PAGE /23 THE RESPONSIBILITY OF...

email:[email protected]

FEBRUARY 2007 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

PAGE 2/20

In this issue... Our Primate’s View

PAGE 4/22

Official opening of the new

academic year at

St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox

Theological College

PAGE 6/24

Balkan baby

trafficking

booms in Greece

26th annual

Pan-Orthodox

Law Term Opening

PAGE 5/23

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THE RESPONSIBILITY

OF YOUTH

IN TODAY’S SOCIETY

9th National Youth Conference of the

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

25 - 28 January 2007, Brisbane

Greek pupils

demand

Elgin Marbles

EVEN ‘MULTICULTURALISM’ IS NOT ENOUGH!

FULL REPORT PAGES 10/28 - 11/29

PAGE 6/24

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA2/20

26th annual Pan-Orthodox

Law Term Opening

FEBRUARY 2007

On Tuesday 6 February 2007, at the Cathedral of the“Annunciation of our Lady”, His Eminence ArchbishopStylianos conducted the Service for the Opening of the LawTerm 2006 in NSW.

Dignitaries present were His Grace Bishop Seraphim ofApollonias, the Hon Jim Spigelman AC, Chief Justice of NSW, fromthw Supreme Court Justice K Mason AC, President of the Court ofAppeal, Justice J Bryson, JA & Mrs Bryson, Court of Appeal, JusticeT Studdert & Mrs Studdert, Justice B Sully, Justice V Bell, Justice AWhealy, Justice G Palmer, Justice R White and Justice S Rothman,from the Federal Court: Justice D Cowdroy & Mrs Cowdroy, JusticeA Emmett, Justice B Tamberlin, from the Land & EnvironmentCourt, The Hon Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge and The HonJustice R N Talbot and from the District Court Chief Judge R OBlanch and Mrs Blanch and Judge M J Finnane RFD QC.

Also present were Mr I Raptakis, Consul General of Greecein Sydney, Mr Michael Slattery QC, President, NSW BarAssociation, Mr Geoff Dunlevy, President, Law Society of NSW, MrSteve Karas, Principal Member of the Migration Review Tribunaland Refugee Review Tribunal, Mr S Kerkyasharian, Chairperson,Community Relations Commission of NSW, Mr Jack Passaris,Chair, Ethnic Communities Council of NSW and Ms KristinaKeneally MP, Member for Heffron, representing the Premier ofNSW.

In his address His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos statedthe following:

Reading: Ephesians 4:17-25

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should nolonger walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of theirmind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated fromthe life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because ofthe blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have giventhemselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greedi-ness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you haveheard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man whichgrows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed inthe spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man whichwas created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truthwith his neighbor” for we are members of one another.

Having once again gathered here on the occasion of thenew Law Term, we feel the need firstly to exchange, as always, sin-cere wishes for the New Year of 2007, which we pray will be morepeaceful than the last.

At the same time, it is at least for us gathered here to con-centrate also on the word of God – a very crucial passage of whichwe have just heard from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians.

Experiencing for some decades now both the facilities and

the dilemmas of so-called ‘globalisation’, we find it quite fitting tolisten especially to St Paul, who has been called ‘The Apostle of theNations’ par excellence. One should not forget that Paul had theunique task and trial to reconcile in his personal spiritual adventuretwo different and equally demanding traditions:

On the one hand, Judaism, representing the Law and theProphets, and on the other, the Christian message which came as theimmediate continuation and yet the final transcendence of BiblicalLaw, by the grace of God incarnate.

The missionary situation which St Paul had to confront inhis extraordinary experience enabled him to speak beyond anyracial, national or ideological boundaries.

Precisely for this reason, St Paul remains for all today’sfaithful citizens, who draw upon the Judeo-Christian tradition, theunique example of a peace-maker in God’s name.

It might sound old-fashioned or even provocative to com-pare today’s responsible citizens – or even leaders of modern society– with such a distinguished figure in the history of salvation.

However, one must realize that modernity has disclosed toall sensitive and vigilant contemporary people such chaotic situationswhich cannot be faced successfully unless we call upon the originalqualities of the human being created in the image of God.

Among such qualities are of course, in first line:the truthfulness towards the presentthe consequence towards the pastand the openness towards the future.

In these three dimensions of time, we recognize the impor-tance of all three Biblical virtues of love, faith and hope.

It is then not an exaggeration to say that, in respectingequally the three mentioned virtues, the uncertain and even fright-ened human being receives spontaneously all blessings from above.And this is what sanctity is all about.

If we now try to understand in this perspective the passageof St Paul’s letter, we shall appreciate the fact that he does not avoidrejecting impious behaviour by asking his audience to avoid “false-hood”. This he identifies with the collective name of “Gentiles” cor-rupted by the “futility” already in their minds.

After all the above, sisters and brothers, let me believe that,in contemplating such a Biblical text today – together with our ChiefJustice, other Judges and members of the Judiciary – we can grate-fully confess that in the passage we just heard we have in our handsa tremendous key. Namely, a unique key that enables us to solve notonly the personal problems of our daily existence, but also the broad-er impasses that we face in society as a whole.

This key is of course the last sentence of today’s reading,which in the simplest manner draws our attention to truths that areself-evident, when it states:

“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighborfor we are members of one another.”

SOVIETS INVADE

CZECHOSLOVAKIA:

August 20, 1968

On the night of August 20, 1968, approx-imately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia tocrush the "Prague Spring"--a brief periodof liberalization in the communist coun-try. Czechoslovakians protested the inva-sion with public demonstrations and othernon-violent tactics, but they were nomatch for the Soviet tanks. The liberalreforms of First Secretary AlexanderDubcek were repealed and "normaliza-tion" began under his successor GustavHusak.

PARIS LIBERATED:

August 25, 1944

After more than four years of Nazi occu-pation, Paris is liberated by the French2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4thInfantry Division. German resistance waslight, and General Dietrich von Choltitz,commander of the German garrison,defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow upParis' landmarks and burn the city to theground before its liberation. Choltitzsigned a formal surrender that afternoon,and on August 26, Free French GeneralCharles de Gaulle led a joyous liberationmarch down the Champs d'Elysees.

JAPAN SURRENDERS:

September 2, 1945

Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay,Japan formally surrenders to the Allies,bringing an end to World War II. By the summer of 1945, the defeat ofJapan was a foregone conclusion. TheJapanese navy and air force weredestroyed. The Allied naval blockade ofJapan and intensive bombing of Japanesecities had left the country and its economydevastated. At the end of June, theAmericans captured Okinawa, a Japaneseisland from which the Allies could launchan invasion of the main Japanese homeislands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthurwas put in charge of the invasion, whichwas code-named "Operation Olympic"and set for November 1945.

26 February, 1993 World Trade Center bombed

At 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb explodesin a parking garage of the World TradeCenter in New York City, leaving a crater60 feet wide and causing the collapse ofseveral steel-reinforced concrete floors inthe vicinity of the blast. Although the ter-rorist bomb failed to critically damage themain structure of the skyscrapers, six peo-ple were killed and more than 1,000 wereinjured. The World Trade Center itself suf-fered more than $500 million in damage.After the attack, authorities evacuated50,000 people from the buildings, hun-dreds of whom were suffering fromsmoke inhalation. The evacuation lastedthe whole afternoon.

3 March, 1475Michelangelo born

Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest ofthe Italian Renaissance artists, is born inthe small village of Caprese on March 6,1475. The son of a government adminis-trator, he grew up in Florence, a center ofthe early Renaissance movement, andbecame an artist's apprentice at age 13.Demonstrating obvious talent, he wastaken under the wing of Lorenzo de'Medici, the ruler of the Florentine repub-lic and a great patron of the arts. For twoyears beginning in 1490, he lived in theMedici palace, where he was a student ofthe sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni andstudied the Medici art collection, whichincluded ancient Roman statuary.

8 March 1917February Revolution begins

In Russia, the February Revolution(known as such because of Russia's use ofthe Julian calendar) begins when riots andstrikes over the scarcity of food erupt inPetrograd. One week later, centuries ofczarist rule in Russia ended with the abdi-cation of Nicholas II, and Russia took adramatic step closer toward communistrevolution.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21

Buckets of tears

and popcorn

I’m sitting here at the computer listening tothe soundtrack from the film De-Lovely,about the songwriter Cole Porter. There’sonly one rendition of a song that I thor-oughly dislike from this film, but the onethat’s caught my attention is called ‘What isthis thing called love?’ The title, of course,brings to mind all the ‘big fat Greek wed-dings’ I attended as a child, where,inevitably the Greek song of the samename was always performed. In ColePorter’s song, the singer calls upon to Godto tell him what love is. Love, the singertells us, has made a fool of him. I don’tthink for one minute that Cole Porter meantus to ponder for a long time over the senti-ments in this song, although the scene inthe film where he sings to his wife whenshe is dying left me crying helplessly.

It’s fascinating how those who makemotion pictures can manipulate our emo-tions. Several of my children recently sawthe film about the author, Beatrix Potter.Having read several biographies of her lifeyears ago, I knew that if they were expect-ing a story about ‘celebrity’, or a lifelongdevotion to Peter Rabbit, they would bedisappointed. Disappointed, though, turned

out to be an understatement; they and theirfriends left the cinema feeling devastated.I’m yet to see the movie, but it appears that,although it was well made, the film startedon a high point, sank to a low over thedeath of Beatrix’ betrothed and neverrecovered. The result was that it left theteenagers feeling emotionally exhausted.

As with advertisements, news reports, doc-umentaries or current affairs shows orprinted matter, it’s important for people tobe able to discuss and analyse what is goingon in the things we see and/or hear. Whenwe enter a cinema, we willingly give our-selves over to those responsible for notonly making the film, but also those whopresent it. If we choose carefully, the expe-rience is one of jolly good entertainment.Some film-makers, though, are not contentunless they can take their audience on aharrowing emotional journey.

One of the most exciting developments inmovie-making in recent times is the inclu-sion on DVD’s of extra information aboutthe film processes. They don’t detract fromthe magic of films, but instead give us, ifwell-done, a wonderful insight into the cre-ative workings of the mind. Problems areoutlined, and approaches to solving themare discussed – from the point of view ofcomposers, cinematographers, and so on.It’s rare, though, to hear anything from theactors about how they interpreted charac-ters, which is a pity.

Oops! The CD’s almost finished, so I’d bet-ter find myself a packet of tissues beforethat song plays and I start to cry all overagain!

Talking Point

by Ann Coward

Avoiding a chain

overreaction JOHN PSAROPOULOS

IN THE rocket-propelled grenade attack on the US embassy,familiar errors are discernible on both the Greek and the USsides. US Ambassador Charles Ries refrained from calling it aterrorist attack when he met with journalists on the asphalt ofVassilissis Sofias Avenue just hours after the attack. But in aninterview on state television a few days later that position hadchanged. Ries termed it a "serious terrorist attack" that haddiminished Greece in the eyes of the world.

As the Greeks have long maintained, there is a great qualita-tive difference between home-made bombs consisting of pres-surised gas canisters strapped together and set off in the earlyhours to make a statement without hurting anyone, and a carbomb or an ambush by militia. But to State Department analy-sis, these are all points on a sliding scale.

Both sides have a point, but to use the T-word more than fiveyears after George W Bush started using it is to dignify a smallgroup of people trying to make a patriotic name for themselvesby targeting the most powerful embassy in Athens. The US isnot about to go to war over Greek terrorism, nor is the latter inany way that we know of connected to the jihadists and othermadmen of the Middle East and Central Asia.

The Greeks are also persisting in old errors. Hitting the USembassy two years after November 17 was put behind barsreturns Greece to an age of adolescence. We have no reason inthe world to offend Americans, who are essentially benevolenttowards us.

Most likely, the Greek terrorists are sprouting from that sametrunk of Leftism that hates the US for saving Greece from theclutches of communism, and has lost faith in a political system

that globally is dominated by a single superpower and domes-tically by two parties, Pasok and New Democracy, in whichthe KKE and Synaspismos need never be heeded.

Yet the best response to this symbolic terrorism, howeverinsulting it may be, is to accord it its proper place, not to ele-vate it in public, and that is a question of chosen style. WhenNovember 17 carried out an identical rocket-propelledgrenade attack against then German ambassador Karl HeinzKuhna in early 1999, he quickly defeated whatever psycholog-ical impact the attack could have had. Waving a cigarette as hemet journalists on the street outside his stricken home, heasked the terrorists not to disturb his neighbours in future, andcriticised them for being "not very good shots".

British ambassador David Madden was quieter about it, buthe, too, defied the terrorists after Al Qa'ida bombed the Britishconsulate in Istanbul in November 2003, killing the consul. Hecontinued to travel frequently on foot, and kept a Saturday

morning tennis appointment at the British School gardens withhis wife, Penelope, with absolute regularity.

Charles Ries, too, showed that he is not afraid of the terrorists.He came out of the embassy to meet with journalists no fewerthan three times on the morning of the attack; and he kept ascheduled lunch appointment with this newspaper just hourslater.

