Political Paper
Kefalonia - Europe: The Ring Rise Network
In 2013 Kefalonia remembers two anniversaries that have characterized the recent history of the
Island. I’m referring to 1953’s devastating Earthquake and to the Massacre of the Acqui Division also
known as the Kefalonia Massacre occurred in 1943, during the Second War World.
The first was a natural fact, totally unpredictable in the mode and in its intensity; while the other
- on the contrary – was announced by the cruelty and barbarity of the war.
Since the fall of Greece in April - May 1941, the country had been divided in occupation zones,
with the Italians getting the bulk of the mainland and most islands.
The facts of history must not be forgotten: the island of Kefalonia was invaded by enemy
On September 1943 there was the Italian soldiers’ cruel massacre by German Army, and
Kefalonian people helped Italian soldiers: giving them help in general but also attending to the
wounded, hiding, eating... and in many cases Kefalonians paid with their lives because of their warm
Despite its personal tragedy as invaded Island, Kefalonia was the land of a generous and jointly
liable People; in those particular and difficult historical moments, Kefalonia did not close the door to
the suffering of others but - bravely - faced openly those tragic moments helping the Italian former
Seventy years were passed from that war event but many wounds still hurt. Still unhealed
wounds, despite the past years.
The collective memory of our Island still feels the pain of those wounds to the heart. Why did
this peaceful Island, loved by the Sun and the Sea, rocked by the wind, enriched by Nature know - once
again - the humiliation of foreign invasion and, even more, the brutality and cruelty of the men?
Several times I asked to myself: why? I’ve never found an answer.
I am deeply convinced that our generation must do the historical choice to decide our future: to
I chose to look ahead, carrying on my shoulders the weight of the Past.
And I chose - with pride and a renewed sense of History - to give a deep meaning even to the
historical events that affected our Island, making it the scene of an appalling massacre where thousands
of Italian soldiers, German soldiers and many Greek civilians died.
Ten years later Kefalonia was destroyed by a natural fact, totally unpredictable in the mode and
in its intensity: a terrible Earthquake that totally changed the life of the Island.
Kefalonia was not alone. Immediately an Israeli ship (near to the Island) rushed to the help of
Kefalonian people. And then, immediately after, there was the international relief of many volunteers
who came from Sweden, France, Great Britain, Norway, Switzerland (Red Cross), US etc.
In 2013 Kefalonia commemorates two important anniversaries: both of them have a
common point lived by Kefalonian people sharing together the important value of the solidarity.
The active solidarity in the first case (1943), the passive solidarity in the second case (1953).
And today, with our People’s help, we want to take up our History and we want to look ahead
thanking People that did not close their door to our difficulties, to our suffering.
We are children of those experiences. We lived (and our Parents even more intensely) the
weight of those experiences. We saw the wounds to the heart of our Island: the natural wounds were
cicatrized by People’s Solidarity, the war wounds became one of the symbol of cruelty among Men.
Today, we finally want also to cicatrize those wounds. And we want to do it by learning from
We want to bear the weight, but talking towards the future; we want to interpret the pain of our
Fathers to pass on to our Children the most precious teaching: the awareness of ourselves!
So, strengthened by the value of the Solidarity, in this year in which we solemnly remember our
two anniversaries, we would like to propose to the international Community our Memory’s message.
An internalized message over a lot of years and today, proudly, introduced to international
attention because it can be shared and be a constant reminder to the future generations.
Our message is not simply a message of peace, but of Reconciliation with the Past; a message of
Dialogue, Solidarity and Meeting with other Men. A hoarding message with its own painful history to
build the future and that - with humility – identifies the basic-values, proper of the soul of this Land, and
offers them as universal values to build together the Peace, the Solidarity and the Dialogue.
Believing strongly in our personal and political engagements, the island of Kefalonia proposes
the international Community to set up a European network of Towns/Places of the Memory.
A network, as a valuable tool growing more and more consciousness and awareness of a
common European identity; a network, as an available instrument feeling our Towns/Places less
as monads and more as an integral part of a common European destiny; a network, as an available
instrument providing a small but important contribution to the process of European integration.
A network, as a clever way to engage other subjects and other European Municipalities,
with the aim to promote and disseminate the themes of conflict, peace, dialogue and solidarity in a
contemporary vision, with a special attention to the Mediterranean area.
