By Bill Parry
Well over a thousand members of Astoria’s Greek community rallied at Athens Square Park on 30th Avenue Wednesday evening in support of their homeland. Greece has been plunged into near chaos since it became the first developed nation to miss a repayment deadline to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, cutting its financial lifelines.
“That is all anybody is talking about — everything is so fluid and everyone has their opinion,” said rally organizer Athanasios Aronis, a vice president at the Hellenic Federation of Greater New York. “This rally is not political, we are not taking sides. We just want to show our support for Greece and its people, especially the old people who are standing on lines trying to collect some of their life’s savings.”
Markets around the world were roiled Monday with the news that banks were closed in Greece. ATM withdrawals were capped at just 60 euros, or about $66 a day, creating long lines. Over 1,000 branches reopened Wednesday to allow pensioners, many of whom do not use bank cards, a one-off weekly withdrawal of up to 120 euros.
The restrictions eased after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offered new concessions to the nation’s creditors Wednesday, saying he was willing to accept most conditions of a bailout package that was on the table before talks collapsed and he called for a referendum. Tsipras wanted some modifications on pension cuts and tax increases.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said there would be no further negotiations until Greece holds its referendum Sunday. The Greek voters will have a chance to weigh in on the cuts Europe is demanding as a condition of financial rescue.
“We’re not taking sides on the referendum issues because the federation represents all Greeks,” Aronis said. “The Greek people are facing a humanitarian crisis from a first world country, not a third world country.”
The rally did not end well, according to Aronis. Several individuals arrived and started a confrontation.
“The extreme elements of the Greek ruling party arrived and tore down our banner because it didn’t include the word ‘no’ on it,” Aronis said. “We explained that Greece does not have absentee ballots and we can’t vote anyway, so if people want to vote yes or no they should buy an airline ticket and go to their hometown in Greece and not Athens Square Park in Astoria.”
Nobody got hurt, he added.
City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), the first Greek American to be elected to the City Council, preached calm.
“The Greek people have a rich history of moving forward during moments of difficulty,” he said. “I am hopeful that they will persevere again.”
Astoria is not the only community affected by the crisis. Across the borough in Flushing, Joakim Valasiadis, an Associate Priest at the Greek Orthodox Shrine Church of St. Nicholas, said, “We are concerned — very, very, very concerned for the future of our motherland.”
Valasiadis was born in Athens and left Greece during the post-war years, coming to New York in 1950. He believes if Greece were to pull out of the Eurozone, it could be “catastrophic for the entire area of Europe” and a terrible mistake for Greece.
“It is time for all Europeans to join their hands, their minds, their souls and find solutions,” he said. “It is not a time to divide because this is exactly what’s been happening. Division gets us nowhere. With unity we can conquer all evils.”
Valasiadis had a final piece of advice.
“It’s time for all the people to fall on their knees and start praying,” he said. “I believe the people in Greece, along with their leaders, should find their responsibilities and discover what has gone wrong.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