But the new line coming out of the State Department, whetherit is American-inspired or requested by the Greeks as a way ofstrengthening their hand, is a mistake. It is one thing to workclosely with the Greeks to ensure that they are taking terrorismseriously, and another to sound as though the country as awhole is at fault. Worrisome as the latest attack is, it should notput domestic terrorism back in the centre of the Greek-American relationship.

ATHENS NEWS

FEBRUARY 2007

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Editorial

The Greek AustralianVEMA

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JULY 2006 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

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outsideGreece

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In this issue... Our Primate’s View

POLITICAL ‘PARTIES’

AND THE NATIONAL ‘WHOLE’

PAGE 20/38

Italy wins

World Cup

for the 4th time

PAGE 18/36

Children beaten

by loved ones

FOOD & WINE

Homemade

chocolate delights

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Leaders strike

'mammoth'

reform dealThe Prime Minister and state and territo-ry leaders have agreed upon a nationalreform agenda to boost productivity inthe areas of health, education, businessregulation and infrastructure.

There had been dispute over funding forthe changes and how the benefits would bemeasured and split between governments.

But the deal has been finalised at today'sCouncil of Australian Governments(COAG) meeting, which lasted for less thanthree hours.The leaders have agreed to set up a nation-

al reform council to oversee the changes.Prime Minister John Howard says an enor-

mous amount has been achieved at the meet-ing.

"This has been another very constructiveCOAG meeting at which an enormousamount has been achieved in a spirit ofcooperation and a desire to get practicalresults for the Australian people," he said.

"The major outcome has been agreementon a huge, indeed mammoth national reformagenda."

Mr Howard says the establishment of thereform council is the most important deci-sion made by the leaders.He says the Federal Government will dele-

gate a chair and the states will decide on adeputy."We will be asking the various members of

COAG to bring forward suggestions forreform," he said.

The state and territory leaders, includingNew South Wales Premier Morris Iemma,have welcomed the agreement.

"It is all about providing more opportunityfor our citizens ... and we're very pleasedthat we've reached a framework for that toproceed," Mr Iemma said.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says thedeal will bolster Australia's financial posi-tion.

"It will deal with things that give us thecompetitive edge in the world, like skills ...and literacy," he said.

Health

Mr Iemma says the reforms include a $4billion, five-year mental health nationalaction plan for services, accommodation andbetter support.

He says the plan looks at ways to spendmental health funding more effectively.

"It is about thinking smarter about the dol-lars that we have," Mr Iemma said.Mr Howard says mental health "desperate-

ly needed more money"."People have been crying out for money for

mental health for quite a long time," he said."It's long overdue."The package also includes increased public

health training.That includes 150 extra training places for

doctors in Queensland, 60 more medicalschool places in Western Australia andanother 60 to be shared by AdelaideUniversity and Flinders University in South

Australia."We should not forget that this requires

continued national cooperation in the area ofhealth," Mr Iemma said.

"It's not for the next two to three years,these are measures that are required for thenext 20 to 30 years."

World Cup bid

Mr Howard says he and the leaders haveagreed to back a potential bid to host the2018 soccer World Cup.

"All governments agreed enthusiasticallythat if the national body, the FootballFederation of Australia, put in a bid for the2018 World Cup, then all governmentswould support that bid and support that bidenthusiastically," he said.

Daylight saving

The Prime Minister, John Howard, saysVictoria, New South Wales, the ACT andTasmania have agreed to look at synchronis-ing the start of daylight saving each year."I think a modest step can be made forward

towards greater uniformity in that area andVictoria has indicated its broad agreement,"Mr Howard said."New South Wales will consider it."If it is agreed that New South Wales,

Victoria and the ACT will commence day-light saving earlier, that's a matter, I empha-sise, for them."

Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon says it isa positive step.

"With the agreement of Victoria, NewSouth Wales and the ACT to look at gettinginto the real world and joining Tasmaniawith extended daylight saving into thefuture, it is an important lifestyle reform," hesaid.

"If you want to see a good lifestyle, justhave a look at Tasmania."

Prime Minister, John Howard


Understanding Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

“I have to go back and check that I switched off the iron!”exclaims Dimitra to her husband Ioannis, just as they areabout to get into their car. “I saw you switch it off, I am sureit is fine!” replies her husband, Ioannis. “I think I checked it,but why is it that I need to check it again?” replies Dimitra.“Let’s get in the car, we do not have time for this, we arealready running late for the wedding” replies Ioannis. On theway to the wedding ceremony, Dimitra starts to become exces-sively distressed, as thoughts of the iron being on start to creepinto her mind, but says nothing as she is afraid that she willupset her husband.

These thoughts are a daily occurrence for Dimitra who findsherself returning home from family functions, merely to checkthat she has locked the doors to their house. Recently it hasgotten to the stage where she goes home from work during herlunch hour, as she is unable to focus on what she is doingbecause of overwhelming anxious thoughts of leaving appli-ances switched on and a need to check things at home. Ioannismentioned this incident to their family doctor, Dr Iatros, whoindicated that Dimitra may be suffering from what he under-stands to be Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an anxi-ety related disorder that impacts approximately 2.5% of thepopulation.

OCD is believed to be a neurobiological disorder where peo-ple experience unwanted thoughts and where they believe thatthey will be relieved of these thoughts if they perform certain

behaviours. As in the above example, Dimitra’s unwantedthought was that she had left the iron on and the behaviour torelieve her of this thought was that she went home to check theiron.

All of us check whether we have locked our door or switchedoff the iron from time to time, however, it is when these behav-iours significantly disrupt day to day functioning that medicalintervention is imperative.

In OCD terms these unwanted thoughts are called obsessions.Obsessions are persistent, thoughts, ideas, images or impulsesthat interfere with a person’s thinking causing excessiveworry. Compulsions are repetitive mental acts or behavioursperformed in response to the obsessions to relieve the worry.These thoughts and behaviours must be severe enough to betime consuming, in that they take more than one hour a day, orcause significant impairment.

Obsessions; the most common types of obsessions are repeat-ed thoughts about being contaminated, repeated doubts, suchas repeatedly checking objects, such as locks, doors, the offsettings on household appliances or having hurt someone attraffic lights. Other examples include people who “must”arrange items in a particular order and experience intense dis-tress when these items are moved, aggressive or horrificimpulses, such as thinking to hurt someone or to shout anobscenity in public. These obsessions are generally not relatedto a real life problem or everyday concerns.

Compulsions; are repetitive behaviours, such as washing,checking or mental acts such as praying or counting, whichaim to relieve the person from worrying. Many people per-form the compulsion to reduce the anxiety or stress elicitedfrom the obsessive thought. By using the above example,Dimitra will drive home from work at least 3 times a week torelieve herself from the anxiety or stress of thoughts relating toleaving her front door unlocked.

Obsessions and compulsions must cause significant distress,

take more than one hour a day, significantly interfere with nor-mal routine, occupational functioning, usual social activities orrelationships with others, to be categorised under OCD.

People with OCD have the ability to understand that thesethoughts and behaviours are unreasonable and/or excessive.Many people may avoid situations which may illicit obsessivethoughts or compulsive behaviours. As obsessive behaviourscause such interference they may frequently impact adverselyon work performance and personal relationships.

Through psychological treatment and/or medication, OCD ishighly treatable and the chances of managing OCD are excel-lent.

Call your local GP, psychologist or the AustralianPsychological Society (APS) Referral Service on 1800 333497 for more information.

Mina CandalepasPsychologist MAPS

Reg NSW PS0057198

References:Hyman, B. Pedrick, C. The OCD Workbook. Your Guide toBreaking Free From Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, NewHarbinger Publications, Inc 1999.DSM IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of MentalDisorders: Anxiety Disorders. Fourth Edition, AmericanPsychiatric Association, Washington DC. P417-423.

Mina Candalepas is a Registered Psychologist. She is the sole director of aClinical Private Practice in the Campsie Professional Medical Practice,Sydney NSW. Her particular speciality is in trauma and chronic pain manage-ment and she also provides psychological therapy for depression, anxiety,work-place issues and/or injuries, relationship issues, self esteem and grief.

Therapy is conducted in either English or Greek. All services are by appoint-ment ONLY and strictly confidential. Her contact details are Tel (02) 95917714, Mob 0410 493 806.

Mental Health

By Mina Candalepas*Psychologist MAPSReg NSW PS0057198

FEBRUARY 2007

Official opening of the new academic year

at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological CollegeThursday 15 February marked the official opening of theacademic year at St Andrew’s Greek OrthodoxTheological College. For the twenty-second consecutiveyear, the traditional Doxology Service was celebrated inthe College Chapel of St John the Evangelist andTheologian, presided over by the Dean His EminenceArchbishop Stylianos of Australia. Faculty members, staff,alumni, students and guests joined in the chorus of chantwhich resonated from the small chapel on this warm andsunny Sydney day.

At the conclusion of the Doxology, His Eminence welcomedeveryone and reflected briefly on one of the verses chantedduring the course of the service: “Save, O Lord, your people,and bless your inheritance”. In which ways, and to whatdegree, do we still conduct ourselves as the Lord’s ‘people’and his ‘inheritance’? In offering a response His Eminenceagain emphasised the need for teachers and students alike tobe sincere and humble in their endeavour to study theologyand to base themselves on the ‘Word of God’, which not onlyrefers to the written revelation of holy scripture but of courseto God himself who became ‘flesh’ for our salvation. Thestudy, exposition, and preaching of the Word – in accordancewith the needs of our time - are the main concerns for theolo-gy and for those who wish to serve God’s people for the sakeof his ultimate glory. The Archbishop also expressed theperennial hope of the Church that all seminarian studentswould proceed one day to serve in the ordained priesthood,and before the holy altar, as the ideal fulfillment of their theo-logical education and training at St Andrew’s.

His Eminence warmly welcomed the eight new first year stu-dents: Deacon Jean-Paul Mawal (Melb), Vasilios Gioutlou(Melb), Emilios Kaos (Melb), Chris Karatenislis (Melb), PetarMrakic (Syd), Viorel Nicolaiciuc (Romania), NektariosPericleous (Syd), and Dimitrios Siriotis (Syd). He alsoexpressed his deep appreciation for the collaboration of the

NSW Bible Society, represented by Mr Nick Cole, which eachyear kindly donates a copy of the critical edition of the GreekNew Testament to every new student.

The customary group photograph in the courtyard of theCollege was followed by a luncheon generously prepared bythe tireless ladies’ auxiliary of the Archdiocese. Before sittingfor meal, His Eminence also took the time to introduce MrAndreas and Mrs Maroula Ellina, patrons and benefactors ofchurches, monasteries and other institutions in Cyprus andGreece who are currently visiting Australia, along with Mr

Steve Koudounaris from the Greek Orthodox Parish-Community of St Spyridon, Kingsford.

St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College is a fullmember institution of the Sydney College of Divinity anddelivers civilly accredited tertiary degrees and awards. It cur-rently serves eighteen seminarian students and seventeen stu-dents engaged in graduate-level and elective theological stud-ies. For more information about Orthodox Christian theologi-cal education please visit the college website at or contact theRegistrar on (02) 9319 6145.

For the twenty-second consecutive year, the traditional Doxology Service was celebrated in the College Chapel of St Johnthe Evangelist and Theologian, presided over by the Dean His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia


Our Primate’s View

By ArchbishopStylianos

of Australia

FEBRUARY 2007

The ‘explanations’ which our Prime Minister, Mr JohnHoward, hastened to give regarding the unexpected and certainlyunfathomable recent name-change of the relevant Department, from‘Immigration and Multicultural Affairs’ to ‘Immigration andCitizenship’, do not appear under any circumstances to have con-vinced the democratically-minded citizens of this nation that, withthe change in mention, the spirit of ‘Multiculturalism’ is supposedly‘not in the least damaged’.

And they have not been convinced for the simple reasonthat contemporary ethnically diverse Australia – after more than halfa century of intransigent Anglo Saxon racism – has finally achieved,at least in the last 30 years, an enviable level of ‘egalitarianism’ andsocial ‘justice’ for all its citizens, regardless of race, gender, colour,religion or ideology.

For an, until recently, arrogant ‘White Australia’ to achievesuch political and social maturity, is the result of both discernibleand in-discernible fermentations, which no one can now overturn orhalt.

Because Australia, which up until the beginning of the 20th

century was considered one of the most backward and unknowncountries with its almost mythical ‘periphery’ of various indigenouspeoples within Oceania, ultimately appears to have been ‘chosen’ byDivine Providence to undergo the most unlikely ‘transformations’in an incomparably more rapid time-frame than other Continents, sothat today it is justifiably considered the most ‘compassionate’ soci-ety in the world.

If, indeed, we take into consideration the fact that indige-nous peoples generally possess a highly developed ‘intuition’, incomparison with those who are supposedly ‘advanced’, we couldperhaps assume that the Aboriginal perception of mathematical orhistorical time as ‘dreamtime’ may well have been, by design, pre-disposed to the aforementioned or similar ‘transformations’.

Nonetheless, Anglo Saxon government policy towardMigrants, since the establishment of the Federation which, as isknown, coincided with the beginning of the 20th century, wasamended gradually under three successive slogans - from the initialAssimilation, followed by Integration to so-calledMulticulturalism of the last 30 years - has enshrined so many ‘hid-den powers’ regarding the potential of this martyric Land, that nomatter what opportunistic ‘agendas’ the ‘nomenclature’ of the Stateor Federal governments might attempt to engineer in the future, suchactions could no longer allow for a regression, unless they arose outof entirely catastrophic circumstances.

