Wildfires have reignited north of Athens as emergency service crews work around the clock across Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has blamed the nation’s wildfires on climate change as temperatures continue to soar to a 30-year high of above 40 degrees Celsius.
“If there are even few people who have reservations about whether climate change is real, I call on them to come here and see,” Mitsotakis said from Ilia, where the flames had threatened the World Heritage Site of Ancient Olympia.
“We are dealing with unprecedented conditions as many days of heatwave have turned the whole country into a powder keg,” Mitsotakis said in a televised address.
Wildfires surround the World Heritage Site of Ancient Olympia (Left:Giannis Spyrounis/ilialive.gr via AP) (Right: Reuters)
Ancient Olympia in the western Peloponnese narrowly dodged a wildfire overnight following the area’s mass evacuation and firefighting response.
Blazes have reignited over the Athens-Thessaloniki motorway and spread to five nearby suburbs and the Malakasa refugee camp.
The suburbs stretch no more than 45 kilometers north of the country’s capital and include Afidnes, Kryoneri, Kokkinovrahos, Ippokratios Politia, and Drosopigi.
More than 160 firefighters, three planes, three helicopters, five ground teams and 57 vehicles swooped south to the island of Evia on Tuesday.
Evacuations have carried out in dozens of towns and villages and houses have been destroyed.
More than 150 wildfires have burned thousands of acres of forest land across Greece since Tuesday.
Greek scientists say the total destruction in just three days this month in Greece exceeded 50 per cent of the average area burned in the country in previous years.
An Athens Observatory report says an estimated 6,000 hectares went up in smoke between Sunday and Wednesday, compared to 10,400 hectares in the whole of 2020.
The fires have not caused any deaths or serious injuries and while the cause of the wildfires remain unclear, authorities say human error and carelessness are most frequently to blame.
The situation in Greece has prompted international assistance from France, Sweden, and Romania.
The Greek Community of Melbourne in collaboration with White Ribbon Australia are proud and honoured to present a seminar on domestic violence awareness and prevention in Australia.
The keynote speaker of this seminar is public figure and domestic violence victim/ survivor, Ms. Simone O’Brien.
Simone’s journey started in 2012 when she suffered a horrific domestic violence attack at the hands of a perpetrator who would not take “no” for an answer. It started with emotional and psychological abuse, including telling lies, stealing money and insults. And it ended with her being beaten with a baseball bat to within inches of her life. Since then, Simone uses her personal story to show enormous determination, resilience, courage and strength.
“I want to champion non-violence against women and children. Together, let us stop domestic violence,” Simone states.
Simone actively raises awareness about domestic violence prevention with organisations such as AFL clubs, Australia’s CEO Challenge, and the Police.
In addition, Simone is a proud patron of several organisations including BeyondDV, Rizeup Australia, Australia say NO MORE, and Good360 Australia.
“We are very proud to be collaborating with White Ribbon Australia on this seminar. We thank Simone for sharing her journey with us and importantly offering us advice on how we can be part of the prevention as individuals, as an organisation and as a community,” Ms. Tammy Iliou, Vice-President of the GCM, stated.
“The GCM will continue to raise awareness on domestic violence and hopes for further collaboration with White Ribbon Australia. In addition, I would like to thank Ms. Penny Marangos, who is a Victorian Committee Board Member with White Ribbon Australia, for approaching the GCM and initiating our partnership.”
You can attend this free event that will be held on the 24th of August, 7pm at the Delphi Bank Mezz. Please register your attendance via Try booking. The event will be concurrently live streaming via social media.
Zoe Grigoris is an Adelaide based contemporary jeweller and artist. Her work is feminine and romantic and plays on ideas of daydreams, nostalgia and themes inspired by childhood memories and travels to Greece.
In between working in her studio space in Adelaide’s CBD and her visits to the JamFactory where she presents her first solo exhibition in this year’s South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival, Zoe sat down with The Greek Herald to discuss how she brings her heritage in her art and why creation is important in a fast-fashion and trend-led world.
Q: Zoe, tell us a bit about your Greek heritage and how it inspires your work?
A: Mum was born in Athens; her family are from the Peloponnese and Dad’s family are from Sparta. When I visited Greece, I was inspired by the artists I met while travelling – their work was really different to what I’d been taught at University, they had a more playful approach to technique which is something I’ve tried to bring into my own practice.
