SPECIAL OVERVIEW AND COMMENTARY

January 15,1996

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HELLENIC DIASPORA GOES TO THESSALONIKI, IΝ 1995

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By Professor Michael C. Geokas

"This is not the end; this is not even the beginning of the end; but it is perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Winston Churchill 1942, Victory at El Alamein.

The representatives of the Hellenes abroad, otherwise known as Diaspora, gravitated quickly, like droplets of mercury into the gorgeous City of Thessaloniki, for a Conference between November 29th to December 8th, responding to an invitation by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the General Secretary, in a manner reminiscent of the effect of a magic wand or the jungle tam-tams.

The ΣΑΕ (Symvoulion Apodimou Ellinismou) from now on, to be based in Thessaloniki, was created by Presidential Decree in 1989, as an advisory body to the Greek Republic, mainly on issues of concern to the Hellenes of Diaspora and on other matters, lying at the interface between Greece and the groups of Hellenic origin peoples around the world, who anecdotically amount to about 7 million souls.

Thus, the participants came from a whole host of countries and global locations, spreading along an axis between New Zealand to Chile, from South Africa to England and from Australia to Alaska. They appeared cocky, boisterous, well dressed and self-confident, eager and curious, but ready to offer advise and to debate, as well as to criticize issues concerning Hellenism and other matters.

Their attitudes were driven by an abiding interest on the affairs of the Hellenes everywhere, and on the affairs of HELLAS, which they unanimously consider as a veritable outpost of Europe, sandwiched between the Balkans and the Middle East.

This was an Organizational Conference, held at the HELEXPO TRADE FAIR grounds, and had as its goal, the forging of strong and permanent ties between Diaspora and Greece. This task was delegated to about 260 representatives from at least 3,000 Hellenic organizations worldwide, and to a group of Greek Officials and civil servants working in close cooperation.

Lodging arrangements were made at several Hotels within the City of Thessaloniki and an excellent transportation system had been made available for the Delegates. All expenses were covered by the organizers. After the daily proceedings entertainment was arranged for every evening and for the duration of the Conference.

There were unavoidable difficulties in organizing and in managing this type of unique Conference due to the following reasons: a) the delegates comprised a mosaic of people from every corner and many Cultures from around the globe, b) the overstuffed and "Very Rich Program," with its peculiar lopsided time allocations between the native speakers, mainly politicians, on the one hand and the Delegates on the other, (which threatened to produce a near revolt the first couple of days), and c) the fact that due to the lack of time some important issues of serious concern to Hellenism, were given only lip service or were excluded from discussion altogether.

However, despite all these logistical problems, the unavoidable and avoidable errors, this was from its inception and was finally proven to be, A HISTORIC MEGA-CONFERENCE AND A SUCCESS FOR THE ORGANIZERS AND FOR HELLENISM AS A WHOLE. A first-hand analysis of this Conference will be offered here as seen through the eyes of this writer, with an objectivity buttressed by experience as an investigator and critic, on matters of science.

With the same candor, I shall try to describe those parts of the Conference, which I found to be extraordinary and during which I observed the Delegates to be loaded with emotions, curiosities, and hopes, which were always coupled with great anticipation, perhaps commensurate with the vast geographical areas covered by the Countries, they had come from. Furthermore, this scientific analysis shall take the high ground. Certain controversial matters will not be discussed, such as: the thorny issue of Delegate selection, as well as the distribution and number of invitations given to various overseas Organizations and to the Church in America, the initial objections to the convening of the Conference by the Patriarchate, the role of the Archbishop of North and South America, in influencing the elections of the Presidium and finally the rumored abnormalities and alleged political tricks in these elections.

PROGRAM CONTENT

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THE CONFERENCE STARTED ON THURSDAY, 12-30-95, with a profusion of welcoming and introductory remarks by Officials, local as well as National, which was destined to be one of the hallmarks of the Conference until its end, as new first-time speakers appeared at the podium day after day.

This was followed by discussions of organizational Networks of Hellenes abroad and by the intricacies and problems created by the reverse migration of Hellenes of Diaspora (epanapatrismos).

-THE SECOND DAY (FRIDAY 12-1-95) the discussions continued to involve the issue of the Organizational Networks of Hellenes abroad, as well as the various pathways and mechanisms available or required, for the information flow to Diaspora from Greece and vise versa.

