On this day, October 23, 1890, the glorious general of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), Stefanos Sarafis, was born in Trikala.
After the events of Killeler, which would play a decisive role in shaping his conscience, Stefanos Sarafis would leave university and volunteer for the army.
Having democratic convictions, he would oppose the dictatorial regimes of Pangalos and Metaxas, be caught, deported and imprisoned several times.
Metaxas' dictatorship, which had already displaced him for three years in Milos (1937), would close his way when he expressed his willingness to offer his services to his country in the war with the Italians.
After the occupation of the country by Hitler's occupiers, the ardent patriotic general immediately joined the ranks of the popular liberation struggle and in May 1943 he went to the mountains, from where he called on all Greek patriots to imitate his example and join the EAM.
His dedication and his faith in the power and justice of the people, his great military skills and his prestige make him the leader of the glorious Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS).
After the Varkiza Agreement, General Sarafis will be rewarded for his services to the people by the foreign post-Varkiza governments: Along with other officers who participated in the Damascene Resistance, he will be exiled to Serifos (1946), Makronissos (1948) and Ai Stratis. The general, accustomed to persecution, will not succumb even this time, will not break down.
The people, recognising his services and his contribution, and while the General was in exile, would elect him on the EDA ticket in the 1951 and 1956 elections, when the EDA would be in the position of the opposition (in the meantime, Stefanos Sarafis had been elected General Secretary of the party).
And from this position the General will continue to consistently defend the interests of the people. He will vigorously oppose the establishment of American bases in Greece, from the floor of the parliament and with revealing articles and speeches, provoking the hatred of the American imperialists and the local government.
On May 31, 1957, a car driven by an American soldier cut the thread of the life of the glorious general of ELAS, who until the end of his life stood by the people, fought for freedom and justice and served the interests of the people in the political struggle.
A few days after his death, our great poet Kostas Varnalis will write among other things for the General:
“Anyone who thinks that things have changed since «liberation» will say that he does not understand his new heavy chains. He does not understand that the Occupation continues with new Occupiers - Merchants of the nation. And therefore, as in the years of the first, so in the present years of the new occupation, the persecution of patriots continues and every struggle for freedom remains ’outlawed«. It is for this very reason that the regime of the new occupation refused to honour the enemy of the old. If the present regime honored Sarafi, it would be disparaging itself. Such a lack of consideration would have the meaning of self-condemnation.
The regime did not pay military honours to the dead Sarafi, because the General did not take his stripes from the Offices but was given them by the people in the mountains...”
Throughout his life, Stefanos Sarafis was a tireless and unyielding fighter and a leader in the struggles of the people. The distortion and rewriting of history that is attempted nowadays cannot tarnish or erase the three-century epoch of the EAMik Resistance, the struggles and sacrifices of myriads of fighters for freedom, independence, peace, for a just society with the people in charge in their own land.
In the memory of our people and in tomorrow's history books the figure of the glorious ELAS general Stefanos Sarafis will have a special place.
By clicking here you can browse the very interesting posts of the magazine about General Stefanos Sarafis.
