By Takis Triadafyllou.
Sydney’s Cypriot community came together on Sunday, April 2 to honour the fallen heroes and heroines of the EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) struggle against British colonial rule from 1955 to 1959.
EOKA was an underground nationalist movement of Greek Cypriot freedom fighters dedicated to ending British colonial rule in Cyprus and to achieving the eventual union (Greek enosis) of Cyprus with Greece.
This year, the commemorations to mark the 68th anniversary of the start of the EOKA struggle were held at The Cyprus Club in the Sydney suburb of Stanmore from 3pm.
There were a number of officials guests in attendance including the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis; the Deputy Head of Mission at the Cyprus High Commission, Stavros Nicolaou; the President of the Cyprus Community of NSW, Andrew Costa; and the Co-Presidents of the Justice for Cyprus Co-ordinating Committee (SEKA NSW), Chris Koulinos and Dr Miranda Adamou; among many other representatives of local Cypriot and Greek organisations.
The event started with the singing of the National Anthems of Australia and Greece before Dr Adamou, who was the emcee, asked Mr Costa, Mr Nicolaou and Mr Koulinos to approach the stage individually to give speeches.
In his speech, Mr Costa gave a historical review of the EOKA struggle and stressed how the courage of the freedom fighters set an example for the younger generations of Cypriots today.
Mr Nicolaou drew tears from the audience with his powerful speech.
“This fight was a triumph of the human spirit and is proof of what people can achieve when united, when their cause is righteous and when their determination is unwavering,” Mr Nikolaou said.
Mr Koulinos also stressed how the historical events of the EOKA struggle will remain engraved in the collective memory of Cypriots around the world.
“They sacrificed so that our country could be free and strong. They left us a legacy for future generations. We honour them and do not forget them. Long live Cyprus,” Mr Koulinos said.
These official speeches were followed by poem recitals from three young Cypriots, as well as the viewing of a small documentary about freedom fighter Evagoras Pallikaridis.
Dr Adamou concluded the event by thanking everyone in attendance and inviting them to enjoy some light refreshments.
