Vasiliki “Kiki” Dimoula, famous Greek poet and Academy of Athens member, has died at the age of 88.
After being hospitalised for 20 days, the acclaimed poet passed away on her hospital bed after suffering a heart attack. She died shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, the announcement says.
Kiki Dimoula was born in Athens on June 6, 1931, working at the Bank of Greece from 1949 to 1973.
By the 1960’s, Dimoula’s reputation as a highly regarded artist had been firmly established and, since the 1970s, she has received many awards, including the European Prize for Literature in 2009.
“I use humour to exorcize death,” she once explained.
“Poetry can make absence into presence. I call on the dead. I invoke death.”
She also became a member of the Athens Academy in 2002, the third woman to be elected at the Literature chair.
Dimoula described her writing methods at an event in 2007, where observed the natural born chaos of the world and worked to try and impose some order. Poetry, she believed, exists: “It isn’t made by poets, who are not creators but explorers, each in their own way.”
Yiayia and papou, mother and father, son and daughter. These three generations of Greek Australians encapsulate all of what it means to be Greek, but how does each generation separate itself from the other? What additional knowledge does each generation bring to the table, and how can each generation learn from the other?
The all-knowing yiayia and
papou
Your yiayia and papou’s knowledge is timeless. Brought together through years of struggle and hardship to bring the family to where they are now. For many of us, yiayia and papou are seen as the top tier of the family hierarchical chain. Whatever they say goes, and yes, most of the time even outranking your mum and dad. But that doesn’t mean the younger generations don’t bring anything to make their day that one step less difficult. Anything from setting up their electronics, to showing them how the internet works, to even showing them new food recipes (be careful with that one though). Despite what the younger generations bring however, the stories of their lives will always be seen as the greatest life tool. Various tales of encountering obstacle after obstacle to bring the family to where they are today, while still maintaining the core essence of Greek hospitality.
Halfway there: The mother and father
The experience of being raised by Greek-born parents partnered with being raised within an Australian community. Although moving to the other side of the world and learning a new language may be difficult, for some, being the child of an immigrant can be even harder. Being a child of a Greek immigrant means you bring everything from your parents’ culture and integrate it with the Australian lifestyle. This can be anything as simple as bringing souvlaki from home to work the next day, having to take Greek dancing lessons, or using elements of your Greek parents pastitsio recipe to make a lasagne. Being a child of Greek-born parents may sometimes have its challenges, possibly hiding your secret boyfriend from your parents or sacrificing much of your social life for work, but each mother and father of that generation will certainly carry down their parents hard working ethos and cultural identity.
The sons and daughters: Keeping traditions alive
Taking two generations of experience and Greek culture to use into their lives, the grandchildren of yiayia and papou are left to continue the Greek traditions to ensure their survivability. As time goes on, we see Greek-Australian children become dissociated with their heritage, and it is up to the younger generation of teenagers and twenty to thirty year-olds to make sure that these traditions don’t fade into obscurity. This ranges from lifelong traditions such holding feasts to celebrate name days, dancing the Zorba at weddings, and going to Greek school to preserve the ancient language. While this generation is tasked with carrying on these traditions, it is also vital to bring in new traditions that can be celebrated with the wider community. What brings all three generations together, apart from their love of Greek culture, is the knowingness that whatever we do in life, we remember the rich history of our Greek roots.
Να τα Χιλιάσει! Beloved mother, yiayia and great yiayia Mary Kalenderidis turns 100, claiming the title of Goulburn’s oldest Greek community member.
On Saturday the 15th of February, Meropi Kalenderidis celebrated her 100th birthday with all her loved ones at the Goulburn Soldier’s Club.
Her day full of love and reminiscing was spent with 90 guests, as well as the Apollo dancing group from the Canberra Hellenic dancers, who put together a special performance.
Mary Kalenderidis celebrating her 100th birthday
Is it the Mediterranean diet, the garlic, the olive oil, the onions or her strong faith in God?
Mary was born on the 10th of February 1920, in Atsiki, Limnos, Greece and last Monday received her letter from the Queen as she finally made it to 100 years old.
Mary also received a
congratulatory certificate from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the David Hurley-Governor
General of Australia, a congratulatory message from the NSW Premier Gladys
Berejiklian, a congratulatory certificate from the MP Federal member for Hume
Mr Angus Taylor, as well as a letter from Wendy Tuckerman – MP member for
Goulburn.
She has accomplished many amazing
things in life, including marrying her beloved late husband George
Kalenderidis, having 4 daughters, 8 grandkids and 5 great grandkids.
So what hasn’t Mary experienced over the last 100 years?
