ΚΑΛΩΣ ΗΛΘΑΤΕ! Kalos ilthate! Welcome!
Welcome to the Global Greek World - a world of Greek-Somethings which stretches from Auckland to Zanzibar, from Aruba to Zimbabwe.
Wherever you are in the world, this is YOUR world!
With this magificent painting by one of our most famous Global Greeks, El Greco, we at Global Greek World wish all our friends around the world
Καλά Χριστούγεννα και Καλή Xρονιά με Υγεία, Χαρά και Ειρήνη!
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year!
El Greco was born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in 1541 in Crete, at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before travelling at age 26 to Venice, as other Greek artists had done. In 1570 he moved to Rome, where he opened a workshop and executed a series of works. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style with elements of Mannerism and of the Venetian Renaissance. In 1577 he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death. In Toledo, El Greco received several major commissions and produced his best known paintings. To read more about El Greco, Click Here
The Onassis Foundation (USA) is currently hosting an exhibition
THE ORIGINS OF EL GRECO:
ICON PAINTING IN VENETIAN CRETE
through February 27, 2010
with early works by El Greco.
Don't miss this fascinating exhibition at
The Onassis Cultural Center, New York
Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Entrance on 51st or 52nd Street between 5th and Madison Avenues
This week it is Athens' turn to welcome famous jet setting Greek American Chef, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Cat Cora home to Greece!
A talented, smart and dynamic woman who has taken America by storm and is currently promoting the benefits of our wonderful Mediterranean Cuisine and lifestyle all over the USA and the world, Cat Cora is the first,and the only, female winner of the Iron Chef America competition! This is no mean achievement and she deserves congratulations all round!
She has recently inaugurated what promises to be a highly promising new venture which is none other than Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. This is a Greek themed taverna style restaurant right down to the ouzo! We like the fact that at the opening, in a toast to his daughter's latest accomplishment, Cat Cora's father Spiro asked the group to raise a glass to the memory of Walt Disney as well. In Greece it is common practice to remember those who have left this world for higher things...(Read about the opening in the Orlando Sentinel)
Cat Cora, who has just returned from a weekend in Crete (the home of the Mediterranean Diet) for wine and olive oil tastings, features in this month's issue of Greek Vogue and will be the keynote speaker during a workshop on “Greece as a Culinary Destination,” organized by DEREE – The American College of Greece. The workshop will bring together Cora with some top culinary and tourism professionals such as Yiannis Boutaris and fellow Greek American Food Writer and critic Diane Kochilas, and is designed to celebrate the new B.S. in International Tourism and Hospitality Management major at Deree – The American College of Greece (DEREE – ACG).
The three- hour workshop will take place at the John S. Bailey Library at DEREE tomorrow, Monday, December 14, 2009, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Following the discussion, Cat Cora will offer a live cooking demonstration, titled “Modern Twist on Greek Classics.”
Culinary tourism has been exploding globally, as countries and tourism enterprises seek to differentiate themselves in the crowded leisure market by appealing to travelers’ particular interests.
Greece has one of the most distinct culinary traditions in the world, and its traditional cuisine, what is universally referred to as the Mediterranean Diet, has acquired mass appeal in recent years mainly because of persistent reports that it is especially beneficial to human health.
Congratulations on your success Cat Cora! We at Global Greek World welcome you to Greece and wish you all the best in all that you undertake!
Macedonia Airport, Greece, 2035....A metallic briefcase carried by a private aircraft becomes the cause of several killings...what on earth could it have in it to justify so much bloodshed?
This week has not been a brilliant one for Greece on the European stage. In the light of so many doomsday predictions regarding the Greek Economy which have been directed at Greece in the last couple of weeks, we feel that we in the Global Greek World need to dwell on something much more positive!
What better way to start the week than with the news that the award-winning short film 'World Water War' by two Greek students, Stelios Alexandrakis and Menelaos Pamboukidis from the Aristotelian University Film School in Thessaloniki, was screened at the U.N. Climate Change Conference on Monday 7 December 2009 , in Copenhagen.
World Water War succeeded in winning the short film competition 'Think. Act. Change' organised by the European Union's EPP - European People's Party, earlier this year, sending out a strong message for the protection of the environment to European and World Leaders. In London last month, and renamed World War III, it also won the Best Made by an Organisation Film Award in the 'One Minute to Save the World' International Film Competition.
