ΤΟΥ ΧΡΗΣΤΟΥ ΜΑΛΑΣΠΙΝΑ
Την διάλυση του Ελληνοαμερικανικού Εθνικού Συμβουλίου (Ε.Ε.Σ.- HANC) αντί του επικείμενου Συνεδρίου και εκλογών, ζητάει ο Θόδωρος Λαλιώτης, Πρόεδρος της Ομοσπονδίας Βόρειας Καλιφόρνιας, εκτιμώντας ότι «η αποστολή του έχει λήξει» και πως «δεν εξυπηρετεί κανένα χρήσιμο σκοπό πια, όπως έκανε όταν καθιερώθηκε για πρώτη φορά». Στη θέση του ζητάει τη σύσταση νέας Ομογενειακής οργάνωσης για την προστασία των συμφερόντων των Αποδήμων στην Ελλάδα.
Υπενθυμίζεται ότι το Ελληνοαμερικάνικο Εθνικό Συμβούλιο” (ΗΑΝC) πρόκειται να έχει Συνέδριο και εκλογές, στις 9-10-11 Οκτωβρίου 2015, στο Capital Hilton στην Δυτική Φλόριδα (Κληαργουότερ).
Συγκεκριμένα ο κ. Λαλιώτης εισηγείται «…αντί της εκλογής νέων αξιωματούχων στο Συνέδριο, να περάσει ψήφισμα για την διάλυση του Ελληνοαμερικανικού Εθνικού Συμβουλίου». Παράλληλα, όπως επισημαίνει στην ίδια ηλεκτρονική επιστολή, που απέστειλε σε όλα τα μέλη του Ε.Ε.Σ., εισηγείται ψήφισμα με το οποίο θα καλούνται «νέοι άνθρωποι (κανένας από τα νυν μέλη) να ενωθούν και να σχηματίσουν μία οργάνωση με μια νέα αποστολή».
Στην ίδια πάντα επιστολή του (ολόκληρη στα αγγλικά δημοσιεύεται κατωτέρω) ο Θόδωρος Λαλιώτης προτείνει η νέα οργάνωση να εκπροσωπεί όλους τους Έλληνες της Αμερικής (και όχι μόνο Ομοσπονδίες), με κύρια αποστολή την προστασία των δικαιωμάτων τους και να εξυπηρετεί τις ανάγκες των ελληνοαμερικών, σε σχέση με τα συμφέροντά μας στην Ελλάδα. «Η Ελλάδα –τονίζει- αλλάζει ραγδαία και δεν έχουμε καμία οργανωμένη εκπροσώπηση για να υπερασπιστούν τα συμφέροντά μας στην Ελλάδα, συμπεριλαμβανομένης και της Ελληνικής Παιδείας των παιδιών μας εδώ στις ΗΠΑ».
Τονίζοντας ότι τα σχόλιά του «είναι ενωτικά, όχι διχαστικά», ο επί δεκαετίες Πρόεδρος της Ομοσπονδίας Βόρειας Καλιφόρνιας, επισημαίνει πως η επιτυχία και η επιβίωση οποιουδήποτε οργανισμού και η ικανότητά του να προσελκύσει μέλη και υποστηρικτές εξαρτάται από τα επιτεύγματά του. «Η Ε.Ε.Σ. είχε μια πολύ δύσκολη περίοδο τα τελευταία χρόνια για να πείσει τα μέλη της να πληρώσουν συνδρομή ή να συμμετέχουν στις δραστηριότητές του, επειδή δεν είχε επιτυχίες να δείξει»…
Στη συνέχεια ο κ. Λαλιώτης εκφράζει την άποψη ότι «…η πρόταση που διατυπώνεται από την τρέχουσα ηγεσία του Ε.Ε.Σ. και το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο, να εκλεγεί νέα ηγεσία και να αλλάξει το Καταστατικό, δεν θα επιλύσει τη σημερινή κρίση της Ε.Ε.Σ.».
Αφού εκφράζει την άποψη ότι ΑΧΕΠΑ εργάζεται αποτελεσματικά προωθώντας νέους ανθρώπους στην Οργάνωση ενώ έχει και έργο με υλική βοήθεια στην Ελλάδα, υποστηρίζει ότι και οι Ενθικοτοπικοί Σύλλογοι κάνουν «καλή δουλειά με τα πολιτιστικά» για να καταλήξει στην πρότασή του:
(Σε ελεύθερη μετάφραση) «…υπάρχει μεγάλη ανάγκη για μας να οργανώσουμε και να ασκήσουμε πιέσεις για να προστατεύσουμε τα συμφέροντά μας στην Ελλάδα. Πολλοί από εμάς έχουν ιδιοκτησίες και άλλα συμφέροντα στην Ελλάδα και μερικοί από μας πληρώνουν φόρους στην Ελλάδα. Ωστόσο, δεν έχουμε καμία αντιπροσώπευση, ούτε καν τη δυνατότητα να ψηφίζουμε δι ‘αλληλογραφίας. Επειδή δεν είμαστε οργανωμένοι, δεν έχουμε καμία διαπραγματευτική ισχύ στην Ελλάδα».
