Michael Jaharis

Michael Jaharis, entrepreneur, philanthropist, humanitarian and distinguished member of the Hellenic American and Greek Orthodox community passed away peacefully on February 17, 2016, in his home with his family by his side. He was 87 years old.

Emmanuel Michael Jaharis was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois.  Michael was the son of Greek immigrants, Michael and Katerina Jaharis, from the village of Aghia Paraskevi on the Greek island of Lesvos. After attending Evanston Township Public High School, Michael briefly attended North Park University and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Carroll College (now Carroll University) in Wisconsin.  Shortly after his college graduation in June 1950, he was called to duty to serve in the US Army during the Korean War and was eventually deployed to Zell am See, Austria to help run the medical and pharmaceutical supply.  After his military service, he joined Miles Laboratories as a Sales Representative in the Ethical Drug Division (Prescription Drug), covering the area north of Chicago’s Loop up to the Wisconsin border. While working full time, he earned his Juris Doctor as a night student from the College of Law at DePaul University.  Michael rose through the ranks at Miles to eventually be appointed Vice President and Executive Legal Counsel for Food and Drug Law, where he also became involved in marketing for the company.

In 1972, Michael became president and CEO of Key Pharmaceuticals, which at the time of acquisition was essentially an insolvent company known for its sustained action technology and some cold/cough remedies. As CEO and president, he transformed the company by leading his team to develop pharmaceutical breakthroughs with drugs such as sustained-release Theo-Dur, which became the nation’s best selling asthma remedy, and Nitro-Dur, the first transdermal sustained-release product to release nitroglycerin through the skin.  Key Pharmaceuticals was sold to Schering Plough in 1986.

In 1988, Michael founded Kos Pharmaceuticals, where he led his team to pioneer innovative drug therapies to treat cardiovascular disease. In 1997, Kos introduced its first product Niaspan, which raised HDL levels and improved the lives of millions of people. Kos Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2006.

After selling Kos, Michael co-founded  Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC, a New York City-based investment group focused on taking active positions in healthcare companies that develop innovative products for unmet and underserved medical needs in a broad range of therapeutic areas, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Pearl Therapeutics), cardio-metabolic diseases and cancer (Arisaph Pharmaceuticals), antibiotic resistant bacterial infections (Melinta Therapeutics), and celiac disease (ImmusanT).

Aside from working hard to improve the lives of millions through pharmaceutical products, Michael along with his wife Mary worked tirelessly and gave generously through their public service and philanthropic endeavors.  In 1986, Michael and Mary founded the Jaharis Family Foundation, Inc.

Valuing the importance of education, Michael was an active board member for several prominent non-profit and educational institutions, including Trustee Emeritus of Tufts University in Boston, MA, Chairman of the Board of Overseers for the School of Medicine, Tufts University, Member of the Columbia University Medical Center Board of Visitors, and Member of the Board of Overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences.  He also served as a Director of The Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) and was a member of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

The Jaharis family at the Inauguration of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art at the Art Institute of Chicago

Michael together with Mary was a Benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Opera. They also gave generously as Scholarship Sponsors of DePaul University College of Law in Chicago and supported the development of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Center for Health Law at DePaul University.  At Tufts University School of Medicine, they endowed the Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical and Nutrition Sciences, the Jaharis Family Chair in Family Medicine, and multiple Scholarship Funds. Through The Jaharis Family Foundation, he was also a Benefactor of Columbia University Medical College and Weill Cornell Medical College. Tufts University bestowed upon Michael an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree in May 2015. In December 2015, Columbia University Medical College  presented Michael and Mary with a Crown Award for their service and support to the School.

As a tribute to his beloved parents, Michael supported the establishment of the Jaharis Home for the Elderly in his parents’ hometown of Aghia Paraskevi on the island of Lesvos in Greece.  Through two generous gifts to Hellenic College – Holy Cross Theological Seminary, Michael and Mary endowed the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in New Testament Studies. They also supported the establishment of an endowed professorship, “The Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture,” at Fordham University. They endowed the “Jaharis Family Chair in Performance Studies at Northwestern University.”

Proud of his Greek ancestry and Greek Orthodox faith, Michael’s civic affiliations included Vice Chairman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Council, Founding Member and Director of Faith Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism and Founding Member and Executive Committee Member of the Greek Orthodox Leadership 100 Endowment Foundation. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America made Michael an “Archon Exarchos of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle,” one of the highest honors bestowed upon laity on behalf of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.  He was also awarded an Honorary Degree from Hellenic College Holy Cross in 2008.

From an event when Michael and Mrs. Jaharis hosted Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios, the Met Museum President Emily Rafferty and the Founders of Faith Endowment at the Metropolitan Museum (and private tour of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Byzantine Art), Photo DIMITRIOS PANAGOS

Most recently, Michael and Mary directed their philanthropic efforts to supporting humanitarian initiatives to provide food, medical care and education to children and elderly living in Greece during the ongoing financial crisis.  In addition, the family gave generously to organizations working to support the thousands of refugee families fleeing to Greece from Syria and the Middle East.

No matter how busy Michael’s professional and philanthropic commitments kept him, Michael always made time for his family and friends.  He cherished his family and extensive network of personal and professional friendships above all else.  His genuine love of people was evident in the fact that he always focused each person’s positive attributes and had a unique ability to bring out the best in everyone within any context.  Equally unparalleled was Michael’s excellent sense of humor.  At the beginning or end of each day, Michael made a point of stopping by the desk of each person in his office to say hello, catch up, and share an idea or some advice. He not only knew the names of everyone in the office but also the details of people’s families and interests and always personally expressed his gratitude for each person’s contribution on a project. If the opportunity for a quick break between meetings and calls would arise, one would often find Michael in his office watching a game of a Chicago Bears, Bulls, or Cubs game (depending on the season).

Michael always credited two inspirations for his success: his parents’ commitment to family, faith, education and hard work as setting the foundation upon which he built everything upon; and the love and support of his wife and family.

Michael Jaharis was a model of how to offer time, energy and intelligence in pursuit of a better world.  He is survived by his wife Mary (nee Spyros), children Steven (wife: Elaine) and Kathryn, and 5 grandchildren, as well as by the millions of people whose lives he has positively impacted.

by Athena Efter

Six time Grammy nominee Mark Murphy at Gazarte Club

A few years back, Spiros Exaras, a renowned jazz guitarist and composer, produced a show and performed with the late Mark Murphy at one of Athens’ hottest spots, the Gazarte Club. And now, Spiros brings this rare and remarkable experience to us by preserving it on one simple compact disc, Mark Murphy…Live from Athens Greece Featuring Spiros Exaras, and just in time for Greek Independence Day on his own independent label. Recorded and mixed by renown sound engineer Costa Kostopoulos this is one piece of history much more easily transported. You don’t have to move the Elgin Marbles to hear it. You can just pop it into your computer, like I did, and enjoy “American Rembetika” straight from Greece.

Spiros Exaras is no ordinary purveyor of music. I listened to the CD he performed and produced with Mark Murphy. I was pleasantly surprised at the new discovery of this well-travelled legacy, less commonly known to mainstream jazzers like me. With his own talent, Mr. Exaras truly pays homage to soulful, “move with it” singer who passed away last year on October 22, 2015. He captures the essence of jazz as it is meant to be performed, enjoyed, and understood. And Spiros Exaras, a great musician himself, knows his music and his jazz.

When I think of Jazz as a musical genre, several artists come to mind, like the obvious John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Dizzie Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Wynston Marsalis, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Thelonius Monk… These are the notable highlights to my untrained and uninformed ears. Thanks to Spiros’ devotion to bring an unsung hero right up to the Acropolis, perhaps as a beautiful gift to the statue of Athena, the patron of the arts, I got to know him too.  Jazz is a territory of music with which I am only peripherally familiar. Nonetheless, I do enjoy it when I hear it, but I want to understand why. I want to understand jazz better and the underplayed “iconic-ness” of Mark Murphy, a six time Grammy nominee, whom the Washington Post described as “a daringly original jazz singer whose unchained improvisational style made him a cult favorite and a powerful influence on a generation of younger performers.”

Spiros Exaras and Mark Murphy performing in Athens

Greece has given birth to a golden new era of Jazz musicians, and leading the way for this original and true American art form, is Spiros Exaras. He hails from Greece, where he studied guitar and music composition at the Athens Conservatory of Music. Spiros, who is drawn to a variety of musical genres, primarily, jazz, rock and world music, brings this passion and appreciation into his own jazzy world beat. He brings a breath of fresh air and unencumbered freedom of movement to it with his own interpretation. It’s all the droplets of rainwater flirting on my window sill. It’s all the sun peeking through a meadow of lazy clouds on a warm spring day. It’s seductive and enticing. It’s an oasis of sultry lounge.

In 1999, Spiros formed his own ensemble of international and domestic talent to work and collaborate with renowned musicians Henry Hey, Matthew Garrison, Gene Lake, Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Lefteris Bournias.  He keeps the talent grooving and “all music” moving with his own world beat symposium. It’s “all music” in there, and they perform it all at numerous jazz venues and festivals around the world throughout the year. They have already released two albums under their own “blue note”, and now, with a third one on the way, March 25, with Mark Murphy, I can only look forward to more of Spiros’ productions of highs and lows, singing or playing it, to all shades and colors of blue tones.

But for now, I’m perfectly content to kick back on the couch, listen to Mark Murphy, Spiros Exaras, or both, performing together, and chill out with a big bold red or a soft mellow white in the “summertime, when the living is easy.” Well, it’s not summer yet, but I’ll be listening to this fantastic compilation of talent and music anytime any season hits me, and “when I fall in love, it will be forever….”, just another timeless and classic hit that came as a pleasant surprise on the CD.  And all it took was one CD to help me rediscover and fall in love with jazz all over again, or maybe, in my case, finally fall in love with it. It’s one great old school jam with Mark Murphy, Spiros Exaras and members of his ensemble, and this genre’s most talented musicians jazzing it all up together. “It’s all (the) music” that would make Duke Ellington proud.  And when I think of that list of jazz greats, I can’t forget to add Mark Murphy and Spiros Exaras to the top of that list. Thanks for the gift Spiros.  It’s all music to our ears when you bring us the whole world “singing the blues”, even if the Greeks started it all.

by Cindy Klimek

The American Hellenic Institute held its 41^st annual Hellenic Heritage Achievement & National Public Service Awards Dinner on March 5^th. The Black Tie event took place at the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C. About 350 to 400 people attended. “It’s definitely not a small event,” says AHI President Nick Larigakis with a laugh.

Nick Larigakis speaking at the AHI forum, “Greece Moving Forward: Implications and Realities”

This year’s four honorees are Nicolas Bornozis, President of Capital Link Inc., a New York City-based investment firm, Basil N. Mossaidis, Executive Director of the Order of AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association), Rena Papapostolou, Co-founder of the ‘Return to Origins’ Hellenic Cultural Organization, and Peter J. Pappas, Chairman of PJ Mechanical Corporation, a New York-based construction company. The Master of Ceremonies was Larry Michael, the “Voice” and play-by-play announcer of the Washington Redskins football team. Music will be provided by Apollonia.

According to the AHI website, past winners have included “world-renowned musician Yanni, prominent businessman and philanthropist George Behrakis; former CIA Director George Tenet; George Stephanopoulos, chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, anchor of ABC’s This Week and former senior advisor to President Clinton; Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman James N. Gianopulos; AOL Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis; Senators Paul Sarbanes, Olympia Snowe, and Joseph Biden; Congressman Michael Bilirakis; and former U.S. Ambassadors to Greece Nicholas Burns and Thomas Miller, to name just a few.”

With Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

Says Larigakis, “The event is an opportunity to showcase prominent Greek-Americans within our community who have achieved a high level of success and who have given back to our community in the form of public service. The beauty of it is that even after all these years of doing this event, you never lack for good talent in our community in terms of reaching out and finding these kinds of people. We’re a very high-achieving and service-oriented community and we should all be proud of that. I’m definitely proud of that. Also, the gala is a great opportunity to highlight and showcase and promote the organization, the American Hellenic Institute, and the work that we do,” he says.