What was especially pleasing was that the 2nd prize in the 'Think.Act.Change' competition went to another Greek entry 'Our Last Shot' by fellow student Kostas Karydas...
Our congratulations and our thanks go to these three sensitive and talented young people who by creating such excellent short films ensured that the urgent message of conservation and environmental protection would come through loud and clear to all those who can do something about it.
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.... How many of us who read this poem ever believed that that time would come in our lifetime? Unfortunately it has and in a world of continually shrinking natural resources, destroyed by man's greed for more and more worldly goods, T.S. Eliot's words from his poem Wasteland, have never been more frighteningly relevant...
Have we got the message? It will be interesting to see if we have and what we plan to do about it while there is still time, but more importantly, what our leaders do about it after Copnhagen!
For the sake of our future and that of our children we will be waiting to see the results...
'What is That?' - 2007
an excellent, beautifully made short film by Greek director Constantine Pilavios.
Poignant, and sensitive, with a universal message which transgresses all language barriers, it is a wonderful example of what we Global Greeks can achieve!
We are sure it will move you as much as it moved us...
Let's hug them tight, they made us who we are!
REMINDER PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE FORUM & THE MINISTER’S LUNCHEON
We invite you to the 11th Annual Capital Link Forum which marks ten years of consistent and laborious efforts to raise awareness about Greece as an investment destination to a wider investor audience and focuses on investment and business opportunities in Greece and the wider region of South-East Europe.
The Forum will take place at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on December 3rd and 4th, 2009.
It should be noted that the Forum is under the auspices of the new Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping and that the recently appointed new Minister, Mrs Louka Katseli will be the keynote speaker during Lunch on Thursday, December 3rd.
Today, Greece is at a particularly challenging threshold. The new government has affirmed its priority on positioning the Greek Economy to participate in the global recovery through a series of initiatives that will improve the country's macro-economic fundamentals. As the global economic recovery is on its way, Greece can take advantage of its unique and inherent competitive advantages as a safe gateway to Southeastern Europe for international investors. The global economic recovery may present several business and investment opportunities in Greece itself.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping of Greece
In co-operation with the New York Stock Exchange and under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping of Greece
Keynote Speaker:
Mrs. Louka Katseli, Greece’s Minister of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping
Thursday, December 03, 2009 8:00am - 5:00pm
at
Metropolitan Club One East 60th Street New York, NY 10022
Followed-by Cocktail Reception
Admissions: Attendance for morning and/or afternoon sessions is free of charge. Registration subject to email verification by Capital Link. Lunch: $100.00 fee to attend lunch session
The 11th Annual Capital Link Forum organized in co-operation with the New York Stock Exchange and under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping of Greece, with the Minister, Mrs. Louka Katseli, as keynote speaker.
Panels on Global Shipping Markets (Tsakos Energy Navigation, Teekay Corporation, Euroseas, Safe Bulkers, Seanergy Maritime) the government plan for the Greek Economy, the Greek Stock Market, Investment & Business Opportunities in Greece.
Presentations by key listed companies (Alapis, OTE, Coca Cola HBC, Hellenic Petroleum) and major international firms (Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Knight Capital Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sal Oppenheim).
Today, Greece is at a particularly challenging threshold. The new government will focus on positioning the Greek economy to participate in the global recovery through a series of initiatives that will improve the country`s macro-economic fundamentals.
As the global economic recovery is on the way, Greece can take advantage of its unique and inherent competitive advantages as a safe gateway to Southeastern Europe for international investors. The global economic recovery may present business and investment opportunities in Greece.
The Forum gathers annually a select group in excess of 500 business and political leaders from the USA and Greece. Our target audience is the management of top US corporations, institutional investors, commercial and investment bankers, financial advisors and brokers, analysts, and prominent Greek Americans with an active interest or involvement with Greece and the greater region.
This year`s Invest in Greece Forum marks eleven years of consistent and laborious efforts to raise awareness about Greece as an investment destination to a wider investor audience.
For the fifth consecutive year, our conference is under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping and the recently appointed Minister Mrs. Louka Katseli will be the Keynote Speaker.
