by Greek correspondent Dimitrios Machairidis
Photo credit: US Embassy Athens
“Hello, Greece! Yia sas! Kalispera! This is my final trip overseas as President of the United States and I was determined on my last trip to come to Greece — partly because I’ve heard about the legendary hospitality of the Greek people — your philoxenia, partly because I had to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. In all of our communities, I still believe there’s more of what Greeks call philotimo—love, respect, and kindness for family and community and country – and a sense that we’re all in this together with obligations to each other. Philotimo—I see it every day and that gives me hope.” Barack Obama saluted the Greek audience at SNFCC (the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center) in Athens, Greece. For two days, November 15th and November 16th, Athenians enjoyed the stardust of the radiant 44th President of United States.
“In the United States, we’re especially grateful for the friendship of so many proud Greek Americans. In my hometown of Chicago you can find them in Greektown with their foustanellas. And together, we’ve celebrated Greek Independence Day at the White House. We’ve had some spanakopita and some ouzo. Greek Americans have worn the uniform to keep our country free. Greek Americans have marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to make us more just. Greek or American, we’re all cheering for Giannis Antetokounmpo who seems to be getting better each year. And if anyone seeks an example of our shared spirit, our resilience, they need look no further than New York City, near Ground Zero, where the Greek Orthodox church of St. Nicholas, once in ruins, is now rising again. Because our democracies are inclusive, we are able to welcome people and refugees in need to our countries. And nowhere have we seen that compassion more evident than here in Greece. The Greek people’s generosity towards refugees arriving on your shores has inspired the world.” The audience into SNFCC’s Opera House applauded, laughed and shedded tears. No other head of state captured the heart of Greeks as Barack Obama did it.
As Greece, with Germany and Peru, were chosen for the final foreign trip of Barack Obama, Greeks felt proud for this special honor. They did not complain about the down town traffic arrangements and congestion as they usually do whenever heads of states visit Athens. On the contrary, they tried desperately to be registered in the guest list for POTUS’s speech at SNFCC. Those who succeeded to be enlisted waited silently more than two hours in order to get into the SNFCC’s Opera House. Everybody into the Opera House tried to capture by their cell phone the charismatic smile of Barack Obama and to post it immediately in the social media. Obama is a politician and a star at the same time. He proved this once more when he arrived on Acropolis after his speech at SNFCC.
”It is here in Athens that so many of our ideas about democracy, our notions of citizenship, our notions of rule of law, began to develop. And so when you visit a site like this not only are you getting a better understanding of Greece and Western culture but you’re also sending a signal of the continuity that exists between what happened here, the speeches of Pericles, and what happened with our Founding Fathers. And it is a very important role for the President of the United States to send a signal to the world that their culture, their traditions, their heritage, their monuments, are something of value, and are precious, and that we have learned from them. Because what that does then is send a strong signal around the world that we view ourselves as part of a broader humanity and a community of nations that can work together to solve problems and lift up what’s best in humanity.”
Barack Obama’s image in a pair of khakis, dark blue shirt, black jacket and dark sunglasses, in front on the Parthenon traveled all over the world. Greece could never imagine a better promotion for its tourist industry. Beyond fashion icon though, Obama is a great politician. After the eight successful years of his presidency, he wisely chose Athens, the birthplace of democracy, to send his democratic values message to several recipients.
“The most important office in any country is not president or prime minister. The most important title is ‘citizen’—and in all our nations it will always be our citizens who decide the kind of countries we will be, the ideals that we will reach for, the values that will define us. In this great, imperfect, but necessary system of self-government, power and progress will always come from We, the people,” he reminded the citizens everywhere in the world. “Just as democracies are premised on the peaceful resolution of disagreements within our societies, we also believe that cooperation and dialogue is the best way to address challenges between nations. Our growth comes through innovation and ideas that are crossing borders all the time. The jobs of tomorrow will inevitably be different from the jobs of the past. So we can’t look backwards for answers, we have to look forward. We are living today in an interconnected world. As you may have noticed, the next American president and I could not be more different. We have very different points of view, but American democracy is bigger than any one person.”
Inspiring hope in everyone, Barack Obama started his presidency in 2008. Inspiring hope again, he is ending his presidency here in Athens. This is becoming his legacy for a better world. Watching the Air Force One aircraft take-off from “Eleftherios Venizelos” Athens International Airport to Berlin, Germany, everyone in Greece already missed Obama.
