Turkey announced on Monday that it will conduct a large-scale naval exercise in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea between February 25 and March 7.
The announcement came from the Turkish Ministry of Defence, which said that Turkish Naval Forces will launch the exercise dubbed “Blue Homeland 2021.”
The Turkish Army and the Air Force will also participate in the drill.
According to the announcement, the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate the preparedness of the headquarters, units and ships affiliated with the Naval Forces Command.
A total of 82 ships, 5 maritime patrol aircraft, 12 naval helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Amphibious Marine Corps troops will participate.
This military activity in the Aegean and the Mediterranean comes at a time when Athens and Ankara are supposedly organising the next round of exploratory talks.
Talks are expected to take place in Athens sometime in March. Greece has sent an invitation to Turkish officials but for now, there has been no official confirmation of the date.
Resplendent photographs of the Greek Presidential Guard, known as Evzones, standing proudly in front of renowned monuments such as the Parthenon, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Greece and even the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, were all on display at The Hellenic Club in Canberra over the weekend.
They’re part of a special travelling exhibition titled ‘The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis,’ which is being held in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year.
‘The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis’ on display at The Hellenic Club of Canberra. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
The collection by Mr Bourdaniotis, who is a famous Greek Australian photographer, officially launched in the capital city on Friday, February 19 with a special opening night attended by over 100 people.
Many dignitaries and community leaders were present, including His Excellency Ambassador of Greece in Australia, Mr George Papacostas, Her Excellency Mrs Martha A Mavrommatis High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, the Archepiscopal Vicar of ACT and Tasmania, the Very Reverend Prochoros Anastasiadis, President of the Cyprus Community in Canberra, Mrs Georgia Alexandrou, President of the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra, Mr John Loukadellis, Member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas MP, and the Very Reverend Father Petros Kipouros.
His Excellency Ambassador of Greece in Australia Mr George Papacostas, Archepiscopal Vicar of Canberra and Tasmania Father Prochoros Anastasiadis, Mr Dino Nikias OAM, President of the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra Mr John Loukadellis, Her Excellency Mrs Martha A Mavrommatis High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, Nick Bourdaniotis, Steve Georganas MP, The Very Reverend Father Petros Kipouros, President of the Cyprus Community in Canberra Mrs Georgia Alexandrou. Photo: George Karantonis.
Following the official speeches as emceed by Elia Economou, Mr Bourdaniotis kindly donated three of his prints to the Hellenic Club for auction and over $15,000 was raised for the local Greek School, which is run by Canberra’s Greek Community and now boasts over 200 enrolled students in its children and online adult education programs.
“The opening night was a great success. Visitors could see the passion in the photos and even non-Greeks were reading the stories and then moving to the photos, and the two together were just drawing them in,” Mr Bourdaniotis tells The Greek Herald, adding with a cheeky laugh that “if you walk in and you haven’t got goosebumps by the third photo, I’d be surprised.”
Mr Bourdaniotis with one of three photos he sold at the auction. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
The exhibition ran for three days until Sunday, with Mr Bourdaniotis saying they experienced strong foot traffic and “high praise and positive feedback from every visitor that walked through the doors.”
“The exhibition was certainly a wonderful reflection of our Greek history and heritage. It was an honour walking around and seeing every facial feature of the Evzones and feeling like we were there in the moment. Such an honour for the Greek youth,” exhibition visitor, Voula Viatos, tells The Greek Herald.
On the last day, students from the local Greek school also attended, along with the teachers and School Principal, to hear about Mr Bourdaniotis’ donation. The news brought a huge smile to the little one’s faces, knowing Greek language and culture would continue to thrive in Canberra for years to come.
Some of Nick Bourdaniotis’ photographs. Photo on left: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald. Photo on right: George Karantonis.
If you would like to see ‘The Evzones Collection,’ it’s next destination is Melbourne from March 26 – April 1 at Oakleigh Grammar School Hall.
The exhibition is sponsored by The Kalymnian Association of NSW. It’s contributors include: The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Greek City Times, Image Smart, Hellenic Club of Sydney, Hellenic Club of Canberra, Greek National Day Committee of Victoria, Oakleigh Grammar Victoria, The Greek Club Brisbane, St Nectarios Monastery South Australia, Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan District of WA, and Williams Fashion Logistics.