Luncheon & Keynote Address: Minister of Economy, Competitiveness & Shipping of Greece: Mrs. Louka Katseli
Forum Topics & Presentations on:
The Greek Economy
Government Economic Policy & Initiatives
Privatization Program - Investment & Business Opportunities in Greece
Public & Private Partnerships Developments & Opportunities
The Global Shipping Markets Today
Greek Shipping A Global Force
Dry Bulk & Tanker Panels
The Greek Stock Market
Investment Opportunities for Foreign Investors
Mergers Acquisitions and Capital Market Trends in Europe and Implications for the Greek Economy
The Athens Exchange
Financial Disclosure & Corporate Governance in Greece
Sector & Listed Company Presentations
Aerospace & Defense (Hellenic Aerospace Industry)
Energy (Hellenic Petroleum)
Food & Beverage (Coca Cola Hellenic)
Telecommunications (OTE)
Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics (ALAPIS)
Banking (BANK OF ATTICA)
Real Estate & Development
Nicolas Bornozis, President, Capital Link - New York
Nicolas Bornozis, one of our dynamic and enterprising Global Greeks is the founder and President of Capital Link. One of the first to recognise the enormous significance of the field of Investor Relations and with extensive experience in the US banking and capital markets, Nicholas established Capital Link in 1995 after many years as President of the New York securities brokerage subsidiary of Credit Commercial de France, and before that as a commercial banker with Credit Commercial de France in New York focusing on business development, and lending to the Wall Street firms and to international shipping, and with Bankers Trust Company in New York in international banking.
In 1996 Nicolas founded and managed, Alexander Capital, L.P., an SEC/NASD registered U.S. broker/dealer firm, which developed securities brokerage and investment banking business in the Greek, Egyptian and Russian markets and sold it at the end of 2003 to a group of US investors representing Russian interests. He also founded and managed Alexander Asset Management, Inc., which for a three year period (1998 – 2001) handled portfolios invested in the Greek and European equity markets on behalf of US investors.
Nicolas holds active US securities licenses Series 7, 63, 24, 27, indicative of his street-driven business approach.
With an MBA from Harvard’s elite Business School and a Law Degree from the University of Athens, in Greece with specialization in commercial and corporate law and a graduate of prestigious Athens College in Greece, Nicolas is a member of the Hellenic American Bankers’ Association and for twelve years a Visiting Lecturer on International Banking and Finance at the City University Business School (Department for Shipping Trade and Finance) in London.
Nicolas has served as Chairman of the Investment Management Committee of the Harvard Business School Club in New York and as Chairman of the Athens College Alumni Association in America. Fluent in English and French as well as Greek, Nicolas has also written several articles on international banking and finance and has participated as speaker and panelist in several investment conferences in the US, Europe and Latin America.
Nicolas is married to Marie, whom he met as a Harvard MBA student and with their two lovely children, live in New York, with Nicolas spending a lot of his time commuting between the company offices in the US, Greece and the UK.
Nicolas and Olga Bornozis with Spiros Capralos, Head of the Athens Stock Exchange
Olga Bornozi, Vice President, Capital Link - Athens
Olga Bornozi, is the force behind the Greek branch of Capital Link in Athens, established in 1998. Vice President of the company, Olga is a valuable member of various Chambers and Associations, such as the Hellenic – French Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Hellenic – American Chamber of Commerce, and others, and is a writer-contributor for several magazines in Greece.
A graduate of the University of Geneva in Switzerland with a Bachelors degree in Political and Economic Sciences, Olga continued her studies at the Institute of International Studies (H.E.I.), in Geneva and obtained a Masters in Political Science and International Studies. She went on to obtain a second postgraduate degree with further specialization in Political Science and International Studies, from the Institut d’Etudes Europeennes of Geneva.
Olga began her career in Switzerland, as an Assistant to Professor Claude Dupraz, on a project of Industrial Design. Later on, she joined the Press and Information Desk of the General Consulate of Greece in Geneva, and then to G.I.E. SA Generale Import-Export SA as an Administrative Assistant. For many years she worked with the Latsis family on managerial welfare issues as well as on their personal public relations in Geneva, before returning to Greece to take up the position of Executive Assistant to Dr. Athanase Lavidas, President of LAVIPHARM SA, in Athens, with a specialisation in the organisation of International Conferences for Dr Lavidas and the company.
In 1996 she moved to the US, as the Public Relations Manager & Events Coordinator of Capital Link Inc in New York. She successfully organized the First Annual Conference of the New York International Forum, in April 1998.
