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KPHTH | December 2013/January 2014
D
ear Fellow Cretans,
The 100th Anniversary of the
Union of Crete with Greece is one
that all Cretans are proud of and are
celebrating across the world. The PAA
and its chapters have been celebrating this anniversary all year long. This
milestone was the main theme at the
PAA National Convention in Akron,
Ohio, last summer and at the PAA
Gala in New York this December.
John Manos
Former PAA President
On Sunday, December 1, 1913, the
2011-2013
Greek flag was raised on top of the
fortress of Firka, at the harbor of Chania, in front of the King
of Hellenes, Constantine, the Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios
Venizelos, and an enthusiastic crowd of proud Hellenes of Crete.
After the Greek war of Independence, where Greece was finally
recognized as an independent country in 1830, Crete had to
struggle another 83 years before unifying with Greece. During
these struggles and revolts the historic battle and the Holocaust
at Arkadi occurred. This, along with other revolts, brought international recognition to the struggles of the people of Crete and
eventually led to Enosis.
We should be proud that we have made it this far, that our
organization is strong and thriving, and that we are passing on
to our children, generation after generation, our rich culture
and history. I thank all of our predecessors who worked hard
and struggled over the years to organize the PAA to ensure we
are a strong and stable organization.
I congratulate and thank PAA President John Sargetis and
Manoli Velivasakis for coordinating and having such a grand
event in New York to celebrate this part of our history and I
congratulate and thank all of you and look forward to working
with you to keep promoting our rich culture and history and
our PAA!
Best regards,
John G. Manos
Former PAA President
J. Maropoulakis Denney
O
n Sunday, December 1, 1913, the flag of the
Hellenic Republic was raised on the top of the
fortress of Firka, on the western side of the Harbor
of Chania in the presence of the King of Hellenes,
Constantine, as well as the Greek Prime Minister
Eleftherios Venizelos, whose role was key in the
long struggle for Enosis, and a large, emotional
and enthusiastic crowd of the proud Hellenes of
Crete. The raising of the flag signified the long
sought union of Crete with Mother Greece.
The brutal occupation of Christian Crete by the Muslim Turks lasted from 1669 to 1913, over 267 years, part
of that time administered by the Egyptian Muslim lackeys of the Sublime Porte. During this bloody epoch, the
constant and continuous battle cry by the heroic Cretan
Christians was “Enosis”; for they knew that they were
Hellenes and belonged as part of the nation known as
the Hellenic Republic. When the Cretans raised their
guns and fought, died and suffered, they did it for freedom and Enosis with Mother Greece.
Aid to the people of Crete during the period from
1830 through the time of Enosis was primarily from
Greece, at times openly but many times surreptitiously,
because the “Great Powers” for the most part opposed
the rebellions and the removal of Ottoman authority.
Many Philhellenes also came to the island in support
of the Cretan cause. In 1867, some of the “Great Powers”, in a humanitarian gesture, supplied ships to remove Christian refugees from Crete, and to forestall
future massacres.
Unfortunately, many Cretans converted to Islam during the 267 years, based on economic reasons for the
most part. These Muslim converts often took part in
Muslim militias known as “Bashi-Bazouks,” and partici-
eport
ear Fellow Cretans,
On the 100th anniversary
of the union of our motherland
Crete with Greece, I try to make
sense of the sacrifices our brave
ancestors endured, and their
unconscionable suffering at the
hands of people with barbaric
and inhumane attitudes toward
their fellow human beings.
Theodore Manousakis
Last summer we visited the
Former PAA President
“periptero” at the entrance to
2009-2011
the Samaria Gorge. I noticed a
photograph that I had seen in my grandmother’s house in
Kyrtomado when I was a small boy. It was of a young man
standing, left foot propp ed on a rock, with a rifle in his left
hand. He was in his late teens or early 20s, dressed in full
black Cretan fighter garb: styvania, vraka, gileko, sariki and
bullet belts across his chest. A jet-black full beard covered
his face. Only his forehead and eyes were visible. A vertical inscription read Spyridon Malindretos. It was my greatgranduncle on my mother’s side, from the village of Lakous.