Throwing out the first pitch at the annual Greek Heritage Night at the Philadelphia Phillies

Larigakis himself has been with the AHI more than half of its 41 years, coming on board in 1987 as a “lowly office assistant” before climbing the ranks all the way to president. “I’ve got longevity!” he says with a laugh.

He adds, “My major in college and post-graduate studies involved Political Science and International Affairs and I always had a keen interest in the US foreign policy as it relates to Greece and Cyprus. In terms of trying to find work in the field of International Relations, when I learned of this organization it seemed like it would be a good fit for me regarding my academic background and my professional interests as well as my personal interests regarding specifically the foreign policy of Greece and the United States and the relationship between the two countries.”

With co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congressman Eliot Engel

This relationship was also important to the young AHI, which was just entering its teen years when Larigakis came on board, having been founded on August 1, 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The organization was invaluable in the United States’ adoption of the rule of law, or the belief that law should govern a nation, rather than the decisions of individual leaders or government officials, and thus cutting off US aid to Turkey. According to the AHI website, “After a dozen major votes in the Congress between September and December 1974, in which the entire community was active in support of the rule of law, Congress passed an arms embargo against Turkey. AHI coordinated the effort in the community, kept a vote count on a daily basis and provided the information to key supporters in the House and Senate. It was an historic success that should never be forgotten. It proved what could and can be done when we are in the right and united on policy. Fundamental to the success was the fact that we stood for the rule of law in international affairs as in the best interests of the U.S…In the years since 1974, AHI has kept the spirit of the rule of law alive. AHI and its affiliate organizations have championed the rule of law and American values in foreign policy as in the best interests of the U.S. This is especially true in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, a region critically important to American national interests.”

With Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and participants of the AHIF Annual Student Foreign Policy Trip to Greece and Cyprus

AHI’s strong lobbyist foundations carry on to this day. Says Larigakis, “We actively engage members of Congress and their staff, including the White House and State Departments staff, we meet with them to discuss the issues, which are fluid and changing and you always have to keep up with, we host conferences regarding the issues, we have news forums to highlight particular issues that arise, we have events to commemorate different historical events that are important to us, we have publication programs. We’re very active.”

Besides AHI’s efforts to keep the current generation of leaders up-to-date regarding the issues, the organization also has its sights set on educating future generations by offering various intern and student programs, including a two-week College Student Foreign Policy Study Trip to Greece and Cyprus. “We have interns who come at different times of the year and get exposed to the public policy of Washington and specifically the kind of work that we do. We also have our very important student program where we take students to Greece and Cyprus so we can educate the next generation of Greek-Americans regarding the issues that the organization advocates for today,” says Larigakis, who heads the trip himself.

With co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Ambassador George Chacalli of Cyprus, and House Foreign Affairs Committee member Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

The trip is open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Approximately 10 are selected every year. The application deadline for this year’s trip (the eighth annual) is April 15^th. Though students must be of either Greek or Cypriot descent to be eligible for the trip, Larigakis says most come from multicultural backgrounds and says it means a lot to him to help them discover the Hellenic branch of their family trees. “Keep in mind that these students are predominantly products of interfaith marriages, which is indicative of our community. We find with marriage statistics that the average across the Archdiocese is somewhere upwards of 80% in terms of interfaith marriages. That’s the reality of our community, and we’re able to reach out and expand outside our own traditional community and touch other communities, which is great. I’ll give you a small example. At our last program, there was student from the University of Pennsylvania, a very dynamic personality who was the product of a Greek father and Chinese mother. His parents met at an American university here, one having come from Greece and one from China. They met at school, fell in love, got married, and had this child. He had never traveled to Greece before. He had never traveled to Cyprus. Most kids in the program have never traveled to Cyprus, almost 99%. A higher percentage has traveled to Greece but he had never been to either one. I think it might have been his first trip outside the continental United States. He was just absolutely enthralled by the trip and the passion for the issues. He was involved and inquisitive and like a kid in a toy store. He met his relatives in Greece for the first time and it was a whole new world for him. So, he comes back to the States afterwards and he does everything he can possibly do to try to advocate for these issues, including writing articles for the University of Pennsylvania newspaper and the Future of Hellenism Conference of ours that I let him speak at. At the conference, his father came up to me afterwards and said, ‘Up until this trip he was gravitating a little more towards the other side of his culture, his mother’s side, which is fine, but now he can’t ask enough or talk enough about Greece and the trip and he wants to continue to learn and see as much as possible.’ That’s just a small example of how important this trip is to the kids and how important it has become to us,” Larigakis says.

With President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades

Internships are also open to both undergrad and graduate students and can last from one month to several, depending on the student’s schedule. According to the AHI website, “Interns work directly with staff members on various activities, including performing research and analytics, drafting letters and memoranda, and assisting staff with other project-oriented tasks. They also attend lectures held at think tanks, monitor legislation and congressional hearings on Capitol Hill, draft press releases, and assist with general administrative duties.”

Says Larigakis, “We strongly believe that the current generation is not well-informed enough about these issues and we’re fearful about the future leadership and who will take on the task of promoting and advocating for these issues moving forward. The program is intended to do exactly that. To fill the void of educating this generation and making them understand what these issues are and why they’re important to United States interests as they relate to Greece and Cyprus.”

To learn more about the American Hellenic Institute, click their website is ahiworld.org

To learn more about AHI’s student programs, click here: http://ahiworld.org/for-students/policy-trip.html

by Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos

Jack during the Vietnam War

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Created during the Civil War, the recipients “must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States.” Most of the recipients did not survive to receive the award. Of an estimated 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam, only 277 have been deemed worthy of receiving the Medal of Honor. One of those recipients was a Greek-Jew, Jack Jacobs, whose paternal side of his family hailed from Ioannina.

Squeezed in between two interviews at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Jack is a military advisor for NBC/MSNBC) Kehila Kedosha Janina (Greek Romaniote Synagogue at 280 Broome Street in NYC) was honored to welcome Jack Jacobs to speak to our community and sign copies of his book, “If Not Now, When?” While most of the post presentation questions centered on national security, in light of the recent terrorist acts in Paris and Africa, my main area of interest was Jack’s Romaniote background and growing up in a Greek-Jewish world.

Jack was born in Brooklyn to a father from a family of Jewish immigrants from Ioannina and an Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish mother, but was most influenced by his Greek-Jewish grandmother who lived in Williamsburg. It was her cooking that he enjoyed, foods that his Ashkenazi mother never quite learned to make. Jack related, to the knowing laughter of the audience, the story of how his mother had requested that his grandmother write down her recipes before she died, which she did. After his grandmother passed away, his mother attempted to make the traditional Greek foods. It was a disaster. His mother had never really adjusted to Jack’s father marrying a non-Greek Jewish girl and it was as if her hand reached up from the grave. She had purposefully left out important ingredients to ensure the failure of the cooking, something this audience who grew up in the same world could relate to.

Jack Jacobs speaking at Kehila Kedosha Janina (the Greek Romaniote Synagogue)

Jack’s father, David Jacobs, born in 1919 in Brooklyn, spoke nothing but Greek until he was five years old, not at all uncommon for Jews from Ioannina. David learned English in school but the language spoken at home remained Greek. Jack, the first born son, in the tradition of Romaniote Jews, was named after his papoo (grandfather) and was affectionately called the pasha. After his parents moved to Queens, Jack continued to visit his grandmother every weekend, as the children were dropped off at nona’s house to give the parents a break. (While most Greeks call their grandmothers yiayia, Greek Jews used nona.)

David & Rebecca Jacobs wedding

As with most immigrant families, the Jacobs had high hopes for their children. Jack’s parents had assumed that their bright, if a little rambunctious, son would become a professional, a lawyer or an accountant. Even though Jack’s father had served in the United States Armed Forces in the Pacific during World War II, David Jacobs was less than thrilled to learn that his son would be going to Vietnam.

Jack had joined the ROTC while attending Rutgers University in New Jersey. He felt that “everyone had the responsibility to make some contribution to the defense of the Republic,” and, in addition, appreciated the small monthly stipend of $27, especially after marrying at 18 years of age. When joining the ROTC in 1962, the prospect of war seemed far away but, as Jack neared graduation in 1966, realizing that he was in desperate need of a job to support his wife and child, the looming nature of war with Vietnam became a reality. He approached his commander and requested active duty.  To do so, he would have to enter as a commissioned officer and this required committing oneself to active duty for three years instead of the normal two he would have to serve as a reservist. Then, his choice of which branch to request became a deciding factor. He chose the infantry. He could have chosen a noncombat commission but felt that if he was going to serve, he was going to fight. He requested to become a paratrooper and was assigned to the 82^nd Airborne Division. Jack makes it clear that his decision in this instance was based on money. “Jump pay” was an additional $110 a month in additional to his pay as a new lieutenant. He now had two children and a wife to feed, so for a little over $300 a month, Jack headed to Vietnam to risk his life for his country.

Jack’s father’s grandfather, born in Ioannina

One has to understand from the beginning that, although choosing what appears to be a traditional, old-fashioned, old school choice of profession at a time when many of his contemporaries were doing everything possible to avoid the draft, Jack is not that easy to define. Yes, he believed in service to his country but his insights into the army and what can be learned from his participation, shows that it is not easy to stereotype Jack. Take his views on military service: “The nature of military life consists of vital tasks like setting objectives, allocating resources, and solving problems, all things that can be accomplished by most young enlisted people but evidently difficult to do by elected officials and highly compensated business executives.” Or take his views on voting: “I don’t vote. I don’t want to encourage any of them.”

Jack arrived in Vietnam as an advisor, a position he did not relish, but did give him the ability to speak some Vietnamese, since an advisory position required a crash course in the language. The Tet Offensive, a response on the part of the Viet Cong to increased attack by US forces, lasted from January 30, 1968 through June of 1968.  It was by all definitions the largest military operation conducted by either side up to that point in the war. On March 9, 1968, working as the assistant battalion advisor, his battalion came under intensive fire from the Viet Cong.  According to the US Army report on Jack’s heroics, “As Jacobs called in air support from his position with the leading company, the company commander was disabled and the unit became disorganized due to heavy casualties. Although wounded himself by mortar fragments to the head and arms, Jacobs took command of the company and ordered a withdrawal and the establishment of a defense line at a more secure position. Despite impaired vision caused by his injuries, he repeatedly ran across open rice paddies through heavy fire to evacuate the wounded, personally saving a fellow advisor, the wounded company commander, and twelve other allied soldiers. Three times during these trips he encountered Viet Cong squads, which he single-handedly dispersed.”

Jack Jacobs speaking at Kehila Kedosha Janina (the Greek Romaniote Synagogue)

Jack was issued the Medal of Honor on October 9, 1969 for “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”  The medal was formally presented to him by President Richard Nixon. In addition, he won two Silver Stars, 3 Bronze Stars and 2 Purple Hearts. Not bad for a 5’4” soldier who was born in Brooklyn. Jack kidded that his height was an asset since he was such a small target. After being awarded the Medal of Honor, Jack returned to active duty. The military was hesitant to assign Medal of Honors winners to combat roles but Jack was not finished fighting. He used subterfuge to return to combat. After leaving active duty, he taught at West Point Military Academy for three years, from 1973-1976 teaching international relations and comparative politics, finally retiring from the military in 1987. Jack then went into private business in finance.

David Jacobs, Jack’s father as a young boy

Jack’s reflections on the Medal of Honor, and those who have received it, tells much about the man. “Recipients of the Medal of Honor really have little in common. They have been from every state, economic station, and ethnic group. But they have shared a strong sense of duty and of purpose and the motivating burden of personal responsibility at the perilous point of decision. They feared death, but their biggest fear was failing themselves, their friends, and their nation, and thus they have been no different from the tens of millions of the other men and women who have served in uniform.”

It was no surprise that MNBC and its affiliate, NBC, chose Jack as military advisor. After all, he is among the most highly decorated soldiers from the Vietnam War era, having earned three Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts and the Medal of Honor. In addition to MNBC and NBC, Jack has been on the Colbert Show. His humor and wisdom is excellent combination for the intelligent wit of Colbert. When meeting Jack, you quickly forget his small stature.  His energy, dynamic personality and intelligence shine through.  As a Greek Jew and as an American, I am so proud of Jack Jacobs.  He has served us well. He has made us proud.

Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos is Museum Director at Kehila Kedosha Janina, the one and only Greek Synagogue in the Americas.

John P. Calamos, Sr. announced that he has appointed John Koudounis, 50, Chief Executive Officer of Calamos Investments, a global investment management firm. Koudounis, whose appointment is effective Monday, April 4, 2016, will lead the firm’s business activities, including executing the firm’s growth strategy and expanding the firm’s global footprint. Calamos will remain Chairman and Global CIO, focusing on investing and the continuity of Calamos’ investment-centric culture. “As founder of Calamos Investments, few things are as important to me as ensuring that we have the right executive team in place to successfully lead the firm in the years to come,” said John Calamos. “In appointing John Koudounis as CEO, we’re adding an executive with tremendous integrity, valuable global financial services experience, and a successful track record of leadership and corporate growth. As part of Calamos Investments’ evolution, he is the right leader joining us at the right time. While I will continue to be active in the business, John Koudounis’ appointment as CEO will allow me to spend more time on my investment responsibilities as Global CIO.”

John Koudounis, Photo: mentistudio.com

Koudounis commented, “I am looking forward to building upon the strong foundation that John and his colleagues have created. I am impressed by the firm’s talent, its strong client relationships and emerging global presence. We will remain focused on our mission of delivering strong long-term performance to our clients while thoughtfully growing the firm in ways that capitalize on – and complement – our core competencies, offering meaningful investment opportunities to our clients.” Koudounis has 27 years of financial services experience including executive leadership in the global securities business and a deep background in global fixed income. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mizuho Securities USA, Inc. (MSUSA), a subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, one of the world’s largest full-service financial institutions. During his tenure at Mizuho Securities, he grew the firm into a top 10 investment banking powerhouse.

Prior to joining MSUSA in 2008, Koudounis was Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income for ABN AMRO North America where he played a critical role in its successful growth. Calamos stated, “I’ve known John Koudounis for many years and I value his leadership, insights, energy, and corporate development skills that will build the areas of our business which are strategically important to our shareholders and clients, today, tomorrow and into the future. He is a strong addition to our team, as I will continue to focus on my role as Global CIO directing our investment-centric culture.”

Calamos Investments is a diversified global investment firm offering innovative investment strategies including U.S. growth equity, global equity, convertible, multi-asset and alternatives. The firm offers strategies through separately managed portfolios, mutual funds, closed-end funds, private funds, an exchange traded fund and UCITS funds. Clients include major corporations, pension funds, endowments, foundations and individuals, as well as the financial advisors and consultants who serve them. Headquartered in the Chicago metropolitan area, the firm also has offices in London, New York and San Francisco.

by Cindy Klimek

Elias Fillas got his first taste of what it means to be a lawyer when his brother was hurt in an accident.

“My brother got into a pretty severe accident when he was 11 years old,” Fillas explains. “And we dealt with an attorney who really didn’t know what he was doing. He failed to have my brother’s medical bills paid and failed to obtain a fair result for my brother who was severely injured. From that time on, I just always said to myself that we really need a lawyer in the family!”
Fillas, the first lawyer in his family, attended Hofstra University for his undergraduate degree and then Hofstra Law School. But he admits that going to college to become a lawyer wasn’t as easy as wanting to become a lawyer.

Elias Fillas, PHOTO: ANASTASSIOS MENTIS

“I really didn’t apply myself in my first two years of college,” he says with a laugh. “I wasn’t doing very well at all because I was very active socially. And then I visited a counselor and I told him that I wanted to become a lawyer and he looked at me like I was crazy. He told me to have more realistic expectations because it didn’t appear that I would be able to go to law school at that time. So I decided that I had had enough of the fun and games and I took my studies very seriously in my third and fourth year. I stopped attending social functions, took summer classes, winter classes, and really immersed myself in my academic career. I was able to increase my GPA and ultimately I took the LSATs and Hofstra accepted me and I started going to law school.”

Once he made the decision to get serious about his career, he never looked back. He graduated law school in 2001 and became partner of a law firm just three short years later.

“After law school, I started working for Tonino Sacco, who is now my partner. I graduated from law school and initially I told him that it was going to be a short-term employment because I had planned on opening up my own office, so I was very forthright with him. I started working and then we became really good friends and colleagues. And the more I worked for him and learned from him the more I realized I had yet to learn. Additionally, the size of the practice began to grow and after three years of working together I think we both realized that we complemented each other very well and we made the decision to become partners.”

However, despite his quick rise to partner, Fillas says he “doesn’t put too much emphasis” on having his name on the door.

Elias Fillas with wife, Katerina and children Niko, Yianni, Anthoula and Eftyhia

“It was a proud moment because I had my own law firm and I was young at the time, but the fact that you open up a law firm isn’t much of an accomplishment,” he says. “Anyone with a law degree can open up a law practice. Once you go to law school it’s just a matter of getting some money together and renting a space and putting up your shingle. I place more emphasis on the hard work and countless hours that my partner and I have invested into our practice and the dedication and loyalty of our staff that enabled us to manage the growth we’ve experienced over the past 10 years. We went from two lawyers and a part-time paralegal to a practice that employs approximately 30 attorneys in multiple subject areas and a staff o about 70 people. To experience that kind of growth while maintaining a high level of service in a matter of 10 years, that’s where the accomplishment lies.”

Their approach to the developing of the firm was to model it as a corporate firm for the average working person. A corporate, white shoe firm has multiple departments so that all the needs of Fortune 500 companies can be serviced.

“The success of our firm was to create the same environment where we can attend to all the needs of the average working person,” he says. “Over the years we’ve developed departments within our office that provide services in the areas of real estate, commercial, criminal, personal injury, employment, matrimonial and estates law, that your average person, their friends, relatives or neighbors, will encounter every day.”

He provides the example of a client who, he says, “we were able to obtain a very large settlement. Subsequently, we represented the client in a purchase of a house, the drafting of his will and the opening of his first business. We reviewed his lease, assisted him in obtaining financing, drafted contracts for his business and when he decided to get married, we drafted a prenuptial agreement. It gave me great pride to watch this unfold and represent this client every step of the way.”

He says, “This is just one example of what occurs every day in my practice and it has been a very fulfilling experience to do this day in and day out. I’m proud to have played a role in the creation of a law firm that can diligently handle matters in multiple areas of the law. It is something we developed that you rarely find with most firms, the ability to cater to the average man with sophistication and tenacity which made us one the largest firms in Queens County.”

Being client and community-minded, Fillas says his first “I made it!” moment came long before he had his name on the door. It happened when he won his first case for the firm, which was also his first jury trial.

From left, the firm’s Attorneys Albert Matuza, Matthew Beckwith, Luigi Brandimarte, Scott Laird, James Benintendi, Joanne Ciaramella, Shibu Jacob, Christopher DelCioppio, Elias Fillas, Lamont Rodgers, Tonino Sacco, William Sung, Ying Hua Huang, Si Aydiner, Andrew Wiese, Sal Asaro, Brad Levin, Nissim Abaev and David Roer

“I had my first trial against one of the largest insurance carriers in the state and the amount of the insurance policy that was applicable was $25, 000,” he says. “They were putting us in a position where they weren’t making any reasonable offers to the client, so we had to spend $17,000 to try the case. We ended up getting a verdict of $180,000, and Allstate ultimately paid a sum that far exceeded their policy limits. That was actually my first trial.”

Fillas attributes his success and his firm’s growth to hard work and offering something his competitors don’t: office hours on the weekends and incomparable availability.

“I started holding office hours on Saturdays and Sundays because I realized that a lot of my clientele, the Greek families in the community, worked 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, so it was very difficult for a lot of people who had cases to go and see an attorney on a weekday, I gave them that alternative. Also, back then, it was not the norm to give out your cell phone number to clients, but I gave out my cell phone number to all of my clients. I just made myself very accessible to them. I would work sometimes until 9 or 10 at night. I guess it was a novel idea at the time, now it has become the norm in our office.”

Despite the payoff from his long and weekend hours, he says he wouldn’t have been able to reach this level of success without the support of his family and his business partner.

“When you’re spending large amounts of time away from your family in order to further your career, there has to be an understanding from your family that that’s what is required in order to be successful. My wife, Katerina and I have four beautiful kids that require a lot of time and attention, and without my wife’s dedication to our family, I would have never been able to accomplish whatever I’ve accomplished in my career. As for my business partner, Tonino, he has been my mentor throughout my career. We have a great relationship, he is godfather to my son, Niko, and has become a member of our family.”

So, deep down, how does this hotshot Astoria lawyer feel about the career he chose for himself as a kid?

“That’s a loaded question,” he says. “I think the thing that I like the most is the satisfaction you get when you get a great result for a client. You have somebody that comes to you and depends on you to get them results or to help make their life a little bit easier as a result of them being in an accident or having some protracted litigation go on and getting them the finality of that situation and having it work out for them where they’re very pleased with the result. That’s probably the most satisfying feeling you can get from being a lawyer. However, it’s a lot of responsibility. You take on all your clients’ problems and sometimes it can really weigh on you.”

Abraham Lee, Paralegal, Kevin Kim, Paralegal, Elias Fillas, Tonino Sacco, Eric Kim, Paralegal, Ying Hua Huang and Uram William Sung

Regarding the quality of justice, Fillas says he has seen and read about cases where the jury verdicts rendered results to people that didn’t seem very fair.

“However, overall it’s a very good justice system. It works better than what exists in other countries of the world. (Think of Greece for example.) Right now, the courts are overloaded with cases and as a result, cases take longer to resolve. This is a common complaint that I hear from clients but that’s the system that we have. It has to be improved, but it works.. It just could work a lot better.”

Fillas hopes to expand his law firm and possibly even run for political office someday.

“My partner’s Italian, I’m Greek, but both of us have our base here in Astoria. We initially started out in Whitestone, which also has a heavily Greek and Italian community, and as the firm grew and we needed more space we decided to come to Astoria. The office that we occupy is half a block away from where my partner grew up and it’s a couple of blocks away from where I was born. Astoria holds a lot of sentimental value to us. My partner and I are focusing all our efforts on continuing to grow. We hope to be fortunate enough to continue to experience the growth that we’ve experienced these last 12 years together. We have plans to open other offices in New York City and other boroughs. We’re just looking to keep doing what we’re doing to achieve stellar results for our clients.”

As for political office, “you can’t rule it out. Right now it’s not in the cards but you can’t exclude anything. There’s still a lot more that I want to accomplish in my field before I run for any kind of political office, but never say never.”

by John Fotopoulos

There is a common misperception among Orthodox Christians that the reason why Orthodox Easter (i.e. Pascha) often occurs so much later than Western Christian Easter is because the Orthodox Church abides by the rules for calculating the date of Pascha issued by the 1^stEcumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD and thus the Orthodox must wait for Passover to be celebrated by the Jewish community before Pascha can occur. Despite this view being held by so many Orthodox Christians as well as being promoted in popular essays written by some Orthodox priests, it is not accurate. The reason why Orthodox Pascha frequently occurs so much later than Easter celebrated by Roman Catholics and Protestants has nothing to do with the Orthodox Church following the Paschal formula of Nicaea and the Western Churches not doing so, nor is it because the Orthodox must wait for Jewish Passover to be celebrated. Rather, Orthodox Pascha frequently occurs later than Western Easter because the Orthodox Church uses inaccurate scientific calculations that rely on the inaccurate Julian Calendar to determine the date of Pascha for each year. Some background information is in order to help explain precisely what the problems are.