With a theatrical performance based on one of the finest literary works of Greece’s National Poet, Dionysios Solomos, as well as hymns, traditional songs and dances, Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox community kicked off a series of events to commemorate and celebrate the 200 Years from the beginning of the Greek Revolution.
The sold-out play, titled “The Women of Mesolongi” held on Sunday afternoon, at the historic Woodville Town Hall was attended by more than 300 audience and dignitaries.
Among them, His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope, Fr Ioannis Choraitis, Consul General of Greece in Adelaide George Psiachas, Irene Pnevmatikos member of the Legislative Council of SA, John Kiosoglous MBE as well as councillor of City of Mitcham Andriana Christopoulos.
‘We need to remember our history’
According to Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox Community President, John Douvartzidis, this event was not only an opportunity for Adelaide based Hellenes and Philhellenes to learn more about this part of Greek history but also for the next generation of Greek Australians to learn more about their history and roots.
“We always need to remember our history,” Mr Douvartzidis told The Greek Herald.
“Things have been hard with COVID and our festival was cancelled earlier this year but we are a tight knit community and very proud for what we have achieved.
“We are like a big family and we like to have a good time while educating our kids about their language and culture,” he said.
Varvara Solomos: A descendant of the Solomos family
Talking about the importance of the theatrical play ‘The Women of Mesolongi’ director and performer Kostas Fotiadis explained that with this story, set in Zakynthos in 1826, the national poet wanted to criticize the behaviour of aristocratic circles on the island towards the women of Mesolongi.
“We want to show our kids what 1821 was about and the fact that so many students from the Port Adelaide Greek community school are participating is very encouraging,” said Mr Fotiadis.
Varvara Solomos with director and performer Kostas Fotiadis
One of the highlights of the event was 17-year-old Varvara Solomos, a sixth-generation descendant of the family of Dionysios Solomos who recited an excerpt of the most famous poem of Dionysios Solomos, ‘The Free Besieged’ (Greek: Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi).
“I feel blessed that I am a part of this culture and history and I am able to educate people and tell them about my family.
“Knowing not only Greek history, but history in general is important as this is the way for us to evolve and progress,” Varvara told The Greek Herald.
The event concluded with traditional dances performed dances performed by the community’s Greek School students.
*An additional performance of the play “The Women of Mesolongi” is scheduled for Sunday, February 28. All proceeds go towards The Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox Community. For more information and bookings call Alexandra on 0435 166 456 or Dimitra on 0451 107 052
On this day in 1821, the official declaration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 was made by Greek-Russian general and leader of the ‘Philikí Etaireía’ (the Friendly Society), Alexandros Ypsilantis.
To mark the momentous occasion in the lead up to March 25, we take a look at how the event played out.
Timeline of Events:
Alexandros Ypsilantis, as leader of the Friendly Society, set off from Russia, crossed the River Prut (the Russian border with the hegemony of Moldova, at the time) and arrived in Moldova, where he was welcomed by Michael Soutzos, ruler of Moldova and an initiate of the Friendly Society.
The two men, along with some 2,000 fighters, arrived in Iasi (the capital of Moldova) on February 22, 1821.
Two days later, Ypsilantis handed out the revolutionary proclamation “Fight for faith and country,” in which he asked the Greeks to revolt. Therefore, these acts marked the official inauguration of the Revolution in the Hegemonies (Dominions) around the Danube.
Who was Alexandros Ypsilantis?
Alexandros was born on December 1, 1792 in Constantinople and was the eldest son of Constantine Ypsilantis. He was brought up in an environment inspired by intense patriotism and received a fine education.
In St Petersburg, where he followed his father, he studied at the School of the Corps of Royal Followers and then served in the Corps of the Imperial Guard. He distinguished himself in the wars against Napoleon, while in the battle of Dresden, on August 27, 1813, he lost his right hand.
In March 1820, Emmanuel Xanthos offered Alexandros the leadership of the Friendly Society. He accepted it on April 12, after first accepting the terms he set, and immediately began organising the plan for the start of the Revolution from the Peloponnese.
Alexandros was born on December 1, 1792 in Constantinople.
