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!
Almond Trees in full bloom, Athens - Spring - February 2010
The Greek father calls his son a couple of days before Christmas, really upset, and says,
"Niko, I hate to ruin your day, but I must tell you that your mother and I are divorcing - forty-five years of misery is enough."
"Baba, what are you talking about?" Niko screams.
"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer, We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister Toula and let her know."
Frantic, the son calls Toula, who explodes on the phone.
"No way are my loving parents getting divorced!" she shouts.
She calls her Dad immediately and screams at him -
"Patera, No way are you getting divorced! Don't do anything until we get there. I'm calling Niko back and we'll be there tomorrow. Do you hear me?" and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Endaxi, he says, they will be home for Christmas and what's more they will be paying their own way."
Greece is set to carve itself a little bit of history at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver which get underway tomorrow Friday when father-daughter duo Athanasios and Panagiota Tsakiris compete at the same Winter Olympics for the first time ever. Sport In Greece's Graham Wood caught up with the remarkable pair.
Greece may not be troubling the medals table at this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver but two parts of their small, seven-strong team are guaranteed to make history when the Games get underway on February 12.
For Athanasios and Panagiota Tsakiris, their presence at the 21st Winter Olympiad doesn't just represent a remarkable achievement in sporting terms, but it also signifies an extra special family moment, not to mention an unprecedented record.
This is because the father and daughter combination will become the first such pair to compete at the same Olympics together, a feat which ensures them a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
It is a story which has captured the imagination of the Greek media, and for once has propelled a sport other that football and basketball into the spotlight in the build up to winter sports' biggest showpiece.
And rightly so.
Vancouver 2010 will be the fifth Winter Olympics for record man Athanasios, who at 45 has competed over 600 times in international competitions as a member of the Greek ski team.
Back after an eight-year break, the biathlon and cross-country specialist now heads to Canada with his 19-year-old daughter Panagiota, who will be competing in the Biathlon.
"It's my second Winter Olympics but this time I'm with my dad and I'm very excited," Panagiota told sportingreece.com.
"Even though it doesn't seem strange or unique to me [to be competing next to her father], when I do think about the fact that it's the Olympics it is very special."
Indeed, being a daughter and fellow athlete to her father is nothing new to the ambitious young Physical Education student from Drama, as they are together 24/7.
"To have my father competing next to me has become kind of a routine to be honest because over the past few years we are together all day, every day, living and training together as well as competing."
"He has more experience than any Greek winter sports athlete and helps me so much as a coach. For me this also plays an important role psychologically because he knows me so well.
"So really I have the ideal co-athlete and coach in one - and when you have chosen such a high target to go for the Olympic dream, you can't have a relaxed coach next to you."
For his part, Athanasios, who admits to having practiced on roller-skates in supermarket car parks, will carry the Greek flag at the opening ceremony, before competing in both biathlon and cross-country events. He admitted the lure of competing with his daughter was a key factor in him making a comeback.
"The fact I came back was mainly because I love the sport so much and I also wanted the chance to compete with my daughter," he said. (Read full article at SportInGreece )
Panagiota and Athanasios, on behalf of everyone in our Global Greek World, we wish you every success!
OK, we worry but maybe not excessively. Being Greek parents, we probably worry a bit more than most but they're good kids so we trust them...
Imagine you have gone to sleep thinking all is well in the world.
Great!
Imagine waking up to find out from Facebook, (yes you read correctly, Facebook, the site we all love to visit to catch up with our friends) that your loved one has been killed in one of the worst car accidents that your area has had, along with two other friends?
Devastating!
That's the only way we can describe what happened to one of our Global Greek families living in Sydney this week, and our hearts go out to them all - to Bobby's family, to Chris' and to Kelsie's. May God give them strength...
Here is the story as posted on Australian news: To read the whole article click here
WHEN Angela and Maryanne Vourlis woke up yesterday, their 20th birthday, they logged on to Facebook expecting to read well wishes and greetings from friends.
Horrifically, the twins were confronted with the devastating news their brother Bobby, 17, had been killed in a triple-fatal accident, The Daily Telegraph reports.