Historically, Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred in association with Jewish Passover, although the synoptic gospels (Mk, Matt, Lk) and the Gospel of John contain differences regarding the precise day of Passover at that time. Because of these differences, early Christian churches developed different practices regarding when they were to celebrate Christian Pascha and how the date of Pascha was to be determined. Some ancient Churches celebrated Pascha on the Sunday immediately following Jewish Passover while others emphasized Jesus’ suffering and death on Pascha and thus celebrated the feast on the same day as Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week Passover occurred.  Christian communities that adhered to either one of these Paschal traditions often relied on their local Jewish communities’ calculations of Passover in order to determine the date of their respective Christian Pascha. Passover is itself a lunar festival marking the beginning of the new year and is to occur annually on the vernal full moon—a date that came to be designated in the Jewish Calendar as the 14^thof Nisan (Exod 12:1-6). Ancient Jewish communities faced many challenges in regulating their year by a lunar calendar.  Because the Jewish lunar calendar frequently fell out of step with the seasons of a solar year, Jews added an additional month to their calendar every two or three years to correct Passover from occurring out of season. A late decision to add a month to the Jewish calendar and/or difficulties communicating meant that not all Jewish communities were always aware of the extra month. This resulted in some Jewish communities celebrating Passover in different months, while other Jewish communities ended up mistakenly celebrating Passover twice in the same year.

Because of Christian dependence on unreliable Jewish calculations of the vernal full moon for Passover and because of the varying Christian traditions for the date of Pascha’s celebration, the Roman Emperor Constantine convened the 1^st Ecumenical Council at Nicaea which attempted to resolve these issues and promote Christian unity by issuing a formula for the calculation of Pascha. The Council at Nicaea determined that Pascha would occur on: the first Sunday | after the first full moon | after the vernal equinox

This Nicene formula solved several practical issues. First, the Church determined that Pascha would not be celebrated on the same day as the vernal full moon which itself is to mark the festival of Jewish Passover. By resolving to celebrate Pascha on the first Sunday after the vernal full moon, Christian Pascha would forever be associated with Jewish Passover without being identified with it, thus maintaining the historical associations of Jesus’ death and resurrection with Passover. Second, by resolving that the Christian celebration of Pascha must occur annually after the vernal equinox, the Church ensured that Pascha would only occur once each solar year. Third, the Nicene formula itself meant that the Church would not be reliant on Jewish calendars for the calculation of Passover (the vernal full moon i.e. 14 Nisan), nor would the Church be obliged to wait for Jewish communities to celebrate Passover before celebrating Christian Pascha. Rather, the Nicene formula ensured that the Christian calculation of Pascha would occur independently of the Jewish reckoning of Passover by instead using the astronomical data of the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon in order to calculate the Sunday of Pascha. This maintained the historical and theological associations between Jewish Passover and Christian Pascha while allowing the Church to ascertain the vernal full moon (i.e., what should be 14 Nisan and hence Passover) without Jewish calendrical problems. Because Alexandria, Egypt was known as a premier center of astronomy in the ancient world, the Church of Alexandria came to assume responsibility for making the scientific calculations used to determine the date of Pascha. Although today many traditionalist Orthodox assert that it is only permissible to use the Julian Calendar to determine Paschal dates by employing the ancient Alexandrian scientific calculations, this is to ignore that the Alexandrians Christians used their own Egyptian calendrical dates to calculate Pascha which were then translated into Julian Calendar dates for other parts of the empire. Moreover, although the Council of Nicaea issued a clear formula for the calculation of Pascha, it did not precisely regulate the technical details, methods, or calendar by which the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon should be determined. Rather, Alexandria assumed greater responsibility for making Paschal calculations because the Church expected that the best scientific means available would be used to determine Paschal dates.

Although the Orthodox Church and the Western Churches both continue to follow the formula of Nicaea for the determination of Pascha/Easter, the differences in their respective dates of celebration stem largely from the use of different calendars (Julian vs. Gregorian) and different methods of scientific calculation so as to ascertain the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon. The Orthodox Church employs a complex mathematical formula for the calculation of Pascha that uses the more inaccurate Julian Calendar (currently 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar) and a “fixed” Julian Calendar date of March 21^st (Gregorian April 3^rd) as the date of the vernal equinox, as well as a mathematically calculated approximation of the vernal full moon based on a 19-year lunar cycle (the Metonic Cycle). In other words, the vernal equinox used by the Orthodox Church for its calculation of Pascha is not the actual astronomical vernal equinox, nor is the vernal full moon that Pascha must follow (according to Nicaea) the actual, astronomical vernal full moon. Simply stated, the best available calendar and best available science are no longer being utilized for the calculation of Pascha which results in Orthodox celebrations of Pascha that are frequently out of sync with the astronomical phenomena of the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon and thus often occur later in the spring. However, the Western Churches use the Gregorian calendar (a much more accurate calendar—although not perfect) and a more generally accurate scientific calculation of the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon which results in a calculation of Easter that better corresponds with the actual astronomical phenomena and that is typically more accurate.

In this year of 2016, for example, Western Easter and Orthodox Pascha have very different dates of celebration. Western Easter was calculated to fall on March 27^th, whereas Orthodox Pascha was calculated to fall on May 1^st (Julian Calendar April 18^th). However, a quick look at the actual astronomical data quickly demonstrates the problems with the current Orthodox calculation of Pascha. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the 2016 vernal equinox occurred on March 20^th at 4:30 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It is important to remember that the date and time of the vernal equinox depend on the meridian used for calculation (the position on earth used as the reference point). Therefore, it is generally agreed that Jerusalem should be used as the meridian since it is the historical location of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Thus, the 2016 vernal equinox occurred in Jerusalem on March 20^th at 6:30 a.m. (UTC+2). Moreover, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the first full moon after the vernal equinox in 2016 occurred on March 23^rd at 12:01 p.m. (UTC), and in Jerusalem at 14:01 p.m. (UTC+2). Since the vernal full moon that occurred on March 23^rd, 2016 in Jerusalem at 14:01 p.m. was a Wednesday, this means that Pascha should have been celebrated on the first Sunday afterward, that is, on Sunday, March 27^th, precisely the date when Easter was celebrated this year by the Western Churches.

It was widely understood by ancient Christians that the vernal full moon could not be determined reliably by observation since what sometimes appears to the eye as a full moon may not, in fact, be one. This is one of the reasons why after Nicaea different Churches in communion with one another developed a wide variety of scientific/mathematical calculations over the centuries to determine the vernal full moon needed to arrive at the date of Pascha. However, scientific methods have advanced significantly since the time of antiquity, as has our ability to reliably know the dates of the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon for any given year. In 1920, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople raised the issue of all Churches employing a common calendar so that Eastern and Western Churches could celebrate major Christian feast days together throughout each year. Moreover, in 1923 a Pan-Orthodox Congress under the leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarchate advocated using a Revised Julian Calendar (very similar to the Gregorian Calendar) while also returning to the actual astronomical phenomena of the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon for the calculation of Pascha. However, divisive reactions against adoption of a new calendar and new Paschal calculations resulted in a compromise that allowed autocephalous Orthodox Churches to choose the Old Julian Calendar or the New (Revised Julian) Calendar to regulate the ecclesiastical year, but maintained the Old Julian Calendar and the scientific calculations based on it for the determination of Paschal dates.

In light of the many calendrical and scientific advances today, Orthodox Christians must ask themselves if use of the inaccurate Julian Calendar, use of a “fixed” Julian Calendar date of March 21^st (Gregorian April 3^rd) for the vernal equinox, and use of a mathematically calculated approximation of the vernal full moon are still faithful to the spirit of the 1^st Ecumenical Council at Nicaea. Nicaea issued its formula for the calculation of Pascha so that Christians everywhere would celebrate the most important Christian feast together in unity as a common witness to the world. Nicaea did not precisely regulate the technical details, methods, or calendar by which the vernal equinox and the vernal full moon should be determined, but expected the best available science to be used for the calculation of Pascha. The best available science is no longer being used for the calculation of Pascha.

During this 21^st century, the Orthodox and Western Churches will share a common celebration of Pascha only 31 times. In subsequent centuries, the common celebration of Pascha will occur much less frequently as errors in the Julian Calendar become more pronounced. This will result in Orthodox Pascha occurring even later in the year and more severely out of relationship with the vernal equinox and vernal full moon. Unless action is taken, the year 2698 will be the final time that Orthodox Pascha and Western Easter will occur on the same day. There may eventually be generations of Christians who are sadly led to believe that Orthodox and Western Christians have never celebrated Pascha/Easter together.

A consultation on Pascha/Easter between representatives of the Orthodox Church and Western Churches within the World Council of Churches in 1997 resulted in an excellent statement on and thoughtful recommendations for a common celebration of Pascha, but unfortunately these recommendations were never implemented. It is time that Orthodox Christians again begin to discuss this important issue of Paschal calculation and celebration while also moving past widespread misperceptions among Orthodox Christians regarding the reasons why Pascha frequently occurs so much later than Western Easter.

To be sure, Western Christians do utilize the formula issued by Nicaea for the calculation of Pascha, while Orthodox Christians do not need to wait for the Jewish celebration of Passover before Orthodox Pascha can occur.  Rather, use of a more accurate calendar as well as more accurate scientific calculations by the Orthodox Church are needed for Orthodox Pascha to occur once again each year on the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox—and again together with our Western Christian brothers and sisters.

John Fotopoulos is an Associate Professor of New Testament in the Department of Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.

The article appeared first in Public Orthodoxy (publixorthodoxy.org)

Kay & Mike at a Florida beach

Oil “guru,” geologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Johnson (Giannakopoulos), who initiated horizontal drilling, a new technique that has perfected fracking–invented by another Greek-American, George Mitchel– making possible the discovery of the Parshall oil field in North Dakota with oil reserves of 15 billion barrels, believes that in parts of the Aegean, southern and especially western Greece, there is oil in abundance waiting to be extracted. He pointed out that even Herodotus–more than 2,000 years ago–knew about the oil in Zakynthos!

 In an interview with NEO magazine during one of his recent visits to New York, Johnson explained that in the ‘90s he tried to get drilling rights to the famous oil seep at Dragopsa, Epirus. But after years of trying to cut through the institutional inefficiency and corruption he finally gave up. His experience proves what we’ve known all along: that Greece isn’t an OPEC country because the various factions that vie for money and power behind the scene haven’t come to terms as to the division of kickbacks! The oil is still there, however, waiting to be taken out of the ground and exploited if the right people ever come to government and open the process without closing the eye to special interests. Mr. Johnson won’t be there, though, preferring the Florida calmness to going through the experience in Greece again. Like many others who tried to do business in Greece and got burnt, he is unwilling to try his luck and patience once more no matter what the potential benefits.

Michael Johnson

Having entered the ninth decade of a very productive life, Mr. Johnson, crystal-clear minded and sharp-witted as ever, tall and erect and with a natural nobleness in manners, is unstoppable. He just finished a book which comes as a sequel to his first book a few years ago in which he described his life and how he came as a geologist to be interested in oil and implement the horizontal drilling for which he has received numerous awards. In his new book, he talks, among other things, about good ideas that people might have and how to materialize them. It’s not going to be one more of those self-applauding books that tells you how to become rich and famous following the footsteps of the successful writers, but more of an eye-opener delving into Mr. Johnson’s own experience that brought him from a Greek American household of restaurant owners to be a leading figure in the American oil industry.

And unlike others, despite his huge professional and financial success, he has chosen to stay close to the Greek American community, helping and contributing generously in various causes.

Michael Johnson. a geologist and oilman who now lives in Denver, Colorado, was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his family numbering among the 100 or so Greeks living in the city. Growing up Greek in the segregated Tulsa at the time wasn’t easy and it was perhaps this experience that contributed to his inventive spirit and his ability to focus on his goals.

Michael & Kay Johnson with the late Archbishop Iakovos

How was it growing up in Oklahoma? Did you feel you were discriminated against as a Greek American?

Yes. My mother never learned to speak English so she did not mix in the neighborhood where we lived. I felt like an outsider. Tulsa was totally segregated (schools, buses, neighborhoods, restaurants) until after WW II. We were a tiny minority. There were fewer than 30 Greek families, nearly all of whom Americanized their names.

Which part of Greece are your parents from? Have you visited their village and have you taken your children and grand children? If yes, what was the experience like?

Kandila, a village about 25 miles northeast of Tripoli, in Peloponnesus. I have a picture in my book of my father’s house (shack). I gave my interest in my mother’s home to one of my relatives who live there. A good lesson in living is for young people to go and experience village life and recognize the hardships that your grandparents went through so that they can prosper in America.