With the devout and pan-human optimism expressed by theabove unselfish observations of the writer, beyond any party-polit-ical expediencies, we shall attempt in continuation to recall certainvital priorities which, not only every Politician and Social orSpiritual leader should be obliged to take into consideration, but alsoevery serious and responsible citizen of our still ‘blessed’contempo-rary Australia.

And we call her precisely ‘blessed’, and not ‘The LuckyCountry’ or ‘The Country of Affluence’ (as she used to be character-ized almost out of ingratitude) in order to emphasize for ‘believers’and ‘non-believers’ alike the stunning prospects which such a Landhas, as it continually gravitates towards the Centre of ‘balance’among the now noticeably gestating ‘Superpowers’ of the SouthernHemisphere.

The balance meant here, however, is not related to thedeceptive, or at least uncertain, political ‘vocabulary’ of ‘globaliza-tion’ which has set neutral ‘tolerance’ as its highest moral ideal.Here, in contrast, there prevails, as a fundamental postulate, the com-passionate ‘cohesion’ of life in communion.

If the language of the globalizing ‘free market’, parallelwith the social slogans regarding supposed ‘equal rights’ and ‘equalopportunities’ – as though there is no internal contradiction ofterms (!) - dares to project the ‘competitive’ character of humanactivity in all fields as a sample, indeed, of ‘progress’ and ‘develop-ment’, then the vigilant benevolence of the ‘Social State’ readily dis-covers that ‘compassion’, rather than ‘competition’, is more cre-ative, so that the legendary ‘Social Security’ is truly safeguarded.

Let us now remind readers that, unquestionably, we have noreason to doubt that Mr Howard not only knows but also according-ly appreciates the benefits of ‘multi-culturalism’ which the ethnical-ly diverse Australia of his day enjoys abundantly. Additionally, wehave no right to doubt the responsibility of the Prime Minister tostress at all times to every Australian citizen how important andessentially significant his or her sincere and willing integration into

the national Whole is for national unity and peace. However, theseself-understood obligations of every new fellow-citizen, asadoptees of this welcoming Country, are not secured of course onlyby the learning of the English language and by the adoption of all thecustoms and the phobic ‘exclusivist’ mentality of the Anglo Saxons.

If the requirement for integration is expressed somewhattechnocratically as simply ‘sailing together’ in the ‘mainstream’,this does not mean that the requirement and the need for ‘multi-cul-turalism’ are satisfied adequately by such linguistic forms. On thecontrary, such ‘terminology’, instead of being unifying and inclusiveof the totality of its citizens, even if inadvertently, always remindsone of separation between a ‘Centre’ and the ‘Periphery’.

But we must acknowledge that even the slogan ‘multi-cul-turalism’ by which we sing our own praises to the rest of the world– not always without justification – has not borne fruit as it shouldhave. And if, in the present state, we find ourselves in an incompara-bly pioneering position, it would not harm us to remember that thisslogan of itself does not constitute the ‘magic wand’, as used byCirce to transform ‘pigs’ into humans!

No one doubts, however, that the acceptance with joy andpride of the ‘cultures’ of all peoples taken in by modern Australia,and for the public ‘Purse’ to be providing enormous sums of money,as nowhere else, for the preservation and cultivation of as manylanguages (in School, Radio, Television and other programmes, inTheatrical Performances and Festivals, in Homes for the Aged, inPre-Schools etc) truly demonstrates, together with many types ofbenefits for people in special circumstances, a unique social sensitiv-ity on the part of the State.

Yet, despite this, the extent to which the meaning of ‘cul-ture’ has degenerated today, inevitably also ‘sweeps away’ thedesired cosmopolitan calibre of ‘multi-culturalism’.

In other times, by the term ‘culture’ we meant the achieve-ments of a particular people, or of a wider field, in the Arts andHumanities, especially in ‘monuments’ which perpetuate, for thegenerations that follow, the degree of cultivation accomplished byman – at various times and places – during his struggle for refine-ment.

Today, the criteria for evaluating ‘Fine Arts’ and ‘Culture’have become entirely subjective, and the terms under which themorals of people are ‘refined’ have become fluid and vague, if notalmost inhuman.

And so, we hear of various ‘operators’ boasting that theysupposedly ‘produce culture’ as ‘performers’ of all sorts who ‘enter-tain’ the boredom or the grief of fatigued man, but not of the real‘creators’ who open paths to the future, as ‘Prophets’ and ‘Pioneers’.

However, to the extent that even the simplest details consti-tute ‘elements of culture’, as well as the manner in which each peo-ple confronts its various individual and collective daily needs (fromfood, dress, education, leisure and professions up to the highestforms of Art and Science), it appears that the wise observation “thesoul of culture is the culture of the soul” will have eternal validity!

For all of the above reasons, the level of ‘multi-culturalism’which culturally diverse modern Australia has reached, i.e. to thepoint where she does not simply ‘accept’ but also ‘celebrates’ the‘cultural diversity’ of her ethnic groups (a diversity that ‘supple-ments what is deficient’!), should not and cannot constitute the lastand absolute target of a great and courageous ‘Multination’. Ournext upmost aim, after ‘Multi-culturalism’, must be ‘Multi-human-ism’.

For, if ‘culture’ gladly assumes and accepts selectively onlythe ‘achievements’ of man, then ‘humanism’, by contrast, is obligedto accept and include ‘the entire person’! In other words, not only the‘achievements’ of his various abilities and talents, but also the fail-ures of his weaknesses and deficiencies.

Only in such an ‘exaltation’ of the highest order would webe entitled to ‘boast’ that we have begun to experience in actuality thetrue ‘grandeur’ of the Human. Only then will we be able to say thatwe were privileged to have seen in the person of the ‘other’ our own‘self’.

Translated by FSS

EVEN ‘MULTICULTURALISM’

IS NOT ENOUGH!


Our Primate’s View

By ArchbishopStylianos

of Australia

FEBRUARY 2007

The ‘explanations’ which our Prime Minister, Mr JohnHoward, hastened to give regarding the unexpected and certainlyunfathomable recent name-change of the relevant Department, from‘Immigration and Multicultural Affairs’ to ‘Immigration andCitizenship’, do not appear under any circumstances to have con-vinced the democratically-minded citizens of this nation that, withthe change in mention, the spirit of ‘Multiculturalism’ is supposedly‘not in the least damaged’.

And they have not been convinced for the simple reasonthat contemporary ethnically diverse Australia – after more than halfa century of intransigent Anglo Saxon racism – has finally achieved,at least in the last 30 years, an enviable level of ‘egalitarianism’ andsocial ‘justice’ for all its citizens, regardless of race, gender, colour,religion or ideology.

For an, until recently, arrogant ‘White Australia’ to achievesuch political and social maturity, is the result of both discernibleand in-discernible fermentations, which no one can now overturn orhalt.

Because Australia, which up until the beginning of the 20th

century was considered one of the most backward and unknowncountries with its almost mythical ‘periphery’ of various indigenouspeoples within Oceania, ultimately appears to have been ‘chosen’ byDivine Providence to undergo the most unlikely ‘transformations’in an incomparably more rapid time-frame than other Continents, sothat today it is justifiably considered the most ‘compassionate’ soci-ety in the world.

If, indeed, we take into consideration the fact that indige-nous peoples generally possess a highly developed ‘intuition’, incomparison with those who are supposedly ‘advanced’, we couldperhaps assume that the Aboriginal perception of mathematical orhistorical time as ‘dreamtime’ may well have been, by design, pre-disposed to the aforementioned or similar ‘transformations’.

Nonetheless, Anglo Saxon government policy towardMigrants, since the establishment of the Federation which, as isknown, coincided with the beginning of the 20th century, wasamended gradually under three successive slogans - from the initialAssimilation, followed by Integration to so-calledMulticulturalism of the last 30 years - has enshrined so many ‘hid-den powers’ regarding the potential of this martyric Land, that nomatter what opportunistic ‘agendas’ the ‘nomenclature’ of the Stateor Federal governments might attempt to engineer in the future, suchactions could no longer allow for a regression, unless they arose outof entirely catastrophic circumstances.

With the devout and pan-human optimism expressed by theabove unselfish observations of the writer, beyond any party-polit-ical expediencies, we shall attempt in continuation to recall certainvital priorities which, not only every Politician and Social orSpiritual leader should be obliged to take into consideration, but alsoevery serious and responsible citizen of our still ‘blessed’contempo-rary Australia.

And we call her precisely ‘blessed’, and not ‘The LuckyCountry’ or ‘The Country of Affluence’ (as she used to be character-ized almost out of ingratitude) in order to emphasize for ‘believers’and ‘non-believers’ alike the stunning prospects which such a Landhas, as it continually gravitates towards the Centre of ‘balance’among the now noticeably gestating ‘Superpowers’ of the SouthernHemisphere.

The balance meant here, however, is not related to thedeceptive, or at least uncertain, political ‘vocabulary’ of ‘globaliza-tion’ which has set neutral ‘tolerance’ as its highest moral ideal.Here, in contrast, there prevails, as a fundamental postulate, the com-passionate ‘cohesion’ of life in communion.

If the language of the globalizing ‘free market’, parallelwith the social slogans regarding supposed ‘equal rights’ and ‘equalopportunities’ – as though there is no internal contradiction ofterms (!) - dares to project the ‘competitive’ character of humanactivity in all fields as a sample, indeed, of ‘progress’ and ‘develop-ment’, then the vigilant benevolence of the ‘Social State’ readily dis-covers that ‘compassion’, rather than ‘competition’, is more cre-ative, so that the legendary ‘Social Security’ is truly safeguarded.

Let us now remind readers that, unquestionably, we have noreason to doubt that Mr Howard not only knows but also according-ly appreciates the benefits of ‘multi-culturalism’ which the ethnical-ly diverse Australia of his day enjoys abundantly. Additionally, wehave no right to doubt the responsibility of the Prime Minister tostress at all times to every Australian citizen how important andessentially significant his or her sincere and willing integration into

the national Whole is for national unity and peace. However, theseself-understood obligations of every new fellow-citizen, asadoptees of this welcoming Country, are not secured of course onlyby the learning of the English language and by the adoption of all thecustoms and the phobic ‘exclusivist’ mentality of the Anglo Saxons.

If the requirement for integration is expressed somewhattechnocratically as simply ‘sailing together’ in the ‘mainstream’,this does not mean that the requirement and the need for ‘multi-cul-turalism’ are satisfied adequately by such linguistic forms. On thecontrary, such ‘terminology’, instead of being unifying and inclusiveof the totality of its citizens, even if inadvertently, always remindsone of separation between a ‘Centre’ and the ‘Periphery’.

But we must acknowledge that even the slogan ‘multi-cul-turalism’ by which we sing our own praises to the rest of the world– not always without justification – has not borne fruit as it shouldhave. And if, in the present state, we find ourselves in an incompara-bly pioneering position, it would not harm us to remember that thisslogan of itself does not constitute the ‘magic wand’, as used byCirce to transform ‘pigs’ into humans!

No one doubts, however, that the acceptance with joy andpride of the ‘cultures’ of all peoples taken in by modern Australia,and for the public ‘Purse’ to be providing enormous sums of money,as nowhere else, for the preservation and cultivation of as manylanguages (in School, Radio, Television and other programmes, inTheatrical Performances and Festivals, in Homes for the Aged, inPre-Schools etc) truly demonstrates, together with many types ofbenefits for people in special circumstances, a unique social sensitiv-ity on the part of the State.

Yet, despite this, the extent to which the meaning of ‘cul-ture’ has degenerated today, inevitably also ‘sweeps away’ thedesired cosmopolitan calibre of ‘multi-culturalism’.

In other times, by the term ‘culture’ we meant the achieve-ments of a particular people, or of a wider field, in the Arts andHumanities, especially in ‘monuments’ which perpetuate, for thegenerations that follow, the degree of cultivation accomplished byman – at various times and places – during his struggle for refine-ment.

Today, the criteria for evaluating ‘Fine Arts’ and ‘Culture’have become entirely subjective, and the terms under which themorals of people are ‘refined’ have become fluid and vague, if notalmost inhuman.

And so, we hear of various ‘operators’ boasting that theysupposedly ‘produce culture’ as ‘performers’ of all sorts who ‘enter-tain’ the boredom or the grief of fatigued man, but not of the real‘creators’ who open paths to the future, as ‘Prophets’ and ‘Pioneers’.

However, to the extent that even the simplest details consti-tute ‘elements of culture’, as well as the manner in which each peo-ple confronts its various individual and collective daily needs (fromfood, dress, education, leisure and professions up to the highestforms of Art and Science), it appears that the wise observation “thesoul of culture is the culture of the soul” will have eternal validity!