However, with the encouragement of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Alexandros was convinced that he had to speed up its preparation and in June 1820 he settled in Odessa. He crossed the River Prut on February 22, 1821 and two days later finally raised the flag of the Revolution in the Danube and specifically in Iasi of Moldavia, where the stay of the Turkish army was forbidden.
In a letter to Emperor Alexander, he submitted his resignation from the Russian army and, announcing the Greek Revolution, asked for his help. Immediately after, he set about creating an army and formed the Holy Corps.
On June 7, 1821, Ypsilantis’ army was destroyed in the battle of Dragatsani and retreated to the Austrian border. He surrendered to the Austrians, was imprisoned and released on November 24, 1827.
His shaky health prevented him from helping the rebellious nation. He died in Vienna two months after his release on January 19, 1828.
Greece’s men’s water polo team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, beating Russia 13-10 at the World Qualification Tournament in Rotterdam on Saturday night.
During the match, Greece held a narrow lead over the first two 8-minute periods (4-3, 6-5) and managed to widen their lead in the third (11-9) and fourth for the final 13-10. Angelos Vlachopoulos, who was voted man of the match, led Greece with five goals.
This is the 16th Olympics qualification for the Greek men’s team since 1920, with their best finish a 4th place at the 2004 Athens Olympics. They also finished 6th in Atlanta (1996) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).
“It is a great day for Greece, water polo and the country’s sports. I congratulate all the contributors to this great success, players and coaches,” the President of the Hellenic Swimming Federation, Dimitris Diathesopoulos, said.
Already qualified for the Olympics are host nation Japan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Italy, Spain, the United States, Hungary, South Africa and Australia. The last two are the Africa and Oceania continental selections, respectively.
The women’s water polo team just failed to qualify last month in the women’s World Qualification Tournament in Trieste, Italy, finishing 3rd behind Hungary and the Netherlands.
A well-known Greek stage actor and director has been arrested on rape charges, police say.
Dimitris Lignadis, 56, turned himself in Saturday afternoon at Athens police headquarters, Greek Police spokesman, Theodoros Chronopoulos, told the Associated Press.
On Sunday, Lignadis appeared before a court in Athens and was given until Wednesday to respond to charges of multiple rapes by an examining magistrate. He will remain jailed until then, court authorities said.
The magistrate and a prosecutor will jointly decide later whether he will be kept in jail or released pending his trial.
According to court sources, Lignadis is accused of rape by two men who were minors when the events occurred in 2010 and 2015. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Rumors of his alleged sexual misconduct swelled in recent weeks, leading to Lignadis’ resignation two weeks ago as Artistic Director of Greece’s National Theater, a post he had held since 2019.
Plain clothed police officers escort handcuffed well-known actor and director, Dimitris Lignadis, center, as they leave a magistrate’s office in Athens, Sunday, February 21, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis.
Revelations earlier this year by an Olympic gold medalist that she had been raped by a sailing federation official back in 1998 have sparked a #MeToo movement reckoning in Greece.
People have come forward to accuse well-known figures in the entertainment industry of sexual harassment, assault and rape. Well-known actors and directors have come under fire, but Lignadis is the first to be arrested.
in this Tuesday, January 21, 2020, file photo, Dimitris Lignadis, actor and director, attends a news conference in Athens. Photo: Dimitris Kapadais/InTime News via AP, File.
The case has taken on political dimensions. The political opposition accused the Greek government of failing to follow up on complaints, while the Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, responded on Friday by accusing Lignadis of being a “dangerous man” who had “deceived” her with his acting ability.
Ms Mendoni said she asked a Supreme Court prosecutor to investigate all abuse allegations in Greece’s theater community.
Oakleigh Grammar’s Principal Mr Mark Robertson was delighted to conduct the annual Student Leadership Induction Assemblies on Campus on Friday 19 February 2021.
This year, rather than one Whole School Leadership Assembly, Oakleigh Grammar held three sub-school Assemblies in line with its adopted COVID-cautious approach.
It was a special occasion not only for the students who were inducted, but also for the inductee’s parents who were in attendance, and more broadly, for the wider School community.