He and two friends died when the car they were in crashed in heavy rain in Sydney early yesterday.
"I didn't get it. All these people were writing, 'RIP Chris Naylor' and 'RIP Bobby', and I thought: `What's going on?'," Angela said.
Desperate for reassurance there was a mistake, she tried over and over to ring her brother.
"I kept ringing and messaging but couldn't get on to him. So I rang Mum and said: 'Chris Naylor must have died - I just read it on Facebook. But where's Bobby?
"People are writing 'RIP Bobby' too.
"Mum said 'Bobby was with Chris Naylor last night'."
Online social networking had delivered the mother and daughter the worst possible news.
Heartbreakingly, a police delay in notifying the family meant Mrs Vourlis had to ring St Marys police to ask about her son's death - almost six hours after he had been killed.
Bobby's uncle Peter Matelis said it beggared belief that police had not contacted the family immediately after the accident.
"It's every parent's worst nightmare to lose a child in a car accident, but to have to hear it on Facebook, then have to chase up the police yourself, is just horrifying," Mr Matelis said.
And that is it - in a nutshell...
It's every parent's worst nightmare to lose a child in a car accident, but to have to hear it on Facebook, then have to chase up the police yourself, is just horrifying...
How very tragic! Sometimes life is so much more horrifying than any terror story we could make up.
Our question here though is not going to touch on the details of why the family wasn't informed earlier than they were or try to apportion blame for the accident, that is for other people and institutions to do, our question here is what is happening to our world?
What is it about the way society is going that the first thing we do is grab our iPhone, sit down at our laptop, or at our PC, to express our condolences or our feelings, or to post something about such a tragic event.
What is it about the way our society is going that the young person or people who wrote this in their status ( on their wall, their page, or whatever, it doesn't really matter), didn't even think about the fact that the family of those involved might not yet know the news and the devastating effect it might have on them.
Is it a lack of consideration, a lack of thinking ahead, a lack of common sense that prompted this or was it just a desire to express sadness, a natural desire to communicate the sad news and discuss it with someone?
Totally natural you will say. Of course, most of us feel the need to discuss such a terrible event, or even a happy event, anything that has touched us, with someone close to us - generally our family and our friends.
What happens though when we only talk to our friends via the internet?
What happens if, instead of turning to the person next to us and talking about it without anyone else hearing, like everything else we do we put it on our Facebook, Twitter or any other such site, and open it up, potentially, for the whole world to see, without a second thought, not thinking about the possible consequences of our actions.
When used correctly the amazing and generally beneficial effects of globalisation and the internet have been positive, such as the street protests in Iran, but it is not the first time that the internet has been used in an abusive fashion, early last year a young woman had her wedding photos accompanied by malicious comments sent to thousands of people around the world ...unknown to her... by someone who was obviously not a friend. Strangely enough, the young woman is Greek Australian...Daily Telegraph
For Bobby , Chris and Kelsie and their families it is too late unfortunately.
Let us hope, however, that this horrible crash in Sydney that so sadly, needlessly and prematurely deprived three teenagers of their lives, will make us all sit back and think about how we see Facebook, Twitter and other such sites.
Perhaps it will make us all think long and hard before we post something that could have devastating effects on those concerned.
Perhaps it will just make us think before we post.
'Dance? Did you say Dance? Come on, my Boy!' quote from Mihali Cacoyiannis' Academy Award winning Zorba the Greek, based on Nikos Kazantzakis' famous novel. Unforgettable music by Mikis Theodorakis.
A few weeks ago, a new Greek Something talented duo appeared on Britain's got talent and took the world by storm with their own very special version of Michael Flatley's Irish dance troupe Riverdance!!
Although they didn’t win Britain’s Got Talent, Greek-Cypriot Britons, wonderful father and son duo, Demetrios Demetriou and 12-year-old Laki, or Lagi, adding a touch of Greek culture to Britain’s Got Talent and performing as Stavros Flatley, wowed everyone, including the judges, with their 'tribute' to Michael Flatley!