Her journey of a lifetime began in 1958, when she first moved to Australia aboard the “Castel Felizzi”, disembarking in Sydney. She then moved on to Canberra, where she stayed at the Hotel Wellington, later moving to Goulburn.
Mary Kalenderidis dancing with the Canberra Hellenic dancers
It was both a terrifying and exciting journey that changed her life, providing a fresh start for Mary and her family.
From courageous to compassionate, dedicated and inspiring, selfless and strong to loving and generous, Mary is truly one of a kind. She always puts her family first and is the perfect role model to her family, as told by her 4 daughters.
Eldest of 8 siblings, and the last alive, Mary passed down her wisdom and always taught her loved ones to give and never expect, to respect people, to always be grateful for everything and “be careful”.
She may never have had a typical
9-5 job, she did however have Boarders living in her house and she would cook
and clean for them daily for extra income to provide for the family.
Mary Kalenderidis with her great granddaughter Evelyn Karatzas
Mary and her late husband (who was the church chanter and well-known barber), would also hire out black and white movies to the local Greek community in Goulburn, where locals would come to their house to catch up on the latest gossip, enjoy a coffee and Mary’s famous Greek sweets.
Although Mary never learnt how to speak English, Days of our lives taught her everything she knows to this day. Despite this, she maintained her hobbies, which included crocheting, gardening, reading, cooking and singing.
Mary truly lived an extraordinary life, experiencing endless milestones, creating so many memories and accomplishing many amazing achievements, one of the best being her beautiful family. As we say in Greek, Να τα Χιλιάσεις!
Greece’s Olympic gymnastics champion, Eleftherios Petrounias, arrived in Melbourne, Australia, with much hype and excitement. The Greek Olympian will now leave with a gold medal on his neck after winning it on Saturday at the 2020 World Cup Gymnastics.
Petrounias achieved a score of 15.066, beating out Iran’s Mahdi Kohani and Egypt’s Ali Zahran.
The 2020 World Cup Gymnastics were held in Melbourne, Australia, and was the perfect opportunity for the Greek born champion to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, before he can participate in the Greek national Olympic team, he is required to win in Baku, Azerbaijan and Doha in Qatar in March.
Despite this, President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos congratulated Greek gymnast, wishing him success in the Olympic Games this winter.
“The wishes of all of us accompany you towards the pinnacle in Tokyo,” the president’s message said, “but regardless of this target, you already top Greek men and women’s respect and love, and not just them. Warm congratulations.”
Joining the long list of international and domestic sports stars, Petrounias also announced that all profits from his prize money will go towards the bushfire appeal for victims affected by the recent fires.
Melbourne World Cup Rings Final Results: 1st – Eleftherios Petrounias GRE 15.066 2nd – Mahdi Ahmad Kohani IRI 14.5 3rd – Ali Zahran EGY 14.266 4th – Ng Kiu Chung HKG 14.066 5th – Courtney Tulloch GBR 13.766 6th – Rick Jacobs NED 13.266 7th – Devy Dyson NZL 13.166 8th – Hamza Yilmaz TUR 12.7
This year’s Westphalia Peace Prize will be awarded to Alexis Tsipras and former prime minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev.
According to the International Review Board of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association, the two former prime ministers are honoured for their “diplomatic skills” with the Prespa Agreement and for their contribution to stability.
“Alexis Tsipras and Zoraf Zaev with the Prespa agreement, which has solved a decades-long dispute over the name, have created a diplomatic workforce and have contributed decisively to the stability of the entire Balkan region,” Raidan Oshiran said for Westphalia-Lippe (LWL).
As the Deutsche Welle reports in reference to the award decision, “both former prime ministers, but especially the Greeks, have put political logic above their personal careers, without taking into account their tenure in office. Without Tsipras and Zaev, the name dispute would not have ended and the long-running (name dispute) could continue to destabilise the entire Balkan region.”
The award was instituted in 1998 by the The Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL), in memory of the key principles of the Westphalian Peace Agreement in 1648 that sealed the end of the Thirty Years’ War: religious peace and tolerance.
The award honours personalities or representatives of states that have become a role model for Europe and the world for their work for peace.
It was announced today by actor Matthew Perry that the cast of ‘Friends’ is to reunite for a one off special, more than 15 years since the show ended.
The news was confirmed after Perry posted on Instagram: “It’s happening” with a photo of the cast from the 1990s, with the rest of the cast also sharing the post.
The one-off episode will air on the HBO Max streaming service, with the date yet to be confirmed.
It is confirmed that Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will all appear on the show, with the actors last coming together during their last season in 2004.
The final show episode of ‘Friends’ watched by 52.5 million viewers in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.
