News from Regina

By Tom A. Liagridonis

REGINA, SASK. – The Hon. Eleni Lianidou, Consul of Greece for Western Canada,  Tom Liagridonis, President of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Community of Regina.,and the Hon. Dr. Lynda Haverstock, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchwean.

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN - This year, St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Community of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada celebrated Greek Independence Day in a very special way. The Consul of Greece, the Honourable Mrs. Eleni Lianidou, joined our Community in celebrating this national holiday by attending Sunday service and a special program at our Church and Community Hall on March 24^th. Escorting Mrs. Lianidou were Mr. Pythagoras Vardikos (member of the Hellenic Parliament of the ruling PASOK party and member of the standing committee for Cultural and Educational Affairs) and Mr. Savas Tsitouridis (member of the Hellenic Parliament of the New Democratic party and member of the standing committee of Finance). Mr. Tsitouridis wife, Maria, was also in attendance.

To commemorate the 181^st Anniversary of the Independence of Greece, the Greek flag was flown at City Hall on the morning of March 25^th with a special sunrise ceremony at 8 a.m. Several members of our community, along with our distinguished visitors, were in attendance making this a very special moment. Everyone began singing Greece’s national anthem as the flag was being raised. It was a very emotional moment for everyone there.

While in Regina, Mrs. Lianidou and her escorts met with Mayor Pat Fiacco, had a luncheon meeting with our Community’s youth who are involved with the 2004 Olympic Volunteers Committee, met with Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, visited the RCMP museum, the Mackenzie Art Gallery and the Legislative Assembly while it was in progress.

Mrs. Lianidou hosted a reception at the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza Hotel Ball Room on the evening of March 25^th. Invited guests included Her Honour The Honourable Dr. Lynda Haverstock, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Honourable Mr. Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan, Honourable Mr. Ralph Goodale, all Honourable Ministers and members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, and all members of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Community of Regina.

Master of Ceremonies at the reception was Mr. Costas Maragos, news anchor with CBC Television. Speakers included Mrs. Lianidou, Her Honour The Honourable Dr. Haverstock, Premier Calvert, Hon. Mr. Goodale, Mr. Vardikos and Mr. Tsitouridis.

Following the above-noted speakers, there was a cheque presentation by Mr. Tom Liagridonis, President of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Community and Mr. Thomas Siarkos, President of the Regina chapter of AHEPA, to the Friends of Renal Dialysis Inc. from the proceeds collected at the “An Evening in Greece” fundraising dinner held in February. The amount totalled $80,100.

Left to right: Her Honour the Hon. Dr. Lynda Haverstock, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Hon. Eleni Lianidou, Consul of Greece for Western Canada, Hon. Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan, Pythagoras Vardikos, member of the Hellenic Parliament (PASOK), Savvas Tsitouridis, member of the Hellenic Parliament (N.D.), and Hon. Ralph Goodale, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.    

Finally, the Hellenic Dancers performed traditional dances from Greece.

Included below is Mrs. Lianidou’s speech that she gave at the reception:

“Your Honour Dr. Lynda Haverstock, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Honourable Mr. Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan, Honourable members of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Pythagoras Vardikos and Mr. And Mrs. Savas Tsitouridis, Honourable Mr. Ralph Goodale, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Honourable ministers and representatives of the Parliament, Your Reverend, Honourable President of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Community of Regina, Honourable President of AHEPA, Distinguished guest, Compatriots.

It is indeed a great honour for me to welcome you all here, to the celebrations for the Hellenic National Day.

We are all gathered here tonight to pay tribute to all those who gave their life and sacrificed everything they had for the independence and freedom of our country, Greece. The simple people of the land, the priests and the scholars, the ship owners and fighters, they all bravely contributed together with the astonishing Greek Diaspora and Phil Hellenes, to the struggle of independence in 1821.

Greece, born forty centuries ago on the shores of the Aegean Sea, was reborn in the middle of last century, when it finally gained its independence. Throughout the four hundred years of Turkish occupation, hope and courage never died. It was this same courage, mainly inspired of and strengthened by the ancient Greek ideals of democracy and freedom, as well as the French Revolution, that triggered the uprising of the Greeks and helped them find their way to freedom.

Since then, they successfully became an active part of Europe and more recently a contributing member of the European Union family. Today, our country is an active player for peace and stability in our region and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. Furthermore, it has contributed significantly to the efforts for economic development in Europe, and has always sought peaceful solutions for international problems, with respect to international law.

2004 is the year Greece will be in the spotlight of the international community as the host country of the Olympic Games. Indeed a challenging international event for any hosting country, not only in terms of security, as very often mentioned, but also in some other areas concerning the revival of the true Olympic spirit that includes fair competition, strict anti-doping rules, less commercialized coverage and the promotion of the ideal of the Olympic truce.

Since the recent terrorist attacks, Greek people as well as the Government have devoted themselves to the struggle against terrorism and united in their efforts with all other countries under the common values of freedom and respect for human rights. The stability in the Balkans is one of our main targets and we are deeply involved in achieving peace and stability in the region. We are also striving for providing our best support to a just and lasting solution in Cyprus that still suffers from illegal invasion and occupation.

Greece and Canada have always been friends and close allies and we consider that the already excellent existing relations between the two countries as well as with the Province of Saskatchewan, will be further promoted on the political, cultural and economic fields. We should therefore join all our forces to build stronger bonds of cooperation and more frequent ties of communication. Sharing the same values and principles is a strong common base on which we could further develop our relations.

As far as it concerns the Greek-Canadian community in Saskatchewan, of which many significant members are present tonight, I would lie to exert their valuable contribution to what have become of Canada today. They are and always will be a significant link of communication between Greek and Canadian culture while at the same time Greece is enriched by their new identity and cultures, to which they adapt and carry back to their motherland. We all remain assured that they will serve their new country with dignity and devotion that derives from their remarkable traditions and cultural values.”