Two Afghan youths were handed down five year prison sentences in court on Wednesday for starting a fire that burnt down the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos.
Nearly 13,000 migrants were displaced after Greece’s largest migrant camp went up in flames in the middle of the night on September 9, 2020.
The two Afghans were 17 years old at the time of their arrest, claiming that they had nothing to do with the fire and were not at the camp when it broke out. The Lesvos court handed down the sentences after a six-hour session, the local bar association told AFP.
The group said there had been a “lack of credible evidence” presented and that it would work to overturn the verdict on appeal.
“While we are disappointed with today’s result, things could have been much worse for the two young men,” the group said in a statement.
“The arson conviction alone could have carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.”
The trial of four youths detained in connection to the incident is pending.
Tensions among locals and migrants became heightened following the destruction of Moria. Police reportedly blocked migrants’ entry into the villages as they slept on highway streets.
Georgios Kountouriotis was a well-known Greek ship-owner and politician during the 1821 Greek Revolution and the reign of Otto.
On this day in 1858, he passed away and to mark the day we take a look back at his incredible life achievements.
Early Life:
Georgios Kountouriotis was born in Hydra in 1782 and was the son of the merchant Andreas Kountouriotis and Maria Kokkini, daughter of the rich merchant Lazaros Kokkini.
The real surname of his family, which was of Albanian origin, was Zervas. “Kountouriotis” was a nickname which eventually prevailed as a family surname.
After the assassination of his father in 1799, Georgios, together with his older brother Lazarus, engaged in trade and shipping. Leading up to the Greek Revolution of 1821, their family owned half of the merchant ships of Hydra and he was considered the richest Greek of his time.
Support of the Greek Revolution:
Like most Hydra shipowners, Georgios considered the outbreak of the Greek Revolution premature and dangerous. However, when the people of the island revolted on March 27, 1821, he was forced to join the short-lived power established by Captain Antonis Oikonomou and to allocate large sums and his ships for the needs of the Struggle.
Georgios Kountouriotis was a well-known Greek ship-owner and politician.
Georgios, although lagging behind in leadership skills over his brother Lazarus, excelled in politics. He participated as a proxy of Hydra in the 2nd National Assembly of Astros (1823), in the 3rd National Assembly of Troizina (1827) and in the 4th National Assembly of Argos (1829).
He appeared on the political scene at the end of 1823, when civil wars broke out between the Greek revolutionaries. At the urging of Alexandros Mavrokordatos, Georgios became a member of the new Executive (government) on December 19 and on January 6, 1824, he officially assumed the presidency.
Using his money, Georgios gained substantial superiority over his rivals. On June 12, 1824, after bloody fratricidal conflicts, his government settled in Nafplio. Much of the money from the loans was wasted in the civil strife, in meeting the demands of his political friends, as well as members of his family.
During his presidency, few measures were taken to strengthen the rebel areas. On the contrary, in 1824 the revolution in Crete was neutralised by the Turkish-Egyptian troops, while in the same year Kasos and Psara were destroyed.
After Ibrahim landed in Methoni (February 26, 1825), instead of appointing an experienced soldier (Karaiskakis, Kolokotronis, etc.) as commander of the army that had been sent to Egypt, Georgios named one of his naval compatriots, Captain Kyriakos Skourtis, instead.
Georgios Kountouriotis.
Georgios himself, with a ridiculous procession and oriental rhythm, set out for Messinia to be close to the chiefs and to coordinate their actions.
After the catastrophic defeat of the Greeks by Ibrahim at Kremmidi (April 7, 1825), Georgios returned to Nafplio and faced general outcry. After Papaflessas’ sacrifice in Maniaki (May 20, 1825), he was forced to release Kolokotronis, who was the only one able to face Ibrahim.
Georgios was also particularly criticised for the inaction of his government during the last siege of Messolonghi and its inability to supply even the most basic guard of the city. Georgios was forced to resign on April 12, 1826 and to withdraw to Hydra dissatisfied.
During the Third National Assembly in Troizina (March 19 – May 5, 1827), Georgios opposed the election of Ioannis Kapodistrias. However, after the arrival of the Governor in Greece on January 23, 1828, he was appointed adviser of the Economy of the Panhellenic. It was a position he did not hold for long because he soon joined the opposition.
