[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 20, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     LESSONS OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Madam Speaker, I stand here today in a Chamber that has 
for centuries witnessed on a daily basis the dreams and the fruits of 
American independence. Today, we remember that it was March 25, 1821, 
that the Greeks rose up to seek their independence. As has always been 
the case, the price of that independence was high.
  Greek independence is a matter of special interest to me because of 
my family and, in particular, my wife, Heidi. My wife, Heidi, is the 
great, great granddaughter of a young 4-year-old survivor of the Battle 
of Missolongi. For those of my colleagues who recall those events, it 
was Missolongi that rose up against Ottoman rule. It was Missolongi 
that captured the attention of Lord Byron, and it was Missolongi where 
some of the harshest battles of Greek independence were fought.
  When Missolongi finally fell, the survivors numbered only a few 
thousand women and children, one of them the 4-year-old great, great 
grandmother of my wife, Catherine, or Haidine, ``the forsaken one,'' as 
she was known. She was impressed into the household of an Egyptian 
admiral and relocated to Alexandria, Egypt, where 3 years later, at the 
age of 7, she came to the attention of a British diplomat. The British 
diplomat offered to buy her out of slavery, but the offer was refused, 
until a few months later, she became sick, at which point the offer was 
accepted and the sick little girl was delivered to the diplomat's 
family. He and his wife nursed her back to health, they relocated to 
England where she was adopted, educated, raised up, and eventually 
married to the son of an admiral. They relocated to Canada and 
eventually to the United States.
  So, Madam Speaker, the story of Greek independence is also the story 
of America and of Americans and of our families. It is a story of the 
struggle for freedom, the struggle for democracy, and the struggle for 
a better life for our families, our friends, and our neighbors.
  As we gather in this great Chamber, this cradle of democracy here in 
these United States, we should never forget the lessons of Greeks and 
the lessons of Greek independence.

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