The School’s 2021 theme “I Can. We Will” resonated with their student body, as it reflected the smooth transition between On-Campus Learning and the Oakleigh Grammar Remote Learning Model. All students were delighted to be back on Campus to celebrate with their peers at these important Leadership Assemblies.
The culture of Leadership within the student body at Oakleigh Grammar has been a hallmark of the strategic priority of valuing all students and providing student agency in a meaningful way.
The Leadership Program commences in the Junior School with Steven Covey’s Leader In Me (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) Program, which is accredited at Lighthouse Status, the highest level of accreditation offered in this framework. Indeed, Oakleigh Grammar is the only Independent School in Australia to have achieved this honour.
The leadership culture extends through to the Middle and Senior Schools affirming the notion that all Oakleigh Grammar students have the inherent potential to demonstrate leadership.
The School’s Captains, Angelica Athanasakis and Alexander Logan, who were inducted this morning were quoted as saying “We are grateful for the Leadership opportunities afforded by our School within a nurturing and encouraging culture.“
At the outbreak of the First Balkan war, the Army of Epirus was rendered mainly defensive, since most of the Greek military units were sent to reinforce the Macedonian Front.
Following Thessaloniki’s annexation, the Ottoman Empire sought truce with the Balkan Allies.
The Greek government conceded to participate in peace deliberations but clarified that since Epirus had not yet been liberated, Greece would be at war with the Ottoman Empire until the final peace Treaty.
On October 19th 1912, the Army of Epirus abandoned its defensive role and attacked the Turkish Army under the leadership of Major Sapountzakis. Even though the Greek Army was outnumbered, Preveza was conquered and an Ottoman attack at Pente Pigadia was repulsed.
Still, there were enormous difficulties preventing the Liberation of Ioannina.
The Ottoman Army’s numerical superiority and the fact that it had moved to the forts of Bizani,-which historians describe as “strongly fortified”-, combined with the extreme cold and the lack of supplies, prevented the Greek Army from initiating an offensive.
Victories in Macedonia allowed the main bulk of the Army of Thessaly to move south and reinforce the Army of Epirus. Crown Prince Constantine assumed the Command of the Army and demanded a peaceful surrender of the city. Essat Pasha did not accept the Crown Prince’s offer and prepared for attack.
With careful strategic maneuvering and astounding heroism, the Greek Army conquered Bizani and forced Essat Pasha to surrender the city of Ioannina on February 21st 1913.
He translated his dreams into incredible works of art fusing modernism, Byzantine aesthetics and surrealism with his own love of the Mediterranean sun and sea, classical antiquity and the Greek ideal. He was an outstanding artist and painter.
Sadly, Samios passed way on 4 February 2021 at the age of 72 after a short illness. His loss is profound and almost unbearable such was the depth and aura of his prodigious artistic output.
Pavlos Samios was the son of an Athenian cobbler (who had returned from Smyrna). His mother was from Lefkada.
From an early age young Pavlos helped his father in making shoes and, more importantly, visiting shoe stores in downtown Athens to sketch the latest styles in women’s shoes for his father to emulate. As Pavlos would later confide, shoes became a sort of “fetish” for him and many of his works are graced by high heel shoes. Red shoes in particular, as red was the colour of uprising.
One painting from this genre stands out for me. In 2009 he painted a pair of red shoes in the moonlight by the Caryatids of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. For me, it was almost a case of desperately seeking the missing but forlorn Caryatid in the British Museum.
Pavlos had an incredible artistic upbringing.
At the age of nine he drew El Greco paintings. As a young man he spent time on Mount Athos where he discovered Byzantine art and mastered what he referred to as his “innate passion” of icon painting.
The colours of Byzantium were to become a central element of his creative identity: “If you know Byzantine, you know all painting,” Pavlos would elaborate with admiration.
Whilst at school he visited Paris and was inspired by the works and particularly the colours of Picasso, recalling that upon his return he stared to paint “like Picasso”
At the age of 18 he was accepted into the prestigious Athens School of Fine Arts where he had some great mentors. One of his early masters, Nikos Nicolaou, whose work was generally based on the tradition of Classical Greek Art, spoke of that tradition, drawing and rhythm and how works are painted but then the great visual and impressionist artist Yannis Moralis (whom Samios would come to refer to as his “spiritual father”) would later add “and after that smash it all up, liberate yourself, find your own form, represent contemporary life”.
