The Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America, in cooperation with the World Coordinating Committee of the Cypriot Struggle (WCCR) and the Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York, commemorated the 67th anniversary of the liberation struggle of EOKA 1954-1959 from the British yoke. The "Heroes' Land" event took place on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at the "Petros Patridis" Cultural Hall of the St. Demetrios community in Astoria.
The event began with a trisagion in memory of the fallen and a message from Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, which was read by Bishop Apostolos of Media,
In his message he stated that the struggle of Cyprus is not over and continues to suffer from the invasion. Although we are turning to the war in Ukraine - he said - the long occupation of Cyprus by an unjustified invasion should not be forgotten. He stressed that when we remember and honour the fighters, we should honour their struggle for freedom. He also pointed out that we will never stop preaching and supporting our Cypriot brothers and sisters for freedom which is a gift of God and no one has the right to take it away from any human being.
Taking the floor, Mr. Papastylianou thanked all those present who honoured the event with their presence. He pointed out that in a short greeting what can one tell about the anniversary of April 1 and how can a speaker today stand up to such a struggle and so many unjust sacrifices? He stressed that young children, students, middle-aged people, adults, voluntarily chose to join the liberation struggle. We applaud you and at the same time in your face we applaud and bow for all the fighters and all those who have been hanged, sacrificed, tortured and imprisoned during this struggle. A struggle that the British believed that Cypriots were a people who were never going to rise up for their freedom. They did not realize that the dream of the fighters was virtue, the dream of a better tomorrow, hope, altruism."
Then Mr. Christopher spoke, who referred to the invasion of Cyprus, drawing a parallel with the invasion of Ukraine. "Mariupol could be Famagusta, Odessa, Kyrenia and those refugees like those waiting to return to Kyrenia, Morphou and Famagusta. If Turkey had been held accountable in 1974, the invasion of Ukraine would not have taken place today," he said.
The Consul General of Cyprus Mr. Michalis Fyrillas made reference to the struggle of his uncle who was a comrade of the hero Markos Drakos who fell on the battlefield.
"In our house the anniversary of the fallen of EOKA has always been a personal matter. We held the memorial of Markos Drakos at his sister's refugee house, which was in our neighbourhood. So the historical saga of EOKA in our house was very intense," he said.
In his statement, the Consul General of Greece Dr. Konstantinos Koutras referred to the awe he felt during his visits to the Prisoner Memorials.
"I feel blessed that I had the opportunity many times to smell the air from the cells of the fighters, to worship the holy soil of their graves."
"I feel blessed that I had the opportunity many times to smell the air from the cells of the fighters, to worship the holy soil of their graves. I would tell young children to visit the imprisoned graves. This is because there one can understand what the struggle of EOKA meant. Because only there can one listen to the breath of the heroes through the iron wet window of the cell of the undeclared heroes. To face the hanging that the immortals faced" said Mr. Koutras. This was followed by the documentary "Heroes' Land EOKA 1055-1959" which included testimonies and historical data from the era of the EOKA struggle.
The event was attended by, among others, the Permanent Representatives of Cyprus and Greece to the UN, Ambassadors Andreas Hadjichrysanthou and Maria Theofili, the pastor of St. Demetrios Astoria parish, Father Vassilios Tsourlis, the military attaché of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. George Ioannou, members of the educational community and many expatriates."
(MGM/IC)
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