My work is inspired by nostalgia and memory, and growing up I loved playing with Yiayia’s jewellery box. I remember she had a pearl necklace that was strung together like lace, which inspired the technique I used to make my Springtime Necklace in my current exhibition.
Photo R: Jeweller and artist Zoe Grigoris and Photo L: Zoe’s Sprintime Necklace
Q: When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career as a jeweller?
A: I always wanted to work in the arts, I studied Drama at Flinders Uni before moving into Jewellery. I was drawn to the intimate nature of jewellery and the attention to fine detail – But it was when I started JamFactory’s associate training program that I realised I wanted to focus on building my career as a contemporary jeweller.
Q: What it is like being a jeweller in a fast-fashion and trend-led world?
A: I love fashion and feel inspired by well-made, creative design but I don’t pay too much attention to the whims of fast fashion. I’ve learnt the beauty of creating work that is timeless and doesn’t follow trends. I also feel a responsibility to produce pieces that can be passed down through generations and loved despite the ever-changing trends.
Q: What do you want people to feel when wearing your jewellery?
A: My work is very whimsical, so I hope they feel a sense of wonder and given that my pieces are often gifted or commissioned to commemorate a special moment, I hope that people attach their own memories to their unique piece.
Q: What is the most treasured item you have created so far and what makes it special?
A: I’ve made so many special pieces – but I think the engagement rings I’ve made for close friends have been the most treasured, especially the ones that were surprises.
Wedding rings created by Zoe Grigoris. Photo: Instagram/zoegrigoris
Q: You are currently presenting your first solo exhibition named ‘Social Medea’ what does it include?
A: I’ve made a collection of jewellery and wall-pieces which are accompanied by a short film by Steph Daughtry. Each piece is hand-made with my unique pattern.
The exhibition was inspired by the nostalgic ideals associated with jewellery and the way memory slips and transforms, it feels very magical and romantic.
Q: What is your advice to younger people who would like to follow in your footsteps?
A: I really believe in practice makes (almost) perfect, so if you have an affinity for art then continue to push your creative and technical skills and build your own aesthetic as an artist – sometimes you have to make a bunch of terrible things to reach something you’re really proud of.
To find out more about the South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival visit: www.salafestival.com
For many children the last two years with Covid restrictions have been challenging. Same for many parents and teachers.
It is difficult enough with one child at home let alone two or three or even more. High school students are somewhat easier to handle during the Lockdown as they are used to learning online by now and can do their work independently.
However, primary school aged children, especially lower primary children can be quite challenged as they cannot concentrate for long periods of time and especially in a Zoom class.
Most teachers have a very orderly Zoom classroom but the participation, or at least, the support from parents at home is absolutely necessary for young students.Most schools have a set number of hours with many ‘screen breaks’ in between for younger students.
Parents need to be aware that a ‘screen break’ means no watching TV or playing computer games during that time, to give children’s eyes a break from the screen. Otherwise, when they join the class after their break they are unsettled and tired.
Having healthy snacks and keeping to a normal routine is also very important.
Some after school activities, like ballet classes are still provided online by some very resourceful teachers. Many Community Language classes such as Greek are also running online in the afternoons or on Saturday mornings.
It is a good idea to continue with these classes so that your child does not lose touch with their fellow students, their teacher and their friends.
Many younger students need parental support to sit through and manage an online learning lesson, especially in Greek. Dedicated parents around Australia are giving up their own activities and time because they want their children to succeed in the language.
Next week is the last week this column will run and I give some good pointers to use with your children during lockdown.
*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer.
Read Eleni Elefterias’ column ‘Insight or Perspective’ in Greek, every Saturday in The Greek Herald’s print edition or get your subscription here.
In 2004, the Rio-Antirrio bridge was opened to the public, linking Central Greece to Peloponnese and drastically reducing travelling times for those crossing between the two regions.
Here are five facts you should to know about Greece’s modern engineering marvel:
1. The bridge connects the cities of Rio, a suburb near the city of Patra, to Antirrio, a small village that belongs to the Municipality of Etoloakarnania and is located southeast of Mesolloggi and southwest of Nafpaktos. That is how the structure received its unofficial name.