Pavlos Samios indeed acknowledged that he “inherited” his love of the ancient world from Nikolaou and the European way of looking at colors and nature from Moralis. Pavlos’ artistic imagination was to know no bounds.
From 1978 to 1992 he lived and worked in Paris where he met the great painter Yannis Tsarouchis who would also mentor Pavlos. In 2000 he was appointed Professor at his beloved Athens School of Fine Arts in the discipline of Traditional Painting Workshop: Fresco – Byzantine icons – Manuscripts. Pavlos in fact painted many chapels using the fresco technique.
Broken History
I never met Pavlos Samios but I feel as though I knew him well through his works and writings. In April 2019 I managed to catch his new exhibition, with the superbly symbolic title “Broken History”, at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens.
Broken history and dismembered sculptures. As one critic noted Samios “absorbs the patterns of modernity and the shapes of antiquity”.
The renowned painter had chosen in this exhibition a different medium, including cardboard boxes and blocks of stone, as his canvas, to project, in his own words, the contemporary Greek reality and its colourful, aniconic graffiti, using spray paint to finish his works so as to convey the feeling of the streets of Athens.
As another commentator observed, this dynamic material, synonymous with movement and change of place, became the “canvas of ancient symbols” and functioned as a bridge from the past to the present.
According to the director of the Byzantine and Christian Museum, Katerina Dellaporta, Pavlos had selected a dialogue of emblematic works of ancient Greek art with Byzantine and post-Byzantine Christian depictions, interspersed with Classical idols, ancient kouroi, kore and sphinxes, classical sculptures from the Parthenon and statues such as the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Aphrodite of Milos, which he had rendered in a bold new manner in ‘installations’ that combined painting, sculpture and graffiti; where the fragmented pieces are in a process of reconnecting until they find themselves again.
Or as Pavlos Samios himself wrote about this exhibition, he was simply inspired by a verse from the Noble Laureate George Seferis’ poem Κίχλη (“Thrush”): “The statues are no longer fragments. We are”.
Pavlos Samios and the Parthenon Frieze
This is no more evident than in the case of the iconic Parthenon Sculptures, separated in time and space between the British Museum in London and the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
In 2019 Pavlos gave a presentation in New York in 2019 entitled Re-envisioned: The Colour and Design of the Parthenon Frieze” during which he presented his ideas on the composition, colours, scale and techniques used in the creation of the Parthenon frieze which he had studied for many years and how, based on his research, the Greeks envisioned and created the decoration of the Parthenon.
Pavlos also lamented the continued fragmented and dismembered state of the iconic Parthenon Sculptures, torn between London and Athens. This too was a central theme of “Broken History”.
At the Paradise Café
In his last solo exhibition held in Athens in 2020, Pavlos Samios took us into his world of Parisian and Athenian cafes of the 1980s and later. For Samios, the traditional café or kafenion no longer existed except in our imagination. Through his paintings we returned to Pavlos’ favourite haunt, a café named “O Paradeisos” at Platia Attikis, for a nostalgic reunion.
According to the Greek art historian, George Mylonas, “O Paradeisos” encompassed all the beauty of the post-neoclassical tradition, all the joy and misery of the whole of Greece.
Moments of sensuality, of joy, a light that shone from the faces of the people themselves and in the afternoons the old men drinking coffee without talking, just passing through.
In the French cafes the heels and suitcases are circulating under the gaze of the city nightlights. In Greek cafes, on the other hand, there is usually an open window with a view to the sea.
The table also dominates many of his works. According to Samios, “it is the concept of the base: you place things on a table – your ideas, desires. You place your imagination.”
Pavlos Samios was a very significant painter. He illuminated the Greek artscape and produced a prolific and diverse body of work that remains a tribute to his artistic creativity. Sadly, he had already started painting the works in his next exhibition, entitled “Broken Reality”, trying to make a connection with the exhibition of “Broken History”.
Perhaps the Parthenon Sculptures would have been a central theme of that fractured reality?
Pavlos Samios’ death was felt by many.
The Greek Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, wrote that Pavlos is now in Café Paradise. The Minister of Education, Niki Kerameos, farewelled her dear friend and fondly recalled how in his works “realism constantly meets and flirts with the dream”.
