Since the time of the unfortunate ugliness associated with the rocky islet of Imia, the thoughts of our more sensitive compatriots have turned—especially in recent times—toward the “island of the sponge divers” (but not paupers), the much-praised Kalymnos.
Many, worried, ask me: How are things there? How are the Kalymnians coping? My answer: The Kalymnians, as always, are doing well; they greet us warmly and remain unshaken by the Turks. This observation—fully guaranteed and offered with every sense of responsibility—I convey to our concerned readers. During a recent visit to the island, many Kalymnians reassured me that they are troubled mainly because many Greeks worry about them. They themselves have nothing to fear, and they continue, as they always have, to live an undisturbed, admittedly harsh, but richly varied and beautiful life. Only when passing by a local café might one hear some commotion: Kalymnians are “good in noise,” thunder-voiced, hence the expression “Kalymnian café”!
I had been invited—and despite the seriousness of my health I accepted—by the historic Kalymnian association Hai Mousai to travel to the island on April 21st for a lecture scheduled for the following evening. Unfortunately, due to strong winds, the flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the next day at noon. Stubborn weather, stubborn me. I arrived at the island exhausted but deeply happy, having enjoyed the calligraphy-like pattern of the countless Aegean islands from above. Besides, the lecture’s subject was alluring: it centered on the most historic Greek regiment, the legendary 5/42—the seïtan asker (“devil’s army”), as the Turks had named it—the famed regiment commanded at the time by then-Lieutenant Colonel Nikolaos Plastiras. My modest self was to speak on: “Nikolaos Plastiras: the Man, the Soldier, the Statesman.” Before me, the President of Hai Mousai, the tireless Mr. Pan. Yamaeos, delivered an inspired introduction that set the tone for the entire event.
Kalymnos honors the 5/42 Regiment and Plastiras because a modern regiment bearing the same name (5/42) has, since 1998, undertaken the protection of Kalymnos and the surrounding islets (Pserimos, Kalolimnos, Imia, etc.). Moreover, Plastiras’s name is tightly bound to Kalymnos. As my prolific classmate Yiannis Pougounias writes in the third volume of his Kalymniada, after Plastiras’s unsuccessful coup attempt in 1933, he escaped to Beirut via Kalymnos, and from there found refuge in Nice, France. Two years before his death, due to the relationships he had cultivated with many Kalymnians—and especially with the politician (formerly an officer) Georgios Chatzistavris—he visited the island, where he was received with overwhelming enthusiasm. At one point he said to Chatzistavris: “Giorgakis, I have never seen such a thing in my life—nor will I ever see it again…” Kalymnos was the most Plastiras-loving place in all of Greece.
After Mr. Yamaeos, Lieutenant Colonel Antonios Mitafis, Commander of the 5/42 Regiment, took the floor. With a robust and substantial address, he traced the entire history—over one hundred years—of the most heroic regiment of the Greek Army. Then, under the weight of deep emotion, I began my own remarks with the following introductory words:
“For centuries, Turkey has been the… cancer of Hellenism. It strikes without warning. And we would be unworthy if, even now, it found us in a state of indolence. But our vigilant armed forces stand guard, as shown by the recent death of the heroic Thessalian pilot, Baltadoros.”
At the mention of his name, the entire hall—and the listeners standing outside—burst into intense applause. The event concluded with the National Anthem.
Afterward came a sumptuous dinner offered to us at a fish tavern by the gracious lady and great patriot, my esteemed friend Mrs. Semiramis Psarompa. I sat next to the Mayor, Mr. Yiannis Galouzis, and drew from him more information about the island than one could imagine. With the brigadier general seated near me, Mr. L. Nazifis—whom I also knew from the War College—we discussed the significance of cooperation within the military, something in which the 5/42 had particularly excelled in Asia Minor. And, naturally, the evening ended with a discussion about the situation in Turkey! When it was my turn to offer my opinion, I limited myself to saying that Turkey’s most serious problem is that it borders… Kalymnos! A remark that my Kalymnian friends received with delight. Despite having not slept all night, I woke the next morning full of energy.
On the way to the airport, we stopped at the grounds of the regiment, where we lit a candle in the little chapel of St. George. Accompanied by the ever-helpful Mr. Yamaeos, we reached the airport. But—yet again!—the president of the Peloponnesians, the ever-restless and creative Dimitris Karamentzanis, who had come from Kos with his lovely wife to hear me speak, was waiting for me at the crack of dawn and secured my promise that I would be in Kos on October 28. So, God willing and weather permitting, I will also have the joy of flying over to Kalymnos—to experience it once more with all my heart and to visit the enchanting nearby islands. The entire landscape at that time of year feels like an annex of paradise.
As for Turkey—how unfortunate that it fears Kalymnos so very much!
Professor Sarantos I. Kargakos
from the newspaper “DEMOKRATIJA”.
