At the small square's café of the village Agiannis (Saint Ioannis) in Amari of Rethymnon we met Zacharias Dandoulakis, a pensioner, who used to shelter Antonis Brilakis, the unforgettable left party's fighter, during the dictatorship. Even though their political beliefs were totally different, he was hiding him for 17 months and he finally helped him to escape by plane and go abroad, with a different name and passport.

Antonis was an idealist

The airplane's steward demanded money in order to embark Antonis Mprilakis and Zacharias rebuked him in a very unorthodox way: "He asked for 15 golden pounds to take Antonis and I only had 25 drachmas in my pocket. Wait, said I, I'm going to bring the money, and I brought a gun. No, don't shoot me, I'll take him without money, he said trembling with fear".

We asked Zacharias why he was doing so much for Brilakis and he answered us, almost crying: "During the German occupation, the Germans convicted my mother to death and put her on a ship which would carry her and other people to a concentration camp in Germany. But the ship sank in Chania of Crete after a bombardment by the allies and my mother drowned. Antonis's father had helped my imprisoned mother, and I never forgot that. When I was taking care of Brilakis, it was as if I was putting wax on my mother's wounds while she was being tortured by the Germans".

In Crete, people have very special communication codes, which are being defined not only by conventional logic. When they undertake an altruistic duty they passionately serve it, without thinking about the consequences. Insobriety and self-sacrifice are encapsulated in their DNA. They are also respectful for other people's "madness", regardless of whether they agree with it or not. So Zacharias, respected Brilakis as a fighter. When he once asked him: "Antonis, why don't you have any money?", Brilakis didn't know what to say. "How was he supposed to have money, since he used to earn 12,000 drachmas, the 10,000 of which ended up to the party? He was a great idealist".

Only from far away

When we were leaving Agiannis, Zacharias said a warm goodbye to us: "You came to my village and you are visitors to me. I could fire now that you're leaving, but I won't shoot close to you, I'll only do it when you'll be far away, which is safer". Even though he's had enough of the reckless use of firearms in Crete, there's still something deep inside him impelling him to express his feelings with fire shots.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

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Few people are left in the village and the houses are almost deserted.

Serenade written on a Memorial at Agiannis.

Old people only, at the village's café.

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