Two concomitant side shows (December 1-2) included the Mini-Conference of the Press and other Media of Diaspora, and those of Greece and Cyprus.

Furthermore, the Mini-Conference of the Business-People of Diaspora took place (Dec.1-2) with considerable ELAN AND PROMISE for the future. In the evening, a Cultural event took place to the delight of those who attended.

-THE THIRD DAY (SATURDAY 12-2-95) the discussions included the topics of Education and of Language within Diaspora and about the means of their propagation and maintenance. Moreover, additional discussions included the various Networks of Local Government in Greece and their relationship to the Diaspora Hellenes with property and other interests in the country. The evening was capped with a magnificent cultural event.

-THE FOURTH DAY (SUNDAY 12-3-95) was the day of the official opening of the Conference and started with a spectacular and brilliant sermon (Doxologia) at the Cathedral of St. Demetrios which in my view, constituted the highest point of the Conference, by its symbolism as a combined event of CHURCH, CULTURE, AND HERITAGE, with officials and Delegates representing the sum of 17,000,000 Hellenes of Hellas and those of Diaspora.

The magnificence of the officiating and guest Clergy, with the Patriarch of Alexandria as its Senior Member, (all resplendent in brilliant attire, reminiscent of images of the Byzantium), was beyond description. The spectacle was enhanced by the Church Music from two splendid choirs, by the intonations of the Clergy, by the melodic sounds of Church bells, and by the Liturgy itself, with its deep philosophical meaning, especially when combined with the sight of the President of the Hellenic Republic, sitting in front, with the senior Army Officers behind him, loaded with decorations and holding their ceremonial swords.

This spectacular scene was enormously enriched by the presence of the overtly proud Delegates of the Conference, who seamed to be watching in pure ecstasy. The Delegates knew very well, that this scene was History in the making and a precious sight to behold. A cloudy and rainy Sunday in Thessaloniki, was in effect a superb background to the solemnity of the occasion, which was loaded with meaning and symbolism, concerning the Hellenes in Greece and those in Diaspora.

Finally, the Cultural event and Entertainment of Sunday evening with the famous singers George Dalaras and Dionysis Savopoulos and their well known groups and with the evergreen 107 year-old George Katsaros, was masterfully coupled with splendid dancing groups of superb choreography and performance. Everything was of the highest quality that evening and rightly earned the enthusiastic applause of the natives and of the Diaspora Hellenes.

-THE FIFTH DAY (MONDAY 12-4-95) discussions included such topics as: Hellenism and Parliament, Hellenism and Orthodoxy, and Sports and Diaspora, which included discussions about the 1996 Olympiad.

Sideshows to this (12\4-5\95) were the Mini-Conference of Hellenists (Academicians), of Women of Diaspora and another called Kyvernochoros and Diaspora.

-THE SIXTH DAY (TUESDAY 12-5-95) the discussions were devoted to such topics as: Hellenism Within the International Environment, Hellenes of the Diaspora, Electronic Networks of Communication and the development of a Computerized Database for Hellenism. Concomitantly, an important Mini-Conference on the Youth of Diaspora (12-5\6-95) took place.

-ON THE SEVENTH DAY (WEDNESDAY 12-6-95) the discussions involved around the Diaspora Villages, and other practical issues such as Taxes, Import Duties, Automobiles, Military duty for young Diaspora Hellenes, Tourism and other matters.

-THE EIGHTH DAY (THURSDAY 12-7-95) was spend feverishly on the all important and hotly contested elections of the Presidium and of other officers of the Regional Organizations of ΣΑΕ, as well as, on the formulation of a DECLARATION OF PURPOSE, on certain other proposals and on future planning for the SAE.

This last day of the Conference was crowned by a superb evening display of colorful Dancing Groups and excellent music, at section 16 of HELEXPO Center, which ended with the distribution of beautiful commemorative plaques for the Delegates.

There were in all, eight magnificent Cultural events at SAE, eleven remarkable Exhibits and a number of special Forums that are beyond the scope of this essay. However the two-day Forum held by 93 Journalists of the Diaspora from 21 countries, was impressive, with prominent speakers such as, the Secretary General of the Press and Media Ministry Dimitris Pantazis and the Athens news Agency Andreas Christodoulidis.

