PRACTICAL EXPRESSION OF OUR IDEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

In the main article of a previous issue of “Maniot Solidarity”, we presented the ideological framework that defines our newspaper, its objectives and aspirations for Mani, as condensed in its title. We deem it appropriate, as a follow-up, to specify how our ideological framework is promoted through research and, ultimately, through the selection and layout of content on specific pages of our newspaper. The greatest difficulty in the research process is information overload, which ultimately becomes a problem because, in addition to preventing the readers from approaching the substance of the material selected for publication, it also hinders them from critically selecting the most useful elements to improve their intellectual orientation and ideological background. Through this information overload, we attempt to document issues related to the ideological orientation and goals of our newspaper, and subsequently to clear them from any kind of bias in presentation and influencing opinions, so that we can delve into their true essence.

We have designed the layout of content in such a way as to refer to the entire chronological spectrum of Mani from the beginning to modern day. We attempt to harmoniously relate historical events of the past to the current needs of our area and its future prospects. We attempt to keep the layout of our material the same for every issue. More specifically, this layout is presented below:

On page 2, aspects of the heroic past of our region are presented, from the emergence of the geographical term “Mani” to our time. The search for content is difficult, since the needed material is scattered in many publications, most of which has not yet been digitised. In order to write the articles presented, on-site visits to libraries in Athens are required, as it is in the Greek capital where the sources are located. Given the strong differentiation of the historical course of the individual regions of Mani (Inner Mani, Outer Mani, Lower Mani, Bardounia, as initially presented by the first Maniot scholar Nikitas Nifakis, and other smaller geographical divisions), we considered it appropriate to collect and present this information on page 10.

Having thoroughly understood Adamantios Korais’^[1] view that the educational upgrade of the Greeks should precede the Revolution of 1821 (concern that was surpassed by the impetuosity created by the desire for freedom of the Greek people), and believing in the need for continuous effort and improvement in the educational sector, we have reserved page 3 for the publication of articles on education and culture. Having accepted the anxiety for the rise of the cultural level in Mani, as expressed by Nikitas Nifakis due to his impending death (1818), we have decided to permanently place his “Farewell Address” quatrain on the top right-hand corner of page 3, as a timeless message to the youth of Mani.

Historians do not agree on who produces historical events: peoples, or individuals?  We are not in a position to take sides for or against either view. However, we consider it our duty, besides the intense promotion of achievements by Maniots as a whole to publish on page 4 the permanent column Ονομάτων Επίσκεψις, which presents the life and works of personalities from the intellectual and scientific worlds who excelled in their respective fields of activity.

In pages 6 and 7, we publish topics concerning the development of our region, mainly the technical studies and public works necessary to support the explosive increase in private investments in our area in recent decades. In these articles, we attempt to clear the news from the deliberately exaggerated projections of micro-political expediency. Politicians usually promote these projects through multiple references to the same work during its evolutionary phase; we attempt to disconnect the absorption of credits from the efficiency of the project as it really appears on the ground, and we do not avoid referring to the negative consequences on the final result caused by recapitulative tables and price revisions.

News from modern life in Mani is featured on pages 1, page 9 and page 8 with the presentation of local business activities (Επιχειρηματικές Δραστηριότητες) and on pages 11 and 12 with the presentation of Αnnouncements – Births, Marriages, Obituaries – (Κοινωνικά Γεγονότα).

The main article on page 1 reflects the general ideological framework of our association “Maniot Solidarity” for our region, as it relates to current political and social events. The translation of the main article into English and the presentation of the translation on page 8 is our conscientious obligation to the second and third generation Maniots, who might have difficulties with written Greek, as well as to foreign philo-Maniots. In a similar context, the signed articles presented on page 5, and often also on page 12, which, starting from critical socio-political events, also affect our area.

The layout of our newspaper, apart from the desire to meet the expectations of the contemporary Maniots and philo-Maniots, aims to create a legacy for future generations. We believe that our attempt to portray the character of the region in a coherent way can also function like seeds that condense the characteristics of plants for future germination.

                                                                                                                                       THE EDITORIAL BOARD

[1] Greek scholar and humanist (1748-1833)

This issue marks 25 years since April 1999, when the first issue of this newspaper was published. The publication did not emerge randomly nor was it motivated by financial considerations and ambitions. It was the product of emotional maturity. A maturity that was acquired in the ten-year journey since the concept of “solidarity” on a social and political level appeared in an organised way in the Mani region. Solidarity was the focus of the management model implemented at the local government in the Neochori and Stoupa areas of Western Mani during the 1990s by the group, coordinated by its founder. Solidarity was also the focal point of the program in which the group participated in the local elections of 1998 in the then municipality of Leuktro, garnering one-third of the electorate’s vote.

A few months after the local elections of 1998, the group considered the conditions to be ripe for the message of solidarity, with all the emotional background that accompanies it, to be highlighted through a publication by the association Aλληλεγγύη (Solidarity), which was established then. The high-quality concept of solidarity has guided us in composing the content presented in the 300 issues of our newspaper, continuously printed over the past 300 months. This concept has also guided the publication of six books that showcase the characteristics of our region (“Travel Routes in Mani”, volumes A and B, “Pages from the History of Mani”, volumes A and B, “Mani in Foreign-language Books of the 17^th-19^th Centuries” and “The Timeless Evolution of Large Areas of Mani”) as well as the content of the highly visited website www.maniatiki.gr that we created.

During these 300 months, the journey has not been smooth. Much “turbulance” was created. Some members of the group wanted to use the newspaper as a means to “conquer” the local government of the area, in the name of promoting supposedly ideological ideas, but in reality promoting personal ambitions. Our insistence on promoting the concept of solidarity through the newspaper’s publications, a concept that on a practical level touches the entire population of our region and is in complete harmony with its widespread application to friends and non-friends alike, was accompanied by conflicts, bitterness and departures. Persisting in keeping our principles in the social sphere, we strengthened our ties with those members who endured the difficult times that we faced during this long journey. Relying on these people, we insist on its continuation, as long as the trust of those friends in our ideas allows us to cover the costs of frugal management and as long as our intellectual powers allow us to transform these ideas into analyses, proposals and interventions guided by Maniot and, more generally, social solidarity. We believe that the concept of solidarity, when applied according to its semantic background, allows neither narrow-minded perceptions nor subjective motives. Such perceptions and motives inevitably lead to micro-political management, and inability to promote broad social goals. This kind of management may, in the course of its implementation, provide selfish satisfaction, but ultimately leads not only to social deadlocks but also to personal impasses.

Slowly but steadily, we gained the trust of a large group of consciencious Maniots and philo-Maniots who also agree with the non-selfish goals for our area contained in the newspaper’s publications. With this group of fellow citizens, we aim to continue communicating through the texts that appear in the columns of this newspaper and our website. This group represents the consciencious Maniots – those who, apart from their individual and family pursuits, feel that Mani is our common home and seek, actively and participatively, to improve the quality of life in our region and strengthen solidarity among our fellow citizens. Whether our fellow citizens who think in this way constitute a majority, or when this will be the case, the final conclusion may be drawn from many sociological factors. However, it is certain that vertical divisions, with well-concealed individual benefits, with the objective of preying on local power, will lead us to increasingly insurmountable impasses, ultimately causing the general deterioration of the quality of life and the fragmentation of social cohesion in our area. This is not just a sociological conclusion; it has been confirmed many times and recorded in the history of our region. We only need to realise it and to bring it to the current data in order to formulate a safe course of action and meet the demands of this critical period for the country and our region.   

THE EDITORIAL BOARD