AEK’s power broker, Marios Iliopoulos, at the opening of a playground in Kifissia, where the club’s owner took the floor and spoke about the importance of this initiative.
Among other things, Marios Iliopoulos noted that AEK is no longer just an idea, but a movement and a way of life. He also spoke about the power of exile, emphasizing the importance of historical memory and the preservation of values.
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Here is what Marios Iliopoulos said in his speech:
“A lesson that teaches us how to rise from the ashes and create things that last forever. May it serve as a shining example for all young people. This place is inextricably linked to AEK. It has refugee DNA, and it is the team that these very people, as an idea, made great. And today, AEK is no longer just an idea—it’s a movement and a way of life.
Of course, it’s very important to me and my family, who come from a village outside Kalamata, where in August of ’44 the Germans arrived with the Gestapo, my father was 10 years old at the time—and tortured them and burned down their house. They were uprooted from Kalamata and traveled as stowaways to Heraklion, Crete. To join the resistance, because my grandfather was a member of the resistance.
This place is one of remembrance and inspiration. We must inspire our children in the same way—for everyone—and recount to them everything I’ve said. May the full power of the refugee experience—which rises anew from the ashes—become a part of their lived experience.”
*photo source: KYPE