Michael Johnson with Ecumanical Patriarch Bartholomew and Andy Andrikopoulos

Tell us about your involvement in the Greek American community. I know you are a member in various organizations and you support many causes.

My wife and I support Orthodoxy and Hellenism. I am a member of the Board of Trustees of Leadership 100, FAITH, supporter of Hellenic College-Holy Cross, St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero, St. Michaels Home for the Aged, Philoptochos and we are building a chapel addition to the Cathedral in Denver. I am an Archon recognizing our connection to Constantinople.

Although Greek Americans have been very successful individually, when it comes to collective causes we lag far behind other ethnic and religious groups. Why in your opinion is that and what can we do to change it?

I believe that we need to be more transparent and give full recognition to givers. We are characteristically frugal. The key to giving, and the most important thing in seeking donations to causes is, WHO DOES THE ASKING.

Michael Johnson receiving the AAPD Foundation’s Explorer of the Year Award from the organization’s President Scott Tinker

What’s going on with the price oil? Will it drop further?

The oil price has dropped significantly (from $90 to $30 dollars per barrel) and it’s dropped for several reasons. The main reason is that we have developed a new oil-finding technique in America – horizontal drilling (see photos). In the last eight years we have discovered two million barrels a day of new domestic oil production. That’s a big amount of oil. So instead of producing seven million barrels a day we now produce nine million barrels a day. In the U.S. we use a total of about 20 million barrels a day, mostly to fuel the 270 million cars that we own. Liquids from natural gas (LNG) account for another three million barrels. The eight million barrels remaining is imported from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia etc. When we went from seven to nine million barrels, we flooded the market and the oil price went down starting in 2014. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, could have prevented this drop in oil price. They produce 10 million barrels a day for the world market. If they had reduced that figure to eight, to make up for the two million that we are putting out, the price would have stayed the same.

On the outcrop, doing field work in Nevada

Michael S. Johnson (Giannakopoulos)

Consulting petroleum geologist Michael S. Johnson is recognized for contributing to the landmark discovery of Parshall Field in North Dakota. His 68-year career in the Rocky Mountain region began with positions at Amerada Petroleum and Apache. Since launching his independent consulting firm in 1963, he has focused his exploration efforts in the Williston Basin. He has been involved in 15 other oil field discoveries in North Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas.
Born in 1926 in Missouri to Greek immigrant parents, he became increasingly intrigued with the oil business after his family moved in 1931 to Tulsa, Oklahoma, already the world’s oil capital. He earned B.Sc. and M.S. degrees in geology from The Ohio State University.

His noteworthy and fulfilling career encompasses interests in several oil fields, culminating in his contribution to the discovery of North Dakota’s Parshall Field. One of America’s largest oil fields, Parshall extends over six million acres with producible reserves exceeding fifteen billion barrels.

His honors include Explorer of the Year awards from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists.

Why didn’t they do that?

Because number one they wanted to help China, who is a big importer of their oil, and Saudi Arabia is a big importer of their goods. So if the price went down it would help the Chinese economy. Number two and three, they wanted to cause economic hardship to Russia and Iran, now considered to be adversaries.  And four, let’s see if you Americans can produce your new oil at the present lower price of 40 dollars per barrel instead of 90– and we can’t. For the U.S., the price has to be $60, which is why drilling activity in the U.S. has dropped dramatically.

Many people don’t realize that oil sells at different prices depending on quality. What you see in The Wall Street Journal is the benchmark price for oil based on the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a high quality 45 degree gravity crude oil, one of the best in America. There is oil in America that presently goes for less than $29 a barrel, but it is low grade with a lot of sulphur. So, the price of oil varies. In North Dakota we are getting about $35 dollars per barrel, five dollars below WTI.

To answer the original question, oil price is rising. It has gone from $30 to $40 dollars and will be $50 dollars per barrel or higher by the end of the year and up to $80 dollars per barrel in less than four years. Oil is the lifeblood of the world’s economy. It will be the major energy source for the next 25 years or longer. The Middle Eastern countries need $70 to $80 dollar per barrel oil in order to sustain their economies. There will be turmoil if that does not happen.

Were you one of the fracking technique inventors?

No, the fracking technique was perfected by George Mitchell, a Greek-American, from Houston, at the Barnett gas field in the Fort Worth area. I initiated the horizontal drilling technique in a new area in North Dakota and it was my idea that it would work there. We ended up helping to discover Parshall oil field, covering six million acres, with oil reserves of 15 billion barrels.

How does that work?

We drill vertically 9,000 feet and then turn the drill to go horizontally in the rock layer that contains the oil, maybe only 10 feet thick, that’s all. One mile down, two miles sideways. Now, that’s real, amazing technology! I got some awards using that technology…

What about the environmental concerns, people are protesting that fracking is bad for the environment and it produces earthquakes.

That’s a bunch of nonsense, really. What is happening is that waste water is being injected into water disposal wells that slicken the fractures of the rocks in the subsurface causing minor earthquakes with an intensity of 1 to 3. Maybe a few are higher. Fracking has nothing to do with it. Fracking has been going on and used in completing oil and gas wells since 1947. Were it not for fracking Parshall oil field and George Mitchell’s Barnett field would not exist nor would some 10,000 other oil and gas fields in the U.S. Fracking should be strictly regulated by the States and they should be attentive to the damage that could be done. We have numerous safeguards of protecting the environment from fracking techniques.

What about the reports with the abundance of oil in the Aegean Sea. Is there truth in that?

The oil potential in Greece has been recognized since the time of Herodotus, who in about 400 B.C. described the oil seeps on the island of Zakynthos. Other indications of oil exist in Greece. Neighboring Albania produces 18 thousand barrels of oil per day, so Greece is in oil country. However, Greece produces only 1,000 barrels per day from Prinos, its only commercial oil field that is located in the northern Aegean Sea. It has produced 120 million barrels with remaining reserves of some 40 million barrels. The Aegean Sea has great additional oil potential.

So, there is oil there…

I think western Greece has a lot of potential, also. Mostly in Epirus, east of the city of Egoumenitsa. I have visited the famous oil seep at Dragopsa. We have a lookalike to western Greece in the states of Utah and Wyoming where we have 200 million barrel oil fields. These fields are already productive and geologically are very similar to the geologic setting in western Greece. That’s why I went to Greece in the mid ‘90s trying to get a concession in Epirus. We worked with DEP, the Greek National Oil Company. I had the backing of a large independent Denver-based oil company. We spent four to five years negotiating and gathering data with the cooperation of DEP. However, government red tape and “the “fakello” (the envelope – kick back) is what caused failure.

The offshore Ionian Sea and the north offshore of Crete also have potential. Greece has already done detailed seismic that is available for review and in 2015 Prime Minister Samaras began plans for offering concessions but the government change caused cancellation. The potential still exists though.

Atomic bomb explosion, 10/22/51, Nevada test / White radioactive cloud 30 seconds later

Are you telling me that bankrupt and cash-strapped Greece sits on vast but unexploited oil reserves?

Absolutely! You just need to get the government to get rid of the corruption. People are afraid to go to Greece.

Are you thinking of resuming your effort to extract oil there if things get better?

I would rather relax in Florida.

Your thoughts on the US electoral policies of the day?

I am a Republican like most oil business people. I like conservative policy. I believe that the federal government has exceeded the powers delegated to it by the Constitution. I think that in industry, and in health and education issues, the States can do a better job than the politicians in Washington D.C.

A message you would like to send to young Greek Americans making or about to make their first steps in career or professional life?

Whatever success I have had I attribute to my watchwords-perseverance and tenacity. If you have a good idea, don’t ever give up. You have the good fortune of living in the greatest country in the world giving you many freedoms one of the best being entrepreneurship. A good education opens a lot of doors.

Alexander Billinis

Today, when I am writing this, is May 29. For many Greeks, and other successors of Byzantium, the date’s significance is self evident. The seismic event, the final fall of Constantinople to the Turks, on this day in 1453, is an event that should be noted, and mourned, by all Westerners, yet it is barely a footnote in the history books. Though the siege is worthy of a epic blockbuster, it is strangely absent from the celluloid (ok, now, digital) record.

To the best of my knowledge, the only high budget film on this pivotal event in world history has been produced by the Turks themselves, and recently. “Fetih [Conquest] 1453,” which I reviewed a couple of years ago, is a cinematographically extravagant hagiography of the Turkish conquest of the city, with a melodrama typical of Turkish soap operas but world class special effects of a massive and horrific siege. That no Western or Balkan version has been produced is symptomatic of a general silence about Byzantium, even among its successor states.

I have to ask a simple question: Why?

When most of Europe was in the Dark Ages following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, East Rome (what we refer to as Byzantium), survived, preserving its dual legacy of Greco-Roman Civilization in a Christian setting. Its art, architecture, medicine, science, and culture were far beyond anything further West. Byzantines’ tolerance and respect of learning allowed them to absorb wisdom from the Near, Middle, and Far East.  When you sit at your table and eat your food with a fork, you have the Byzantines to thank for it.

In an era of religious intolerance, when Western Christians were highly rigid and dogmatic, believing that God’s Word could only be expressed in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, the Byzantines invented an alphabet and a liturgy for the Slavs, prefiguring the reforms that Erasmus and Luther sought, nearly a millennium later, to bring to Catholicism. The Byzantines were no saints, but their sins in the name of God generally paled in comparison to the Inquisition.

Constantine Paleologus, Last Byzantine Emperor

Byzantium guarded the eastern approaches of Europe from the barbarian hordes to the north and the Arabs to the south. While Western historiography lauds the Franks under Charles Martel for stopping the Arab invasion of France from their Spanish base, one needs to search quite a bit harder for accounts of Byzantium’s role in stunting the Arabs’ eastern invasions of Europe. While a more politically correct and inclusive Western historiography gives Islamic Spain and Sicily its due, the same is withheld from Byzantium. This same school of history suggests that the Renaissance developed in Western Europe via Arab scholars of the ancient Greeks, while neglecting to remember that Byzantium spoke Greek and that their libraries contained most of the great works of ancient Greece and Rome, which were discussed among intellectual circles. Apparently, under a politically correct model, as a European Christian civilization, Byzantium can be pilloried by Western Europeans without the stigma of racism. Byzantium suffers from Western biases without any of the protections of political correctness, the worst of all worlds.

While the Crusades are now viewed as a vicious attack on the Muslim world, the Crusaders’ horrid decapitation of the Byzantine Empire in 1204 is again a footnote overlooked, and if addressed, somehow one gets the impression that the Byzantines, with their duplicitous, conspiratorial, “other,” “byzantine” ways, had it coming. The divisions sowed by this event resonate even today; the hatreds conjured could be seen in the Serb-Croat conflict, and the way the Western media, mirroring Western historians, had no problem obscuring the Serb position and supporting the Croatian. After all, the West had almost 1000 years of bias from which to draw.

Successor states of Byzantium—Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania—read these tea leaves and in their own way, absorbed the bias against their own civilization. Greece emphasized Classical Greece, which the West admired while despising the Medieval Greeks. Serbia attempted Yugoslavism, which ended in tragedy, fueled, in part, by the Western bias against Byzantium and the sponsorship of Croatia as a Western bastion against the “Byzantine” Serbs. The West conveniently ignored Serbia’s wartime alliances with the West; culture trumped the historical record. Romania emphasized its Latin linguistic roots to forge a tenuous link with Italy and above all France. The goal was to improve their cultural cache as Western states by forging links with the West, while still remaining Orthodox and Byzantine (and Ottoman) in culture and politics.

This attempt to find the best of both worlds, logical enough, has resulted in the worst of both. The Balkan countries are shirttail relatives to the West, their history is ignored and obscured, while, like all Western countries, they are also under a Politically Correct assault. The post Byzantine states have always been divided against each other, making them easy prey, as in the age of late Byzantium, for conquest from the East and the West. The record on Byzantium is silent, and we, as its descendants, whether in the homelands or the Diaspora, maintain the silence.

