The island of Vido and the Serbian cemeteries across Corfu are the resting places for around 10,000 Serbian soldiers. The island united two nations during the Great War, and even today, as many friendships are questioned, this one remains unbroken.
The village of Liapades is adorned with both Greek and Serbian flags.
These are days to celebrate the closeness of the two nations, as the Corfu Society of Greek-Serbian Friendship and the association “Saint Serb and I” brought around 200 friends from Serbia, Republika Srpska, and Montenegro to the island. It was clear to everyone that this was not just a tourist or cultural event, but much more than that, reports “RTS.”
Corfiots Blocked Airport in 1999
Janis Teperklis, President of the Ionian Islands Region, recalls how during the bombing of Serbia in 1999, they blocked their own airport to prevent NATO planes from using it. “There have always been challenges, but the friendship with the Serbs is inviolable,” Teparklis emphasizes.
It all began in 1916 when the Serbian army arrived on Corfu, with its 90,000 inhabitants, bringing over 130,000 soldiers. They won only the hearts of the Corfiots.
In exile, life continued with the National Assembly in session, a Serbian printing house was opened, and the Greeks, without hesitation, offered the sacred spaces of their churches to the Serbian refugees.
At that time, there were also sports and cultural societies on Corfu, and in the city, signs could be seen such as: Administration of the Topčider Penal Institution, District Court of Kragujevac, and even Chief of the Kragujevac District.
The Integrity of Serbian Soldiers – A Pledge of Friendship
The dignity and honesty of the Serbian soldiers during those few months of recovery on Corfu remain a legend and a pledge of friendship for future generations. Dora Kefaloniti from Analipsi on Corfu wants to fulfill her father’s wish, which he promised to his father – to donate their property, where it is believed the entire military orchestra of the Morava Division is buried with their instruments, to the Serbian people. “And so it will be,” she declares.
During the days of celebrating the friendship between the two nations, volunteers worked on the site where the construction of a Serbian educational camp will soon begin. Across the island, tributes were paid to the fallen, and at the Blue Tomb on the island of Vido, a solemn hierarchal liturgy was served by Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxos, and the Diapontian Islands, with the participation of the Abbot of Hilandar Monastery, Archimandrite Methodios, and priests from Serbia and Montenegro.
To remember heroism and vows, and to repay good with good.
Source: rts.rs
