THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN The oldest circulating Greek newspaper outside VEMA Greece AUGUST 2012 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: [email protected] GROWING UP FAST AND FURIOUS What ‘brand’ is your child? PAGE 7/25 YOUNG GREEKS LOOK TO NEW OZ WORK VISAS ALL SAINTS GRAMMAR, NSW Senior School Greek Theatrical Production The Federal Government has begun negotiating with Greek authorities over a visa arrange- Students from All Saints Grammar, NSW, per- formed the well-known Greek theatrical ment that could help hundreds drama of Iakovos Kambanellis, The Courtyard of young Greeks fill labour of Miracles - Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων. gaps in Australia. The new visa arrangements PAGE 19/37 would allow Greeks and Aus- tralians between 18 and 30 to work and study in each country for up to 12 months. There would be an annual limit on visas. It could also help fill in Australia's demand for graduates in occupations such as nursing, accounting and en- gineering. Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Chris Bowen, said it could take some time to imple- Immigration ment a reciprocal work and ho- and Citizenship liday arrangement agreeable to Minister both governments. Chris Bowen St Dionysios Church PAGE 19 37 receives facelift / The next time you travel to the Parish of St Dionysios, Central Mangrove, NSW, to venerate and pay respect to the much-loved saint of for- giveness, St Dionysios of Zakynthos, be pre- pared for a big surprise. PAGE 8/26 Ithaca Holy Cross Monastery (NSW) Odysseus’ native island is as appealing to trav- elers as his wanderings are sympolic to those celebrates St Irene Chrysovalantou seeking the meaning of life. PAGE 16/34 PAGE 20/38 AUGUST 2012 2/20 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA A 153 year old Icon of St Nicholas is donated to the Church of Sts Constantine and Helene (WA) Steve Negroponte had donated a 153 British we had to leave Rhodes and go to years old icon of St Nicholas to the Church Italy as refugees. Here we found ourselves of Sts Constantine and Helene in Perth, worse off as the war had arrived on the WA. This beautiful icon has been framed mainland. My grandmother always be- and is located at the entrance of the lieved that St Nicholas protected her. Church on an icon stand. “In 1955 my grandmother passed the Below is a brief outline, prepared by Mr icon onto her eldest daughter Teresa Ne- Negroponte, informing us on how the icon groponte (my mother) who was likewise a came into his possession. very devout Christian. That year my uncle, “In 1922 my grandmother, Policarpina Antonio Cappadona, sponsored us to come Cappadona (nee Piccinini), lived with her to Australia. The icon came with us and al- family in Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey). My grand- ways held a very revered place in our father was a train driver employed by the home. Prior to my mother’s passing away British Colonial Railway Company that in 2004, she passed the icon onto me serviced the line from Smyrna to Aydin where it has been ever since. As my wife (Turkey) and Denizli (Turkey) in Anatolia. and I are getting on in years we thought it They survived the Great Fire in 1922 by best to retire St Nicholas from his many taking refuge in a Franciscan Church. After travels to a significant and rightful place - the fire, all Europeans who wanted to stay in a Greek Orthodox Church. were able to. “The icon has been painted by an un- “The newly installed Turkish Government known iconographer in Smyrna in 1859. settled them in whatever housing was left The icon of St Nicholas has been cared for after the fire which was previously occu- by our family from 1922 and now the Ne- pied by Greek or Armenian families; this is groponte family consigns the icon to the how the icon of St Nicholas came into my parish of Sts Constantine and Helene. May grandmother’s possession. it bring joy to your parishioners for many “Being a very devout Christian my grand- years to come”. mother felt responsible in taking care of the icon - in case it came into the wrong wish to take up Turkish citizenship were time the island was under Italian rule. It *** The Parish of Sts Constantine hands. After a few years all jobs held by asked to leave. As Italy was my grandpar- was on the island of Rhodes that I was and Helene would like to thank Mr Europeans were allocated to Turkish Na- ents’ country of origin, the Italian Govern- born. Negroponte for donating this beauti- tionals and the Europeans who did not ment allocated them to Rhodes as at that “In 1943 during the bombardment by the ful icon to our Church. Airport gives incentives Athens International Airport (AIA) announced that it will offer incen- tives to airlines for the coming winter in a bid to bolster tourism