Rumours of a reunion intensified in October last year, when Jenifer Aniston posted a photo of the cast together on Instagram.
HBO Max has also secured rights to the show’s back catalogue for $425m (£339m).
“Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together – we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends Library,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer for the channel.
Jennifer Aniston is the daughter of Greek-born actor John Aniston, who was born in Crete as Yannis Anastassakis before changing his name.
In recognition of the poetess Kiki Dimoulas, the Hellenic Cypriot Cultural Association (HCCA) and the Association of Cypriot Writers are launching a youth poem competition.
The competition between Greeks and Cypriots living in Australia and abroad provides an opportunity for youth aged between 15 and 30 to showcase their talents to a panel of experienced writers, as well as honour a great poetess.
Writers can submit a poem (up to 25 lines) or a short story (up to 300 words) that is inspired by the well-known poem of Kiki Dimoulas, ‘Popular Number’.
“It is worth loving our people dearly and showing them as they live and stand by us. It is worth giving joy and honouring with modesty and friendliness the writers of letters, arts, culture and science while living close by.
“The future belongs to our young people, and by all means we must teach them the value of being “Hellenic”, but also raise awareness of ethical issues to nurture and educate,” the Hellenic Cypriot Cultural Association said in a statement.
The youth competition begins on February 18 and ends on March 1, 2020. The poems and short stories will be judged by an Evaluation Committee of scholars and writers, members of the Hellenic Cypriot Cultural Association and the Cyprus Writers’ Association.
The poems of the selected winners of competition will be broadcast to the international, digital, broadcast ‘Reading With Sissy’ on Radio1d www.radio1d.gr, which is broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube.
All selected works will also be included in the Youth Literary Anthology, to be published by the Hellenic Cypriot Cultural Association and the Cyprus Literary Association, and will be released in Greece, Cyprus and abroad.
The Hellenic Cypriot Cultural Association (HCCA) aims to record, preserve, communicate and promote the common culture of Greece and Cyprus, as well as unite ubiquitous Greek and Cypriot artists, artists and scientists.
It sets the noble aim of defending and promoting in Greece, Cyprus and internationally the ecumenical ideals, mainly of Hellenism, the Greek Language, the arts and the traditions. They act through a series of works and activities of a literary, educational and social nature, sometimes in synergy with a charity or entertainment arts.
Six police officers and 27 other people are under investigation in a major passport fraud case that included issuing Greek state identity documents under false pretences to criminal fugitives from abroad, Greek authorities said Friday.
The police’s internal affairs division said 38 state identity cards and 31 passports issued between 2016 and 2018 had been canceled as a result of the investigation.
Payments of between 5,000 and 40,000 euros ($5,400 and $43,200) were allegedly made for each illegal identity document, most issued using the names of Greek citizens living abroad who had not renewed their passports.
Passport fraud checks have been stepped up in recent years due to the growing number of migrants living in Greece who are prevented from traveling on to other European Union countries under EU-backed restrictions that went into effect in 2016. Greece remains the busiest illegal entry point for migrants and refugees trying to reach the EU.
Police did not say whether any of the 33 suspects have been formally arrested.
As he arrived on Thursday for a two-day summit in Brussels to hammer out the European Union’s joint seven-year budget, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for “active solidarity” from the bloc to help Greece deal with migration.
“We call for active solidarity – not just words – in dealing with the refugee/migrant problem and guarding the borders, as Greek borders are also European,” he told reporters.
His statement comes as a bi-weekly report compiled by the Labor Ministry’s National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA), showing that an estimated 5,463 unaccompanied refugee children were living in Greece at the end of January.
Of those, 92.5 percent are boys and 7.5 percent are girls, while 9.0 percent are under the age of 14. Divided by nationality, 44 percent are from Afghanistan, 21 percent from Pakistan, 11 percent from Syria and 24 percent from other countries.
This time last month, Mitsotakis’ government announced a new ministry of migration and asylum, as they looked to increase efforts to accelerate policy implementation following recent controversy on the Greek islands in the northeastern Aegean Sea.
The government has also stated that it will move ahead with its plans to replace current “open” camps like Moria on the Greek island of Lesvos — despite protests on the Aegean islands.
‘Nickos – The Young Greek Immigrant’ is an inspiring biography of a thirteen year old boy who went from peeling potatoes at the Trocadero Café in Trangie, NSW to becoming one of Australia’s most successful businessmen in his industry.
When successful entrepreneur Nick Andrews decided to write his book, he held onto the same motivation that drove his life’s success; family. While his biography documents his journey, it also offers insight into what was needed to become the success he is today. The most impactful lesson readers will take, is the adversity behind each migrant success story that is often overlooked in the Greek-Australian community.