For all of the above reasons, the level of ‘multi-culturalism’which culturally diverse modern Australia has reached, i.e. to thepoint where she does not simply ‘accept’ but also ‘celebrates’ the‘cultural diversity’ of her ethnic groups (a diversity that ‘supple-ments what is deficient’!), should not and cannot constitute the lastand absolute target of a great and courageous ‘Multination’. Ournext upmost aim, after ‘Multi-culturalism’, must be ‘Multi-human-ism’.

For, if ‘culture’ gladly assumes and accepts selectively onlythe ‘achievements’ of man, then ‘humanism’, by contrast, is obligedto accept and include ‘the entire person’! In other words, not only the‘achievements’ of his various abilities and talents, but also the fail-ures of his weaknesses and deficiencies.

Only in such an ‘exaltation’ of the highest order would webe entitled to ‘boast’ that we have begun to experience in actuality thetrue ‘grandeur’ of the Human. Only then will we be able to say thatwe were privileged to have seen in the person of the ‘other’ our own‘self’.

Translated by FSS

EVEN ‘MULTICULTURALISM’

IS INADEQUATE!

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA6/24 FEBRUARY 2007

Greek pupils demand Elgin Marbles Greek schoolchildren have demonstratedat the Acropolis in Athens to demand thatthe UK returns marble sculptures taken byLord Elgin 200 years ago.

Wearing orange jackets bearing campaignlogos, about 2,000 pupils formed a humanchain around the monument.

The marbles are part of the Parthenon, a2,500-year-old temple.

Greece has long campaigned for the mar-bles’return. But the British Museum says theyare better off in London, safe from pollutiondamage in Athens.

Organisers said the marbles were Greece’spride and dignity. They said the symbol ofGreek democracy had lain mutilated for twocenturies.

Campaigners have collected 65,000 signa-tures and sent 900 letters of protest to the headof the British Museum in London. The marbles were removed by British envoy

Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19thCentury.

The Greek government has for years cam-paigned for their return, saying they were ille-gally removed.

The museum says it is not at liberty to givethem back, and believes they are well lookedafter and available for millions of visitors tosee in London.

It says the marbles are safe from Athens’spollution that has damaged those still there.

An organiser of the protest said campaignerswould soon stage a similar event at the BritishMuseum.

Other cities which hold pieces of the templeto the goddess Athena include Paris, Vienna,Palermo and Munich, according to the Greekculture ministry.

New life for old Elgin Marbles?

One of the greatest artworks of all time isscattered in fragments across Europe. Butthere is now a way to view the survivingParthenon sculptures together for the firsttime - a virtual reconstruction.

They’re still magnificent nearly 2,500 yearsafter being carved, but the sculptures of the

Parthenon are a bit like sad ghosts - pale, bat-tered, half-lost and spread far and wide.

The fragments are strewn across 10 muse-ums in eight countries. The Greeks are keen toreunite these in a purpose-built museum with-in sight of the ruined temple the frieze onceadorned.

But the British Museum, the guardian of theElgin Marbles - which were cut from theParthenon 200 years ago - is reluctant to let itsprized possession go. Its argument goes thathalf the Parthenon sculptures are lost forever,and the rest are so scattered and damaged thatit is no longer possible to recreate them in anyreal sense. A better solution is a computerreconstruction, which will give a more com-plete sense of how the whole might once havelooked.

The University of Southern California’sInstitute for Creative Technologies is at workon just such as project. It has produced 152high-resolution models of the sculptures, andproduced images which show each in its orig-inal position.

And work has begun on a separate schemeto laser scan each piece of the scattered stonesat the National Museums Liverpool’s conser-vation centre. Sculpture department head

John Larson hopes to use the scans to producemarble copies.

Narrative in stone

All museums with parts of the sculptureshave agreed to collaborate on the project,although it is not yet clear whether the GreekMinistry of Culture will take part.

The work holds out the possibility of com-bining data from the surviving pieces, casts offragments which have been destroyed, andexpert reconstructions of those portions whichhave vanished.

There are hopes that one day all 524ft(160m) of the frieze, showing in life-likedetail the men, women, horses and sacrificialanimals which took part in the annualPanathenaic procession, may be depicted inimages or 3-D replicas.

The pediments and metopes (vignettes instone of mythological battles), may also bereproduced - and in colour, for it is thoughtthat the Greeks made vibrant use of paint intheir artworks.

Also able to be added in virtual reality arethe metal attachments - harnesses, weapons,staffs and wreaths - which once adorned theoriginals.

Viewing the sculptures is like finding thephoto album of a long-lost people who stillinfluence our art, literature and democracy.

But where best to see a reconstruction of thistreasure of the ancient world? No decisionshave been made yet on whether copies - eithervirtual or replicas - will be available at theBritish Museum, although this could be a con-tingency plan should the Greeks’ calls forreturn of the stones prove successful.

A new campaign to return to the ElginMarbles to Athens has been launched. TheGreeks have offered to accept the Londonsculptures as a loan - which would sidestepthe issue of ownership - but the BritishMuseum is reluctant to give up the stones.

Museum director Neil MacGregor saysthere is no need to discuss what to do if theElgin Marbles go back to Greece - becausethey’re not going. “The British Museum is thebest possible place for the Parthenon sculp-tures in its collections to be on display.”

Wherever the stones end up, modern tech-nology has played its part in reviving ancientgenius. The sculptures have inspired lovers ofart and civilisation for centuries. Now, awhole new phase in their influence could beabout to begin.

Greece wants to reunite the surviving stones

Balkan baby trafficking booms in GreeceBy Catherine Boitard

A brown-haired baby girl for 13,000 euros ($A21,389), ablond baby boy 20,000 euros ($A32,906). In Greece the traf-ficking of infants from the Balkans has become a lucrativeand relatively risk-free business.

Encouraging this illegal baby market is a Greek law thatauthorises private adoptions based on a simple agreement,made in the presence of a solicitor, between the natural motherand the adoptive parents.And Greek demand for foreign infants is fuelled by one of the

European Union's (EU) lowest birth rates - only around 1.3children per woman against 1.5 in the bloc overall, according toEU statistics.In theory it is forbidden to pay money for the babies.But in practice, business is booming.Middle men, baby procurers, lawyers, corrupt solicitors and

gynecologists have stepped into the breach and created "verita-ble small-scale trafficking firms", according to AntoniaAndreakou, the head of the Greek anti-human traffickingbrigade.

The trafficking is exacerbated by a deadline imposed by thesocial services, which give couples a maximum of five years tofind a suitable adoptee in a public orphanage or other institu-tion, Costas Yiannopoulos, head of the child protection charityThe Child's Smile, told AFP.

Given the dearth of babies available through such officialchannels, the simplest solution is to find a candidate - often ayoung Roma woman from the gypsy slums of Albania orBulgaria - "willing" to give birth inside Greece and hand overher child.Spurred on by extreme poverty, unemployment and prejudice

against gypsies, these Roma communities appear to be easyprey for trafficking rings.

"Gypsies are usually very attached to their children and thebirth of such trade can only be explained by the misery anddespair they live in," said Antonina Zhelyazkova, head of theCentre for the Study of Ethnic Relations in the Bulgarian capi-tal, Sofia.

Some of the natural mothers appear to be the victims of elab-orate scams. In March 2006, four pregnant Bulgarians were dis-covered by police in a flat in the central Greek town of Lamia.They said they had been lured by false promises of jobs, onlyto be kidnapped by two of their compatriots.

Greek police are also investigating the circumstances sur-rounding a 14-year-old Bulgarian girl who gave birth in late2006 in a hospital on the island of Crete.These natural mothers generally receive the relatively modest

sum of 3,000 ($A4,936) to 4,000 euros ($A6,581) for handingover their child and are often forced into the baby trade. If theyare under-age, they may even be coerced into it by their ownfamilies, according to anti-trafficking charity Arsis.

But even when police catch child traffickers in the act, large-ly by posing as people seeking to adopt, they have a hard timeproving the law has been broken, said Andreakou of the anti-trafficking brigade.

"There is de facto impunity," said Yiannopoulos.In 2005, the Greek police officially registered just one case of

illegal adoption across the entire country, for which they arrest-ed a Bulgarian man. Over the same period the social servicessupervised 40 private adoptions in the centre of Athens alone.Most of the children involved were foreign.

The discrepancy appears to be narrowing slightly, thanks toincreased cooperation with Bulgaria, which joined theEuropean Union on January 1.In the first half of 2006, Greek police registered nine question-

able adoptions.But in spite of this slight progress, some experts are pes-

simistic about stopping the illegal trade."Unfortunately, it's often better for the sale to go ahead so the

child does not have to face dire poverty within its natural fam-ily or destitution in a Greek orphanage," said one child protec-tion expert on condition of anonymity.That view is easy to confirm in Bulgaria itself."We are poor and unemployed and there are people who agree

to sell their babies," said a young gypsy woman begging at acrossroads in Sofia with an infant on her lap.

"Is it better to sell or leave the rest of the children in the fam-ily starving?"

Once the new-born baby is under the roof of his or her adop-tive Greek parents, the latter have six months to get the dealapproved by the courts.

In that time the natural mother often vanishes. "Even if shecan't be found the court can give its approval (to the adoption)if it appears to guarantee the child's interests," explained MariaReppas, a social worker in the adoptions department of Athenscity council.

In theory, social services monitor the adopting families butexperts say lack of staff means this follow-up regularly fails tohappen in practice.

AFP

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 7/25FEBRUARY 2007

Economy

enjoys

good start

to the year

The Australian economy has got offto its best possible start to the year withinflation pressures easing and unem-ployment at a 30-year low, PrimeMinister John Howard said recently.

Mr Howard said that the latest infla-tion data was good news.

“Whether, ultimately, it means therewill be no interest rate rise this year,that’s too early to say,” Mr Howardtold Southern Cross Broadcasting.

Economists doubt the reserve bankwill now need to raise interest rates inthe short-term following the release ofthe recent consumer price index (CPI)figures, but there are mixed views as towhether rates will rise or fall by the endof year.

The fourth quarter CPI unexpectedlyfell 0.1 per cent in the quarter to be 3.3per cent higher than a year earlier,down from 3.9 per cent in the year toSeptember.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has atwo to three per cent inflation target.

Its own measures of underlying infla-tion also were more subdued thaneconomists had forecast, lessening theneed for an imminent rise in interestrates.

“It’s the best possible start to the yearin relation to interest rates,” MrHoward said.

The RBA raised interest rates threetimes last year - in May, August andNovember - in an attempt to curb bal-looning price pressures that were large-ly caused by rising oil and food prices.

AAP

Foreign students graduating despite poor EnglishUniversities faced tough questions about large numbers of foreignstudents graduating with English so poor they couldn’t find work intheir chosen profession, demographer Professor Bob Birrell saidrecently.

Prof Birrell, author of a new study on the English language abilities ofAustralia’s 239,000 foreign students, said those with poor English werecapable of handling social situations but fell way short of the capacity towrite at a professional level.

“It means we are graduating large numbers of people whose English iswell short of the standard you would expect for a university graduate,” hetold ABC Radio.

“It means the universities have got to ask some serious questions aboutwhat they are producing.

“Universities ought to be insisting on at least modest English for peoplestarting their courses, since it obviously makes a mockery of the trainingprocess if the students can’t comprehend what their lecturers are tellingthem or have difficulty writing in good English when it comes to essaywork.

“The findings do put some hard questions to the universities.”Prof Birrell said they also posed hard questions to authorities charged

with attesting to graduates’ English language abilities.In his study, reported in today’s Fairfax newspapers, Prof Birrell, direc-

tor of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Melbourne’sMonash University, found more than a third of overseas students study-

ing in Australia were completing their degrees with English so poor theyshould not have been admitted in the first place.

He found more than half of South Korean and Thai students could notmeet required English levels.

Universities did not conduct their own tests of English language abilityand relied on the Department of Immigration for issuing higher educationvisas.

Prof Birrell said the government required a test conducted overseas forthose coming directly to Australia. But a third were entering universitieswithout having passed that test.

“The government is assuming that the various pathway programs theydo once they get there will bring their English up to standard. But theseresults indicate that is not the case,” he said.

“Many staff spend countless hours trying to help students get up to thestandard necessary. It is widely recognised as a problem. But until theseresults have come out, we haven’t had the firm evidence to indicate thescale of the problem.

“Employers are telling us that a large proportion are not capable of func-tioning at a professional level and they are not gaining employment at thatlevel.”

Prof Birrell said this was a problem wherever universities depended onoverseas students for revenue.

“There is clearly a conflict of interest here,” he said.AAP

Facts & Stats

Prime Minister John Howard

Australia now in top 10 of most globalised countriesAustralia is now in the world’s top ten ofmost globalised countries, helped by the cur-rent resources boom and an improved tech-nological performance, a survey showedrecently.

David Hovenden, managing director of man-agement consultant firm AT Kearney Australia,said globalisation continues to move aheaddespite worldwide economic and political insta-bility, although it is advancing on different pathsin different nations.

Australia has been propelled by high com-modity prices, which benefited the country’smining industry, combined with strong services,greater foreign investment, and good tourism

outcomes.“Australia is no longer an island in the true

sense of the word,” he said.“Increasingly, our economic strength and suc-

cess will depend on our connectivity to the restof the world, so the fact we are improving in thisaspect bodes well for our future prosperity.”

