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It is a great honour for the Museum of the Struggle and for me personally, the truly commendable initiative of the family of the hero Michalakis Karoloi to hand over his personal objects, through which the visitors of the museum and future generations can get to know the man Michalakis Karoloi who was destined to write in gold letters his own course in the liberation struggle of EOKA of the epic of 1955-59.
Born in Paleochori, Michalakis was the fourth child of Savvas and Panagiota Karoloi. A graduate of the English School of Nicosia and later a civil servant, he joined the ranks of EOKA and the group of Polycarp Yiorkatzis long before the beginning of the armed struggle on 1 April 1955.
On 28 August 1955, together with his comrade Andreas Panagiotou, they undertook the execution of policeman Herodotus Poullis, a close collaborator of the British. The English authorities launched a manhunt to arrest them. Panagiotou managed to escape them, but Karaolis was spotted as he was moving to the Kyrenia area to join Gregory Afxentios' group and was arrested. He was brought to court and sentenced to death on 28 October 1955, although the bullet that killed the Greek Cypriot policeman came from Panagiotou's gun. Efforts to arrange his escape before his execution were unsuccessful, and efforts to have him pardoned proved futile, despite the international outcry and mobilisation that followed his death sentence.
He was led to the gallows, along with Andreas Demetriou, exactly 68 years ago, on 10 May 1956, singing the national anthem. He was executed first, head held high, saying: "You must not feel sorry for me, since I find no reason to cry, nor must my relatives cry for me."
At only 23 years old, Michalakis Karaolis was a shining example for other EOKA fighters, for so many peace-loving and indefatigable young men and women who, embracing the ideals of the homeland, became indelible symbols of martial valour. Through their struggle and sacrifices, they extended the limits of our national dignity and were recorded as martyrs in the pantheon of heroic fighters of Cypriot freedom. Therefore, our gratitude towards them will be eternal. For they responded willingly and consciously to the call of their homeland. In addition and above all, we will continue to honour them because they reaffirmed that the struggle for freedom has always been not easy and required great sacrifices: "Greek children do not only know how to live. They also know how to die. Paying tribute to the heroes of our people's struggles is not a formal fulfilment of a debt, nor an act of remembrance of the martyrdom of a people who, unfortunately, are still fighting for their physical and national survival."
Paying tribute to the heroes of our people's struggles is not a formal fulfilment of a debt, nor an act of remembrance of the martyrdom of a people who, unfortunately, are still fighting for their physical and national survival. Paying tribute is an enduring act which, apart from showing the gratitude of our people, serves to draw lessons for the continuation and glorification of a struggle that has not yet been justified, for almost 50 years.
I would therefore like to thank, on behalf of the State, the hero's brother, who bears his honoured name, Mr. Michael Caraoli, for his decision to donate to the Museum of Agonism the personal radio and musical instrument of the hero Michael Caraoli, carrying lyrics written for our hero by Claire Angelidou, as a minimum tribute to the greatness of his sacrifice:
"Every time I commemorate
"Michael Karaolis",
I feel pigeons fluttering
in the hazy skies of Cyprus.
The Charon bowed his head
to pass the lad
who had the sun in his hair,
the sparkling eyes
and the song of the fatherland
in his heart.
A people and their mother
wept with pride
for the leventone.
But
a queen lost her throne of honor.
But
a queen lost her throne of honor."
An eternal legacy is the struggle and sacrifice of Michalakis Karoli, which will remain unchanged in time and in our souls."
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Note. Marios Georgiou.
(EC)
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