After the Liberation and Death:
On August 14, 1829, Georgios was appointed by Kapodistrias a member of the newly formed 27-member Senate but did not accept his new position. He took an active part in the opposition actions against Kapodistrias in 1831 and led the apostasy of Hydra.
After the assassination of the Governor (September 27, 1831), he was appointed by the Senate a member of the Administrative Committee, which consisted of representatives of all political parties, but resigned in August 1832.
In the years of Otto, Georgios was appointed vice-president of the Council of State and followed a more moderate policy.
On March 8, 1848, he was appointed by Otto as chairman of the cabinet (Prime Minister) and took over the Ministry of the Navy. His government, which was essentially a coalition of the French and Russian parties, had to deal with a series of internal uprisings and strained relations with the Ottoman Empire.
Georgios remained in power until October 15, 1848, when he resigned, accusing the court environment of interfering in his work.
Bitter, he retired to Hydra, where he died on March 13, 1858, at the age of 76. Georgios belonged to the politicians who had entered the revolutionary struggle of the Greeks rich and came out poorer.
After his death, an honorary pension had to be given to his needy family.
For a Greek Australian boy of only 12 years of age, Vaughn Arambatzis is full of ambitious ideas and he’s not letting anyone stop him from achieving them.
What’s his idea for this year? To raise $1000 for the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home by collecting cans and bottles and recycling them through the NSW Government’s Return and Earn Scheme.
Vaughn’s connection to the Home goes back to last year when he decided to support the organisation as part of a ‘Shining Our Light’ project run by his school, St Patrick’s College in Strathfield.
Vaughn Arambatzis is full of ambitious ideas. Photo supplied.
“We adopted a dog and we loved her a lot, but she kept on escaping. We had to give her back and we were devastated. So when the time came around to do something for the community, I thought about that and started collecting bottles to raise money for the Home,” Vaughn, who lives in Connells Point, tells The Greek Herald.
At the time, Vaughn raised $500 after his mum, Barbara, posted his plan on community Facebook pages and garnered attention from the local community, including Member for Oatley, Mark Coure MP, Georges River Councillor Sandy Grekas, and the Kogarah Cougars Junior Rugby League Football Club.
“In the end, he collected 3000 bottles and there was $200 worth of donations,” Vaughn’s mum, Barbara, says proudly.
Vaughn with Member for Oatley, Mark Coure MP. Photo supplied.
With such a successful campaign last year, it’s really no surprise Vaughn decided to do it all again this year. But will his previous achievement make it harder to collect enough bottles and cans a second time? ‘Definitely not,’ says the Year 7 student.
“So many bottles have already been dropped off. We haven’t counted them yet, but I’d say there’s at least 500 outside on our front yard right now. It’s really messy,” Barbara adds.
“Our friend Peter Panopoulos, from Advanced Building and Maintenance, has donated a cage to us and we’re going to fill it with the bottles and cans. Each time it fills, Peter will be taking the load to the recycler.”
Vaughn donating money to the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home last year. Photo supplied.
But there’s still a long way to go. Barbara says they’re looking for more people to drop off their bottles and cans because ‘500 bottles is only $50.’
“This year we’re looking for cafes, businesses and people in the local community to donate… alot of Greeks are generous!” Vaughn says cheekily.
“Feel free to drop them off or organise a collection with us and we can come around and collect it.”
If you would like to help Vaughn achieve his goal, you can email barbaraarambatzis@gmail.com or call Barbara on 0434 443 970.
The City of Randwick in Sydney will kick off its celebrations for the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution this year by displaying special banners across the community from March 21.
The four metre banner, which is covered in the Greek flag, the words ‘200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution’ and the council logo, will be flying proudly for two weeks.
This exciting decision comes after proud Greek Australian and Randwick City Councillor, Alexandra Luxford, passed a motion at a council meeting on February 23, 2021.
“We wanted to do this to recognise the big contribution the Greek community has made to Randwick City Council over the years,” Ms Luxford tells The Greek Herald.
“It’s something we should be proud of as Greek Australians.”
The Councillor goes on to say that the public’s response to the banners has so far been ‘extremely positive.’