TOP SPEAKERS

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A large number of speakers occupied the podium at SAE, most of them informative but the overwhelming majority of them natives. There was in effect a torrent of speeches from members of the Greek Government and the Parliament, all of them well intentioned, with a cornucopia of data, ideas, views, suggestions, and promises, which lead to eventual "Systems overload" on the part of an eager, albeit captive audience.

-The President of the Hellenic Republic, Kostis Stephanopoulos spoke with dignity and precision, when he talked about the need for unity and protection of language, consciousness and national rights of the Hellenes. He also emphasized the important role of the Church in preserving the consciousness of the Nation.

-The Patriarch Bartholomew was heard through a videotaped message of some length, in which with a steady, imposing and impassionate voice reminded the audience about the role of Mother Church in preserving the language and the Nation, and explained rather forcefully, that his initial criticisms do not mean that he objects to the thrust and goals of the SAE. The remarks of his Holiness, ended in a positive and fatherly tone.

-The President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides thanked the Hellenes of Diaspora for their contribution to the struggle of Cyprus.

-The Patriarch of Alexandria delivered a passionate and eloquent speech, focused on the Hellenic community in Egypt, on his love and affection for his Country and his dedication to Hellenic Culture and Heritage and finished with the moving and scintillating words: "We are not asking for anything, just we ask that you remember us, that we are there"!

C O M M E N T A R Y

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This first Organizational Conference for the Hellenes abroad, was by its mere inception, scope and outcome, an event bigger that life and the realization of a dream, and thus, it is automatically placed above serious criticism. This is true for at least those of us, who possess a historical perspective and who understand the dynamics and complexities of such a mammoth undertaking.

Any criticism to be voiced here will be conceptual as well as constructive, and in the form of unsolicited advise from an American-Hellene, to the effect that some of the glaring, largely avoidable errors will not be repeated in the future. The mere fact that this dynamic Conference took place, in the gorgeous city of Thessaloniki, bringing together a magnificent mosaic of individuals, who are citizens of a large number of UN member States, (with their diverse Customs and Cultures) was indeed fascinating. They came from Russia, the Ukraine and the Caucasus, from Kazakhstan, from the mighty US and Canada, from Western Europe, and Africa, Australia and New Zealand and other countries. Their common denominator and powerful as well as precious link, was the Hellenic ancestry and Culture and the awesome Hellenic Heritage. AND THAT WAS THE CRUX OF THIS MEGA-CONFERENCE.

SOME PITFALLS

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1. THE LENGTHY TALKS

It is obvious that the Agenda of the Conference was made hastily and without time for meaningful input by prominent members of the Diaspora and it was hatched, at the level of the Secretary General, the Advisors, the Interparty Committee, and the Deputy Secretary. This was of course unavoidable, due to time constraints, and political necessities, but most probably, it was also the result of some unrealistic philosophical assumptions, about the nature and dynamics of this Mega-Conference, which was ordained by Presidential Decree in Greece, but yet it involved mainly people, who are citizens of other Nation States.

This placed most Delegates and other attendees, at the uncomfortable pedestal of honorary citizens (Hence the hearty address: Agapiti Sympatriotes) of Hellas and with the necessary constraints of the honored guests, who were invited (with expenses paid) for the purpose of: theological, cultural, socioeconomic, educational, informational, athletic, and other discussions, with almost exclusive input from the Center-knows-best viewpoint. This in turn, explains the lopsided allowance of time at the Podium to native, well meaning Officials, who expanded at will to a "dream (albeit captive) audience," comprising a mosaic of guests from exotic places all around the globe. In sharp contrast, the comments by the members of Diaspora were strictly controlled and limited to a few minutes duration, except of course for those who were invited to speak.

However, at least one of the invited speakers from the Diaspora, proved to be a disappointment, because the data were inadequate and their presentation was unfocused and banal. This was an error in speaker selection for this historic Conference.

I found the lengthy talks to be the most tension generating issue due to the fact that the Officials were addressing Non-Constituents and the program contained no precise time limit for their talks. Some of them talked for too long, and to an audience that became slowly despondent, even around the middle of the second day, with signs of irritation and grumbling. At that point someone invited this writer to the podium (at my written request). My brief comments in telegraphic style, (in an attempt to diffuse the situation), made a big impression and provided me with almost celebrity status at the Conference.

