Just two weeks before Christmas, Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, the Secretary General Of Public Diplomacy & Hellenes Abroad and the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, have sent messages of solidarity to the diaspora highlighting the important role of Hellenes abroad to the sustenance of the language and culture.
Read the full messages below:
Kostas Vlasis
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Greece
“2020 is coming to an end and it is definitely a year that will be engraved in the memory of Greeks everywhere, but also of all Mankind, as it was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused huge losses at all levels. We have been tested and we continue to be tested, but the arrival of vaccines gives us hope for a return to normalcy, for a safer and more secure tomorrow.
“During this ordeal, the Greeks of the Diaspora, all of you who honour Hellenism in distant lands, have always been on our minds and that is why we have taken important initiatives in order to maintain and strengthen the ties between us. The difficult situation proved in practice that when we are united, we are capable of great achievements, but at the same time it was the springboard to make progress in areas that will strengthen in practice the relationship of Ecumenical Hellenism with Greece.
“On the occasion of the holidays of Christmas and New Year, I wholeheartedly wish from the bottom of my heart to Greeks everywhere that 2021 will be a year full of health, prosperity and hope for our Homeland and for each of you personally“
Ioannis Chrysoulakis
General secretary Of Public Diplomacy & Hellenes Abroad
In an exclusive message to The Greek Herald, Mr Chrysoulakis thanks Australia’s Greek Community for their patience and solidarity:
“This year has been a period of hardship for everyone. We have seen the pandemic limit us, keep us away from relatives and friends, shrink our professional activity and take away the lives of our fellow human beings.
“On the other hand, 2020 was a year of responsibility for the protection of our personal health and the health of our loved ones, a year of solidarity with all those affected by the pandemic, but also a year of hope and optimism for the tireless efforts of scientists, including many our compatriots, in dealing successfully and definitively with this invisible enemy.
“I would like to warmly congratulate the readers of “The Greek Herald”, and on this occasion all the members of the Greek community in Australia, for the patience, endurance, understanding and the sense of social responsibility and solidarity they showed.
“I am deeply convinced that Greeks everywhere will continue the new year united to face the negative consequences of the pandemic through collective action and social solidarity. I wish “the Light of Knowledge” that will rise in a few days, to illuminate the lives of all of us“.
George Papakostas
Ambassador of Greece to Australia
“In view of the Christmas and New Year holidays, I have the great pleasure to address to all of you, the Greeks abroad of Australia, my warmest wishes. I would like to express my deepest appreciation and admiration for the progress you have made in all areas in your new homeland, while maintaining your national identity and your love for Greece.
“At the same time, you are a valuable bridge between Australia and Greece, contributing decisively to the strengthening and further promotion of bilateral ties at all levels.
In the shadow of the pandemic that creates new problems worldwide, as well as the ongoing challenges against our national rights, the need to maintain ties between Greece and the Greek expatriates in Australia is urgent. The mobilization of all the forces of Hellenism and the national solidarity are necessary to move forward in the new era that is emerging before us.
“In order to succeed in this environment, we Greeks, must rely on our history, traditions, our Christian faith and the preservation of our language.With the certainty that your efforts will continue for the promotion of Greece and the transmission of our traditional virtues to the new generations. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with health, prosperity and family happiness“.
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