Technology performance contributed most toAustralia’s rise up the 2006 AT Kearney/FOR-EIGN POLICY Globalisation Index to eighthplace, up four spots from the previous survey.

This was based on the number of Australia’sinternet users, internet hosts, and secure serversthrough which encrypted transactions are car-ried out.

“Put simply, Australians are keen to be global-ly connected,” Mr Hovenden said.

The index is an annual study which assessesthe extent to which nations accounting for themajority of the world’s population are becom-ing more or less globally connected.Only one other Asia-Pacific country scoredahead of Australia.

Based on 2004 data, Singapore took the topspot due to its technological connectivity to therest of the world, measured in terms of internethosts and secure servers per capita.Switzerland was in second place and the UnitedStates third.

AAP

Dozens arrested

in Italy for trafficking

antiquities

Police in Italy say they've arrested 35people and seized about two thousandantiquities in a Europe-wide crackdownon a gang of traffickers in ancient arte-facts.

Police say the archeological piecescame from clandestine digs in Sicily,then on-sold in Italy, Europe and theUS.

The items seized include Greek,Roman and Byzantine vases statuettesand coins.

Another 17 people are under investi-gation and searches are being carriedout in Zurich .. Munich and Barcelona.

AAP RTV

UK govt has chickened out of fighting obesity The British government is failing to tacklethe nation's obesity crisis over fears of beingbranded a "nanny state", an expert saidrecently.

Professor Peter Kopelman called for "less talkand more action" and said ministers shouldtoughen up their stance.

Healthy food should be subsidised andunhealthy food taxed, and cash for tackling obe-sity specifically used at a local level, he said.

Furthermore, the food and drinks industryshould be forced to comply with measures topromote healthy living.Prof Kopelman has worked in the field of obe-

sity for 30 years and previously ran an obesityclinic at the Royal London Hospital.

He is now director of the Faculty of Health atthe University of East Anglia in Norwich.Merely informing people about healthy choic-

es was not the best way to tackle the growingproblem, he said.

"That has never worked in the past for publichealth and I don't think it will help in the future,"he said.

Disparate methods of food labelling meantpeople got confused and could "switch off"from healthy messages.

And he drew parallels with the drive overmany years to stop people smoking.

"We went through 40 years before legislationwas actually enacted," he said, adding that itwas only when cigarette packets carried warn-ings and curbs were placed on advertising thatthe number of smokers began to fall.

Legislation could include banning unhealthy

food advertising to children rather than the"watered down" version being considered byregulators Ofcom, he said.A "fat tax" on unhealthy foods could be intro-

duced, although subsidising healthy food wouldbe preferable, he said.

Supermarkets and manufacturers could begiven tax incentives to promote healthy foodsand more could be done at EU level, he said.

Measures to improve exercise habits couldinclude curbing traffic in city centres, bettertown planning and encouraging people to walkor use bikes.

While the government was undertaking someof these initiatives "on paper", implementationwas "actually very, very sparse", Prof Kopel-man said.One of the biggest problems was that the gov-

ernment feared being branded a nanny state butthe future of children's health was at stake, heargued.

"We have seen an enormous volume of publi-cations about obesity and policies to restrict andreduce it over the years but few policies havebeen actively implemented and none have beensuccessful to date," he said.

"What is perhaps most frustrating of all is thefailure of prevention programs due to govern-ments' fears of being branded nanny states.

"In my view a good nanny advises, informsand supports but also, on occasions, enforces."

A Department of Health report published lastyear predicted that more than 12 million Britishadults and one million children will be obese by2010.

A third of adults and a fifth of all children will

be obese, leading to greater incidences of can-cer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, it said.

Prof Kopelman said: "In many ways, the obe-sity issue highlights the fact that public healthhas been left in the 20th century.

"We need much more innovative methods topersuade people to change their lifestyles for the21st century, supported by a regulatory and leg-islative framework."A spokeswoman for the Department of Health

said tackling obesity was a government priority."Our public health agenda is the first concert-

ed attempt to seriously tackle rising levels ofobesity," she said."Huge progress has been made already in start-

ing to change attitudes through the 5-A-Daycampaign, the school fruit scheme and moreinvestment in school food.

"We are working across government, with thefood, leisure and sports industries and consumerorganisations to help children and adults leadhealthier, more active lives.

"Government is committed to tackling obesi-ty especially in children and has set out a pro-gram of preventative action to help people leadhealthier lives."This includes front of packet labelling to help

people make healthy eating choices, restrictingfood promotion and advertising to children,massive investment in healthier school meals,the healthy schools program and health trainers."Through the local exercise action pilots we've

assessed what works in helping people becomemore physically active."

PA


Windows to Orthodoxy

FEBRUARY 2007

The Great Ball Lightning EventBy Guy Freeland *

Twice a year something very special takes place at StAndrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney. Fortwo weeks in January and again in July the College holds inten-sive vacation schools open to any adult – whether Orthodox ornon-Orthodox, Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female(apologies to St Paul) - with a thirst for the living waters ofWisdom.

Yes, the crystal clear waters flow freely, but WHERE AREYOU ALL? Just down the road the Anglican MooreTheological College is bursting at the seams, while the sound ofour feet echoes off the walls of our elegant but sparsely popu-lated hall. The reapers await, but where is the harvest? Witheredon the stony ground, wilted at the stem like the crops afflictedby the great drying out of much of Australia?

But are numbers everything (in January, the first week of ourintensives we had twelve customers, the second eight)? Atchapel one morning of the second week we read those beauti-ful words of Christ:

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32 RSV).”

And there around me was Christ’s little flock. Would this lit-tle flock flutter off on Friday and inspire others with the zeal ofthe Lord? Yes, indeed it would!

The MA in Theological Studies

St Andrew’s is a full member institution of the SydneyCollege of Divinity (SCD), a federation of university level the-ological colleges of several denominations. All of the units thatwe teach by means of five-day vacation schools can be count-ed towards a Master of Arts degree program in theological stud-ies designed for graduates with qualifications in fields otherthan theology. Students do not have to complete all twelvecourse units required for a Master’s degree but can hop off thetram with a SCD Graduate Certificate (four units) or Diploma(eight units).

But our doors are not closed to non-graduates, any one canapply to attend the vacation schools as an auditor (literally,“hearer”). Auditors are expected to participate fully in schoolsbut are not required to complete essays or other assessmenttasks, and the fees are lower than for those enrolled with theSCD. Attend four schools and we will award you a CollegeCertificate of Participation to hang on your wall - though,unlike accredited SCD qualifications, you will not be able touse it as a meal ticket.

What subjects do we teach by means of intensives? Units, allof which are taught exclusively in English, range across thefields of theology (including patristics), biblical studies, liturgi-cal studies and Church history. The College has designated twosubjects as foundation units, Introduction to BiblicalHermeneutics (hermeneutics is theory of interpretation in con-trast to the practice of interpretation, which is exegesis) andIntroducing Theology. Currently, we teach the two foundationsubjects by means of vacation schools in alternate years (2008,2010 etc). **

Those Special Weeks

So, what is special about St Andrew’s intensive weeks?As I am actively engaged in coordinating and teaching vaca-

tion schools, it would be inappropriate for me to comment onthe quality of the lectures. Suffice it to say, I have personallyheard many truly excellent lectures by both faculty and visitinglecturers. But about other things I can enthuse to my heart’scontent.

First, it is our wonderful students, the crème de la crème ofthe laity (with the occasional priest or deacon), who make ourintensives so special. These are women and men, often withdemanding jobs and / or heavy family responsibilities, whogive up several weeks a year to attend schools, and most ofwhom then go back home to work away at assignments. Withyoung people leaving the life of the Church in droves, neverwas there such a need for a core of theologically educated layOrthodox.

The second thing that is so special about St Andrew’s inten-sive weeks is that they are far more than just academic lectureseries. For the weeks that they are with us, students areimmersed in the same authentically Orthodox ethos of prayer,worship, fellowship, study, reflection and discussion as are ourpastoral studies and Bachelor of Theology students who arewith us most of the year.

So normally, every day starts with a short service in Englishin the College’s beautiful little chapel of St John the Divine /Evangelist (or perhaps on one or even two days a Liturgy in theCathedral) and ends with evening prayers.

Coffee / tea breaks and lunch (all included) give opportunityfor students not only to get to know one another but also to chatinformally with lecturers. Similarly, the College’s well-stockedlibrary is not only a place to browse amongst the shelves, roundup material for assignments or to do a little private study but isanother place to interact with lecturers and fellow students, notto mention our inimitable and super-helpful librarian, ChrisHarvey.

But above all what impresses me most about our specialweeks is the palpable presence of the Holy Spirit. This is a con-stant, but it was the very first school that I coordinated, inJanuary 2004, the year that we commenced intensives, that ismost deeply etched on my memory.

Wherever the Holy Spirit is present in power strange thingstend to happen. They happened that week. Let me tell you ofthe strangest happening of all, an event so strange that I got theeyewitnesses to record their experience at the time.

Ball Lightning Visits the Library

The event occurred on Thursday, January 22 shortly before7.30 pm, though no one recorded the exact time. I left shortlyafter evening chapel but some of the students stayed on to workin the library. Chris Harvey and three students, one a presbytera- let us call them Faith, Hope and Presbytera Charity - were stillin the library when the visitation occurred.

The library is situated at the first floor level up external stairsfrom a courtyard. As one passes through the door at the top ofthe steps, one enters an open area with the Librarian’s desk ashort distance across to one’s left. Ahead is a small round tableand chairs behind which is the wall of the photocopying room.Today this wall is covered by a bookcase, but in 2004 it wasblank save for an icon of St Andrew with a shiny metal cover.

That evening there was a violent storm directly over StAndrew’s, with thunder, lightning and rain. When the stormappeared to have died down, Chris turned off the air condition-ing, opened the library door to let the cooling breeze in, andreturned to his desk.

Faith could not see the entrance area at all as she was at therear of the library. For Chris, at his desk, the library door wasahead and to his right. From this vantage point, he had a perfectview of any one (or any thing!) passing through the door intothe library (that is the way he likes it).

Hope had just left the photocopying room and taken a coupleof steps in the direction of the door. From her position shewould have seen anything coming through the door almosthead on. Presbytera Charity was seated at the round table withher back to the door, facing the icon of St Andrew. The scenewas set.

There was a deafening crack and a ball of incandescent bluelight shot through the open door 5-6 feet above the floor. It trav-elled about 10 feet into the entrance area to just behind the headof the Presbytera and then abruptly vanished.

Chris, viewing the phenomenon from the side, experienced itas a line of light that resolved itself as a sphere just before dis-appearing. Hope, seeing it head on, saw it as a “brilliant blueball of light” framed by the doorway. Faith was unable to seethe phenomenon but she heard a very loud noise which sound-ed like an explosion.Presbytera Charity had her back to the door but incredibly saw

the ball of light reflected in the metal cover of the icon. It was,she said, “as if the icon had caught the thunder”.

Immediately following the event it was discovered that bothof the library’s computers were out of action (next day it wasfound that most phones and computers in the Archdiocesanoffices were dead). A smell of burning was coming from out-side the door, where the shattered witnesses believed lightning

had struck. “We had a look outside for scorch marks,” Hopewrote, “but couldn’t find anything and Presbytera Charity furi-ously continued her prayer knots.” And then it started to rainagain.

What is Ball Lightning?

There seems no doubt that a sphere of ball lightning enteredthe library, immediately following a lightning strike outside.Ball lightning is a rare and bizarre meteorological phenomenonthat seems to defy the laws of physics. Indeed, most scientistswere sceptical that such a phenomenon could occur. That is,until a group of scientists flying to Washington one stormynight in 1963 witnessed it for themselves. Emerging throughthe wall of the pilot’s cabin, a blue sphere of light, about 20 cmin diameter, drifted down the aisle of the passenger cabin anddisappeared through the rear of the plane.

Ball lightning normally forms following a lightning strike andis usually experienced as a solid-looking incandescent sphere oflight of c. 15 cm in diameter, which is about the diameter esti-mated by Chris. It can, however, be much larger or smaller. Itmight be of any colour but blue is common.

It can pass through solid structures but likes exploring openand enclosed spaces. It has been known to enter by one door ofa house, drift around from room to room, and leave by anotherdoor!

It seems that it can last anything up to five minutes and oftendisappears with a loud bang. This might well have happenedwith St Andrew’s ball as Faith reported an explosive noisewhich she was certain came from within the library itself.

Several scientific theories have been proposed but noneappears to account for all of the phenomena. Inevitably, somelunatics have suggested lightning balls are aliens trying to col-lect human DNA.

Ball lightning does not have the reputation for being particu-larly dangerous but it does have at least one fatality to its cred-it; as it happens, the first recorded instance of the phenomenon.In 1754, a Dr Richmann of St Petersburg decided to repeatBenjamin Franklin’s famous experiment on lightning. As he didso, a large sphere of ball lightning suddenly manifested itself,struck him on the head and killed him. ***Was Presbytera Charity in serious danger of meeting the same

fate? Did our patron, St Andrew, intervene and draw the light-ning into his icon? Did a miracle occur that stormy evening?If by “miracle” one means an event which violates the laws of

nature, then great scepticism is called for. Orthodoxy has beenaverse to ascribing phenomena to the supernatural, preferring torestrict the denotation of “supernatural” to the supercelestial,supersensible eternal domain. There is not the slightest reasonto suppose that the St Andrew’s event was beyond the limits ofscientific explanation.