This is a bad thing, not only for those of us for whom the historical record is something sacrosanct in itself. Nor is it that, as a Greek, I resent the absence of Byzantium from general historical knowledge. I do, but the biggest problem is that the same area today is in an eerily similar state of seismic turmoil. The Balkan Orthodox states, the most direct successors of Byzantium, are in varied states of social, economic, political, and, most importantly, demographic decay. Europe as a whole faces less acute, yet similar problems. Unfortunately, by not understanding the mistakes of the past, we risk running the same script in the present and future.

What Can We Do?

Greeks in their key Diaspora locations are now well established economically, culturally, academically and in the media. We monitor chairs of Turkish Studies in universities, denials of genocide, the Macedonian Issue, et cetera. We have not shown even near the same vigor in promoting and defending Byzantium, though its civilization is key and core to our modern Greek identity, and it is falling victim to Turkish revisionism, both in academia and on the big screen. This combination of revisionism and obscurity has resulted in burned out Serbian monasteries in Croatia and Kosovo, or Cyprus. The whole of Asia Minor is a necropolis of Hellenism full of monuments that, to paraphrase President Obama, “They [the Turks] didn’t build.” If it is not talked about, or presented, or promoted, it effectively never happened.  Nobody will give these historical memories even a mere fifteen minutes of fame if we do not do it ourselves.

I must ask how is it that Greeks are so strongly represented in Hollywood in all parts of the cinematic value chain, and yet no film covers the Fall of Constantinople, the works of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, or any number of sagas and stories from a thousand year history. Not one. We can entertain with the self-deprecating, uber-stereotyped humor of Big Fat Greek Weddings, or set the beauties of Skopelos to ABBAs beautiful ballads. And this is great fun, mass entertainment. Major historical events are harder to portray for a mass audience, but it has been done before. Think of “300” or “Troy” or “Braveheart”; granted, these stories are better known, but the fact that so much of Byzantine history is virtually hidden in plain sight is in itself an opportunity.  Should we fail to promote Byzantium, its legacy will be usurped, perhaps by its conquerors, and the lessons from the tragic errors in the years leading up to 1453 may be unlearned. If pride in our ancestry and legacy is not enough of a reason, perhaps the words of Spanish-American philosopher George Santyana may be more persuasive: “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis

1) The arrival of  summer means days at the pool, beach, family picnics, baseball and other outdoor activities. Here are some tips to keep you and your family physically active in the warmer months:

• Hydrate! Drink plenty of water before, during and after physical activity to avoid dehydration. For low-calorie flavor, add slices of your favorite fruits such as melon, oranges, berries or even cucumber or mint to a pitcher of water and refrigerate for two hours. Read our Staying Active in Warm Weather and Staying Hydrated – Staying Healthy.
• Protect your family from the sun: wear wide-brimmed hats, always apply water-resistant sunscreen with at least SPF 15 and reapply sunscreen every 2 hours.
• Heat safety: avoid intense activities between noon and 3 p.m. when the sun is at its strongest.
• Dress for the heat: wear lightweight, light colored clothing, choose light, breathable fabrics such as cotton, and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
• Head indoors: when the heat gets unbearable, try indoor activities at your local YMCA or rec center like basketball, swimming, yoga or racquetball.

2) Warmer weather may mean it’s time to break out the grill. Here are some tips and ideas for a healthier grilling cookout:

• Go fish! Fish, especially oily fish like tuna and salmon have great nutritional benefits including omega-3 fatty acids. Rub a fillet with lemon juice and parsley or rosemary for enhanced flavor.
• Make a better burger: if you’re grilling burgers, be sure to buy lean or extra lean beef, drain off the excess fat after cooking and avoid making huge patties – remember that a serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards (3 oz). Add finely chopped green pepper to your beef to get in some veggies.
• Baked fries: Slice white or sweet potatoes into sticks, lightly spray with olive oil cooking spray, pepper and paprika and bake on a cookie sheet for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.
• Veggie kabobs: load up skewers with mushrooms, peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash or other veggies. Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and grill until slightly blackened.
• Try grilled corn on the cob: leave the husks on, and grill for about 30 minutes over medium flame, rotating occasionally. Remove from grill, let cool for about 5 minutes, remove husks and enjoy!

3) Road trips can take a toll on everyone – here are some ideas to keep things healthier while on the open road:

• Make “rest breaks” active: pick a road stop or park and get the family out of the car to take a brisk 10-minute walk and move around. Not only will it burn off some energy, but it can also help the driver feel rejuvenated and more alert.
• Pack healthy snacks: finding healthier snacks at road stops can be difficult. Pack apples, oranges, grapes, raisins, whole grain fiber-rich crackers or another favorite healthy snack to take with you.
• Pack to play: plan to incorporate regular physical activity into your daily routine while you’re away from home. Pack a football, soccer ball, Frisbee, or paddle balls so that you can be physically active throughout your downtime.
• Reach for water: sitting in the car for long periods of time can make it tempting to drink soda, which has extra calories and added sugar. Pack water (flavored or regular), fat free or lowfat (1%) milk and small portions of 100% juice to quench your thirst.

4) Try some fun and refreshing summer snacks that the entire family can enjoy:

• Fruit pops: Homemade freezer pops are an easy, fun treat for kids to make. Mash up fruit like peaches, grapes, berries or watermelon and put them in paper cups, insert a popsicle stick, freeze overnight and enjoy!
• Cool and crisp: keep a variety of colorful veggies on hand that stay cool and crunchy for   a refreshing treat – baby carrots, cucumber slices, and celery sticks are just a few ideas.
• Fruit smoothies: blend your favorite fresh fruits with fat-free or low-fat yogurt and ice for a refreshing drink or freeze and eat with a spoon like a frozen ice chill.
• Mix it up: make your own trail mix using your favorite unsalted or lightly salted nuts, seeds and unsweetened dried fruits (just be sure to keep your servings to 1.5 ounces or 1/3 cup).
• Just slice and serve: summer months are peak season for most fruits, just slice and serve – the whole family will enjoy the refreshing natural sweetness and juices just the way nature made ‘em!

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!!!

by Endy Zemenides

The famous American author Mark Twain supposedly said: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. As I engaged with senior Obama Administration officials during the annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference, this saying kept coming to mind.

To be fair, most of the senior officials were not in such high positions during other key moments in the Cyprus problem. Yet I still got a strange sense of déjà vu when I heard State Department officials, National Security Officials, and the Vice President’s advisors make some pretty bold pronouncements. Here are some of them (along with my reaction).

“We are closer than we’ve ever been before”:  I know it was a different U.S. Administration and a different U.N. Secretary General, but does the international community forget how often we heard those very words in 2003 and 2004?  Moreover, this statement is just objectively incorrect.  In 2004, Cypriots were presented with a complete – albeit fatally flawed – plan for reunification.  Although everyone claims that discussions on security (guarantees and troops) and territory have not begun yet, they incredibly compare the process so far to getting nearly to the finish line in 2004.

“It is our assessment that Turkey wants a solution to the Cyprus problem”:  It has ALWAYS been the assessment of the United States that Turkey wants a solution to the Cyprus problem. In fact, Administration after Administration has been explicitly saying this to Congress since the late 1970’s. The arms embargo on Cyprus requires the President to certify to Congress that Turkey is taking steps to end it occupation of Cyprus every six months, and that is exactly what every Administration has been doing since. Nowadays, the Obama Administration tells us that energy is motivating Turkey to solve Cyprus, but in 2009 the same Administration was telling us that Turkey’s “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy was giving us an opening on Cyprus and in 2004 the Bush Administration was trying to convince us that Erdogan’s EU aspirations made Turkey more likely to deal on Cyprus.

“This is the first time a Turkish-Cypriot leader gets along so well with the President of the Republic of Cyprus and is independent from Ankara”:  This is one of the more curious statements we keep hearing, because it wasn’t that long ago (2009 in fact), that the Obama Administration itself was saying the exact same things about then Turkish-Cypriot leader Talat.  They were encouraged by his personal relationship with President Christofias. They were excited by his criticism of the Turkish occupation presence. They wanted to bolster him so much that they had the ill-conceived and ultimately aborted notion of inviting him to the White House.

These senior Administration officials must think we are merely jaded by 42 years of occupation and frustrated hopes (rather than being better informed than them), and they constantly encourage the Greek-American community to: (a) create the political space for the Anastasiades government to make a deal; (b) to encourage Greek-Cypriots to support the deal negotiated between President Anastasiades and Akinci; and (c) to play a role in the financing of the solution.

But the Administration’s point man on Cyprus, Vice President Biden, should know better. He has experienced all 42 years of this occupation either as a U.S. Senator or as Vice President of the United States. He was in office when the second wave of the invasion – Atilla II – was launched while Greek-Cypriots were contemplating a proposal for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. He was a high ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Turkish occupation forces and their compatriots in the Grey Wolves murdered Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomou. He was the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the time of the Annan Plan. He was Vice President when Turkey pressured Turkish Cypriots to pull out of negotiations in 2012 (because the Republic of Cyprus assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union) and when Turkey scuttled negotiations right after his historic visit to Cyprus by sending the Barbaros into Cyprus’ EEZ. Joe Biden knows exactly why Turkey is not trustworthy.

Fortunately, the Obama Administration has already laid out a framework for dealing with foreign nations that are less than trustworthy. Just one night before the Cyprus conference began, President Obama’s National Security Advisor – Susan Rice – spoke to the American Jewish Committee. Seeking to reassure the AJC’s conference that the U.S. will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, she declared that the U.S.’s approach the Iranian nuclear agreement is quite simply, “distrust but verify”.

Distrust but verify should also officially be adopted by the Obama Administration vis-à-vis Turkey in the Cyprus negotiations. No one – not President Anastasiades, not the Greek-American community, not a single Cypriot who will vote in a referendum – should be asked to trust Turkey before tangible contributions are offered AND implemented before a referendum.  In a united voice, the Greek “lobby” – HALC, PSEKA, the Cyprus Federation, the Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, AHI and AHEPA – laid out tangible contributions that Turkey can make immediately. We also all declared that without such contributions, we cannot imagine how we can endorse any agreement in 2016. Iran had to implement concrete measures before a deal could be executed; we demand the same for Turkey. Until then, our approach will be to “distrust, but verify”.

Demetrios Rhompotis

It’s especially disheartening when fascism and nationalism find ways to corrupt even sports! On the Soccer Zone USA page, along with the jerseys of the Albanian National Soccer Team that took part for the first time in the Eurocup, this June, the map of the “Greater Albania” with territories from Greece, Kossovo and FYROM appears on the top right side! It’s also sad that those who put that map there instead of celebrating their national team’s appearance in a major international soccer venue, they use it to promote irredentism, nationalism and ultimately fascism! I contacted the Soccer Zone USA page asking them to remove the nationalistic map. Please, do the same. I especially urged my Albanian friends to not only condemn this practice, but to be on alert so that the darkest elements in their midst do not highjack their country and their future. Smart people learn from other people’s mistakes. In this case they don’t need to look far, think what happened to Greece in 1922 and to Serbia in the ’90s….

by Dimitri C. Michalakis

When I was a kid living on Chios I remember going to the harbor and the “prokimaia” to see people off on the ship that would take them to Athens and the world beyond. The ship was colossal to me: like a vast white cliff with rivets on it belching water from its sides. And the people on it looked impossibly high, perched on the railing and staring down on us like eagles from their lairs. I remember watching the stevedores in their blue jackets and fishermen caps bending nearly double to haul up the rickety rope ladder of the ship our suitcases (tied with rope) and trunks (tied with rope) and sometimes the huge baskets (tied with rope) sewn over with discarded tablecloths or napkins or men’s shirts (with the names and addresses of their owners or their destinations on them).

I could hardly imagine where all these baskets and packages and suitcases would wind up: somewhere in the noisy, glittering, bustling world of Athens with its public parks and municipal buildings and yellow trams and traffic cops with white gloves standing precariously in the middle of traffic circles and the real-life parrot in the Papagalos coffee shops and kiosks selling everything from worry beads to “thimiata” and cigarettes and newspapers blaring news of the big outside world.