This is approximately, what I said:

"I now understand how Admiral Codrington must have felt, when he arrived at the Port of Navarinon as the head of the allied Navies, and asked the Egyptian Admiral to leave port and go back to Egypt. The arrogant Egyptian told him to get lost...and then Admiral Codrington made his famous statement to the Egyptian:

-I HAVE COME HERE TO GIVE, NOT TO RECEIVE ORDERS-. Similarly, I said, we have come here to contribute our experience and wisdom to this Conference and not to receive lectures. We are here, like the wise men of old, bearing gifts to a Country that we love dearly. There are problems here and we wish to hear about them. We heard a lot about satellites and technology. Do you know how far is Silicon Valley from my home? It is twenty minutes. Do you know how many scientists who are Nobel Laureates reside around San Francisco? There are about 25. We know a lot about technology. We also know about mundane problems here: That most Greeks do not bother to answer their correspondence and do not return phone calls. A [meaningful] cultural change is urgently needed in this country. Please change the flow of this Conference. THANK YOU."

A protracted and loud applause followed these remarks and about 150 personal cards were given away. Subsequently however the time allotted to people from the floor did not increase but the Conference proceeded relatively smoothly thereafter.

2. THE CLASH OF CULTURES.

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The underlying cause for discontent among the Delegates during the first two days was in effect due to a veritable "Clash of Cultures" between them and the Organizers, (some of them assembled behind the podium) and also among the heterogeneous lot of Delegates themselves.

This took the Organizers completely by surprise. It shouldn't have and let me explain why: The balk of these Delegates came from the industrialized world such as the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Those are very free, liberal and highly politicized Societies, with overwhelming emphasis on the rights of the individual, on "due process" and on true Democratic discourse.

In these Societies the most significant Office is the "Office of the Citizen" and politicians closely cater to their constituents, frequently calling them by their first name (at least in America). And when these Delegates came to the Conference they found:

a) That there was already a pre-ordained Presidium in place, to run what they considered to be "their Conference" and even worse, when the Program said "election of SAE members for the Presidium" the members were actually chosen on the spot, without input from the floor. This, is anathema to Citizens of industrialized, highly organized societies and thus, this was purely a "Clash of Cultures," or simply put, a different understanding of due process.

b) Moreover the Delegates came to the Conference eager to Discuss their achievements, problems, suggestions, aspirations and concerns e.g. about the Diaspora youth, Language, Culture, and Heritage and to take up issues analytically, one by one, to debate and to decide and make proposals to the Greek officials, for solving them.

Instead, there was no analytical work by committees, and no attempt to establish priorities of issues, but only windy speeches on matters mostly of general nature and without distribution of executive summaries of these talks and with no visual aids, such as slides or transparencies (most of the people are optical types). Especially, there was very little or no humor, to assist in holding the people's interest and to reduce daydreaming.

THUS, It should have been emphasized from the first day onwards, that: "this is only an ORGANIZATIONAL CONFERENCE and there will be minimal analytical work, for solving specific problems, and that priority lists cannot be established, due to the lack of time and resources. And that: "this Conference ..is only for us to get organized.. at long last, and once and for all."

c) A tangible side-effect of this lack of smooth coordination and tuning-in, between Delegates and Conference Officials, was the fact that, at times, speeches were delivered to a tired or disinterested and bored audience, that voting with its feet, spend a lot of time in the hall outside.

3. THE HOMOGENIZATION OF ISSUES

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Due to the marathon speeches, involving a cornucopia of variable subjects, which was compounded by the lack of time for reflection, committee work and the establishing of a list of priorities, the homogenization of issues, big, medium and small, was inevitable. For instance, there exists a profusion of views within our Community in America, that "we are losing most of our young," auspices of, the modernizing and homogenizing imperative, of our ultramodern society and I suspect, that such views will be approximately applicable to Australia and Europe as well.

Yet, the issues regarding the Diaspora Youth and their affinity to Hellenic Culture and Heritage, were dealt with only at the Mini-Conference and very little was heard at the Plenary session, save for a brief speech (five minutes) given by this Writer and by the distribution to Delegates, of a short succinct essay on the subject.

Fortunately, the Australian and New Zealand contingents, had also distributed a couple of position papers at the Mini-Conference, concerning this subject. The good standing and welfare of the Diaspora Youth is extremely vital for Hellenism and for the SAE, which otherwise will quickly become superfluous and unnecessary.