The inscription at the bottom of the photograph read, in
part, that he was born in 1844, took part in the revolts of
1866, 1889 and 1895, and was a member of the revolutionary committee for the independence of Crete. Needless to
say, at that moment I was so proud yet so humbled by the
bravery of my young uncle and the other young men and
women, over so many generations in Crete, who fought relentlessly to live free.
The experience, so profound for me, brought forth crystal
clear the realization that, even though we live far away in
this “Land of Opportunity,” struggling against assimilation
and globalization in our daily lives, we are all, individually
and as a community, touched by the events that started in
Crete in the mid-1600s when our forefathers first felt the
Ottoman yoke. Their struggle lasted more than 250 years;
their progress to freedom always measured in small, at
times insignificant steps. They tell us with their mandinada:
Enosis:
The Union of Crete
with Greece, 1913
pecial R
D
Crete has endured at the hands of occupiers for more than
1000 years; from the Moors, to the Egyptians, to the Venetians, to the Ottomans and the Germans. One hundred years
ago, with the union with its mother Greece, the will of the Cretan people finally prevailed. Today, we enjoy the fruits of that
union and the fruits of our forefather’s bravery, their struggle,
their willingness to resist every occupier for 1000 years. My fellow Cretans, it is indeed a time to rejoice and celebrate. But,
let us not forget the generations of Cretan men, women and
children who made the ultimate sacrifice for their own freedom
and that of future generations.
Fraternally yours,
Theodore Manousakis
Former PAA President
S
F O R M E R PA A P R E S I D E N T S ' M E S S A G E S
πάντα μαζί μας και να μας γνοιάζει να γρηγορούμε πάντα,
όπως έκαναν οι προγονοί μας, να κρατάμε την Κρήτη μας και
τον πολιτισμό της, ατόφια μέσα στην καρδιά μας και να τα
μεταδίδουμε ολόκληρα και ολοζώντανα στους απογόνους
μας.
Θερμές ευχές για μια καλή, ειρηνική, παραγωγική και
χαρούμενη Χρονιά!
Μανώλης Βεληβασάκης
τ. Πρόεδρος Παγκρητικής Ένωσης και
Πρόεδρος των Εκδηλώσεων Εκατονταετηρίδας
Ρεπορταζ
Photos courtesy of Venizelos Foundation
The arrival in Chania Prince George - High Commissioner of the Cretan State.
pated in attacks and massacres against the Christians.
It is estimated that the population of Crete was about
290,000 in the mid 19th century, with approximately
80,000 to 90,000 of these being converts to Islam.
However, throughout this period, the Greek Christians were always a strong majority on the island. It
was the existence and strong adherence of the Cretan
Christians to their Orthodox faith throughout the
struggle that sustained these heroes and permitted
their ultimate emancipation and Enosis with Greece.
This faith has existed on the island since the time of
Saint Titus in 57 A.D.
The Greek War of Independence, celebrated each
year on March 25, lasted from 1821 to 1829, when
Greece was finally recognized as an independent nation at the signing of the “Protocol of London” on January 22, 1830. However, the agreements of the “Great
Powers” (Austria, Prussia, Britain, France, and Russia)
prevented Crete from joining in this, and the Cretans
had to struggle for another 83 years to achieve union
with Greece. Bloody rebellions against the Muslim Ottoman Turks and their Egyptian lackeys were a way
of life for the Christian Cretan people, and there were
many such uprisings, including:
• Daskalogiannis Revolt (1770)
• Crete during the Greek War of Independence (1821–
1828)
• Cretan Revolt (1841)
• Cretan Revolt (1866–1869)
• Cretan Revolt (1878)
• Cretan Revolt (1897-1898)
• Theriso Revolt (1905-1912)
One of the biggest and most important of all the Cretan rebellions was the revolt of 1866 to 1869. It was
during this revolt that the Holocaust of the Monastery
KPHTH | WWW.PANCRETAN.ORG
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