Evgenios Kalpyris

March 25 marks the 196th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.

The successful revolution is hailed as giving Greeks their freedom back, as well as being the first European successful national independence war of the modern era against a foreign oppressor.

The Greek Revolution gave hope in the dark to many peoples in Europe and the Middle East, as well as in other parts of the globe.

It greatly influenced the forces that set in motion a string of national independence wars in Europe and to lands occupied by the Ottoman Empire.

Its message was that freedom can always be attained if the tagged price of suffering and sacrifice is paid in full.

The Greek Revolution, however, following the educational and mental “Chernobyl” that Greeks had to go through for a period of 400 years was made possible only because of the resistance of the Greek nation and the efforts of enlightened people who, by keeping the spirit alive, succeeded in mobilizing the Greeks as well as people craving for freedom and a better life all over the world.