(ΚΑΛΟΠΙΣΤΟ ΣΧΟΛΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΡΗΡ: Η επιχειρηματολογία του κ. Λαλιώτη θυμίζει αρθρογραφία της Panhellenic Post).
Ο Ελληνοαμερικανός παράγοντας αναφέρεται και στο μέγα θέμα της Παιδείας των παιδιών ομογενών στις ΗΠΑ και επισμαίνει τα ακόλουθα: «Λόγω της οικονομικής κρίσης, η Ελλάδα ανακαλεί πολλούς από τους Έλληνες δασκάλους, τους οποίους τους μισθούς πληρώναμε εμείς, και όμως δεν είχαμε τη διαπραγματευτική ισχύ για να μην το επιτρέψουμε αυτό να συμβεί». Σύμφωνα με την εκτίμηση του κ. Λαλιώτη, <η φύση και οι στόχοι του νέου οργανισμού πρέπει να είναι τέτοιοι ώστε, αν και όταν η Ελληνική Κυβέρνηση προτείνει ένα νέο ΣΑΕ, η νέα αυτή οργάνωση θα πρέπει να είναι αρκετά ισχυρή για να διεκδικήσει και να είναι ο νέος εκπρόσωπος του ΣΑΕ στις ΗΠΑ».
ΟΛΟΚΛΗΡΗ Η ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΛΑΛΙΩΤΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ
Dear Paul,
Thank you for the invitation.
Since I will not be attending the meeting due to a conflict (National Hellenic Society meeting in Las Vegas) I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you and others included in my email, some of my thoughts which I would express in person if I were able to attend. So, I would appreciate it if you shared my comments with the attendees by distributing a copy in the upcoming meeting. If you choose not to do that, then any person who wishes to do that has my permission to do so.
The email list I am using is an older list from the days I was actively participating in HANC and it may not be complete. Anyone who wishes to forward or share this email with additional people, feel free to do so.
Your email invitation did not reveal the names of recipients but I am revealing the names whom I am sending it to because I want to encourage open dialog and comments. Also, my apologies if some of you receive multiple copies because I am not sure which may be your current email address, so I may have included your name more than once.
First, I will give you a bottom line (το δια ταύτα) of my position, and then I will expand on the reasoning behind it.
Thesis 1: HANC should cease to exist because its mission has expired and, despite the good intentions and valuable time many good people have invested in it, it does not serve any useful purpose any more, as it did when it was first established. In my opinion, it is impossible, under the current circumstances to overcome the difficulties of its own reputation and become useful again even under new objectives.
My suggestion is that at the upcoming meeting, instead of electing new officers, you should pass a resolution to cease the organization, and issue a nationwide (USA) calling for new people (none of the existing officers) to come together and form a new organization with a new mission.
Thesis 2: A new organization should be created representing all Greek Americans (not just Ομοσπονδίες) with a primary mission of protecting the rights and serving the needs of Greek Americans with respect to our interests in Greece. Greece is changing rapidly and we have no organized representation to advocate for our interests in Greece, including the Greek Education of our children here in the US.
Discussion
Let me first say right up front that my comments are not intended to be either critical or negative. My comments are intended to be constructive and unifying rather than divisive. We owe great gratitude to our good friend, the late Ted Spyropoulos who started HANC and actually sustained it with his personal resources for many years. Likewise, all the people who served HANC in various capacities over the years deserve a lot of credit for giving their time and efforts to keep it going, some times, in their own way. We may not agree with some people or some of the things that transpired, but everyone did their best and deserve to be recognized and appreciated.
The success and survival of any organization and its ability to attract members and supporters is dependent on its accomplishments. HANC has had a very difficult time in recent years to convince its members to pay dues or participate in its activities because it did not have any success stories to show. One of the main reasons for that is the fact that its main original mission, which was to organize, stand up, and advocate for the Greek National Issues (Εθνικά θέματα) has been superseded by professional and more powerful and effective lobby entities. You all know who they are. I don’t need to tell you. Another reason HANC lost its effectiveness was that when the Greek Government decided to set up SAE, they (for good or bad reasons or circumstances) chose to set up a new organization which was controlled by the Greek Government as it was financed by the Greek Government. These events, whether we like it or not, eliminated the reasons for HANC’s existence and or its ability to be effective and to offer a service people were willing to pay for in order to be members. I remember being challenged by my own Federation of which I was and still am president (The Hellenic Federation of Northern California) as to why we should spend $600-800 to register and participate in the last HANC meeting I attended in Philadelphia in 2008. I ended up paying from my pocket. Similar difficulties were encountered by other member organizations during follow-on years, and the HANC membership shrank significantly.