2. Its true name is the “Charilaos Trikoupis” bridge, given to it by the former President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias back in May 2007 during an event dedicated to its official reveal towards the public.
3. The length of the bridge is over 2,000 metres (2,252), which grows to an impressive 2,883 metres if the vehicle entrance and exit points are added. It is based of four pylons and has been built to remain sturdy even under the worst conditions, such as an earthquake that hits 7.4 on the Richter scale or a collision with a 180,000-tonne tanker.
The Rio-Antirrio bridge in Greece.
4. Despite its late delivery by the manufacturers, the bridge was in time to participate in the festivities for the 2004 Olympic Games. The torch-bearers crossed Rio-Antirrio on their way to Athens, putting this new marvel under the world’s spotlight. One of the most well-known figures who was also the first to cross the bridge during that event was the former Greek football team national coach Otto Rehhagel.
5. The construction of the bridge was the item of high criticism from many publications from around Europe, not only due to its high cost (Rio-Antirrio placed a burden of over 630 million Euros on the Greek economy), but also on the location upon which it was built. More specifically, as The Economist pointed out, there was no real purpose for the structure to be placed in the middle of nowhere. However, a few years later, the presence of the Rio-Antirrion bridge gave the Greek government the incentive they needed in order to invest in other nearby highways, such as the Ionian Odos and the Olympian Odos, offering drivers much safer travelling routes.
Victoria will enter its sixth lockdown from 8:00pm tonight in response to unexpected new mystery cases of COVID-19 in recent days.
Eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state today, with six of those from results received on Wednesday.
The lockdown will last for seven days and there will only be five reasons for leaving home: getting groceries and supplies, exercise, care or caregiving, authorised work or education that cannot be done from home and getting vaccinated.
Under the rules, shopping and exercise must be done within five kilometres of your home.
Premier Daniel Andrews described the decision to lock down again as “very difficult.”
“I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to have to be here doing this again,” he said.
“But with so few in the community with one vaccination, let alone two, I have no choice but to accept advice, and we collectively [have] to make this important decision to keep Victorians safe.
“The alternative is we let this run … away from us and our hospitals will be absolutely overwhelmed [with] not hundreds of patients but thousands.”
The life of Ocean Grove dad, Marios Christou, changed forever when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2015, about a year after he first experienced numbness and tingling down his left side.
Marios and his wife, Georget, had moved to the Bellarine Peninsula from Cyprus in 2013, eager to create a wonderful life after discovering their first child was on the way.
The 34-year-old, who is dad to 7-year-old Marissa and 6-year-old Angelo, told The Geelong Advertiser the diagnosis was a shock and life-changing.
“In the beginning I was so sad and angry,” he said to the newspaper.
MS is an auto-immune disease of the central nervous system, which interferes with nerve impulses within the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
This costly treatment involves harvesting stem cells from patients, giving them doses of chemotherapy, then replacing the stem cells in the patient’s body. The aim is to ‘reset’ the immune system to stop it attacking the body.
The only problem is that AHSCT is only available in Australia through three observational clinical trials at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital and in Melbourne at Austin Health and The Alfred Hospital.
As a result Marios, who owns Mavros Fish and Chips with Georget, plans to travel to Russia next year to undergo the treatment. He has already connected with a doctor in Moscow.
Marios told The Geelong Advertiser he was “very nervous but excited” about the prospect of travelling to Russia.
People can donate at a GoFundMe page titled ‘Please Help Mario Christou Beat MS,’ which has already raised more than $16,000.
Two Greek Australian teachers passionate about the Arts, Vana Argyris, originally from Sydney but now a resident of the Greek island of Kythera and Helen Koutroulis from Melbourne, believe that “where there is creativity, communication and critical thinking converge.”
The two Greek Australians sat down with The Greek Herald to discuss their ‘The Pan-Hellenic Festival for the Creative and Performing Arts’ initiative -scheduled to be held online later this year- and how they endeavour to unite Hellenes and Philhellenes across the globe.
–Why the Arts and what inspired you to commence such an initiative?
The arts have a long history of bringing people together creating stronger connections and fostering the preservation of Hellenic heritage. We hope that the Panhellenic Festival initiative will support the Greek identity and preserve the Greek language and culture.