This is a story that serves as a reminder to young Greek-Australians, that they do not need to look too far to see the result of hard work. In fact, they themselves are a product of it.
It is the lessons birthed from the migrant success story that motivated Nick to write his biography, so that the Andrews family can carry this legacy with them forever.
A young Nick Andrews after arriving in Sydney, Australia.
Coming
to Australia
Nick was sent by his parents to Australia at the age of 13 to protect him from execution by the Guerilla movement in Greece at the time. As he was the eldest son, and his brothers were too young to travel, Nick had to make the journey alone.
Before Nick
begins his journey, he is left with one crucial piece of advice from his father
that he can now passes on to the successive generations of his family:
“Of course you will make mistakes. We all do. But learn from them. People who say they don’t make mistakes, don’t make decisions either. Don’t ever do anything to another person that you wouldn’t want others to do to you. To respect yourself you have to do the right thing. You are a young boy, but when you reach twenty-one years of age you should know what is right or wrong.”
A young Nick Andrews began his journey from a small village in Porovitsa, onto a train in Akrata, a plane to Cyprus, a lengthy stopover in Egypt and finally arrived in Sydney, Australia.
Nick Andrews and his wife Maria.
Nick also offers
some valuable advice he was given by his Uncle Milton, which summarises the
efficiency and frankness of the traditional Greek values to success:
“When you go to Australia, be careful to be a good man. You’re only young, but you will have to grow up quickly. Don’t steal. Don’t tell lies. Don’t mix with bad company because people will say, ‘Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are’…And don’t mix with bad women.”
“Much of my
memory of that voyage is lost now. I was not seasick, and like a little, scared
boy I saw the whole thing as an adventure,” explains Nick.
He was met by his Uncle Sam in Rose Bay, but Nick’s journey did not end there. He eventually ended up in a small town outside of Dubbo called Trangie, where he purchased a café from his Uncle at the young age of 17. This is the accomplishment that Nick says he is most proud of in his life to date, aside from his family.
Nick Andrews (centre) and his family in Sydney, Australia.
Business
ventures
Today, Nick
Andrews is the CEO of the successful AMPCO Group, which is a large national and
international exporter and distributor of quality meat products.
His
progression into this business also began at an early age, and was fuelled by
the Greek spirit of wanting to provide his customers with the best products
available. After Nick came into a disagreement with the local butcher providing
his café with low quality meats, Nick decided to open his own butcher in
opposition. From there, he discovered he had a knack for the business world,
and over the past 60 years has managed to become one of Australia’s leading
suppliers.
Though, throughout all his business ventures and budding successes, the young Nick that left Porovitsa at 13, was never forgotten. This is why one of Nick’s proudest achievements is from 1951, when he was able to build his parents their dream home in Akrata.
Migrant
success story
There are certain
tales throughout this book that every Greek migrant can relate to, like
“putting money in biscuit tins”, and being invited to the homes of other Greek
migrants for ‘proxenio’ with their daughters.
Though, there are also some fascinating recounts that highlight the particularly interesting life Nick has led. These include plans to start a nightclub in Sydney with Frank Sinatra, and being Japan’s favourite meat importer.
As Greek Australians have moved further away from experiencing these tales themselves, Nick’s passion to cement them into history, through his book, is something that all generations can appreciate. This is what Nick has emphasised as his motivation to write his biography. Its primary purpose was for his family; past, present and future.
“My greatest happiness comes not from making real estate deals, making a killing on an export deal…No, my happiness comes from seeing, hearing, feeling my family,” says Nick.
The Andrews family today.
“My only
dream as a boy was to make enough money in Australia to be able to buy my
father a pushbike. But my father had more faith in me, more than I could ever
have imagined…”
The biggest lesson Mr Andrews aims to translate to all future Andrews generations and beyond is “Trusting is good, Checking is Better!” – “Once any person has a thought, a will or a dream to pursue it. Set yourself goals, try hard and you can succeed! Dreams can come true, believe in yourself!”
Nick and his proud grandson, Peter Manettas at the book launch of ‘Nickos: The Young Greek Immigrant’.
By creating this book, Nick tributes the values he learnt from his father, crediting his legacy to those before him. While doing this, he has created a memoir that all future generations can draw upon to ensure the grit and determination of the Greek migrant success story is never lost.
Nickos was
launched 18th August
2019 and is NOW AVAILABLE in hardcover for $35 on Amazon.com.au. All sales from Mr Andrews’ book will be donated to the Humpty Dumpty
Foundation, Rotary Charity and more.