In the meantime, wishing to contribute to the incredible success of the Athens Olympics, Olga dedicated 2 years to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, as Head of the Office of the Managing Director. During the Athens Olympics, Olga offered her very valuable services to the Organising Committee as a volunteer, and had been instrumental in promoting the cause to a lot of Global Greek celebrities including people like author Nicolas Gage, FrenchStarAcademy presenter and showman Nikos Alliagas, and others.Olga is well connected in the GlobalGreek World and has spent a lot of her time promoting causes dear to our hearts!
Nicolas and Olga, like many of our Global Greeks, have had the unstinting and generous support of their families in their rise to success. We pay particular tribute to their mother, Mrs A. Bornozi - a dynamic, intelligent woman who had the misfortune of being widowed early in life, but who, with her tremendous strength of character and true grit, a classic Greek Matriarch, did not hesitate to do everything in her power to ensure her children's success.
Nicolas and Olga, we in the Global Greek World are very proud of your achievements and wish both you and Capital Link an extremely successful forum next week!
Kali Epityxia!
About Capital Link
With its headquarters in New York and presence in London and Athens, Capital Link has been active since 1995 in the field of Investor Relations and Financial Communication, combining IR, IT and financial media in one comprehensive package and enabling Companies to maximize their penetration and recognition in the global investment community.
Capital Link maintains close collaboration with the three main US Stock Exchanges (New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange (now part of NYSE) and NASDAQ), the London Stock Exchange, the Athens Stock Exchange as well as numerous companies in Greece, Europe, US and Chile. It also organizes a series of Investment Forums focusing on its main activity fields in New York, London and Athens annually, linking companies with strategic and institutional investors, bankers, analysts, and the financial media in Europe and the United States.
Capital Link has a leading position globally in the area of Investor Relations with respect to shipping, as it cooperates with 25 shipping companies listed on the three US Stock Exchanges, as well as in London (LSE and AIM) and Milan.
Capital Link holds a leading position in US Closed-End funds and ETFs, as it cooperates with the major fund sponsors in these sectors. The Annual Capital Link “Closed-End Fund and Global ETF” Forum taking place in New York, already in its 8th year, is considered the most significant Forum of the sector. In the context of this Forum, Capital Link organizes the "Annual Closed-End Fund & Global ETF Awards" which recognize funds and managers who adhere to high standards of Corporate Governance, financial disclosure and Investor Relations. Capital Link also maintains a portal with information on these funds.
Capital Link has built one of the most extensive and effective networks for the promotion of Greek Listed Companies both in Greece , Europe and the United States targeting international investors. Indicative events of its activity are the decisive contribution of Capital Link to the signing of the Cooperation Memorandum between the New York and Athens Stock Exchanges in 2002, the organization of events for the OTE listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1998, as well as the organization of the first visit by the Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange to Athens in 2001.
The Annual Capital Link Forum on “Investing in Greece”, already in its 11th year, has been established as the most credible Forum for briefing US investors on the progress, developments and potential of the Greek economy, the stock market and Greek listed companies.
Capital Link alsoorganizes the Annual Greek IR Awards, aimed at identifying and recognizing those Executives and Companies who adhere to high standards of Corporate Governance, financial disclosure and Investor Relations.
January 2003 100 Young Ethnic Greeks from Southern Hemisphere Countries on their Visit to Athens 2004
The General Secretariat for Hellenes Abroad has announced it's next hospitality programme.
From January 17 to February 6, 2010, 100 young Greeks Abroad , ie young people with some Greek parentage or ancestry, are being invited to take part in a Greek Language and Culture programme organised by the General Secretariat. Those eligible will be aged 18-25, and from countries of the Southern Hemisphere, i.e. Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Panama, Peru, Chile, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The program has been running for several years and is particularly successful as it brings together young ethnic Greeks from many countries and allows them to taste and experience elements of our Hellenic culture, traditions and daily life in the 3 week period that they are here.
Based in Athens, the programme is multi-purpose and aims at
1. Improving the level of Greek language skills for young ethnic Greeks, whatever their field of studies or area of employment.
2. Reinforcing the Greek cultural identity of the participants.
3. Familiarising them with modern Greece
4. Bringing together young Diaspora Greeks from different countries but who have common cultural roots thus promoting and strengthening friendship bonds between them.