Finally, another monumental issue for Hellenism is, the much-feared slow rhythm Demographic catastrophe of Hellas, due to persistent low fertility rates and the steady aging of her population, with about 20 per cent of her people expected to be over 65 at 2025, within a total of only 10 million souls. Yet, to my surprise, this vital and excruciating contemporary Demographic problem of the Greek Nation, whose detrimental consequences are legion if it remains unresolved, was completely ignored at ΣΑΕ (despite my request to discuss it) and was "pushed under the rug," in a manner reminiscent of, "hiding the crazy Aunt in the basement."

T H E F U T U R E

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In the aftermath of this successful Mega-Conference, one is awed by the enormity of the task ahead, of what remains to be done. We need much better organization at the local level, within each Nation State and with the SAE in place, Internationally. The password among the Diaspora Hellenes from now on should be: "UNITY."

The SAE on its part will require to develop a robust logistical infrastructure, for ultramodern networking, with an active and sophisticated Headquarters and a Computerized Database, in order to exercise adequate impact and to achieve good coordination with the Regional SAEs. Linguistic, Cultural and time zone differences will have to be overcome.

The President of SAE needs a high power Advisory Council, to include men and women with strong Management, Academic and other Professional credentials, from within the Geek-American Community, for the purpose of Strategic Planning and Programming for the future. Such individuals are abundant and will be glad to contribute their experience and wisdom to the SAE.

At the present time, I envisage the SAE as being literally on "SKYHOOKS," with no firm anchor yet in place, even in the United States and at best, with few tenuous "French-Connections," towards the regional SAEs. However, I am very optimistic and extremely bullish on the Hellenic Spirit and on the determination forged among the Delegates in Thessaloniki.

The Natural Pride and Filotimo of the Hellenes, coupled with their fear for the loss of Language, Culture and Heritage, to the strong winds of the modernizing and homogenizing imperative, together with their justified fear of population decline, will surely produce a healthy and sustained impetus for action, among the sum of 17 million strong, Diaspora and the Hellenes at the Center.

I N S U M M A R Y

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The SAE Mega-Conference of 1995 in Thessaloniki, was indeed a great success and a major accomplishment for the Hellenes the world over. Similarly to the 30 million ton Hellenic Merchant Marine Fleet, which plows the Oceans and connects the ports of the world, the Hellenes of the world, do now have in their grasp, the best opportunity ever: to Unify, to Cooperate, to Trade, and to Exchange Information, and to Coordinate their activities on behalf of Hellas and to strive vigorously to perpetuate their magnificent Language and Culture, as well as to maintain their awesome Heritage. The youth of Diaspora and the youth of Hellas, represent the Future of Hellenism into the next Century and next Millennium. We should spare no effort in our determination to keep the Hellenic Youth of Diaspora, within the fold of our CHURCH, OUR CULTURE AND OUR HERITAGE. OUR CHURCH IS ETERNAL AND SO IS HELLENISM. Finally, after my three years of intensive research on the subject of the Demography of Europe including Greece, and that of the Islamic Nations of the Middle East and North Africa, I submit to you, my Friends, that now is the time and now is the hour, to vigorously assist the Hellenes at the Center, TO SOLVE THE DEMOGRAPHIC GORDIAN KNOT, OF THE GREEK NATION. All seven million of us, should always remember, that Hellas, stuck in a bad neighborhood in Southeastern Europe, has been blessed by Providence with only one, yet all-powerful, secret weapon: THE HELLENES OF DIASPORA and that the ΣΑΕ in Thessaloniki was just "the end of the beginning."

Michael C. Geokas, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D. (McGill).

Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry

University of California

Davis, U.S.A.

Tel: 925\946-1985

FAX: 925\946-1987

PUBLISHED: Hellenic News of America Vol19, No6, February 1996.

CC:

-President of the Hellenic Republic

-Prime Minister of Greece

-Minister of Foreign Affairs

-Deputy Minister Foreign Affairs

-Secretary General for Greeks Abroad

-Minister National Defense

-Professor Louka T. Katseli

-Minister National Economy

-Alternate Minister National Economy

-President of the Greek Parliament

-Minister for Macedonia and Thrace.

-Minister of Education and Religious Affairs.

-Chief of Main Opposition Party

-Chief of other Political Parties.

-Director General of ΚΕΠΕ.

-Chief of the Joint Army Staff.

-President Adelphi University

-President Drexel University

-President Temple University

-President Emeritus, NY University