The proposal put forth by the current HANC Board, to elect new leadership and change the bylaws, is not, in my opinion, going to solve the current HANC crisis. The reputation (image) and lack of any accomplishments during the last few years is impossible to overcome. Someone may say that there are other objectives, besides the Εθνικά Θέματα in HANC’s charter. I will say, show me the results. The Εθνικοτοπικές Ομοσπονδίες are doing well in fulfilling their cultural and social objectives. The Cretans, the Arcadians, the Messinians, the Epirotans, etc… don’t need ΗANC to accomplish their goals of inspiring their younger generation here in the US and keeping the links alive and well with their ιδιαίτερη πατρίδα. AHEPA is doing exceptionally well in attracting younger leaders and enlisting Greek Americans of all origins in their chapters. AHEPA is uniting all Greek Americans under one roof and offering good cultural services. Also, AHEPA is doing very well in doing good works in Greece such as hospitals and other charitable projects, and also standing up in the US and defending Εθνικά Θέματα.
So, I ask you, if you take away HANC’s main mission of lobbying for Ethnika Themata, what else is there that other organizations are not doing?
The old story of raising money to help Greece, has no basis either. If Greece can not handle its own economic problems, no one can save it.
One area that HANC’s late mentor and our friend Ted Spyropoulos advocated strongly during the last few years, is the Greek Education of our children. Great cause and a worthwhile (if not must) cause. But that takes resources that the current HANC constituents do not have.
If instead of dissolving HANC you choose to appoint a committee from within HANC to redirect HANC’s objectives, I can tell you with high level of confidence, that you will accomplish absolutely nothing. You will just kick the can a few years down the road.
Without intending to offend anyone, I have to tell you that it is well known in science that if you use the same construction materials (ingredients) you will end up with a similar product.
Now, to my suggestion. With the rapid and uncertain challenges that may lay ahead for Greece in the next few years, there is a great need for us to organize and lobby to protect our interests in Greece. Many of us have properties and other interests in Greece and some even pay taxes in Greece. Yet, we have no representation, not even the ability to vote by mail ballot. Because we are not organized, we have no negotiating power in Greece. Due to the economic crisis, Greece pulled back many of the Greek teachers, whose salaries we were paying, and yet we had no negotiating power to avoid that. We need an organization to represent all Greek Americans in dealing with Greek Affairs.
With all due respect for the sentimental feelings of some people who have offered a lot to HANC over the years and with all respect to our late friend and creator of HANC, Ted Spyropoulos, I am suggesting that the new organization should have a new name in order to avoid any inaccurate or unfair negative impressions of the past.
It should also have a structure which encourages individual members as well as state societies. The strength of the Greeks today in America lies in individual powerful Greek American professionals in the business and professional arena. The new organization must include and draw from professional groups of Greek Americans from each and every State of the United States. It must draw members from the Greek Schools of every Greek Orthodox Church in the USA. It must draw members from and include the State Greek Federations such as Federation of New Jersey, Federation of NY, Federation of California, etc. etc. In States where there may not be Greek American Federations, the new organization should mentor and encourage the creation of such Federations in order to generate members.
The nature and objectives of this new organization should be such that if or when the Greek Government proposes a new SAE, this new organization should be strong enough to claim and be the new SAE representative for the USA.
The new organization should have modest and affordable membership fees of less than $50 for individuals and less than $100 for families.
It must be financially self supported and strong in order to be effective, and it must have clear and measurable goals so that people will be interested to become members and see results.
These are some of my thoughts and they are certainly not cast in concrete. My iuntention is to start a dialog and consider other ideas as well so that we may arrive in a workable and potentially successful scheme.
Therefore, my suggestion is that the meeting should pass a resolution calling for (not appointing) a committee to get assembled from among knowledgeable and interested Greek Americans from all corners of the USA to set up the foundation for this organization, and to also have a contest with suggestions for the new name.
Εύχομαι ο Θεός να δώση την σοφία σε αυτούς που θα συμμετάσχουν για να πάρουν τις σωστές αποφάσεις.
Με πατριωτική αγάπη και ευχές,
Ted Laliotis.
California.
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