Ultimately, we hope that forging enduring bonds of friendship between Hellenes and Philhellenes, will be an investment in the Hellenic cultural capital for future generations.
What has truly inspired us is our involvement in teaching drama and classical studies and being cognisant of our rich inheritance with the incomparable and unique culture. The civilization of Ancient Greece has influenced every aspect of life and it is considered to be the most distinguished above all others for balance of conception.
Photo L: Detail of the Festival’s poster, designed by Con Emmanuelle. Photos R: Founders Helen Koutroulis (top) and Vana Argyris
–Does someone need to be an artist to participate?
The Festival is not a competition. Its aim is to unite Hellenes and Philhellenes across the globe in order to showcase and celebrate their creative talents and most importantly to nurture and flourish the Hellenic Cultural Heritage, including language and literature.
• The festival’s aim is to be inclusive. There is no age or cultural background limit for the participants. Entrants can be a Hellene or a Philhellene of any age and can participate in the project that has been designed for their particular creative category.
• The Festival will showcase the talents of the participants in the following creative categories: Drama, dance, music, art, photography, film, writing and crafts.
• The expertise of artists, photographers, film makers, theatre practitioners, music teachers, musicians, dance teachers, dancers, craft makers and writers. These professionals will be a part of the festival’s creative team and will act as mentors and creators of projects.
-There are different projects in the Festival and the first one is called ‘A Suitcase of Dreams’. What is this project about?
This project aims to create a sense of discovery and journey for the performer/writer.
A journey through which they will engage in investigating the family histories of their ancestors and how they came to be in the land they have chosen to migrate to.
This style of theatre is called Verbatim Theatre where the performer/ writer will conduct interviews with their parents, grandparents and other relatives. These interviews will be recorded and the transcripts can be re-used in a creative way in order to heighten dramatic meaning.
Alternatively, the performer/artist is free to research a historical figure unrelated to them and conduct a case study on their migration experience and respond in any of the following ways: short monologue, duologue, dance drama, poem, painting, story, photo journal, song, creative craft project.
We are fortunate to have many Hellenes supporting this initiative which we hope will unite us worldwide in our endeavour to share and celebrate our creative talents and document our memories and history.
Paintings by artist Alex Kyriakacis
-How has the response been so far?
We have had good response from Hellenes in the diaspora and a lot of positive feedback regarding the initiative. We have approx. 40 supporters of this initiative including the Greek Teachers Association of Victoria and many Community language schools and Greek community associations such as the Kytherian Society of California.
-You aim to present the festival in October. What will the presentation look like?
The Pan-Hellenic Festival for the Creative and Performing Arts will be presented online during the month of October 2021. We aim to hold the Festival on other months during the year when other Hellenic festivals may occur, by doing so, The Pan-Hellenic Festival for the Creative and Performing Arts can participate as an event in these festivals.
The Festival will be utilizing the Zoom facility as a platform to showcase the entrants work. During the zoom presentation, the entrants will be sectioned off into chat rooms where they will have the opportunity to meet each other and discuss the work that has been presented.
What do the artists think?
Adelaide based short story writer Kostas Livaditis and Melbourne based Author and Artist Constantinos Emmanuelle – who is also the designer of the Festival’s poster, give us their perspectives on the creative idea.
Kostas Livaditis, Short story writer
Short story writer Kostas Livaditis
– What do you think about The Pan-Hellenic Festival for the Creative and Performing Arts?
The Festival is a great way for Hellenes right across the world to connect through culture and the arts. Considering what is happening in the world at the moment with travel restrictions to Greece for many (including Australia), it’s a great way to connect to your heritage and embrace your roots via other means.
–Why do you think cultural initiatives like this one are important?
Cultural initiatives (such as this Festival) are important because they are connections not only to the past, but also help us continue moving forward. Greek Culture is not static and stagnant, it continues to evolve, refine and mature with time.
Constantinos Emmanuelle, Author & Artist
Author and Artist Constantinos Emmanuelle
-Do you think creativity and the Arts can bring people closer to Hellenism?