With the map of his home country, Cyprus, tattooed across Demetri’s lower chest...and Zorba the Greek's famous quote on his back, he and Lagi put on a great show - they did what centuries of our ancestors have done, they danced! Not only did they dance, they danced so well that they succeeded in getting those very sceptical judges smiling and clapping, surprising them almost as much as Susan Boyle did!
Demetrios and Laki shared an integral part of their (and our) Greek culture with Britain and the rest of the world, and in so doing shared with the world another, much more important characteristic of our culture - the close bond shared by members of the traditional Greek Family!
They told us that they spend a lot of time together and it was obvious to everyone that they have that very special bonding...a bonding which impressed even the judges , with one of them commenting 'You two just have the most fantastic relationship..'
It was the nature of the father-son relationship that also impressed the many viewers who hastened to leave very positive comments on the relevant videos on You Tube...We quote just a few of these:
What can i say FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY!!! What a lovely man, and how much he loves his son, its great!!!
Stavros Flatley made me laugh till I cried. The funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. Good old fashioned entertainment at it's best.
Absolutely hilarious!! My family were laughing their socks off watching these two, what a wonderful father, son bond and so entertaining - can't wait to see what they come up with next - best of luck - we are all cheering you on!!
While Susan elevated my soul THESE GUYS gave me the tonic I needed to get through these depressing times...............Fab
WHAT a refreshing thing to see a Father & Son with such a close bond and all together hilarious.....had me in stitches ;).
Demetrios, who ran a family restaurant in the past, and entertained clients with his performances, told ITV2′ s Britain’s Got More Talent: “Laki was just a baby when I had the restaurant and performed, so he can’t remember it. But we saw the advert for Britain’s Got Talent and he said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you went on as Stavros Flatley”, and I suggested we do it together.
“I thought the wife would go mad, but she said, ‘Go on, do it!’”
And they did it ...with such success that in the semi-final they got the overall top spot thanks to the public vote and their hilarious Zorba the Greek dance routine. Their backing dancers were family friends and they used to work at their restaurant too.
At the end of their routine, we were all overcome with emotion, as was the crowd, when Demetri told his son ,
“No matter what happens, thanks for asking me to dance with you. I’ve had the time of my life, I swear,”
Even the The Lord of the Dance himself, Michael Flatley, was impressed and spoke to the Daily Mirror, sending his own good luck message to his 'proteges' “Demetrios and Laki’s family spirit is something that has touched everyone and is to be much admired. Best of luck in the final, Stavros Flatley!”
The close family bond between the two, the way that Laki or Lagi looked up to his father and even the way he protected him, as it were, from the judges' indiscreet comments on his weight were particularly warming.
His answer to one judge's questionHow much do you look up to your Dad? I look up to him so much, he's just a role model for me was a timely reminder of something that so many of our Greek families have to this day - the way we are brought up, the closeness and continuous support of our families, the intertwining of several generations - grandparents, parents and chidren - helps to create an unbreakable bond which holds the family together, which makes each member secure in the knowledge that no matter what happens in their lives, good or bad, their family will always be there for them.
Our families are the most important things in our lives, they shape our experiences, our thoughts, it is in the context of our families that we grow to become the people we are, and the people we become is usually a reflection of the input that has gone into bringing us up. One of the characteristics which people loved in Nia Vardalos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding, was the close family environment reflected in the movie. Sometimes this can be oppressive, sometimes over the top and we may even resent it, but in most cases, the knowledge alone, gives you such a nice warm feeling, something like being wrapped in a comfortable security blanket, that in today's troubled times few people could wish for more.
How many of us, whenever we rebelled against this over-protective closeness, got a reality check from some non-Greek friend who marvelled at the way our parents cared about us and showed it? I still remember one of my friends commenting one day at school, when I was busy resenting the fact that our Father was waiting at the corner for us to appear one night, that we were lucky our father cared enough to do it, because hers couldn’t have cared less... a very sobering thought indeed and we never complained again! We thank Demetri and his son for demonstrating this very precious Greek family bond to the entire world. It doesn't matter that they didn't win the contest! They did something far more important - they won our hearts!
For all of us who have grown up in our wonderful Global Greek Families - we have only one thing to say
