Winning back the diaspora

One of my favorite objects is a poster dating back to 1941 showing Athens in the background with a Greek flag in the foreground bearing the words “Greetings, we have won,” in Greek, echoing the words of the runner who brought news of victory at the Battle of Marathon. It’s a poster that was printed by Greek Americans in a campaign to raise money for their troubled homeland during the Nazi occupation. The Greeks of the diaspora have always stood beside the motherland, be it in times of war, in times of crisis or during natural disasters. Speaking to many friends who live abroad, however, I have discerned for the first time a spiritual and intellectual distance growing between some among the diaspora and society in Greece.
(27.12.2011) Kathimerini English Edition (by Alexis Papachelas)
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