An extraordinary occurrence, a wonder? Certainly. A sign?Possibly. (But isn’t a sign an event to which we ascribe mean-ing?) Strange coincidence? Of course.

Coincidences belong to the realm of natural (scientificallyexplicable, at least in principle) phenomena. But many eventswhich people are given to calling “miracles” are in fact won-drous coincidences. As William Temple, Archbishop ofCanterbury, noted: “When I pray, coincidences happen – whenI don’t, they don’t!” Indeed, the Holy Spirit acts mysteriouslythrough the silence of prayer.

Wonders I cannot promise you, should you join us at StAndrew’s in July or January, a spiritually and intellectually re-juvenating experience I can.

* Guy Freeland teaches hermeneutics and liturgical studies atSt Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College.

** Readers interested in vacation schools, the SCD MA pro-gram, or other offerings of St Andrew’s, should contact theCollege Registrar for a Handbook and further information:Registrar, St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College,242 Cleveland Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 (tel.: 61 2 93196145or 61 2 9698 5066, email: [email protected])..

*** My principal source is: Karl S. Kruszelnicki, ‘Ball Light-ning’, ABC 2004 (www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments).

ProviCare - counselling and rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abuse ph. 1800 010 575


Questions & AnswersCan all sins be forgiven?

Yes, all sins can be forgiven. Another writer from Boston,MA has noted, “Unfortunately, many young people havehad a past of unpleasant experiences. Many young peoplehave stolen, committed adultery, have gone against the Ten

Commandments, have had abortions, and many other bad experiences.But I hope you will mention that God will forgive you if you go tochurch, confess your sin and live and abide by the TenCommandments.” I probably could write an answer to J. T .’s questionwhich might be somewhat more theologically precise, but the spirit ofthe Boston writer’s words are right on target. Only the sin “against theHoly Spirit cannot be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31). The sin against theHoly Spirit is the unwillingness to seek forgiveness through repen-tance. As long as we genuinely repent, God promises to forgive oursins. See your priest or Father Confessor for specific issues.

From the Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers,

by Stanley S. Harakas, published by Light and Life.

If you have any questions about the Orthodox faith which

you would like answered in the VEMA, send them to

Vema -Q.&A.,

P.O.Box M59 Marrickville South,

NSW 2204

or e-mail them to:

[email protected]

QA

Health Minister opens extensions

to Castellorizian Nursing HomeOn Sunday 18 February 2007 the Honou-rable Tony Abbott (photo), Minister forHealth and Ageing officially opened therecently completed extensions to the AgedCare Facility operated by the CastellorizianAged Care Services at 95 Todman AvenueKensington.

In 1981 a charitable trust was established forthe purpose of establishing an Aged CareFacility to provide high quality 24 hour care tothe frail aged within the Australian GreekCommunity. Since operations commenced inFebruary 1985 as the Castellorizian NursingHome, the facility has been upgraded on threeoccasions with two major extensions.Angelo Hatsatouris, Chairman of the Trustees

and the Administrative Committee says thatthe concept of the Facility arose out of a recog-nition by the Castellorizian Ladies Committeeof a need to provide quality high care to mem-bers of the Australian Greek Community, whowere ageing at a higher rate than the generalcommunity because of post World War IIimmigration, which took into account the spe-cial needs of language and cultural differencesand at the same time recognising the uniqueand individual rights of each resident.

“We have been able to cultivate the familynetwork and support networks so our residentsexperience their stay as an extension of thehome as far as that is possible.”

“At the outset many of the aged themselveswere willing supporters and that support hascontinued throughout the Australian Greek andthe community in general.The support of the Castellorizian Ladies Club

Ladies Committee and the tireless efforts ofmembers of the Administrative Committee andTrustees who all give their time voluntarily andthe generous response from the members of thecommunity have enabled the Trustees toachieve their goals.”

The official opening of the new wing, whichcontains a special care unit for residents withdementia has resulted in the increases of bedsfrom 43 to 55 and the reduction of size of bedwards at a cost of $3.5million.The facility recently received further accredi-

tation for a further three (3) years having metall 44 standards.

The guests attended included FederalMember for Kingsford Smith, Peter Garrett,State Member for Heffron Kristina KeneallyM.P., State Member for Maroubra Michael

Daley M.P., Anthony Roberts M.P., representa-tives of the St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Parishof Kingsford, Ioannis Raptakis, ConsulGeneral for Greece, and representatives ofRandwick City Council, Botany Bay CityCouncil and heads of other Australian Greekcommunity groups.

BANKSTOWN MP INSPECTS

DISCOBULOS TRIBUTE

AT HOMEBUSH BAY

OLYMPIC SITE

The State MP for Bankstown, TonyStewart, recently joined with seniorHomebush Bay officials and officials fromthe Australasian Hellenic EducationalProgressive Association (AHEPA) to againinspect the condition of the DiscobulosTribute at the Homebush Bay OlympicSite.

This is the second time in the past 2months that Mr Stewart has personally vis-ited the Discobulos Tribute for inspectionafter concerns were raised about the condi-tion of the overall site during current con-struction programs being undertaken adja-cent to the Tribute’s site.

Mr Stewart said that he was extremelyimpressed with the current condition of thesite and the care now being taken by near-by construction developers, along withHomebush Bay officials to ensure theDiscobulos Tribute and its surroundings areproperly protected and preserved duringthis construction phase.

“Site officials are doing a brilliant jobtowards making sure this amazing tributeprovided through the generosity of theAustralian Greek community is not onlyprotected but also preserved for perpetu-ity”, Mr Stewart said.

“The Discobulos Tribute is surrounded byolive groves that are now in full fruit andwhen the nearby construction is completedadditional measures will be put into place toensure that nearby workers understand thesignificance of this sacred tribute.

“I will again be visiting this site for a fur-ther inspection in early April and I havebeen very pleased to have been an integralpart of not only supporting the DiscobulosTribute’s placement at Homebush Bay, butimportantly now helping to ensure that thisone-of-a-kind tribute remains in place withthe integrity it deserves for perpetuity”, MrStewart said.

Greek film, stage actor

Nikos Kourkoulos dies in AthensGreek film and stage actor Nikos Kour-koulos (photo), who appeared with MelinaMercouri in a Broadway musical and ranthe Greek National Theatre for the past 13years, died of cancer in Athens recentlyaged 73.

Kourkoulos was married to MariannaLatsis, daughter of Greek shipping billionaireJohn Latsis.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlisexpressed his condolences to Kourkoulos'family, describing the actor as "one of thecountry's most important contemporaryactors. "He was not only one of the best ofthe golden age of Greek cinema, but also oneof the most dedicated reformers of modernGreek theatre," Karamanlis said.

Athens-born Kourkoulos made his stagedebut in 1958, and became one of the coun-try's most popular leading men. He appearedin dozens of Greek films from the 1950s tothe early 1980s, and a large number of stageproductions.

In 1967, he appeared with Greek actressand Socialist politician Melina Mercouri in

the Broadway musical Ilya Darling, forwhich he was nominated a Tony award as abest supporting actor.

Kourkoulos' last stage appearance was in a1991 production of Sophocles' Philoctetesplay, at the restored ancient theatre ofEpidaurus in southern Greece.

He was appointed artistic director of theNational Theatre in Athens in 1994.

Kourkoulos is survived by Marianna Latsisand the couple's two children. He had anoth-er two children from a previous marriage.

AP

Olive tree leaves spark frenzy in GreeceTelevision coverage of the purported heal-

ing properties of olive tree leaves havesparked a frenzy in Greece and caused oneviolent death.

Extensive media reports over the past weekabout the leaves' alleged ability to cure ill-nesses including cancer have triggered anangry response from doctors and pharma-cists.

"In this country where charlatans thrive,you are whatever you claim to be," heart sur-geon and former health minister DimitrisKremastinos told Greek media today.

Recently several chat shows, including onstate television, said a thick, green drinkmade of raw olive leaves and water, mixed ina blender, was doing wonders for cancerpatients.

Several elderly guests said they were curedby the drink and self-described therapistsmixed the juice on live television. The newsspread like wildfire and the television showsfielded a flood of inquiries about the drink'srecipe. Supermarkets on the oil-producingisland of Crete and in Athens started stocking

the leaves that, in some cases, cost more thanthe oil itself, which is renowned for its healthbenefits and known as liquid gold in Greece.

An argument at the weekend between twobrothers over whether they should give theleaf juice to their third brother, who was suf-fering from cancer, ended with one stabbingthe other to death."When such an issue leads to the murder of

one brother over the leaf juice then the fren-zy has become uncontrollable," Kremastinostold daily Eleftherotypia newspaper.

Scientists said only doctors could prove ordisprove the benefits of such a drink.Kremastinos said there was no scientific evi-dence to support the claims and said years ofanalysis would be needed to come to a con-clusion."I would suggest this nonsense stops so that

scientists can go on with their work,"Thessaloniki University chemistry professorEugene Kokalou said. "The work is to findout if this drink has any health benefits."

REUTERS


A heavily attended Church, full of dele-gates enthusiastically awaited the arrivalof their spiritual leader, His EminenceArchbishop Stylianos.

After greeting Her Excellency, the Governorof Queensland, Ms Quentin Bryce AC, theArchbishop, escorted by his Assistant Bishopsand local Clergy, led the procession into theChurch of St George.

A stirring thanksgiving was offered to God inthe opening Doxology Service for what was tobecome the best attended National YouthConference in Archdiocesan history.

In his remarks to distinguished guests andsome 450 delegates at the opening of theConference, His Eminence referred to theYouth as the sun - the sun for which theSunshine State of Queensland is famous for.

In attendance at the Doxology were, theGovernor of Queensland, Ms Quentin BryceAC together with Mr Michael Bryce, theDeputy Premier of Queensland, Ms AnnaBligh MP, His Excellency, the Greek

Ambassador to Australia, Mr George Zois, HisExcellency, the High Commissioner of Cyprusto Australia, Mr Achilleas Antoniades,Professor Christoforos Charalambakis andMrs Ioanna Charalambakis, Councillor

Geraldine Knapp representing the Lord Mayorof Brisbane, the Honorary Consul of Greece inQueensland, Mr James Raptis and Mrs HelenRaptis, Archdiocesan Council Vice-PresidentMr Kon Kontis, and the President of the Greek

Orthodox Parish-Community of St George inBrisbane, Mr Jim Georgiou and Mrs SandraGeorgiou.

FEBRUARY 2007

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUTH

IN TODAY’S SOCIETY9th National Youth Conference of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

25 - 28 January 2007, Brisbane

Left: Her Excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor of Queensland, officially opening the Conference. RIGHT: Official Guests and Delegatesat the Opening of the 9th National Youth Conference


L to R: His Eminence addresses the guests and delegates at the Official Dinner. His Grace, Bishop Seraphim with delegates in workshops. His Eminence delivering his Paper. The Masters ofCeremonies for the Official Dinner, Miss Evgenia Georgiadis and Mr Dimitrios Mavromatis.

Cont. from previous page

After the inspirational words from theQueensland Governor who declared the Con-ference open, there followed the Conference’sOfficial Dinner in the Greek Club andConvention Centre adjacent to the Church.The evening’s speeches were complimentedby an emotional performance of the HellenicDancers of the Parish-Community of StGeorge, who performed a selection of dancesfrom Asia Minor to the backdrop of photo-graphic displays of the Asia MinorCatastrophe.

2007 marks the 85th anniversary of thatCatastrophe and for this reason, the Confe-rence groups were all named after the greatGreek centres of Asia Minor.

On Friday morning, His Eminence led thedelegates in an Agiasmo prayer for theConference and soon after presented his paper.Concise, poetic in every regard, and deeplyreflective on the nature and responsibilities ofYouth, the Archbishop’s paper was enthusias-tically received by a room full to its capacity.The Archbishop’s paper was characterised by

his pastoral love and concern for the youth ofhis flock. The deepest of revelations wereshared by him about the challenges andresponsibilities faced by contemporary youngpeople living in an often bewildering yet beau-tiful world of opportunity and countless bless-ings.

Professor Christoforos Charalambakis,Professor of Linguistics from the University ofAthens, presented a comprehensive account of

the dilemmas facing modern youth. In a hum-ble yet insightful manner, he shared histhoughts about future hopes and solutions forthe many quandaries faced in contemporarysociety. His enlightening paper was alsoreceived with gratitude by the delegates of theConference.

Breaking up into over 20 groups, delegateshad an opportunity to share views and reflecton both papers. The reports portrayed matureinsight and an authentic sharing of outcomesfrom group discussions.

The day was completed with Vespers at theParish-Community of the Dormition of theTheotokos at Mt Gravatt in Brisbane, followedby a dinner dance that was thoroughly enjoyedby all.

On Saturday, following Conference Resolu-tions and Lunch, delegates were treated to anafternoon Cruise on the Gold Coast and somefree time at Sanctuary Cove. That evening,they had the opportunity to experience theDivine Liturgy in English followed by a socialnight hosted by the St George Youth Group.