The world beyond, which to my family meant mostly America, with places like Brooklyn, New York, and Warren, Ohio, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois, and even Montreal, Canada, where they said people dressed like Eskimos and rode in sleds. We received packages from this outside world periodically brought by the mailman on his “mihanaki” who would stop by the side of the road and mop himself and reach into his leather pouch and produce letters in striped envelopes that sometimes had wings on them and sometimes shoe boxes with actual shoes inside—beautiful glossy shoes with strange names like Buster Brown and Thom McAn which smelled like leather and had cream-colored soles with big white stitches and gold lettering for the size numbers. I would wear my new big black shoes to church (though they pinched) but by the time we got to church they would be coated with dust from the road and Yiayia would have to use spit and her “mantila” to wipe them down before we walked into the church and Papou hoisted me in my new black shoes in his “stasidi.”

The vast world beyond our little island seemed inconceivable and frightening—particularly since whoever boarded the great white ship in “prokimaia” would almost never come back and got reduced to the name that you saw periodically in those striped overseas envelopes bundled with rubber bands in the leather pouch of the postman’s “mihanaki.”

People now visit Greece like they visit Long Island in New York or the Great Lakes in Chicago or Big Sur in California: it’s barely a few hours away to get to the familiar baked heat of Greece with its aquamarine waters and bowl of a blue sky. I receive on Facebook countless photographs of the old village and of “mirovolos” Chios or I can go to Google Earth when the mood strikes me and roam through the old streets of Chora even though I am four thousand miles away.

It’s wonderful seeing this from four thousand miles away but even more wonderful to be there. Enjoy your time if you’re going there this summer.

Renowned artist and instructor at The Academy of Hellenic Paideia Antonia Papatzanaki

The Academy of Hellenic Paideia in Astoria, New York presented The Children’s Art Exhibition as part of the first Hellenic Art Festival TIMARETE in June. The exhibition comprised a selection of artworks created by the students of the Drawing and Painting class offered by the Academy, as well as a group of artworks by the students of the 8th Elementary School of Kordelio, Thessaloniki. As a class, Drawing and Painting is open to both children and adults of diverse backgrounds who want to hone their talents, explore new skills or nurture their creativity. Ms. Antonia Papatzanaki, the instructor, teaches the fundamentals of freehand drawing and painting through traditional and experimental studio art methods, and a historic journey through the world of art. The children thus learn the basics of fine art in an environment intending to stimulate both their analytical intelligence and imagination. The artworks were auctioned and the proceeds will go to the 8th Elementary School of Kordelio of Thessaloniki.

Children Art Exhibition

Born in Greece, Antonia Papatzanaki is an internationally renowned artist. She was educated in Athens School of Fine Arts (G. Nikolaidi’s Workshop), in the Vienna Hochschule für Angenwandte Kunst (W. Bertoni’s Workshop), and Pratt Institute in New York, where she acquired her Master’s degree in fine arts. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards: the Katonah Museum of Art, NY; Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Foundation for Hellenic Culture; Gerondelis Foundation, Lynn, MA; the Hellenic State Scholarship Foundation; and the F.V.S. zu Hamburg Foundation; and has gained first prizes from PanHellenic and International Competitions for public art work installations. Her public light installation Agora was exhibited at the Battery Park during 2000-2001 as part of the Temporary Public Art Program of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Her sculpture Lighthouse is permanently installed at “Kato Patisia” Square Metro Station, Athens, Greece. Papatzanaki has had 15 solo exhibitions all over the world and works by her are in the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, the Vorres Museum, in the Copelouzos family Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete, the American College of Greece, and in numerous private collections.

Children Art Exhibition

Sylvia Mouzourou

Anthea is an elegant and peaceful Healing Center located at the heart of Astoria, Long Island City and Sunnyside. Anthea, the name comes from the Greek word “the blossoming one” a term often used to describe ancient Goddesses of healing and hearth. The Center was created about four years ago by Sylvia Mouzourou, originally born in Cyprus and her business partner who is from mainland Greece. Sylvia studied psychology and mental health counseling and is offering a unique approach of therapy, which combines Mind, Body and Soul. “We were motivated by care for our fellow human beings and a desire to uphold the true essence of healing, which derives from balance of body and mind,” she says.

According to Mouzourou “Creating Anthea as a center of healing and transformation is the manifestation of a life’s dream, and I feel deep gratitude to all the people that contributed to this creation, especially our teachers, colleagues and friends. Our dream is to sustain a community-a safe place where people can grow, educate themselves and awaken the healer from within.” Through the practice of Meditation (silencing the mind) body stretching (Yoga) and pranayama (breathing technique) Anthea is introducing a way to find balance, purify body and mind and move to a state of healing and higher awareness. Joy is also part of healing, so creative arts such as dance and other mindful events are part of theis monthly schedule. “Following the seasonal cycles encourages us to feel in-tune with our bodies and be closer to nature even while living in NYC,” explains Sylvia, a stunning brunette with almond shaped eyes indicative of her multifaceted ancestry.

“We are blessed to be in a quiet, friendly and amazingly diverse neighborhood. Some of our practitioners speak Greek, German, Check and other languages. We welcome people of all ages and shapes to practice Yoga and reach their full potential. We encourage a life style leading to inner peace and physical well being allowing you to unplug from all the stress and worries of our everyday lives,” she says.

Anthea is actively involved with the Community, teaching public high school students and donating time for Community Yoga Classes at Astoria Park. It is also a center of healing arts where various holistic practitioners come to practice and teach from all over the country. “Here you can find licensed professionals in Reiki Healing, Energy Healing, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy and Psychotherapy. We also rent space for Social Events. We are looking forward to meeting you,” adds Sylvia with her captivating smile.

Anthea Yoga & Healing Arts Center is located on 34-01 45^th Street F2, Long Island City, NY. Their phone number is (718) 606-0049 and the email sylvia@antheacenter.com

by Athena Efter

Partner Kostas Gurlakis

Souvlakia and gyros to Greeks are like cheeseburgers and hot dogs to Americans. Some cheeseburgers and hot dogs are better than others, just like some souvlakia and gyros are better than others. In a food mecca like New York and a Greek town like Astoria, you may think you’ve tried them all. You may think, ok, another souvlaki joint in town. What’s the big deal? If it’s a better deal, it’s a great deal.

As an American girl, I’m always up for trying a great new burger, and as a Greek girl, I won’t refuse tender, juicy pork cubes tightly woven around a stick or thinly sliced strips of meat folded up in a pita sandwich. I love to eat, and I do, upon occasion, enjoy a little “street meat” from the carts that grill them up on all four corners of this little Greek (or not so Greek) town. Yet, when something better comes along, at the same price, I prefer quality. I discovered a new finer dining souvlaki experience, to eat-in or to take-out, and I don’t have to worry about bird poop and pigeon feathers falling from the overhead train trestles, flying straight onto my souvlaki and right into my tongue.

SVL Bar

SVL Bar is the brainchild of two good friends, Kostas Gurlakis, a former banker, and Peter Katsiaris, a former caterer. What happens when money and food come together? Why a business, of course! Friends since 1997, they spent many nights over a cup of coffee up and down the European style cafes that line the streets of Astoria’s Grand Avenue, more commonly referred to as 30^th Avenue, and came up with their “grand” idea to open their own unique Athenian style food boutique, SVL Bar.  They wanted something authentic and something different. It’s sleek, clean, and minimalistic. It is something different – not the typical white stucco-walls and blue wooden chairs with straw-covered seats under a canopy of hanging grapevines. No pictures of old and new Hellas, either.  This is a souvlaki bar after all, not a taverna.

SVL Bar

The menu is basic and clean. They are in the business of souvlaki and gyros, and to these young entrepreneurs it’s serious business. They take pride in the quality of their product to serve you locally sourced, hand-selected meats, including chicken, raised without antibiotic feed, in their signature sticks and sandwiches. What makes this pork meat a little different? Instead of the usual medley of pork butt that can often be found in souvlaki or the slimy textured heavily spiced non-descript “mystery meat” often found in gyro, you get pork neck, which is much lighter, leaner and cleaner in flavor. Even all the produce is locally sourced, except for seasonal vegetables, to create a colorful blend of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce beautifully presented, like a Greek country garden, in a metal bowl.

SVL Bar uses all brand new equipment to create their signature pita sandwiches, stuffed and rolled with hand-cut fries, sliced pork, onions, tomatoes and a thick cucumber yogurt sauce.  An architect was hired to conceptualize the design of the restaurant. Everything is new and modern, right down to the blackboard depicting several thematic stencil-like drawings of cows, pigs, and chickens, to the futuristic snowflake-like chandelier that hangs from the ceiling. When you first walk in, you notice a giant silver fork above the counter of the wide open kitchen space. It may not all be fork food, but the open kitchen, with its pots, pans, and plates neatly stacked and organized on a big chrome island countertop, right in the center, surrounded by grills emitting the scents of perfectly charred meats, and nothing to hide, certainly whets one’s appetite.

SVL Bar

No matter what hour of day or time of night, SVL Bar, conveniently located at 30-18 Astoria Boulevard, near the Grand Central Expressway, delivers the goods. They will even deliver them curbside, straight to your car, so you can take your hogs, hefers and chickens to go if you can’t make into the bar. And yes, you can get a Greek style hamburger (bifteki) and hot dog (loukaniko) too. You don’t have to be torn between the two. You can get them on “all fours” with mini shots of assorted gyro sliders. But whether or not you walk in or drive up, eat less or more, it’s a great place to stop by, be greeted by a friendly staff, and try something authentic and different.

This is one bar that’s open to patrons before noon, from 11am-11pm, Sunday through Thursday. And for all you weekend party animals, their souvla (Greek word for grill) is rolling round the clock, from 11am – 6am. I could very well replace my Sunday bacon for a Sunday morning Greek sausage gyro, and leave the butts and indigestion at the street carts, especially at 2am in the morning. To quote their slogan: “People Disappoint. Souvlaki is eternal.” Eternally fulfilling.

by Maria Elena Palau
and Jordana Levi

The “Montecristi hats” also known as “Panama hats,” became internationally known when President Theodore Roosevelt wore one during the inauguration of the Panama Canal in 1914. The canal workers also wore these hats to protect themselves when working long days under the blazing sun. The hats, originally made in Ecuador, became popular in all neighboring countries because of their soft and light material. They are hand made in Montecristi, a coastal, tranquil village with steep streets dotted with handicrafts shops in the province of Manabí. They are mainly crafted from the plaited leaves of the Carludovica Palmata Plant, known locally as the toquilla palm or jipijapa palm, although it is a palm-like plant rather than a true palm.

Freddy Pachay, a Government of Ecuador Certified Artisan is a third generation craftsman who makes fine hats that are sold in various countries, PHOTO: RICKIE BARTH

In Montecristi NEO met and spoke to one of these artisans, Mr. Freddy Pachay who told us that the family business started 80 years ago with his grandfather, Mr. Abraham Pachay who knitted the hats and gave them the final touch before putting them on the market. The small handicraft enterprise was inherited by Mr. Galo Pachay, his son who continued and expanded the business with the help of the men and women weavers he carefully selected. Today, his son Freddy Pachay, a Government of Ecuador Certified Artisan is in charge of the business. He is a third generation craftsman selling his hats to buyers in countries such as USA, Greece, Germany, France and Spain among other places.

Pressing the hats to the desired shape, PHOTO: RICKIE BARTH

The hats have different price value according to their size, quality and the intricacy of the weaving. Depending on the complexity of the weaving, it can take two to six months to create a hat.

There are three stages for their production. In the first stage, the toquilla plant leaves are carefully gathered and converted to material from which the hat is made of. The second stage is the actual making of a semi-final product and in the third stage the hat is finally given the final touch before it is ready to be sold. In addition to the Pachay family there are many other qualified artisans who produce these hats not only in Montecristi but also in Pilé, a village nearby. The Montecristi hats have been designated by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

1 – Sombrero-panama …) President Theodore Roosevelt; 2 – Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; 3 – Sean Connery; 4 – Mick Jagger; 5 – Brad Pit; 6 – Kyriake Rompotis with one of Mr. Pachay’s hats in Lefkas Island, Greece; 7 – And last but not least, NEO’s Demetrios Rhompotis!