And the former Tourism Minister, Olga Kefalogianni, best described Pavlos Samios as one of the most beautiful people she had ever met: an “outstanding artist, philosopher, painter who never stopped searching, inspiring, creating … Pavlos has left us suddenly, leaving behind a huge gap”.
Pavlos Samios is survived by his wife, Maria Xanthakos, and his two daughters from his first marriage, Pandora and Aphaea.
But Pavlos Samios’ memory will also live on through his art and his observations of life in the Greek world and beyond.
Petros Damianos, Director of the school at Greece’s Avlona Special Youth Detention Center, was devastated when he heard his school would be closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The Avlona detention center, a former military prison, holds nearly 300 young men aged 18-21, and sometimes up to 25. The school Damianos founded there in 2000 now teaches primary grades through to college, following the national curriculum and awarding graduation certificates equivalent to any Greek school.
While attendance is voluntary, the prison school has grown in popularity and saw record enrollment in September, when up to 96% of inmates signed up.
“Essentially, our students are those who … before they got to prison, the education system expelled them,” Damianos told Ekathimerini. “These kids are kids we didn’t catch in time.”
But with internet devices banned in their cells, the prison’s students had no way to continue learning when the lockdowns cancelled classroom lessons.
Inmates watch mathematics on “Prospathodas TV,” or “Trying TV,” the channel of Avlona’s prison school, north of Athens, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.
“Our teachers couldn’t reach the kids like they reach all other kids in Greece,” Damianos said. “This was a big problem, a very big problem that seemed almost insurmountable.”
Desperate for a solution, Damianos had an idea: he could reach his students through the televisions in their cells if he could figure out how to create a dedicated TV channel to broadcast their classes.
Technician friends told Damianos it was possible with the necessary equipment. The next hurdle was obtaining the equipment with shops also closed during the nationwide lockdown. Then the school’s staff had to learn how to use it.
The school’s music teacher, Nikos Karadosidis, took on the role of technician, using experience from occasional concert tech work and guidance gleaned from YouTube tutorials.
“I very quickly realised – and this is the magic of it, too – that this whole thing is essentially DIY,” Karadosidis said. “Do it yourself, with whatever materials you have, with whatever tools you have, to try to do the best you can.”
Through donations, volunteers and online orders, the staff cobbled together what they needed. A critical piece of equipment – a modulator to transmit the TV signal – ran into delivery delays, so a store lent them an older one. Two hundred meters (feet) of cable arrived, and inmates helped run it from the school to the prison’s central aerial.
One prison classroom was converted into a rudimentary studio, with a cheap hand-held video camera taped to a tripod. Multicolored Christmas lights served as a makeshift recording light, warning those outside to keep quiet during recording sessions.
On January 8, about a month after Damianos had the idea, the channel was ready. They named it Prospathodas TV, Greek for “Trying TV.” Through word of mouth, they got inmates to re-tune their televisions to capture the new channel.
The pilot program was a half-hour math class. Now the channel operates 24 hours a day, running six hours’ worth of pre-recorded lessons on a loop on weekdays, and eight hours of content on a loop on weekends.
The teachers record new lessons daily: from math and handicrafts to economics and music. Karadosidis edits into the night and broadcasts the classes the next day, since live broadcasts are still beyond their technical capabilities.
Music teacher, Nikos Karadosidis, right, listens to prison school director Petros Damianos before recording lessons at a classroom of Avlona’s prison school, north of Athens, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.
A 21-year-old prison inmate, who earned his high school diploma in Avlona, says the TV channel has become quite popular.
“You run out of (cigarette) filters and you go into the next cell to ask for a filter, and you see five big guys battling with their little paper strips trying to make purses,” M.S, an inmate who can only be identified by their initials under prison regulations, said.
“Then you go to the next cell later, and someone’s trying to solve an equation.”
Once the pandemic is over, Damianos would like to expand the channel to include documentaries and other worthwhile programs. But while it’s plugging a hole in education and maintaining contacts between students and teachers, he stresses that televised lessons can’t deliver what in-person classes do.
“Let’s be honest, the channel can’t replace the education that takes place in school,” Damianos said. “It is very important, but it’s not enough.”