A network as an able instrument to create opportunities for meetings and dialogue among
Towns/Places through the creation and organization of events that, on rotation, the territories may
A network that wants to be a living Memory to build the Europe of the people and doesn’t want
to be a static opportunity to look at the Past.
The name we thought we’d give the network is Ring Rise Network.
The Ring has the shape of a circle: Plato thought that the circle is the most perfect form.
Because it has no beginning and no end. Because of its shape the RING is a symbol of eternity, of
belonging to a community and then of distinction, change and dignity.
In ancient times the father gives his son the family’s ring and so he passed the Past of his family
because the son would lead the family towards the Future; the RING as a familiar bridge between
So, the RING is the symbol of the Past towards the Future.
Wearing symbolically the RING, we wear the Past, but we look ahead because the RING is the
symbol of the continuance of our (familiar, personal, social, national…) history.
From the Past there is a Rise towards the Future: so, carrying on our shoulders the weight of the
Past, we can look ahead and work to build the Future together (through the Network).
At the end of our Public Conference (Kefalonia, an Island of Peace, Solidarity and Dialogue.
History leads to our European future) which will take place at the European Parliament on June 26th,
2013 we would like to launch an appeal to other European Municipalities (with a human past similar to
Kefalonia: p.e. war massacre) to share this network and work together:
• to keep the collective Memory on the tragic events lived by the various Municipalities, but
the collective Memory as a positive warning to the present and future generations to build –
together – a common European identity in a continue process towards the European integration;
• to develop the strong value of the International Solidarity: a real cement towards the continuous
European integration. Solidarity – of course – not only material (as in 1953 in Kefalonia or in
1943 between Kefalonian people and Italian soldiers), but TODAY also as Economic, Cultural
Solidarity and so on, broadly speaking;
• to organize common initiatives about these themes;
• to realize – as a final aim – the creation of a European research/studies center in Kefalonia
on the Mediterranean area about conflicts since the Second World War until nowadays (f.e.,
the Arab Springs, the Arabian-Israeli conflict, the Palestine’s issue, the former Yugoslavia...),
but also conflicts in a contemporary sense (f.e., the phenomena of integration, immigration,
different culture, different religions...).
This is the proposal of the Municipality of Kefalonia to the international Community, taking
inspiration and reflection from the 70
message the Municipality of Kefalonia wants to offer to the international attention also some examples
on basic values that constitute the backbone of this Community.
Shared values, specific to every man and that every man can - if he wishes to- practice easily
and simply but values often in need of a distinguished example following them.
So, every year, the Municipality of Kefalonia will identify a Personality among the international
Community who - through his work and his sensitivity - can offer to international attention, and even
more to setting up the network, a practical example, a contemporary application of values of peace,
dialogue, meeting and sharing among people.
Last May 13, the Municipality of Kefalonia gave its Honorary Citizenship to Mr. Andrea
th
anniversary of the tragic massacre; completing the ambitious
Thanks to his exceptional artistic talent, through Music and its universal language, Mr. Bocelli
is able to talk to everybody, overcoming barriers of all kinds; this award also honors his extraordinary
social commitment, done by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and the Arpa Foundation, and so, he is able
to indeed witness those values: with his personal availability and engagement.
In the Municipality of Kefalonia’s opinion, these values are the real, practical and transferable
answer to many questions, but they are especially - after seventy years since the tragic events – the
answer that the island of Kefalonia can tell the international Community. Kefalonia Island can and
should be considered as an emblem of suffering unspeakable, like all conflicts bequeath to future
generations, but - above all - a land as a symbol of peace and solidarity among the people themselves
and among all those who visit it, as our second tragic anniversary taught us.
Peace, Dialogue and Solidarity powered by voluntary work, from welcoming to others, from
acceptance and integration of others, from the attention to the suffering... and also from the music that,
in this land, always accompanied human life and timing of its days.
This is the meaning that – with the Municipality of Kefalonia - I have been able to find to the
unanswered why trying to explain the endured suffering by our Community seventy years ago and that,
today, we want to purify – also thanks to the experience of sixty years ago - with our look towards the
Evangelos Kekatos
Municipality of Kefalonia Vallianou Square, Argostoli 28100
ph. 0030 26710 22933-32 • fax 0030 26710 28515
www.kefallonia.gov.gr • email: evangeloskekatos@gmail.com
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