They live, work, and prosper far from Greece, but as they have consistently emphasized, our country is the biggest part of their hearts. Apart from the “cuteness”, they have a dream to be able to help our country in a meaningful way and also to give a new dimension to the term “homogeneity.”
The protothema.gr was in Manhattan and spoke with two people who after decades in the United States today believe that more than ever the election of a new president in the United States will change things not only inside but also outside the country.
In conveying the mood, they speak of polarization and fear and note that whoever is the winner on Tuesday will have their work cut out for them as society has been polarized for years and a rupture is no longer just a scenario.
Sabas Chivikos with decades in the construction industry and New Consul of AHEPA points out that polarization in the US is not just a byproduct of the last 4 years. Democrats and Republicans, he notes, have done everything they can to bring the country to the absolute point of polarization today. He makes it clear that for him the economy, immigration, and family are the trifecta that will give him a new president on Tuesday.
Referring to the role he envisions for the expatriate community, he notes that “we are here to help we are not asking for anything and we don’t want anything from Greece and Cyprus. There is no long-term plan to utilize the potential and the power that we have in our hands and it is great. If they can’t use us we are here even to be used…”
Steve Tenedios, owner of a group of companies with a restaurant business, speaks of fear across the U.S. from the situation that has developed. He notes that he and his family will not be in New York City on election day as he too fears possible upheaval after the election results are announced. Mr. Tenedios stresses that despite his Republican leanings, the problem began when Donald Trump first came to the forefront in 2016.
Polarization, he says, is unfortunately commonplace, and that chronic routine has given Americans today two choices that are just as divisive as the situation.
Regarding the expatriate community, for Mr. Tenedio, Greece is everywhere for him and other diaspora. “There is no summer without at least 4 weeks in our country,” he says, noting however that there must be a framework of cooperation between the political and state leadership of Greece and the expatriate community that is not spasmodic and a la carte.