Those selected are very fortunate as they get to see so much. As guests of the Government, in fact, they have a kind of privileged exposure to so many facets of Greek daily life, of Greek Culture and History and even get to meeting many of the Nation's political and cultural leaders! They have so many events, excursions and happenings concentrated into that three week period that the experience is a life-changing one for many of the participants! The benefits from it stay with them forever!
Experience from previous programmes has taught us that the bonds of friendship that are forged during these hospitality programmes remain strong throughout the lives of the people who participate.
The Greeks Abroad Poster for the Athens Games
The hospitality programmes offered the year before the Athens' Olympics brought all the participants to the Athens 2004 HQ where they heard all about the Olympic Games and what they could expect. A lot of these young people went on to volunteer and come back to Athens to be part of the Homecoming of the Games and the celebration that followed, putting their considerable language skills and valuable services at the disposal of the organisers, as part of a large group of about 5000 volunteers referred to as Greeks Abroad, and putting their own mark on the success of Athens' Magical Olympic Games!
During the Games, the General Secretariat, referred to as GGAE, also offered hospitality for a small group of Greeks Abroad volunteers at a summer camp, or kataskinosi, in Vari in Southern Attica. This post is dedicated to them - the wonderful group of young Greeks from Australia, France, Jordan, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Cyprus, The UK, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, the USA, Canada and Japan, who came to be known as the Vari Group!
The Vari Group - Athens 2004
Members of the group keep in touch via Facebook and still meet whenever they get the chance! In fact, an official reunion is being planned for the Summer of 2010 - 6 years after the Games and they are hoping that the people who hosted them as well as their contacts at Athens 2004 will be there too!
These hospitality programmes offered by the GGAE are unique and wonderful programmes and we urge all those who can to take the offer up and send in an application.
Applications are available at Greek Embassies and Consulates in the countries that are eligible for participation! Apply now!
In Crete during the Second World War a wounded Maori Battalion soldier and a young Cretan woman fall in love when the young infantryman is sheltered by her family.
After marrying in Crete, Ned and Katina come back to live in New Zealand, settling in the Far North. They lived a long, rich and happy life together, raising a family and involving themselves in community affairs there and in the Wellington region. Ned died in 1987, Katina in 1996.
Years later, the whanau, the family of Ned and Katina approached New Zealand writer Patricia Grace to compile their parents' story. Ned & Katina is the result. This warm, beautifully written true story is impossible to put down, simply because it is a true story with real life heroes and heroines!
We found a speech given by New Zealand Maori Affairs Minister, Parekura Horomia, at the 63rd Anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Crete, in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2004, very appropriate and informative and have reproduced it below so that our readers can read a little about the background to this story.
In 2001, a large delegation of veterans and business people led by Prime Minister Helen Clark and including a Maori Concert Party, visited Greece and Crete to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the battle which succeeded in changing the course of the 2nd World War.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on her way to the 60th Battle of Crete Celebrations Galatas, Crete, May 2001.
Photo Source: Athens News
Ned and Katina's family, sons Alex and Manos, were part of that delegation, and were also in Crete in 2006, when another group of veterans, led by Katina's nephew John Petritakis, came to Greece on a Pilgrimage for the 65th Anniversary. With the assistance of the Hellenic New Zealand Association, the veterans and members of the Pilgrimage group, including Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast, were warmly received in Athens by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Dora Bakoyanni, whose own father, former PM Konstantinos Mitsotakis is a veteran of the Battle of Crete himself, and by the Mayor of Athens, Mr Behrakis.
Battle of Crete Veterans from New Zealand listen to Greek Foreign Affairs Minister, Dora Bakoyannis, welcoming them at a reception in their honour at the Greek Foreign Ministry.
Photo source: Jim Christie
To read Minister Bakoyanni's speech to the Veterans, Click here
14 May, 2004
63rd Commemoration of the Battle of Crete
Mihi in Maori and English to guests, including: Mayor of Hania, Kiriakos Virvidakis; Greek Ambassador His Excellency, Evangelos Damianakis; Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph; My Parliamentary colleague Mahara Okeroa;
Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to have you all here this evening. Especially the veterans from the campaign and the Greek and Cretan people who had to live through that terrible time in our joint history and the aftermath of that bloody battle on your soil.
