19 January 2010

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN The oldest circulating Greek newspaper outside VEMA Greece JANUARY 2010 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: [email protected] LLiiffee iinn AAuussttrraalliiaa:: rreepprroodduucciinngg aa ccllaassssiicc PAGE 18/36 110000,,000000 FEARED DEAD Acropolis destructions With the recently completed restoration of several columns in the Propylaia, the Athenian Acropolis now looks more like it did in Peri- in horrific Haiti quake cles’ day than it has in many centuries. PAGE 14/32 Rescuers are racing against the clock to find survivors among thousands of corpses in quake-hit Haiti, as plane- loads of international aid began arriv- ing in the ruined nation. With officials warning the overall death toll may top 100,000, there were fears that desperate Haitians, already living in one of the world’s poorest nations, will soon fall prey to hunger and disease. The stench from rows of unclaimed rotting corpses began to hang over the capital Port-au-Prince, as the international aid operation led by the United Injured people sit along Nations and the United States swung Delmas road the day after into place. the earthquake struck Port- A planeload of 50 Chinese soldiers au-Prince (AP Photo/Jorge Scripture Lessons flew into the capital’s airport at first Cruz) light bringing with them three sniffer in schools dogs, swiftly followed by two teams of “People throughout the world want to been killed in Tuesday’s (12/1) 7.0 French firefighters also backed by help,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon said, as quake, in the worst disaster ever for start again in 2010 trained dogs. he also revealed that 36 UN staff had the global body. (Cont. p. 9/27) In February Scripture Teaching will again be- gin in State Schools of New South Wales. PAGE 4/22 Australia-born World traveler Kostas Mitsakis talks about riding around the globe on a Northern Drama motorcycle This Macedonian district boasts stunning forestland and rare natural habitats. PAGE 15/33 PAGE 17/35 The Greek Australian VEMA JANUARY 2010 2/20 TO BHMA The memory and expense of 2004 As the new government of George Pa- Games. The estimated 10 billion euros that media were ghoulishly licking its lips at the rouj became the first man since the Flying pandreou scratches its collective scalp, it cost would come in handy. prospect of Munich-style terror strikes and Finn Paavo Nurmi back in 1924 to win gold wondering how it can possibly rescue The Games certainly were expensive, dirty bombs on the metro. in both the 1500 metres and the 5000 me- Greece from the economic tsunami that with Greece bearing the brunt of hosting The security bill alone for the Games tres while British athlete Kelly Holmes pro- has smashed up against its shores, there the first post-9/11 Olympics, a time when was rounded off at around one billion eu- duced a pair of barnstorming performanc- are doubtless many people who are point- paranoia was at the forefront of all west- ros, although the cost was probably much es to take gold in the 800 metres and the ing an accusing finger at the 2004 Olympic ern minds. In the leadup to the Games, the greater as potential visitors took the media 1500 metres. at their word and stayed away. One of the abiding memories will be the There were panics about how ready drama of the marathon, Paula Radcliff Athens would be for the Games as the city crumpling under the weight of her own ex- had a major facelift. It all cost money but it pectations and the viciousness of the did a lot to improve the look and tone of course and the Brazilian Venderlei de Lima the city - a lasting legacy. Not the same attacked by a nutty Irish priest while lead- can be said of all the venues, some of ing the men’s race. He recovered to take which, like the beach volleyball stadium the bronze and was later awarded the and most of the venues at Elliniko still lie in Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsman- disgraceful disuse. ship. The omens for the Games also looked Other images stick in the mind as well. pretty bleak when Kostas Kenteris, the The Iraqi football team finishing fourth, the 200metre gold medallist from Sydney in crowd delaying the 200 metres final be- 2000, and Katherina Thanou, the silver cause of the absence of Kenteris and the medallist in the 100 metres, were involved mere presence of four athletes from in a bizarre motorcycle accident on the eve Afghanistan. of the opening ceremony. It transpired they Twenty-two athlete were caught doping had failed to turn up for a doping test and during the Games, something that actually that the accident may have been a set up. drew praise from IOC chief Jacques They were ejected from the Games as Rogge. Greece was momentarily embarrassed. “These have been unforgettable dream But once the flame was lit - not by Kenteris Games,” he said. as anticipated but by Nikos Kaklamanakis - “These Games were held in peace and the mood lightened. brotherhood. These were the Games Athens was a dream to get around. The where it became increasingly difficult to roads were civilised as motorists respect- cheat and where clean athletes were bet- ed every traffic regulation in the book, the ter protected.” metro proved itself to be a wonderful Or they simply had smarter drugs. Olympic addition to city life and the new Rogge was equally effusive about airport coped comfortably with the mas- Greece and its organisation of the Games. sive increase in traffic. If some taxi drivers “The organisation was outstanding and exploited the visitors by overcharging most we had competitions in state-of-the-art kept strictly to the Olympic truce of not rip- venues. Security has been flawless. ping off passengers. “They really did a fantastic job. I am very, There was a gaiety about Athens which very happy about the Games. transferred itself to the sport. “We have discovered a new Greece. In the swimming pool Fish Boy Michael Greece was great for the Games.” Phelps collected six gold medals and had a Actually, it was not really a new Greece. memorable battle with Ian Thorpe in the The flaws remained the same, the charms 200 metres freestyle, the Australian barely altered since, well probably since emerging as the victor. Phelps made up for those first Games in 776BC. it in Beijing where he won eight golds, Yes, the bill was a big one and Greece is breaking Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of sev- still clearing up afterwards. But by heck it en golds in one Games. was one hell of a party. Of all the performances on the track two stand out. 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Nevertheless, a bid to slash the backlog of thousands Our concept of blind justice, often depicted in the of cases appears to be a positive step. An effort to re- form of a blindfolded Lady Justice, owes much to the duce the number of people in pretrial detention also mythological figure of the goddess Dike, who repre- seems to make sense. sented the spirit of moral order and fair judgment in an- It should be a cause of shame for Greece that the av- cient Greece. Dike was a mortal who Zeus placed on erage pretrial detention there is one year - three times Earth to ensure justice prevailed. However, even the longer than in other European Union countries. Because supreme ancient god realized that keeping humans of failures to ensure that our system dispenses justice lawful was a fruitless task and he whisked Dike up to a swiftly and fairly, innocent people languish in jail and seat next to him on Mount Olympus. victims of crimes wait

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