“More people are getting to know about it now and everyone is chuffed. They’re excited the banners will be flying around the city for a few weeks,” she says.
As part of Ms Luxford’s motion, Randwick City Council will also raise the Greek flag and hold a civic reception to mark the bicentenary.
If you would like to attend the flag raising ceremony, it will be held on March 25 at the Randwick Town Hall from 10am.
Shot in 2016 and released in 2019, the dystopian flick Utopia by award winning Greek Australian filmmaker, Kosta Nikas, has been officially selected by Omeleto for its online world premiere on Friday, March 12.
Home of the next generation of great filmmakers, Sundance winners, Oscar nominees and critically-acclaimed filmmakers from every genre, Omeleto boasts over 5 million subscribers across its social media platforms with tens of millions of viewers each month.
Greek Australian filmmaker, Kosta Nikas. Photo supplied.
“We’ve completed our run on the international festival circuit, so are now thrilled to sign the deal with Omeleto and share it online with film enthusiasts around the world,” writer-director, Kosta Nikas, says.
Utopia has taken out two international awards and one nomination, whilst also receiving a dozen official selections at top tier film festivals including at invitation by the world’s prestigious UTOPIALES sci-fi festival in France as one of the 35 best sci-fi films for 2020.
A screenshoot from the film ‘Utopia.’ Photo supplied.
Although conceived over a decade ago, the underlying themes in Utopia are today more than ever relevant, making it a film for this zeitgeist.
“You all experienced the pandemic, now it’s your time to see what our future might be like” says producer Aaron Bush.
Unlike other dystopian stories where the Government is ‘Big Brother’ engaging in control and power via a vertical hierarchical relationship with its citizens, Nikas also went horizontal!
A screenshoot from the film ‘Utopia.’ Photo supplied.
“Today, through mobile technology, WE are each other’s ‘Big Brother’, each other’s surveillance and snitches! In Utopia I take it a step further by showing that citizens are incentivised to be complicit with the State, through a commission payment system. This is a far more dangerous society, where we are our own enemy. You can fight an external enemy, but how do you fight yourself?” Nikas explains.
The annual parade from Sydney’s Martin Place to the Sydney Opera House has been cancelled for this year, according to The Greek Herald‘s sources.
A wreath laying ceremony will still be held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Martin Place on March 28, with numerous dignitaries, politicians and His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia set to attend.
A number of Greek Orthodox schools in Sydney will also be holding small celebrations in lieu of the march, showcasing the history of the Greek Revolution through dancing, singing and poetry.
Numerous Sydney councils, such as Randwick City Council, will also be holding events to mark the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Greek Revolution.
The cancellation of the march will come as a disappointment to Sydney’s Greek community, with over 10,000 people typically turning up for the march every year.
Sofia Vembo was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for her performance of patriotic songs during the Greco-Italian War, when she was dubbed the “Singer of Victory.”
To mark the occasion of her death on this day in 1978, we take a look back at her incredible life achievements.
Early and Personal Life:
Sofia Vembo, who’s real name was Efi Bembou, was born on February 10, 1910 in Gallipoli, Eastern Thrace. After the Asia Minor catastrophe, her family moved to Tsaritsani in the prefecture of Larissa and then to Volos, where her parents worked as tobacco workers.
She started her artistic career by chance in 1930, singing in a patisserie in Thessaloniki to contribute financially to her home.
Three years later, Sofia went to Athens where she was hired by businessman, Fotis Samartzis, from the Kentrikon theatre to participate in the revue “Parrot 1933.”
Sofia signed her first contract with the Columbia record company.
At the same time, she signed her first contract with the Columbia record company, performing love songs of the time and due to her special bass voice, the recognition did not take long to come.
All these years, Sofia maintained a relationship with the writer and lyricist, Mimi Traiforos, and finally married him in 1957.
Greco-Italian War and Theatre Work:
With the declaration of the Greco-Italian war in 1940, Sofia became a major inspiration to Greek soldiers at the battlefront with her performances of patriotic and satirical songs. At the same time, she offered 2,000 gold pounds from her own fortune to the Hellenic Navy.
Following the German invasion and occupation of Greece in April 1941, she was transported to the Middle East, where she continued to perform for the Greek troops in exile.
