Message by the Ambassador of Greece to the United States Mr. Alexandros P. Mallias on the occasion of Greek Independence Day

With my tenure as Greece’s Ambassador to the United States coming to a close after almost four years in Washington, it is my privilege to extend this message to all of you on the 188th anniversary of the March 25, 1821 Greek War of Independence; a struggle that resulted in the establishment of the modern Greek state and the rebirth of democracy in the land where it was invented.

The vision and aspirations of the torchbearers of the Revolution, sung and unsung heroes who sacrificed life and limb fighting under circumstances unfathomable to us today, inspired not only those under the boot of tyranny, but reverberated across mountains and seas, resonating with individuals who valued freedom throughout the world. 

Anyone familiar with the history of the Greek revolution knows that the Greeks of the Diaspora played a defining role in its unfolding. The seeds of Revolution were sewn in lands far away from what Greece is today, as Greeks made their lives beyond the borders of the Ottoman Empire. Inspired by the martyrdom of Rigas Ferraios, the forerunner of the Greek War of Independence, the Filiki Etaireia (Brotherhood of Friendship) planted the seeds of revolution when it was founded in the city of Odessa.

The Greek War for Independence also owes a debt of gratitude to those of non-Greek origin, the Philhellenes, that included Americans such as Edward Everett of Massachusetts, New Hampshire Senator and later Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, James Williams, an African American slave from Baltimore who lost his life fighting in Greece, all rose the banner of support, acknowledging modern Greece’s claim to its ancient heritage. 

On this important anniversary, as Greece’s representative to the United States, I feel the need to express to the Greek American Omogeneia, its institutions and organizations, as well as to individuals, my heartfelt gratitude for their immense contribution to the promotion of our interests. We live in an era where we are obliged to fight even for the most self-evident, where the international system, theoretically based on international law, is marked by double standard policies, where longstanding value-based alliances are undermined by short-minded, short-term evasive political considerations. The question of Cyprus and the FYROM name issue are characteristic, yet not the only examples.

Furthermore, as the world faces the greatest economic crisis in decades, with freedom, human dignity, justice and the rule of law challenged in many parts of the world, this celebration offers us the opportunity to ponder our own responsibilities and renew our commitment to these ideals, which must not ever be taken for granted. As we seek answers to the dilemmas, challenges, incongruities and inconsistencies of our times, let us seek counsel in the words of great thinkers, such as Isocrates, one of Greece’s greatest orators, who, in his speech “On Peace,” says:

“If you will go over these and similar questions in your minds, you will discover that arrogance and insolence have been the cause of our misfortunes, while sobriety and self control have been the source of our blessings. But, while you commend sobriety in individual men and believe that those who practice it enjoy the most secure existence and are the best among your fellow citizens, you do not think it fit to make organized society practice it.”

Let us pay homage to champions of liberty by protecting and cherishing the freedoms and dignity won through their struggles. Let us honor them by living up to our own responsibilities as citizens and fellow humans, committing ourselves and our services to the public good.  In the tradition of the ancient Greeks, let us consider public service a basic tenet of our lives, not as a burden, but as a reward, as eloquently argued by the great Pericles in his Funeral Oration:

“. . .  when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit.. . . a man may benefit his country whatever the obscurity of his condition. There is no exclusiveness in our public life. . . “

Alexandros P. Mallias