Sunday witnessed the Ordination of FatherNicholas Brown by the hand of His GraceBishop Seraphim and with the fatherly bless-ing of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianoswho was called away to Perth for other com-mitments.

Father Nicholas, a graduate of St Andrew’sTheological College, has been appointed byHis Eminence to the Parish-Community of theDormition of the Theotokos at Mt Gravatt,Brisbane.

Overall, the 9th National Youth Conference

was an outstanding success. It was a blessingfor the Organising Committee to have had theopportunity of managing arrangements for theConference under the loving guidance of HisEminence and His Grace Bishop Seraphim

who both made themselves available foradvice and encouragement. It is then with greatexcitement that the youth of our Church lookforward to the next Conference and the oppor-tunity for further growth that it will bring.

R to L: Hon. Anna Bligh Mp, Deputy Premier of Queensland, His Excellency, Mr George Zois,Ambassador of Greece to Australia, His Excellency, Mr Achilleas Antoniades, High

Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia, Mrs Ioanna Charalambakis, Professor ChristoforosCharalambakis, Mr Con Contis, Vice-President of the Archdiocesan Council


Health

One of my charming patients, a 91 year oldretired, very spritely doctor came to see merecently and asked, Doctor, Why am I sopuffed?

This patient is usually very well. She ‘nevergets sick!!’

She walks on the beach every day. She plays18 holes of golf and swims in the surf.

Over the past few weeks she was unable tocomplete 9 holes of golf, she felt short ofbreath on her beach walk and unable to swimin the surf after her walk.As she came into my rooms, I noted that she

looked very pale, and on examination she wasshort of breath. Her heart was racing and shehad signs of early heart failure.Investigations showed she was anaemic, iron

deficient and in need of a blood transfusion.

What is anaemia?

Anaemia is a condition in the body wherethere is an abnormally low amount of redblood cells. The red blood cells containhaemoglobin, a red pigment which givesblood its colour. Haemoglobin carries the oxy-gen around the body and delivers it to othercells in the body so these cells can use the oxy-gen to help them metabolise sugars and fats to

provide energy and to allow these cells to per-form their various functions.When red cells are low in the body, the

haemoglobin is low, and the blood fails to sup-ply the body’s tissue with enough oxygen.Therefore, the heart and lungs may have towork harder to get oxygen into the blood. Thismay lead to the person experiencing shortnessof breath which is one of the symptoms ofanaemia.

Symptoms of anaemia

As you can see, anaemia is caused by a short-age of haemoglobin, which leads to a shortageof oxygen delivered to the tissues. This short-age causes shortage of breath, and palpitationsand may lead to tiredness as the heart andlungs have to work harder to try and deliversufficient oxygen to the tissues for the tissuesto carry out their functions.

In some people the symptoms may alsoinclude a pale appearance, dizziness, palpita-tions, fainting and chest pain.

In some types of anaemia, the tongue maybecome sore and reduce the sensation of taste.Some anaemic people will be tired, rundown,

unable to concentrate, easily puffed and lack-ing in energy. They may be nauseated or irrita-ble.

Different types of anaemia

Anaemia will develop if there is a deficiency

in any of the important vitamins, eg: B12,folate or the mineral iron, which are allrequired to make red blood cells

Iron deficiency anaemia

Iron deficiency anaemia is the most commontype of anaemia, and occurs because of aninadequate level of iron in the body. This becan due to the body ether not absorbingenough iron, due to a disorder of malabsorp-tion, or due to an inadequate source of iron inthe diet, or because the body is loosing redblood cells faster than it can produce them.This blood loss can occur because of loss ofblood from the gastrointestinal tract in condi-tions such as gastritis, peptic ulcers, stomachor bowel cancer, and other rarer conditions ofthe gastrointestinal tract such as telangiectasia.In women, a common condition for iron defi-ciency anaemia is blood loss through heavymenstrual bleeding.

As mentioned already, a diet which is poor iniron will lead to iron deficiency anaemia.Good sources of iron include fruit, beans,meat, dark green vegetables, wholemeal breadand fortified breakfast cereals.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia

Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia is alsoknown as pernicious anaemia and is due toinadequate absorption of vitamin B12 in thediet. This inadequate absorption may be due todiseases of the small intestine, stomach or dueto the surgical removal of one of these organs.Vegetarians and vegans are at risk of develop-

ing vitamin B12 deficiency because vitaminB12 is found in liver meat and dairy products.

Folic acid anaemia

Folic acid anaemia occurs in people whohave a poor diet or drink excessive quantitiesof alcohol. Alcohol reduces the absorption offolic acid. Folic acid occurs in fresh fruit,

beans, whole grain cereals and raw green veg-etables.

How is anaemia diagnosed?

Anaemia is very easy to diagnose. A simpleblood test called a Full Blood Count will pro-vide the necessary information, namely thehaemoglobin level and the red cell count. ThisFull Blood Count will also look at the size andshape of the cells which can be useful in deter-mining the type of anaemia. Depending on theresult of the Full Blood Count, further testsmay be performed to look at iron levels as wellas B12 and folate levels to determine the typeof anaemia, further investigations that may berequired and appropriate treatment.

Treatment of anaemia

The treatment of B12 or folate anaemia isusually very simple. It may involve animprovement in diet, reduction in alcoholintake, the taking of vitamin supplements andfor B12 anaemia, this would include injectionsof vitamin B12.For iron deficiency anaemia, assuming heavy

menstrual bleeding loss, and inadequate diethas been excluded as a source of iron deficien-cy then investigation of the gastrointestinaltract by gastroscopy, and colonoscopy may berequired to look for a source of internal bleed-ing such as gastritis or ulcers, or diseases ofthe gastrointestinal tract that would lead tomalabsorption of iron.

In all cases of iron deficiency anaemia, it isimportant to establish the cause of the irondeficiency before treatment with iron supple-ments.

Some more serious cases of anaemia mayrequire treatment with a blood transfusion.

* The information given in this article is of a generalnature and readers should seek advice from their ownmedical practitioner before embarking on any treatment.

HEALTH NEWS

WITH DR. THEO PENKLIS *

Doctor, Why am I so puffed?

Could it be anaemia?

FEBRUARY 2007


GEORGE GILSON

The Cypriot government has raisedTurkish ire by issuing an international ten-der for oil and gas exploration off its south-ern coast.

The offshore-licensing tender began onFebruary 15 and industry giants such as BP,Exxon and Mobil have shown an interest,requesting seismological data prepared byOslo-based Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), anoil-prospecting company. Offshore oil and gasresources surrounding Cyprus in the past havebeen reportedly estimated at six billion to eightbillion barrels, worth about $400 billion at cur-rent market rates. But there are no reliable fig-ures.

Turkey has filed a demarche with the Lebanesegovernment over an agreement signed byCyprus and Lebanon on January 19 to dividethe sea area between the two countries intoexclusive economic zones. Egypt was alsowarned not to pursue a similar deal it hadsigned with Cyprus previously.

“Turkey is determined to protect its rights andinterests in the Eastern Mediterranean and willnot allow attempts that would erode them,” theTurkish foreign ministry said in a statement

The Turkish military denied a report byAgence France Press on February 1 that it hadsent warships towards Cyprus in response tothe deal. The Greek government weighed in toaccuse Ankara of violating international lawby attempting to interfere with Cypriot explo-ration plans.

“(It) is in total contradiction with internationallaw and the right of sovereign government tonegotiate international agreements,” foreignministry spokesman George Koumoutsakossaid. The accord was signed after secret year-long negotiations by Cypriot Foreign Minister

George Lillikas and Lebanese Public WorksMinister Mohammed Al-Safadi (Nicosia

agreement with Egypt was signed in 2005, andEgypt has just conducted a drilling in its eco-nomic exploitation zone).

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos point-ed out that the sea area in question is to thesoutheast of the island republic, which lies atthe underbelly of Turkey, and not betweenCyprus and Turkey. “In all cases when we startnegotiations, Turkey’s presence is strong, andthis is why it is best that something goes for-ward before it is made public,” Papadopoulossaid, explaining the confidentiality ofLebanon-Cyprus negotiations.

Turkey argued that it should have been con-sulted before any agreement because Cyprusalso has “a Turkish area”. A 1974 invasion byTurkey carved a Turkish-Cypriot self-styledstate in the northern third of the island, whichremains internationally unrecognised. Public-ly, it was Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet AliTalat who initially questioned the legitimacyof Cyprus’ right to exploit exclusively theisland’s offshore oil resources.

In a statement issued on January 29, spo-kesman Hasan Ercakica declared that “theattempt of the Greek-Cypriot side to signagreements with neighbouring countries isunacceptable”. The statement echoed Talat’searlier thinly veiled threats that Cyprus’ oilexploitation deals would cause “tensions” onthe island.

Cypriot government spokesman ChristodoulosPassiardis replied that the government merelyexercised its inalienable sovereign rights. Hecalled Talat’s warning a “ridiculous, knee-jerkreaction unworthy of comment”. The Cypriotgovernment says any inter-communal sharingof natural resources is contingent on a politicalsettlement between the two sides. A UnitedNations reunification plan was overwhelming-ly rejected by Greek-Cypriots in April 2004.Turkish-Cypriots accepted it. Since then theEuropean Union, which admitted Cyprusdivided a month later, has tried to forge a rela-

tionship with the unrecognised government inthe north.

In the latest twist, Nicosia has reacted sharplyto a draft European Parliament report that rec-ommends giving elected officials of the occu-pied northern Cyprus regime observer status inthe European Parliament. It calls for directstalks with Talat and calls for direct trade withthe occupied north as a means to end Turkish-Cypriot “isolation”.

Cypriot Europarliament members are stirringup opposition to the report. Conservative MEPand former Cypriot foreign minister YannakisCassoulides said he intends to lobby the

European Popular Party. Cypriot MEPs seethis, like a similar effort they thwarted abouttwo years ago, as an effort to upgrade the sta-tus of the occupation regime.

The Cypriot government maintains that allTurkish-Cypriots are entitled to Republic ofCyprus passports, granting them the benefitsof EU membership. The Republic of Cyprushas also extended free healthcare to Turkish-Cypriots regardless of means, a measure thathas led to charges of discrimination by wealth-ier Greek-Cypriots who do not enjoy such ben-efits.

ATHENS NEWS

The new Cyprus controversy: oil

St Andrew’s Orthodox Press wishes to express sincere thanks to the following people for the time and effort they freely gave to distribute the 2007 Orthodox Diary in local churches:

Katerina Armata Mario Baghos

Chris Constanti Michael & Andrew Coursaris

Kosmas Demetriou Angela Housea Maria Ioannou Michael Karris

Georgia Lourandis Nick Lucas

Peter Nicodemou Anthi Nicolaidis

Peter Souleles Bill Zolotas

Cyprus is inviting offers to exploit billions of barrels of offshore oil, heating up the controversy

over the economic isolation of Turkish-Cypriots

UNICEF ranking of child

well-being in rich countriesThe United Nations children's agencyrecently issued a report on child well-beingin 21 rich European and North Americancountries, measuring poverty, health andsafety, education, family and peer relation-ships, behaviour and children's own assess-ments of their wellbeing. Greece ranks 13th on the list, while theUnited States takes the 20th place.

Ranking:1. The Netherlands2. Sweden3. Denmark4. Finland5. Spain6. Switzerland7. Norway8. Italy9. Ireland10. Belgium

11. Germany12. Canada13. Greece14. Poland15. Czech Republic16. France17. Portugal18. Austria19. Hungary20. United States21. Britain

AAP

St Andrew’s Orthodox Press wishes to express sincere thanks to the following people for the time and effort they freely gave to distribute the 2007 Orthodox Diary in local churches:

K A


ARE WE PAYING THEPRICE FOR IGNORING

OUR TRADITIONAL(MEDITERRANEAN)

DIET?Your health depends on many factors. In gen-eral it is the result of interactions betweengenetics and a number of environmental fac-tors such as your life style and where you live.You will be surprised to know that our geneticprofile has not changed over the past 10,000years! On the contrary, major changes havetaken place in what we eat, how we live andthe amount of exercise we get.