No reira nau mai, haramai, tena rawa atu tatou katoa.
I also want to briefly mention one of my own whanaunga who took part in the battle, survived it, but who was one of the 1800 or so kiwis who were captured and had the misfortune to spend four years as a prisoner of war. I’m referring to Sir Henare Ngata from my own Ngati Porou iwi who lives in Gisborne and who we invited to attend tonight, but because of his age and health he felt he was not able to come.
Engari tena koe, te Papa Ta Henare.
Sixty-three years ago we knew very little about each other but because of a war, which had broken out on the opposite side of the world to our country - that was about to change.
In April 1941 allied soldiers including Pakeha and Maori New Zealanders were part of the force trying to prevent the German invasion of Greece. They failed. They were outnumbered, but fought their way out to an orderly retreat and evacuation.
Some of the evacuees were taken to safety in Egypt. But about 42,000 ended up on Crete. They were made up of New Zealand, British, Australian and Greek troops.
The allied command decided that those troops should be used to defend Crete, and that they stood a chance of beating the Germans.
The dry facts of history show that that was not so.
The battle for Crete began on the 20th of May 1941. It started with the biggest airborne attack the world had ever seen, with German paratroops and glider borne troops landing on the island in their thousands.
At first the allies did very well and the Commander of the German airborne troops began to fear a humiliating defeat. But the allied troops were outnumbered and eventually outgunned.
The battle lasted for 12 days and according to some military historians was the most dramatic that New Zealand troops have fought in.
The benefit of hindsight always allows shortcomings to be identified, but no one could criticise the bravery of the Cretans and Greeks who fought for the homeland and the soldiers who tried to help them.
Just over 7,700 New Zealanders took part in the battle for Crete; 619 of them were Maori.
Of the Maori 244 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
But those are the sad facts, and the one thing I know about my uncles who went away to the war and came back, is that they seldom talked about the bad times. Instead they talked about the good times, the humorous and sometimes mischievous things that they got up to.
And tonight I’d like to end my korero with something good and very positive that came out of the battle for Crete, which will unite our people forever.
I am talking about the remarkable tale of what happened to Ned Nathan from Taitokerau, who was one of the soldiers in those dry statistics.
Ned was wounded, very badly. So much so that his cousins who were in action with him reported that he had been killed.
But Ned wasn’t going to go that easily. He woke up on the battlefield surrounded by dead and dying men, and somehow he got to an aid station. They patched him up as best they could and marked him down for evacuation to Egypt. This all took a few days but I’m trying to keep the story short.
Eventually he was loaded onto a ship at Suda Bay and it set off for Egypt, only to be sunk by a German bomber. He saw the bombs coming and simply rolled off the ship into the sea.
He made it to shore with other wounded and after several days of hunger, thirst and deprivation he was tended by a local doctor and some of the doctor’s family.
One of those who cared for him was Katina Toraki. He fell in love with her and held that thought for the next few months while he evaded the Germans on the island, before being caught and sent off to a prisoner of war camp.
He held that thought for a further 3 years while he was in prison, and suffered such ill health that he was repatriated to England. He’d lost the sight in one eye and his injuries included a broken jaw and machine gun wounds.
But the moment he was well enough he sought permission to return to Crete.
He left England on a ship on which he’d scrounged a ride on V J Day, and arrived on Crete shortly after letters he’d written to Katina had reached her. He wasn’t sure what his reception would be. He had harboured these feelings for the young Cretan woman all these years, but he had no idea apart from a hunch, of how she might feel towards him.
Well in this room tonight we have evidence of what happened next. Ned and Katina married, and their three sons – Alex, Manos and Evan - are here with us.
Sadly their parents are not.
Maori soldiers got on well with the people of Crete. Ned always spoke of the debt he owed the people who looked after and fed him, during his time as a fugitive. But he also respected his hosts. He learnt their language, and that gave him a freedom Pakeha soldiers didn’t have. His complexion too helped, allowing him to walk around and mix with the locals. And as I’ve already said he not only fell in love, but after the war rather than head home to Taitokerau, he headed to Crete.
So here we are tonight brought together by something tragic that happened nearly sixty-three years ago. Our people met in a time of war, but from that not so good start, we’ve forged links, which in some cases have resulted in shared mokopuna and whanaungatanga.