Of course, this has been proven time and time again going all the way back to ancient times when creative people gathered together in magnificent amphitheater to perform and engage an audience. In many ways, the ancient actors, performers, orators and artists had an easier task than their modern counterparts. For one, the amphitheater was the only real place to go and see an event.
By comparison, modern-day creatives have to compete with millions of events online on a global stage. Back to answer your question more directly, if an event like a festival is well planned and promoted it can surely have the desired outcomes, especially if one of those outcomes is to unite people and help them engage with their ethnic roots.
In my own experience, my creative arts project titled Tales of Cyprus has been very successful in engaging audiences from around the world and raising their level of understanding and appreciation about the island of Cyprus and more importantly, their cultural heritage.
*More information can be found on the Festival’s Facebook Group. Entries and Entry forms can be emailed to panhellenicfestival@gmail.com
The Fairfield Local Government Area (LGA) was one of the first to be thrown into Sydney’s toughest lockdown when the current COVID-19 outbreak spread across the city.
Small businesses were some of the hardest hit and that includes Gabriel Violaris, who is the owner of Smart St Fish Market in downtown Fairfield.
Mr Violaris tells The Daily Telegraph that despite the lockdown, he’s decided to shake off the shutdown blues and make the best of a bad situation by not skimping on stock, even if trade is down.
The near empty streets of Fairfield, during the city’s prolonged Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP.
According to The Daily Telegraph, turnover at Mr Violaris’ fish market in the first week of lockdown was 80 percent short of what it normally would be. During the second week, it was off by 70 percent and 50 percent since then.
“You are not going to make money now,” Mr Violaris told the Australian newspaper. “It’s about surviving… I believe that we shouldn’t give up. Soldier on.”
The Greek Australian adds that he’s avoided lay-offs, but his five part-timers are all on reduced hours.
“Everyone is earning a little bit,” Mr Violaris said. “It’s a chance for people to pay their bills.”
New South Wales has recorded 262 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. It’s the highest daily number in NSW since the start of the pandemic.
Forty-three of the new cases were infectious in the community, 29 were in isolation for part of their infectious period and the isolation status of 80 cases remained under investigation.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said another five people have died – three aged in their 60s, one in their 70s and one in their 80s. Four were unvaccinated, and one had one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Premier said the state’s Hunter and Upper Hunter regions would be placed into a COVID-19 lockdown from 5:00pm today after several cases were detected in the area.
Gladys Berejiklian.
The local government areas (LGAs) included are Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook.
“The community leaders and local leaders are being advised of this,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“That [lockdown] will commence at 5:00pm tonight and go until midnight next Thursday, so a week, similar to what occurred in Orange and hopefully, similar to what occurred in Orange, we’ll see that community have their restrictions or stay at home lifted at that time.”
Its conditions will be the same as the lockdown affecting Greater Sydney and its surrounds.
An extra 180,000 doses of Pfizer are being delivered to NSW.
The Premier said NSW would receive an extra 180,000 doses of Pfizer over the next fortnight after she spoke to the Prime Minister.
“This is very positive news. It means that in the week of 16 August, we can redirect those doses we had taken from the regions for the HSC students and it also means we can put the balance into those eight local government areas in Greater Sydney of concern in particular,” she said.
About 107,000 people came forward for testing during the last 24 hours.
Victoria and Queensland deal with separate outbreaks:
This dark day comes as Victoria and Queensland grapple with their own separate outbreaks.
Victoria recorded six new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 yesterday, including the mystery case reported in the afternoon.
Reported yesterday: 6 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas. – 17,229 vaccine doses were administered – 27,279 test results were received
The source of infection for three of the cases, including the school teacher from Melbourne’s west reported yesterday, is still under investigation.
The other three are linked to known cases and were isolating during their infectious period.
In Queensland, the state recorded 16 new community cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, Deputy Premier, Steven Miles, said at a press conference today.
Queensland’s Deputy Premier, Steven Miles.
All the cases are directly linked to the Delta outbreak which started at Indooroopilly State High School, in Brisbane’s inner west.
Three are students at Ironside State School, in the Brisbane suburb of St Lucia, and nine are household contacts linked to the school.
Four cases are linked to Brisbane Grammar School, one is a teacher, two are students and one is a household contact.
Of the new cases, Mr Miles said three were infectious in the community for one day and one was infectious for two days.
