ionian.

Expanding the firefighting fleet is not cheap.Canadair CL-415 planes cost almost as muchas an F16 fighter jet - about 35 million euros.One alternative to consider is the RussianBeriev Be-200. At 40 million euros it is bettervalue for money, because it can drop 12tonnes of water at once - twice as much as theCanadair.

Perhaps the most important measure for

Greece, though, is reforestation and afforesta-tion of barren hillsides. With annual losses agiven (they have averaged 4,700 hectares ayear in the first five years of this century)playing defence is a losing strategy. Aninvestment of 5,000 hectares a year in newgrowth would bring us even. Double or triplethat investment would reverse past losses andcontribute significantly to Greece’s Kyotocommitment to combat greenhouse gases.

New Democracy should start planning now.The hillsides around Athens are more barethan wooded. Fresh water is available fromthe sewage treatment plant in Psyttaleia, cur-rently being dumped into the sea. After WorldWar Two, two people showed what could bedone when they turned the hillsides aroundKaisariani Monastery into a paradise. Thestate cannot do less.

ATHENS NEWS

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Greeks are still reeling from the loss of atleast 4,000 hectares of forest across thecountry, including most of ParnithaNational Park, the capital's largest greenexpanse.

"I was sitting by my window which framesParnitha and watching all this burn. I havewalked through Parnitha often, so I could tellwhich bit was burning," says AntigoneChanialakis, a civil servant living in the moun-tainous Athenian suburb of Pendeli, whoseinhabitants enjoyed exclusive views of thecatastrophe. She, like many Greeks, gives littlecredence to government assurances of rapidreforestation.

"Other forest fires have burned much ofAttica, but what the locals and I said to eachother was at least they have not burnedParnitha. Now even this disaster has takenplace," she tells the Athens News. In Pelion too, the fire had devastating effects.

According to the area's prefect, ApostolosPapatollias, "This is the biggest catastrophethat the forest wealth of Pelion has suffered inthe last two decades." "It is still too early for accurate counts, but by

our first rough estimates around four to fivethousand hectares have burned down inParnitha," WWF's Costas Liarikos tells theAthens News. The authorities are still investi-gating the causes of the fire but it appears thedevastation resulted from human errors, omis-sions and communication failures. A stroke ofbad luck also played its part.

"The fire started underneath an electricitypylon in the late afternoon. It was a small fire,and the locals had almost managed to extin-guish it when a fire engine arrived," KleanthisPanagiotidis, mayor of Dervenohoria that lies

at the foot of Parnitha, 80km north of Athens,tells the Athens News. According to Panagiotidis the locals retreated

to let the fire engine take over, but it turned outthat its pump was broken. "Another fire enginecame along with two aeroplanes and a helicop-ter but by that time the fire had become moreferocious. However, by sunset we were almostthere yet again. But the sun went down, and theplanes could no longer drop water. If we hadanother half an hour of daylight, none of thiswould have happened," says Panagiotidis. "Icannot believe that this has happened, nor theway it has happened," he says.

Partly the blame can also be laid on theForestry Service. "The Parnitha ForestryService had taken most of the measures thatWWF asked for," Liarikos tells the AthensNews. But Panagiotidis stresses that theThebes Forestry Service, whose area of respon-sibility borders the Parnitha national forest, hadnot taken any measures.

As a result, the fire burned through largetracts of land with low-lying vegetation, gath-ered strength from the strong winds and movedon to areas that were much harder to access.

The Fire Department told the Athens Newsthat eventually 51 fire engines carrying 130firefighters, 78 firefighters on foot, 300 sol-diers, two aeroplanes and two helicopters weremobilised in order to put the blaze under con-trol. They did not manage to do so until the lateafternoon of July 3. The Parnitha blaze was the biggest of around

317 fires reported across the country betweenJune 26 and June 28 and stretched emergencyforces to their limits. The fires broke out at thetail-end of a weeklong heatwave and left twopeople dead.

ATHENS NEWS

What went wrong?Many Greeks are devastated by the loss of the capital's largest forest. While

the catastrophe is still being investigated, its principal turns are emerging

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