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Child, my orchard that you will inherit,
as you find it and as you see it, don't give it up. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [... BE NOT AFRAID OF DESTRUCTION. [FIRE! AXE! GO, UNSEED IT, DIG THE ORCHARD, CUT IT DOWN, AND BUILD A CASTLE AGAINST IT AND BARRICADE YOURSELF IN IT, FOR THE FIGHT, FOR THE SLAUGHTER, FOR THE NEW BIRTH [...]]
Touching with reverence the words of our poet Kostis Palamas, as they are captured in the lines of his poem "Fathers", and with feelings of immense respect and immeasurable pride, we gathered today at the Holy Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, in Limnatis, to pay the minimum tribute to the worthy son of the freedom of the community Dimitris Charalambous.
Palamas' meditative and always topical speech conveys with vividness and expressiveness the agony and the deepest need of the Greek to defend his homeland and ensure the continuity of history, culture and tradition.
In the same way, Ritsos in his "Romiosyne" conveys to us the endless desire of the Greeks in the never-ending struggle for freedom and justice.
"These trees are not comfortable with less sky, these stones are not comfortable with anything but foreign footsteps, these faces are not comfortable with anything but the sun, these hearts are not comfortable with anything but justice".
It was that same and unchanging anguish, desire and need for liberation from bondage and self-determination, which flared up and grew in the souls of the Greeks of Cyprus during the period of British rule.
The 1950s is a pivotal period in the history of our homeland. The Cyprus issue and the national claims of Cypriot Hellenism, which had been in the forefront of the first half of the twentieth century, after constant political ferment, gradually evolved into a particularly complex issue with international dimensions.
The Greeks of Cyprus, indignant at the treatment of the colonial authorities, but also frustrated by the behaviour of the international factor, were determined to restore justice, fulfilling in full their age-old desire for union and integration into the national body.
Inspired by the struggle of the heroes and heroines of the Greek Revolution of 1821, and the monumental resistance against fascism in 1940, who transmitted the unquenchable flame of militancy to every enslaved corner of Hellenism, they took the decision to revolt and claim their elusive freedom.
The age-old unquenchable longing for union with Greece now flared up as never before in the hearts and souls of the Cypriots, identifying armed struggle as the only solution.
They knew very well that the task they were undertaking was very difficult. But their will, determination and faith in the justice of the struggle were insurmountable.
[...] All it takes is an idea to tell you, an idea to command you. [...]
This fundamental idea, of which Kostis Palamas speaks, was for the Greeks of Cyprus the secret, sacred intoxication of Freedom and Union. The one that stretched the consciousness of every Cypriot to its limits, the one that pushed him to transcend forces and fight to the end, even when he understood beforehand that it was an unequal struggle. This supreme idea pushed the hero we commemorate today, in July 1956, to take the oath and join EOKA.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dimitris Charalambous was born in 1925 in Limnati, in the family of Charalambos Anastasis and Diamantou Papapetrou. Together with his seven brothers and sisters, they grew up in very difficult circumstances.
With poverty and deprivation, but with generous love and affection.
The need to support his family led him, after completing his schooling, to follow the profession of a builder and become actively involved in the trade union movement.
Immediately after joining the struggle, he joined the guerrilla group in his region. He served as the organization's liaison, acting as a guide to the groups and undertaking missions to supply them. He also took part in ambushes against the British on the Limassol-Amiantou road.
When the British soldiers conducted a search of the village, he managed to escape, while other local EOKA members were arrested and held in the detention centre. Shortly afterwards he was arrested himself and after being detained for 17 days he was dismissed.
Subsequently, he was put in charge of EOKA in Limnati and acted with the rest of the guerrillas, who were hiding in the "Cave of Koutalianos" and other hideouts in the surrounding area.
During his movements he was spotted and checked several times by the British, but in all of them he succeeded in not revealing himself, escaping capture.
His house was used to hide EOKA material and in some cases to make improvised mines, which were used in blasts and sabotage. Always at his side, his wife Artemis, who provided food for the guerrillas, was his companion, competitor and supporter.
On 13 October '58, he received instructions to organize the visit and accompany his section chief to Lania. After an ambush by the British in the Kokkinogeia area, in which a firefight took place, Dimitrios Charalambous fell heroically fighting. He entered the pantheon of immortals and heroes of Hellenism.
Without tears in his eyes, his wife bid him farewell for his eternal journey, who, apart from being a mother, stood as a father to their two children, Miltiades and Herula, bringing them up with the principles and values for which their father walked wholeheartedly on the path of debt, duty, honour, dignity and morality.
After all, virtue and valor should not be wept over.
For virtue and valor do not perish. They remain eternally alive, by our side, beside us, in our hearts, indestructible and undefiled.
This is the heroic death. The unquenchable untainted light that illuminates the path to freedom and guides our steps and the steps of future generations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The short in duration but full in content life of Dimitris Charalambous and his heroic death is for us an eternal legacy.
Because heroism in battle is synonymous with self-sacrifice.
And it is self-sacrifice that, as a deafening resonance, but also as the softest inner pulse, calls us to reflection.
Taking into account our responsibilities and obligations, we stand firmly in the face of national challenges.
We declare clearly that the adversities and obstacles that arise as a result of the long illegal status quo on the island will not exhaust our endurance and will not alter our goal of lifting the occupation, liberation and reunification of Cyprus.
We will continue to fight in every possible way and seize every opportunity to create the conditions that will pave the way for the resumption of the talks process.
A process which we seek to lead to a viable comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, we humbly pay our due tribute to Dimitris Charalambous.
At the Heroes Monument of the community, the busts of Dimitris Charalambous and his fellow fighter Vassilis Alexandrou will forever remind us of their contribution to the homeland and will symbolize the eternal appreciation of the residents of Limnati, but also of the entire Cypriot Hellenism, for their indestructible and indestructible forms.
Dimitris Charalambous' dedication to duty and his self-denial will forever adorn our triumphant history.
Honor and glory to Dimitris Charalambous and to all those who fought and fell in defense of the freedom and justice of our homeland.
Thank you.
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