A general strike in response to Greece’s rail disaster last month escalated into a clash between protesters and authorities yesterday, according to a report by AP News.
While there were no reports of injuries or arrests, gasoline bombs were thrown at the police cordon.
AP News says riot police responded to the “brief flare” that distributed the peaceful demonstrations with tear gas and sound grenades.
Protests were demonstrated across Greece, with the main protests held in the capital Athens and Thessaloniki where thousands chanted “this crime will not be forgotten” as they reached a police cordon outside a private rail operator.
A spokeswoman for main leftist opposition party Syriza, told private Skai television during the protest, “This government has had four years to fix problems with the rail network, but instead of owning up to that responsibility, they are blaming everyone else”.
Strikes by Labor unions in Greece following a rail disaster last month have disrupted public transport and extensively disrupted services, with protests in cities across Greece planned later Thursday.Photo:Petros Giannakouris)
Hellenic Train Payments
The train responsible for the deaths of 57 people on Feb 28th, Hellenic Train, announced on Wednesday it will provide advance payments to the victim’s families, including those who passed and are injured.
The company said it would overpay 42,000 euros to the families of the passengers killed and 10,000 euros to the passengers injured and still being treated, while those who have been discharged will get a sum of 5,000 euros.
According to Ekathimerini, Hellenic Trains said the payments, “In no way constitutes an acceptance of liability on the part of the company,” and that the sums given “exceed the minimum obligations foreseen for rail companies by European Reguation 1371/2007 for the rights and obligations of passengers and railway lines.”
The Third Sunday of Lent in the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ.
On this day, members of the Greek Orthodox faith are reminded of the Passion of the Lord and get prepared for the commemoration of the Crucifixion during Holy Week.
The religious day is marked with the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, which is preceded by the Matins service.
Icon Of The Commemoration
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, a special service is held. The Cross is placed on a tray surrounded by basil or daffodils and is taken in solemn procession through the church.
The tray is placed on a table before the people who, together with the priest, chant: “We venerate Your Cross, O Christ, and Your holy Resurrection we glorify.”
Afterwards, people come and venerate the Cross and receive flowers or basil from the priest.
Liberal candidate for Parramatta, Katie Mullens, has welcomed the announcement that a re-elected NSW Liberal Government will invest $200,000 over four years into the running of the Let’s Go Greek Festival in Parramatta.
“This is a wonderful initiative for the Greek community in Parramatta and across New South Wales,” Ms Mullens said.
“It is only the Perrottet Liberal Government that continues to invest in people, enhancing local communities and celebrating diversity in Parramatta in beyond.”
NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure, said the commitment represents the NSW Liberal Government’s belief in supporting communities across the state to celebrate their culture with everyone.
“The Greek community certainly knows how to bring people from all walks of life together, and this festival is a perfect example of that,” Mr Coure said.
“We are proud to help the Greek community celebrate such a vibrant culture and share it with $50,000 a year for four years.”
Let’s Go Greek Festival organiser John Bris welcomed the announcement.
“This investment ensures we can continue to deliver a remarkable event that brings everyone together to celebrate all things Greek in the heart of Parramatta,” Mr Bris said.
“Each year, this one-day festival attracts over 35,000 people, and we look forward to continuing to share the best that Greek culture and cuisine have to offer.”
The Let’s Go Greek Festival is an initiative of the St Ioannis Greek Orthodox Church at Parramatta, and is held annually on church grounds.
Speaking with The Greek Herald, members on the new executive committee of Canberra’s Hellenic Youth Club reveal what it means to be Greek.
From honouring their migrant grandparents’ legacy, to feeling proud about their Greek ancestors inventing democracy and the Olympics – this is what they had to say.
Christopher Karavasilis – President
To me, being Greek means a lot of things. From the amazing people and delightful culture, to the amazing country we call home, Greece. Greece has one of the richest, most intricate, most complex and most vividly told historical narratives of all countries, which is why Greek history is crucial to understand. When I meet someone new and they ask me what my background is, I am proud to say that I am of Greek ancestry! Growing up as a Greek, I had the chance to master the Greek language, master the art of Greek dancing and form relationships and connections with other Greeks both domestically and abroad. For a myriad of reasons, I feel a sense of duty to keep Greece’s culture alive and I value being Greek tremendously.
Olivia Kambouris – Vice President
To be Greek is to be proud of where you come from and proud to be in a country like Australia that nurtures our diverse cultural identity. My pride in being Greek comes from my grandparents. Growing up as a witness to what their generation has built for the Australian Greek community will forever embody what it means to me to be Greek. I am indebted to their sacrifice and resilience that two generations later I feel so strongly connected to a country 13,000 kilometres away from where I was born. I have been given a gift to call both Greece and Australia home and feel it is my responsibility to keep the legacy of all those before us alive through our food, music, dancing, religion, history and cultural traditions. I know what it means to be Greek because of my grandparents. Because of them, the Greek spirit will never die.
