George Bizos has left its mark on me indelibly and has defined me definitively and irrevocably
George Bizos, the man who made Hellenism proud, has gone but remains an example to be emulated and is the best that modern Hellenism has to show.
He fought alongside his father, encountering adversity multiplied by the difficulties imposed by the regime at the time and, through his dynamic temperament modestly but decisively, became involved in and, in the end, led the fight to shake off the inhuman yoke of apartheid that oppressed his second homeland.
He was a pioneer and became a symbol of self-denial, which led him down steep and dangerous paths, but this also vindicated him.
He could have very easily and wonderfully developed and succeeded as a businessman like so many of our renowned compatriots in South Africa.
He could have become the owner of large department stores and/or restaurant chains, lead the way in the construction business, serving the “brickmania” that (perfectly understandable) is possessed by many of us refugees and immigrants.
But George Bizos wasn’t enchanted, he wasn’t enticed, he didn’t become trapped.
He did not succumb to the temptation in order to serve self -interests and narcissism.
He did not succumb to the ease of personal comfort.
He proved from the tender age of 13 that he was destined for great things, the noblest, the most difficult.
After all, his father wanted him to be a doctor.
George Bizos was to follow other paths, which gave him years of persecutions, obstacles and blocks, but his struggle began to bear fruit after many decades, making him a worthy Greek, a worthy South African, a worthy man.
By studying the trajectory of both Nelson Mandela and his very close friend and comrade, our compatriot George Bizos, we inevitably compare the historical course of the struggle of those with our own national, political and social struggles.
We first find that Mandela did not lose hope and orientation either, but neither did his Greek companion.
His unparalleled insight, by common admission of all, saved the very life of Nelson Mandela who was to emerge, through his long imprisonment, a symbol, a catalyst and a mentor, of a struggle of inequality.
The contribution of the intelligent Greek fighter to the historical direction of his adoptative homeland was decisive.
An essential pillar of his great companion during the years of his isolation, he kept the spark of hope alight.
The hard and difficult years went on, but he continued to fight on the front line until the completion of time.
The light slowly but steadily began to penetrate Mandela’s dungeon.
Their parallel paths have endured through time.
Admittedly, the acquaintance, friendship and collaboration with George Bizos has left its mark on me indelibly and has defined me definitively and irrevocably.