traf- fic to Greece. These incentives will include a discount of up to 15 percent on airport charges for any companies that maintain the same number of flights as last year through the country’s main airstrip, as well as a subsidy of 5 to 15 euros per transfer passen- ger. The incentives concern the period from November 2012 to March 2013, AIA said, and are aimed at stemming the loss of airlines that have decided to take Athens off their flight routes due to the lo- cal airport’s high charges, as well as reduced traffic due to the eco- nomic crisis. AUGUST 2012 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21 Editorial The pitfalls of comparisons By Pantelis Boukalas Making comparisons is a perfectly natural process. Whenever we see, taste or hear something new, we au- tomatically compare to a similar experience of the past in order to judge which is better. The contest, of course, is rigged before it begins be- cause the first criterion used in the comparison process is an ideal, something that has become the object of nostalgia. The same rules apply when comparing something that is “ours” with something that isn’t. However impartial we like to appear to be, the lead is already assigned before the process begins because sentiment inevitably prevails over any intellectual con- siderations. This happened recently with the comparisons be- tween the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics and that of the London Games. After the opening ceremony, most Greeks were ini- tially reluctant to speak badly of an impressive event, but as the days have progressed, the comparisons have become livelier and more colorful, even though the two events are non-comparable: The Greek director had one goal in mind and the British director quite another. In short, they wanted to tell a different story. when comparing it to anything contemporary, that we on its past, responsible for our lack of self-knowledge Greek organizers felt compelled to draw attention to debase its present in order to give it an easy win based and self-confidence, for our resulting self-depreciation? the country’s ancient heritage, much like China did it in its opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Games. The only thing that made the smoke signals we sent out to the world comprehensible to so many people was the Lagarde finds word of praise for Greek efforts fact that many students around the globe have at least a rudimentary knowledge of ancient Greek history. International Monetary Fund Managing Director gross domestic product this year and 2.7 percent next In contrast, Britain showed confidence not for its past Christine Lagarde defended the lender’s role in Greece year, the Washington-based IMF said in a July 16 re- but for the fact that the symbols of its modern culture and said the nation has made progress even as it port. are immediately recognized worldwide: James Bond needs to deepen structural changes to its economy. The IMF had forecast in April that Greece’s deficit (with Queen Elizabeth playing herself), Harry Potter, “When I look back to the initial program and the will be 7.2 percent this year and 4.6 percent in 2013. Mary Poppins, David Beckham and The Beatles. achievements of the Greek economy and the Greek “The IMF never leaves the negotiation table,” Lagarde But, what is the point of trying to come first in a non- population, it’s impressive,” Lagarde told reporters in said when asked about the lender’s role in Greece. competition? Washington. “There is still a lot that the country can do.” “Will the IMF lose its credibility in the process? I will do Or, to put the question in different words: Is the fact Greece’s budget deficit will narrow to 7 percent of everything I can to avoid that.” the we always cast Greece as beautiful and heroic BATTLE TO PROTECT MARRIAGE NOT OVER – JUST BEGUN By Greg Donnelly MLC “For opponents of gay marriage, stopping gay marriage law applies. Our polity is structured in such a way as to Parliament of New South Wales is not victory, it is only a necessary step to the ultimate mitigate against small unrepresentative groups in society victory: the strengthening of a culture of marriage that suc- imposing their views on everyone. Our elected represen- Whether you are an observer or participant in the ongo- cessfully connects sex, love, children, and mothers and fa- tatives are put in place by the people and are replaced by ing debate to change the definition of marriage to accom- thers. the people. modate the demands of same-sex attracted people, it “Core assumptions that same-sex marriage advocates As I have spoken to various federal politicians over the feels as if this contest of ideas has been going on a long make about the nature of marriage, about the reason for last 12 months or so, it has become clearer to me that the time.