For more info on the Panama hats and Freddy Pachay’s shop their phone numbers are 052-310384 and 0959486109. The email address is fredpayhats@hotmail.com

These days, the Panama hats are worn by farm workers, internationally known stars as well as members of the various royal families. And of course, by commoners like NEO’s Demetrios Rhompotis who proudly boasts not one, but five of them with new acquisitions coming this summer …

by Eliana Papanicolaou and Theo Couloumbis

We follow a Greek Cypriot American boy, Theo (played by Theo Couloumbis), who is raised by his grandmother (played by Calliopi Toufidou) in the States. Their relationship is nothing less than warm and funny. His parents have been missing for 25 years. Soon, Theo finds himself alone when his grandmother passes away from stomach cancer. This aspiring doctor spirals into a depressed, vegetated state. His grandmother leaves a will suggesting he uses the money to meet his family in Cyprus, and to learn and love where his parents came from. While in Cyprus, Theo meets Afroditi (played by Eliana Papanicolaou), an anthropologist and excavator of the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP). She illuminates Theo on the culture and history of the island concerning the events and repercussions of the Turkish invasion in 1974. Though her undying passion is to help the people of Cyprus locate and identify their loved ones, she herself faces her own personal troubles. Theo and Afroditi’s stories turn into casual conversations about bigger themes in life- especially the politics and principles of the human condition. Their personal conflicts and electric relationship empowers them to make a change bigger than themselves; one that will honor a message of peace and cooperation within a unified Cyprus.

Sofia Moustahfid, Eliana Papanicolaou and Theo Couloumbis

We are all learning so much as we go along, not only about ourselves but also about Cyprus and its beautiful, diverse people. Eliana’s father and his family are refugees from the city of Ammochostos in Northern Cyprus. Her mother and her family are from Pyla, Larnaca, the only village still shared by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike. Though she has personal ties to heart of the matter, Co-Writer/Co-Director/actor, Theo Couloumbis and Cinematographer, Sofia Moustahfid, are just as invested in the emotional, physical, sociopolitical, and geographic turmoil Cyprus continues to endure. BLUEFIRE hits home for all of us because the “Cyprus Problem” is not just a problem in Cyprus. The actors involved in negotiation extend beyond the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot civilians and their governments. Similar injustices have been committed and continue to manifest themselves in the world today. The majority of the international community is unfamiliar of the Cyprus issue, though it is a prime testimony of man’s natural will to trump covetous interest and power with their right to freedom and justice. We hope that an entertaining movie starring and created by young people will inspire our generation to be the ones to finally end oppression and move towards a reunified Cyprus.

Art and War have always rivaled their way through time. Our team believes war is merely a phase and that art- which arises from it- will live on in perpetuity. Though idealistic, it is a goal that drives our team to keep poised and sensitive among the lives we are portraying. Since its birth, the Theatre has not only been a mode of entertainment. The Ancient Greeks considered it a political duty to attend the Theatre; a place where one derived moral lessons and commentary on current events. However, lately it seems as though it is all about flashy lights and money, and less about creating something with a message that affects people and makes them think. We must use the ancient classical ideals to inform our present and future selves, to make people feel again, and spark intelligent conversation that could possibly lead to change. BLUEFIRE will be a return to the roots of performing arts: exploring the importance of rule of law, absolute human rights, morals, and self-discovery. We hope our film will be widespread and seen by many so our message can be heard.

I had a 30 minute break. The breeze was just right that day. No cloud in the sky, yet the air was cool enough to keep me awake. Rocking back and forth, the front porch became my world. The back of my script became my canvas. I was on set for the film Bright, a story about two women fighting to survive an epidemic disease that hit their region. I was working and living with people who all wanted to produce something amazing, something bigger than their own person. I don’t know if it was the breeze that day or the fact I didn’t have wi-fi, but whatever it was, I let myself go. I’d never written before. Till now I had performed what was written for me. I told myself “just let yourself write what your heart wants” and that feeling turned into thoughts. My thoughts turned into words. My words hummed where my heart lied. It was Cyprus. I wanted to create something real, but imagine the close to impossible. My team would be personal, pioneering, and most importantly, my family. The story took on many morphs and evolved with every touch we gave it. It started out as an foreign exchange student flick, then onto a loungy foreign film, and now it is closer to a piece of work that is just, us. – Eliana Papanicolaou – Co-Writer, Co-Director, Actor

Though we are in the early stages of production, we can already see the natural chemistry we all share with one another. BLUEFIRE has become our child. We nurture it by reminding ourselves the original objective we are working towards: to create a reaction through our art. Every time we are together it feels like a rehearsal, though we are not always rehearsing. The characters in this film are based on our true charismas, and so they resonate in our day to day affairs. We all feel incredibly lucky and inspired to be able to collaborate with such creative and ambitious artists. The more we develop the storyline, the more aware we are that BLUEFIRE is something we will be incredibly proud of, and a presentation that people will relate to and enjoy along with us.

This project began as three friends coming together to do what they love, but it has quickly turned into something much bigger than what we ever expected.  In this time we keep our minds focused on the vision we originally had; a film that will not only educate people about the severed situation in Cyprus, but will also inspire people to make changes in their own lives; whether those changes are on a large, political scale like in this film, or on a smaller, more personal level in our viewers’ lives. We believe BLUEFIRE will prompt people to react, feel, and make positive impacts in their lives they never imagined were possible.

Following the successful film festival and semi-theatrical release of Little England, Corinth Films has debuted on Netflix and Home Video. Little England is the Oscar Award shortlist submission from Greece for Best Foreign Language Film directed and produced by husband and wife team Pantelis Voulgaris and Ioanna Karystiani (upon whose earlier book the script is based) about tumultuous love stories that take place on the picturesque Greek island of Andros before and after World War II among ship owning families who are notorious for fracturing familial and marital bonds in order to protect their social and financial standing. Little England is also currently available on Amazon Video and iTunes. The picture debuted on Netflix May 1st 2016 and is also currently playing on United/Continental Airlines’ in-flight film roster.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Boyd van Hoeij describes the film as “handsomely mounted and impeccably acted film” and “a woman’s picture in every sense of the word.” Ray Pride of Chicago’s New City Film calls it “a nice slice of Greek pageantry, a richly melodramatic woman’s picture centering on three young women on the Greek isle of Andros in the 1930’s.”

Set during the 1930’s and 40’s on the picturesque Greek island of Andros, part of the Cycladic archipelago with a long history of military embroilment and seafaring turmoil, Little England is not only the title of this film but also the name of a shipping enterprise introduced to the viewer as the story progresses. The opening scene of rolling ocean waves and crashing surf is a forbearance of the story’s schedule of turbulent events which follow. 20 year-old Orsa (Penelope Tsilika) is passionately in love with second mate Spyros Maltabes (Andreas Konstantinou), a secret she dares not reveal to anyone, least of all her domineering mother, Mina. Her energetic younger sister, Moscha (Sofia Kokkali), is determined to leave Andros and escape the typical woman’s fate on the island; marrying sailors, who are the mainstay of Andros’s economy and constantly absent due to their seafaring duties.

Mina (Anneza Papadopoulou), herself the wife of a captain who prefers the Atlántico Sur over his home, constantly ponders the reward for a life of blind marital faithfulness and inadvertently attempts to  pass her beleaguered logic onto her daughters to protect them from the predictable heartache that women on Andros suffer as a result of marrying seafarers. Without the slightest consideration of her daughters’ desire to marry out of love, Mina uses her societal connections to wed her daughters off to the wealthiest suitors Andros has to offer; Orsa to ship owner and captain Nikos Vatokouzis (Maximos Moumouris) and later Moscha to the very man Mina earlier rejected as a potential husband to Orsa, Spyros Maltabes, who returns to the island as an accomplished captain after spending years toiling in the lower rankings of the ship’s hierarchy.

Moscha wastes no time torturing her sister with vivid descriptions of intimate moments with her new husband, for whom Orsa still harbors deep feelings. A final tragedy later seals the fate of the family as the story progresses into the throes of World War II, the events of which do nothing to make hauling cargo on the high seas any safer.

Little England has played at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and in theatrical venues in Chicago, Miami, Portland, Hartford, Cleveland, San Diego, and sold out shows at the Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco Greek Film Festivals.

Filmmakers Anna Rezan and Zafeiris “Zaf” Haitidis team up to create a rarely told, but poignant story, with their documentary glimpse into the experience of Greek Jews during WWII. Although almost 90% of the Greek Jewish community perished at the Holocaust, not to many things are known about it. Secondly, Greece was the only country in Europe, whose religious leadership and intelligentsia (Archbishop Damaskenos, poet Sikelianos, writer Kazantzakis, etc.) stood up to the Nazi authorities, condemning the persecution of the Jews. Thirdly and most importantly, this film is made by young filmmakers, both of Greek and Greek-Jewish heritage. After a brief exchange with the filmmakers, NEO too helps bring this story out of hiding. We hope it will spark a new beginning and awareness into understanding Greece’s role in the protection of persecuted people, and how Greece still plays a vital role in the support of human rights today.

Zafeiris “Zaf “Haitidis

It is not widely known, but Thessaloniki, the co-capital of Greece, had a significant population of Sephardic Jews. For hundreds of years, the city was a major center of Sephardic life, once coined the “Mother of Israel” or more accurately “La madre de Israel”. For over than 2,000 years, Jewish people had a thriving presence in Greece and played an important role throughout Greek history until World War II. Despite the unique efforts of the Greeks and all across Europe to save Jews from Hitler’s atrocious regime of mass extermination, the Holocaust nearly destroyed an entire community.

Anna Rezan

“Chavurah: Greek by Birth, Jewish by Blood” is the first feature documentary by Greek-Jewish actress – turned director for the occasion – Anna Rezan. “This was an idea that came to me few years ago. While working and traveling in various countries, people kept being surprised by meeting a Greek Jew, telling me that they had no idea there were Jews in Greece,” stated Rezan. “I started to develop the project with Zaf, a dear friend in the industry whose work I deeply admire. He accepted the call to start creating this film with me, no matter if it seemed an impossible task at the beginning, dealing with the complexities, the horrific subject matter and most importantly the sense of an enormous responsibility,” she continues.

This indie film is a collaboration of young artists, newcomers onto the documentary film scene, but has already triggered the curiosity of notable members of the entertainment industry who have expressed interest in supporting this project. “It wouldn’t have been possible without our good friend and co-producer John Filippidis who managed to raise valuable development funds. This story has to be told, and while the survivors are in their mid-90s, it was clearly urgent for us to get started,” Haitidis explains.

“Other producers also have expressed interest in getting involved. We’ve had some conversations about it,” Rezan said. “Zaf and I are keen. Excited, to be frank.”

“Chavurah: Greek by Birth, Jewish by Blood” is co-produced by award-winning filmmaker Zafeiris “Zaf “Haitidis, who also lent his talents to the film as Director of Photography. Pantelis Kodogiannis, who plays the lead in the movie “The First Line”, is the narrator of this tragic story that documents the arduous journey and experience of 90,000 Greek Jews during WWII.

This film aims to tell their story, as it is discovered and documented by a Greek girl of Jewish descent, actress and musician Anna Rezan, who, through her own journey wants to understand the first perfectly master-minded industrialized genocide in history and to communicate the subject matter her way, with visual and narrative description from the remaining survivors to the perceptions and thoughts of her generation. The purpose of this documentary is to present the tragic historical facts, to serve as an example of renewed hope and faith in humanity, and to educate us on how to prevent another Holocaust from recurring.

“The viewer will became aware that what happened in Auschwitz could happen anywhere at any time. We also intend to inspire audiences of all ages, featuring the stories of those that were rescued by Christian priests and civilians who where also under the Nazi occupation. Many Greeks are titled Righteous among the Nations. Unity in humanity is able to fight and in times win over even the most powerful enemy,” says Rezan.

The film takes place in the central cities of Greece, Germany, and in one the most menacing places on earth, the concentration camp of Auschwitz. We do expect an eventful feature documentary coming from a younger, fresh female to approach the Holocaust. “Certainly an uneasy and eventful experience for both the creators and the audiences,” she adds.

Rezan currently resides in Los Angeles. Haitidis studied in the USA and currently resides in Athens, Greece where he is also working on his next feature film project.

Athena Efter contributed to this story.