Over the years, we have heard of the great prosperity achieved by the people of our Dodecanese diaspora. We have watched with immense pride and admiration as one after the other, members of our Dodecanese community abroad have received accolades in their adopted countries for their exemplary work and ingenuous ideas. Many have reached the pinnacle of success in their chosen professions. The success they have achieved abroad has boosted Greece’s own efforts to raise its status within the European Union and globally. Why is it then that, instead of thanking and encouraging our people abroad, the mother country has let them so horribly down? Why is that as a first world country we insist on employing “third world” attitudes when dealing with the needs and queries of the Dodecanesian community abroad?

Sixty years after the unification of the Dodecanese islands with the mother country Greece, we believe it’s about time we reflected upon the days and months that followed that historic moment; the euphoria that gripped the islands at the thought of being free again. Free to speak their own language, free to practice their age-old traditions and free to participate in Greek politics without fear of any repercussions from their foreign invaders. But the elation was short-lived for many of our compatriots who felt pressed to abandon their dreams of living in a unified Greece, and, instead, look to foreign and unfamiliar lands, often thousands of kilometers away from home, to fulfill their ambitions.
We feel that we have a moral obligation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the unification by examining and investigating thoroughly the reasons for this mass exodus of our people to other countries.
Today, in places as far off as Miami and Toronto; in cities of exotic destinations, such as Tasmania, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and in fact in all corners of the earth, there are people of Greek extraction, 2nd and 3rd generations, who talk about Greece, eat Greek food and practice Greek traditions but have never set foot on their ancestors’ land.

We feel that it is about time that our Dodecanesian community acquired a voice.
We believe they deserve it and that is why we decided to create DodecanesianDream.com.

To date, there are no sponsors or official supporters for this project, but we would like to thank all those who support our idea and encourage us in our venture. Feel free to send us your comments on how we can improve DodecansianDream.com to help you, your family, your business or your organization in your quest for success.