Sofia became a heroic symbol of the nation and was described as the “Singer of Victory.”
Sofia became a major inspiration to Greek soldiers at the battlefront.
After the war in 1949, she acquired her own theatre, the ‘Vembo Theatre,’ in the Metaxourgeio neighbourhood of Athens. At the same time, she laid the foundations of a new era for Greek song – “archontorebetiko.”
In 1959, Sofia starred in the movie “Stournara 288,” where she plays a famous singer who was forgotten by her fans and worked as a piano teacher. She later acted in the 1955 classic, “Stella,” and “Prosfygopoula” in 1938.
During the 1960s, she began to perform less and less, before finally retiring in the early 1970s.
In the period 1967-1974, she participated in the anti-dictatorship struggle. On the night of the Polytechnic Uprising, she opened her house and hid students, whom she refused to hand over when security knocked on her door.
Death and Legacy:
Sofia died on March 11, 1978 and her funeral turned into a rally.
Because of her role in the war and her efforts during the Axis occupation, she was awarded the rank of Major in the Greek Army.
James Psaltis, a Greek Australian student from St Peter’s College in Adelaide, has received an inaugural South Australian Governor’s Award for his fantastic results in the International Baccalaureate (IB)
James received 44 out of a possible 45 score for his IB (the equivalent of the maximum possible 99.75 Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank) and was ranked first at his school, alongside Thomas Gaertner.
Speaking to The Advertiser at the time, James said he had applied to study medicine at Adelaide or Flinders University. He also aimed to bolster his volunteer work.
South Australia’s top International Baccalaureate diploma graduates: James Psaltis is pictured front row, third from right.
“I manage my own social enterprise operations, in partnership with United Way Australia,” James told the newspaper. “I aim to improve literacy rates in at-risk children.”
SA Governor’s awards for excellence have been presented annually since 2012 to high achievers in the SA Certificate of Education (SACE).
Last year, a graduate of Walford Anglican School for Girls, Jasmin Manetta, wrote to the Governor Hieu Van Le suggesting IB students should also be recognised.
The SA Governor’s Award recipients. James Psaltis is third from right. Picture: Morgan Sette.
The Governor agreed and said it was a pleasure to extend the awards to the top student from each IB diploma school. In fact, he was also particularly impressed the Year 12 alternative had a focus on intercultural respect.
“As a proud advocate for cultural diversity in our state and our nation, I am pleased to see that the IB considers these skills as essential for young citizens of the 21st century,” Governor Hieu Van Le said at the award ceremony.
The IB is an international school-leaving credential. It has fewer in-class assessments and about 80 percent of a student’s result is based on the final exam.
In South Australia, there were among 222 students who sat the IB instead of the SA Certificate of Education this year.
Greece, represented by Stefania Liberakakis, have released their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
ERT premiered the 18-year old Dutch-Greek singer’s entry, Last Dance, on Wednesday and it takes listeners back to the 1980s, while throwing in a nod to ancient Greek mythology for good measure.
“Last Dance is a very up-tempo track, but it manages to maintain the sensitivity and melody that are usually lost in very dynamic songs,” Stefania told local media.
The Eurovision entryis written by a team of Eurovision veterans including Dimitris Kontopoulos (You Are The Only One and Shady Lady), Greek production team Arcade and Sharon Vaughn (Scream and Waterline).
Many are calling it a ‘successful return’ to the competition after Stefania’s performance of Superg!rl for last year’s Eurovision was called off after the cancellation of the contest due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our whole team believes a lot in our song that we have this year. A prediction does not make sense. We put all our efforts to have an excellent stage presentation and we want Greece and the Greeks wherever they are to feel proud of the result they will see,” Stefania says.
Greece will take part in the first half of the second semifinal. Up until 2016, they had always qualified for the final. However, both Argo and Yianna Terzi failed to make the cut. Can Greece return to their fortunes?
The next round of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey will be held on March 16 in Athens, the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The press release did not provide any more details.
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish media reported that the discussions will be held on March 16-17. The reports also said there would be political consultations between the Greek and Turkish deputy foreign ministers alongside the talks.
This latest round will bring the total tally up to 62 rounds. The previous round was held in late January.
