P resident ’ s M essa g e
100 Years Ago Crete United with Greece—
Why We Should Celebrate
O
ne hundred years ago, in December 1913,
the Orthodox inhabitants of Crete united
with the nation of Greece. The PAA will celebrate
the “Enosis” with a series of events from coast to
coast across the United States. The PAA will commemorate this anniversary at our National Board
Meeting events the weekend of November 2 and
3 in Los Angeles, highlighted by a gala dinner at
the St. Sophia Cathedral Hall. On November 13, a
John Sargetis
Symposium on the Unification of Crete is planned
PAA President
[email protected] at the University of Illinois in Chicago, hosted by
all the local chapters. In addition, a photo presentation and viewing of Dimitris Haronitis’ film,
“The Rise of the Greek Flag Over Firka Castle in
Chania, Union of Crete with Greece,” is being
held on November 14 at the Hellenic Community
House hosted by the Cretan Fraternity of Chicago. Cretan chapters around the country will also
be celebrating the “enosis” in conjunction with
their annual events.
PAA’s observance of Crete’s unification anniversary culminates in a weekend celebration in New
York, beginning with a symposium at the United
Nations on December 5, a gala dinner on December 6, where the PAA will present the Venizelos
and Kazantzakis awards, a special presentation
at the Omonoia Chapter on December 7, hosted
by the Cultural Committees of the New York and
New Jersey chapters, and a memorial Church service at the Archdiocese Cathedral on December 8.
However, these celebrations are not just for
Cretans. They are not even just for Greeks. The
whole world needs to celebrate the “enosis” as a
reminder of the meaning of freedom and our island’s perseverance in reaching that goal. Crete
fought countless battles for hundreds of years to
first free themselves of their Ottoman occupiers.
For 400 years, generation after generation of Cretans never gave up their struggle. They resisted
assimilation with the Ottoman culture and religion. A dozen generations never experienced true
4
KPHTH | October 2013
freedom, yet they never gave up their religion or
language. I think back on how my ancestors in
Crete survived and try to imagine the depth of
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