The following are the major changes in ourfood habits:

• An increase in foods consisting ofsimple sugars and decrease in energyexpenditure/exercise.• Increase in saturated fats, omega-6fatty acids (explained later in the arti-cle), and trans fatty acids (such as

from hydrogenated oils like mar-garines, and fried foods)• Decrease in omega-3 fatty acids(explained later), decrease in mo-nounsaturated fats• Decrease in complex carbohy-drates and fibre because of decreasein fruit and vegetables• Decrease in protein, antioxidantsand calcium content

Dietary fats- Fats that heal, Fats that killFurther in the article we will be talking lotabout different kinds of fats/fatty acids, so letus have a look about the dietary fats.Dietary fat is the most concentrated source ofenergy, as well as they also are building blocksof our cell walls and the backbone for manyhormones and hormone like substances. Fat isalso a vehicle for the fat soluble vitamins A, D,E and K and the essential fats – omega-6 andomega-3, which cannot be made in the body.There are three main types of fats in food- sat-urated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.Some are more beneficial than others.Saturated fats are found mainly in meat anddairy and are the main influence on the level ofcholesterol in our blood. Trans fats are formed when vegetable oils arehydrogenated to make solid fats (such as mar-garine) for processed foods like cakes and bis-cuits. They are also found in small amounts inmeat and dairy products. Foods high in monounsaturated fats are oliveoil, canola oil, nuts, ground nut oil, and avoca-dos. Monounsaturated fats, esp. olive oil donot go rancid easily, is rich in antioxidants, andalso has anti-inflammatory properties.There are two main essential fats (which wecannot make, which are polyunsaturated):Omega-6 – found mainly in vegetable oils-sunflower, safflower, soya, and corn oilOmega-3 – found in oily fish (cold water), flaxseeds and oil.The Western diet contains an abundance ofomega-6 fats in form of vegetable oil and fats,but not enough omega-3s. Excess of saturatedfats and omega-6 fats can cause excess inflam-mation, which is associated many diseases.During evolution, the ratio of omega-6 toomega-3 was 2–1:1. Now the ratio of omega-

6 to omega-3 is nearly 17:1.

The Mediterranean diet:

The countries around the Mediterranean basinhave different diets, religions, and cultures.There is not just one Mediterranean diet, but infact many Mediterranean diets, as they areinfluenced by religions, economic and culturaltraditions. E.g. Muslims do not eat pork ordrink wine and other alcoholic drinks, where-as Greek Orthodox populations usually do noteat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. Theirdiets differ in the amount of total fat, olive oil,type of meat, wine intake, milk vs cheese,fruits and vegetables. This affects the rates ofheart disease (such as heart attacks and angina)and cancer. People of Greece are having thelower death rates and longer life expectancy.

However, common to the diets of these regionsare a high consumption of fruit and vegetables,bread, wheat and other cereals, olive oil andfish; making them low in saturated fat and highin monounsaturated fat and dietary fibre. Amain factor in the appeal of the Mediterraneandiet is its rich, full flavoured foods. Margarineand hydrogenated oils are considered blandand lacking the flavour olive oil can impact tofoods. Red wine is also consumed regularlybut in moderate quantities.

In this article we will focus our discussion onthe traditional diet of Crete. The diet of Creterepresents the traditional diet of Greece before1960. In a study known as The Seven CountriesStudy (including United States, Finland, TheNetherlands, Italy, Former Yugoslavia, Japanand Greece) investigating relationshipsbetween diet and cardiovascular disease, it wasfound that “cancer and heart disease causedalmost three times as many deaths proportion-ally in USA as in Crete. [The lowest rates werefound in Crete amongst all seven countries.]

The traditional Greek diet:

The traditional Greek diet (as before 1960)resembles the Paleolithic diet (what theHunter/Gatherers ate before civilization), interms of fibre, antioxidants, saturated fats,monounsaturated fat and the ratio of omega-6and omega-3 fats. Few other studies have alsoshown the importance of having a diet consis-tent with human evolution. Today, Westerndiet deviate from the Paleolithic diet and areassociated with high rates of cardiovasculardisease, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

The investigators in The Seven CountriesStudy concluded that the reason for the lowrates of cardiovascular disease and cancermust be the high olive oil intake and low satu-rated fat intake of the Mediterranean diet.

Effects of essential fatty acids (EFAs) oncancer:

The essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 have different effects on cancer growth. In some animal studies, it was found that highintake of omega-6 fatty acids in rats increasesthe size and number of tumours, whereas fishoil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acidsdecreases both. Some studies in humans inpast two decades have shown that the con-sumption of fish oil protects against develop-ment of cancer, especially breast cancer. Themost important aspect in that regard is the ratioof omeg-6 to omega-3 fatty acids rather thanthe absolute concentration of either. A ratio of

1:1 or 2:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 protectsmost against the development and growth ofbreast cancer.People of Crete:

• Had high olive oil intake – Oliveoil is high in the monounsaturatedfats and low in saturated and omega-6 fats.• Had low saturated fat intake• Ate 30 times more fish (rich sourceof omega-3 fats) than the people ofUSA• Ate a large amount of vegetables –including variety of wild plants,fruits, nuts and legumes [All richsources of folate, calcium, glu-tathione, other antioxidants, vitaminE and C as well as minerals.] E.g.Purslane (as shown in the picture) isa commonly eaten plant, fresh in sal-ads, soups, omelets or during winter months, driedpurslane is used in soups, pies or atea for sore throat and earache. It ishighly recommended for pregnantand lactating women and for patientswith diabetes. This plant is rich inomega-3 fats, vitamin E, vitamin Cand glutathione (a potent antioxi-dant).• Ate meat, milk and milk productsderived from animals that grazedrather than being grain-fed. Theycontain more omega-3 fats. In theGreek countryside, chickens wanderon farms; eat grass, purslane, insects,worms and dried figs, all goodsources of omega-3 fats. The ratio ofomega-6 to omega-3 fats in theseeggs is 1:3.• Also ate snails, which contain mareomega-3 and less omega-6. • So you can see that diet of Greecebefore 1960 was rich in omega-3 fatsin every meal – breakfast, lunch, din-ner and snacks. Figs stuffed withwalnuts are a favourite snack andboth contain omega-3 fats, in con-trast to our typical snacks todaywhich include chocolate chip cookie,doughnuts, chips, etc., all of whichcontain high amounts of trans fattyacids and omega 6 fatty acids.

In summary:

The Mediterranean diet emerged out of thecountries of the Mediterranean area. Thisdiet is commonly rich in fruits, veggies,bread, olive oil, fish, nuts and seeds and mod-erate amounts of red wine. Olive oil whichcontains monounsaturated fats, a “good” fat,is known to lower blood sugar levels (BSL)and aid in protecting against heart disease.

During evolution, the ratio of omega-6 toomega-3 was 2–1:1. Now the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is nearly 17:1. By reducing ourintake of saturated fat, vegetable oil and transfatty acids (such as margarine) can help us tochange the ratio and in turn help to reduceinflammation, heart disease and cancergrowth.

CLINICAL INSIGHTS INTO HEALTH AND NATURAL SOLUTIONS

FEBRUARY 2007

* Christina Scalone is a very experienced and successfulnaturopath with over 20 years experience. She holds aDegree in Health Science, a Diploma in Botanical Medi-cine, Diploma in Homoeopathy and a Diploma in Nutri-tion. She has maintained a full time practice, has held aposition as a senior practioner/ naturopathic consultant, aclinic manager and trainer for Blackmores and is a clinicstudent supervisor as well as a lecturer at the AustralianCollege of Natural Therapies. She also maintains her ownprivate practice with successful results.

BY CHRISTINA SCALONE*BHSc, Dip. Bot. Med, Dip.Hom, Dip. Nut

Alcoholics more likely to have

flashback disorder: StudyAlcoholics and drug addicts are six times

more likely to have post traumatic stress dis-order than other Australians, research shows.

The study of more than 10,000 adults hasfound that victims of disturbing or violentevents are driven to alcohol and hard drugs atan "alarming rate" as they attempt to masktheir trauma.

Post traumatic stress disorder - a conditionmarked by constant unwanted flashbacksand nightmares - is developed first, followedclosely by the addiction.

"People try to self-medicate symptoms trig-gered by a rape or sexual molestation andfind that taking substances makes them feelbetter," said lead researcher Dr KatherineMills, from the National Drug and AlcoholResearch Centre.

"But this ultimately just perpetuates the dis-order and stops them from processing theirproblems, so they end up worse."

The study, from an analysis of theAustralian National Survey of Mental Healthand Wellbeing, found that people who

abused alcohol or drugs were 6.5 times morelikely than other Australians to have the dis-order.

One in three people with the disorder werealcoholic and the same number had opioiddependence.

The study, published in the American Jour-nal of Psychiatry, is one of the first to provethe strength of the link between the condi-tions.

Women are particularly vulnerable to both,with other studies showing up to 80 per centof "addicted" females have been physicallyor sexually abused, said Dr Sudie Back, fromthe Medical University of South Carolina.The visiting US researcher said women also

have a much shorter window than menbetween the start of their drug abuse and thetime when serious problems develop.

Responding to their results, the researchershave developed a psychologically-based, 12-week treatment program to be trialled on 150people suffering from both problems.

AAP


An overwhelming majority of Greeks feel their countrycannot afford to shelter more immigrants, a survey pub-lished recently said.

Asked whether Greece has "reached its limit" in the numberof immigrants it can accept, 88 per cent of respondents agreed,even though the same percentage described migrants living intheir neighbourhoods as peacable.

Greece has around one million immigrants, constituting nineper cent of the population.

Two-thirds hail from neighbouring Albania, and are viewedwith ethnic animosity by many Greeks.

Another 130,000 are of Asian origin, mainly from Pakistanand the Philippines, a study presented by the Greek institute forinternational economic affairs (IDOS) showed.

The survey by pollsters VPRC also showed that Greek pub-lic opinion remains confused as to the overall effects migrantshave on economy and society.

Over 50 per cent of respondents admitted that migrant work-ers have made a positive contribution to Greece's economy, butan equivalent number accuse them of taking jobs from Greeks,and 65 per cent blame them for a perceived rise in crime.

And although 68 per cent say migrants pose no threat toOrthodox Christianity, Greece's dominant religion, one in twooppose the building of a mosque in Athens, a project that hasstalled for years.

Organisations representing migrants routinely hold demon-strations in Athens -- most recently last weekend -- to demandsimpler legalisation procedures, which currently can last up toa decade.

Most Asian immigrants, in particular, are prevented frombeing joined in Greece by their families and are considered"alien" to Greek society, the IDOS study said.

AFP

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^

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Greeks want end

to immigration: surveyHarbour Bridge closed to traffic

for its birthdayThe Sydney Harbour Bridge will beclosed to motor vehicle traffic onSunday, March 18 as part of celebra-tions for the icon's 75th birthday.

Pedestrians will be able to take part ina walk across the bridge between 10amand 7.30pm (AEDT).NSW Premier Morris Iemma said there

also would be a coordinated air and seaharbour spectacle, including tall shipsand defence vehicles and historic andmodern aircraft.

"Sunday 18 March will be our chanceto say happy birthday to our iconicbridge and the whole community isinvited to join the celebrations in aunique way," Mr Iemma said.

People who wish to take part in thebridge walk need to register at the web-site www.ourbridge.com.au.

The nuts and bolts

* Opened: March 19, 1932* Cost: 10,057,170 pounds 7s 9d (paidoff in 1988)* Length: 1,149 metres* Width: 49 metres (carrying eight lanesfor cars, two rail tracks, pedestrian andbicycle paths)* Height: 134 metres (plus up to 180mm

on hot days as steel expands)* Clearance between water and bridge:49 metres* Weight: 52,000 tons (including 39,000tons for the steel arch alone)* Amount of concrete: 95,000 cubicmetres* Amount of granite: 17,000 cubicmetres* Amount of paint for one coat: 270,000litres* Most famous painter: Paul Hogan* Number of rivets: six million* Builder: Dorman and Long, ofMiddlesbrough, England

* Construction time: eight years* Number of workers: 1,400* Deaths: 16* Tolls: originally sixpence each way,now $3 southbound only* Cars per day: 11,000 in 1932, now160,000* Film and TV credits: Mad Max,Mission Impossible 2, IndependenceDay, Finding Nemo, Inspector Morse,JAG, McCloud, Supernova, Lost, WaterRats* Cost of bridge climb: from $100 perchild and $169 adult

AAP

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA16/34 FEBRUARY 2007

ST EUPHEMIA – IT’S ACADEMICCongratulations to the Year 6 students who will be competing on the Channel Seven show“It’s Academic”.This children’s quiz show runs for five consecutive days, with three schoolscompeting against each other. The episodes will be screened on Channel 7, starting onMonday 26 February through to Friday 2 March at 4.00 p.m.Tune in to see St Euphemia’sfantastic performance.Appearing in the photo below are the students with the Year 6Coordinator, Mrs Xanthoudakis, and the Principal, Mr Yiangou.

John Georgaklis, Eugeena Pantelis, Yanni Papadopoulos, Pano Mitrothanasis, Curtis Irvine,Stephen Bobb, Christopher Butler, Alexander Lyras, Stephanie Janes, Sophey Tsolakki, ConParousis, Matthew Stathakis, Cassandra Kokotatsios, Billy Papas, Michael Kontos, AndrewKareklas, Andrew Diakanastasis.

Óõã÷áñçôÞñéáÇ Óô´ ôÜîç ôïõ äçìïôéêïý ó÷ïëåßïõ ôçò Áãßáò Åõöçìßáò Ý÷åé ðñïóêëçèåß íáðáñïõóéáóôåß óôï åêðáéäåõôéêü ðñüãñáììá ôïõ êáíáëéïý 7 ôçí ÄåõôÝñá 26Öåâñïõáñßïõ ìÝ÷ñé êáé ôçí ÐáñáóêåõÞ 2 Ìáñôßïõ óôéò 4.00 ì.ì.

ÐñïôñÝðïíôáé üëïé ïé ãïíåßò êáé ößëïé íá ðáñáêïëïõèÞóïõí to ðñüãñáììá áõôü

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