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- Ελληνικά
"O children of the Greeks, whether you are free of your fatherland or free of your motherland, women, gods and fathers, ancestors and ancestors, for the sake of all struggles", wrote the ancient poet Aeschylus.
With feelings of deep emotion, we commemorate and honour today the two heroes of the community of Kannavia, Charalambos Petteridis and Andreas Patsalidis, who died fighting during the liberation struggle of EOKA 1955-1959.
Today we honour and commemorate the hero Charalambos Petteridis, who was born in the village of Kannavia on 21 January 1934. He was the son of Ioannis and Andriani Petteridis, who had seven other children. Charalambos graduated from the primary school of his village and then worked in the Asbestos mines, but also as a table maid in Kyrenia and as a grocer in Asbestos. He was married to Eleni Stylianou.
He joined EOKA at the beginning of the Struggle, while he was in Kyrenia where he was working in 1955, and continued his activity in the area of Pitsilia-Spilia-Amiantou. His activity continued with close cooperation with the guerrillas of the area, whom he hosted in his house, where he built a hideout. There he also hosted the hero Grigoris Afxentios, when in December 1955 he had fought the terrible battle of Spilia.
In June 1958, he was arrested for treason and detained for thirty-five days in the interrogation rooms of Platres. When he was released, he continued his activities. He built a hideout on the mountain opposite his village, with a wanted comrade, in which other guerrillas were staying.
On 6 October 1958, he and the guerrillas of his group set up an ambush against the English at the location of Mutti in Sarandi, between the villages of Spilia and Lagoudera. They placed a mine on the road, which they connected to a mortar fixed to a tree, so that the explosion of the mine would hit the English car and the explosion of the mortar would immobilize any cars following it. During the attack, two cars carrying English soldiers were struck, which approached the scene of the ambush with their lights out. During the retreat, Charalambos Pettenmerides was fatally struck, while crossing the road, by soldiers of a third car, which also approached with its lights out.
The body of the hero was found the next day. At his funeral, his wife Eleni sang improvised lyrics in praise of her heroic husband.
The hero Andreas Patsalidis was born in the village of Kannavia on August 14, 1930. He graduated from the primary school of Kannavia and worked first at Asbestos, where he was one of the founding members of the local New Guild, and later at the Forestry Station of Platania. He was married to Irini Patsalidou and had two children, Maria and Andreas.
He was one of the first EOKA fighters and took part in the operation "Towards Victory" on 23 November 1955 with the group of the hero Christos Tsiartas, in the ambush on the road from Kakopetria to Spilia. He cooperated with the local leaders of the organization of the surrounding villages and with the guerrilla groups of his region. He took part, together with the hero Kostas Anaxagoras and other fellow fighters, in the removal of radios from the Forest Station of Platanias and the attack on the station.
Together with his wife he concealed weapons and ammunition and hosted guerrillas. His house was used as an ammunition distribution centre, which he channelled to the Pitsilia, Troodos and Marathasa sectors. For more security of the guerrillas he hosted, he tried to dig a hideout in his house, but he could not, because the earth was too hard. The guerrilla group that went there on June 20 had as one of its missions to investigate how to build a hideout. Another mission was to blow up a bridge with a mine.
While they were preparing for this mission, the mine exploded in their hands while they were trying to learn how to use it at the house of Andreas Patsalidi in Kurdali and killed them all, destroying the house as well. Miraculously, Andreas' wife, who was in her fourth month of pregnancy, and their daughter Maria, who was only sixteen months old, were spared. First, before the English army, my brother Kyriakos arrived, and later Sergeant Amiadou Demos Voscarides, my husband's partner, who collected and disposed of their weapons with the help of my sister Marikis, and thus we were spared at least the weapons."
The liberation struggle of 1955-1959 was an epic of the soul, written with the sweat and blood of freedom fighters such as Andreas Patsalidis and Charalambos Pettenmeridis, who with their sacrifice taught us that man is glorified only when he preserves his dignity and fights for freedom and the common good.
It is our duty to honour them by keeping their memory alive. Their struggle will always remind us of the importance of freedom and independence, values we must never forget. Their actions are an inspiration to us all.
Let us keep their bright spirit alive and work for a future that reflects their values. Let us work for a united and free Cyprus, as they dreamed of. This is the best tribute we can do to them.
Immortals!
(MJ)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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