Phoebe Sofatzis – Secretary
To be Greek is to celebrate and promote the rich ethnic history that has founded a large portion of modern global architecture, language and academia while ensuring the continuation of this culture for future generations. To be a part of this heritage is to connect through shared cultural experiences with other Greek people and partake in the contemporary ways we celebrate the Greek way of life. Some of the most notable cultural gatherings that our Hellenic Youth Club and the Canberra Greek community facilitate are bouzouki nights, church feast days and music-centric events, which always include an abundance of food, faith and fraternity. Especially in such a diverse country like Australia, to be Greek means to foster community in order to sustain our cultural legacy.
Ioannis Apostolakis – Treasurer
Greek heritage serves as a pillar for modern international culture, engineering and literature. Ancient Greek developments form some of the fundamentals which underpin our global societies. From the establishment of democracy, the governing principle of the modern free world, to the introduction of arguably the greatest competition which unites the globe, the Olympics. The English language contains over 150,000 words derived from the Greek language, and let us not forget our delicious cuisine! To be Greek means to uphold this remarkable history. My parents and grandparents foster the traits of our great ancestors of pride, bravery, resilience, community and hospitality, which have been ingrained in me. The Canberra Greek community is one of the strongest in Australia, and the Hellenic Youth Club aims to promote our rich culture by bringing all people together through our various functions and events. I am extremely proud to be able to promote our beautiful culture.
AHEPA NSW Inc, in cooperation with Βayside Council, are celebrating Greek Independence Day this year with an event on Friday, March 17.
The celebration will start with a flag raising ceremony in the Forecourt of Bayside Council (behind Rockdale Town Hall on Bryant Street, Rockdale) from 6pm.
Past AHEPA NSW Inc event. Photo: Facebook.
The brief ceremony will be followed by an official program at AHEPA NSW Hall at 394-396 Princes’ Highway, Rockdale from 7pm.
The event will include performances by students of Earlwood Public School and the Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney Dancers.
Karvelas said having been an Indigenous affairs reporter as a non-Aboriginal person for many years, she recognises the complexity of the position.
Picture: Aaron Francis.
She now strongly believes “that we must have Aboriginal Australians in the driver’s seat of reporting on their own communities” and stressed that the media should report the referendum debate fairly and hear a range of views on the issue.
“We don’t need to hear about Indigenous Australia always and only through the prism of white Australia,” the journalist said.
“Our job will be having a conversation that involves all of Australia and centres the voices and lives of Indigenous Australians.”
The Mayor of the Greek town of Gravena, Giorgos Dastamanis, has announced the development of a new geothermal energy system in the nearby village of Samarina.
The newly built geothermal energy system will melt the frequent and heavy snow that covers the main square at Samarina
Mr Dastamanis said Gravena has been implementing geothermal energy as part of public building renovation since 2017.
Project visualisation of the renovated square, Source: City of Gravena.
“Our goal now is to apply this ecological practice to the central square of Samarina, so that during the winter it is always passable and clean by de-icing its surface with geothermal energy, since the height of the snow reaches up to four meters sometimes,” he said.
Mr Dastamanis said the geothermal system is also supposed to help boost local and international tourism.
Abdul Karaali has been found guilty of the murder of 28-year-old Ross Houllis in Sydney over a pair of fake AirPods, Nine News has reported.
The guilty verdict was handed down on Thursday after lengthy deliberation by a jury at the NSW Supreme Court.
Mr Houllis was bashed on Valentine’s Day in 2020 at a Wakeley carpark after he was allegedly ambushed while trying to sell a set of fake Apple AirPod earphones he had listed on Facebook.
Karaali and another man allegedly bashed and stomped on Houllis in the carpark.
Karaali was the second man to be charged over the attack preceding Mr Houllis’ death. He is due to return to court on March 31.
Archaeologists say that a shipwreck found near the Greek region of Halkidiki likely belongs to the 1821 Greek Revolution.
According to a report by Ekathimerini, the shipwreck was stumbled upon by divers last summer in the sea off Fourka in Halkidiki.
The shipwreck includes two cannons and a 1.5 metre long rifle on its wooden hull.
One of the cannons discovered at the shipwreck in Halkidiki. Credit: AMNA
It is believed the ship dates back to the late 18th and early 19th century and possible played a role in the Greek Revolution, specifically the uprising of Halkidiki.
Archaelogists have been researching the shipwreck since November 2022 and presented their findings at the annual archaeological meeting for the 2022 excavations in Macedonia and Thrace.
The meeting was organised by the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Thessaloniki and the Greek Culture Ministry.
The Joint Justice Initiative will host an event at the Australian Parliament House on Monday, March 20 from 6pm to commemorate the centenary of the Smyrna Catastrophe.
The event, which was postponed last year due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, will be held at the Dorothy Tangney Alcove room.
Members from Joint Justice Initiative. From left: Haig Kayserian, Hermiz Shahen, and Panagiotis Diamadis.
There will be representatives of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, the Assyrian National Council – Australia and the Australian Hellenic Council in attendance.
The Smyrna Catastrophe is a solemn date marked in the calendar of many Greek Australians and the event will celebrate the three communities’ survival post the 1915 Genocide.
There will be cultural performances throughout the evening.
