Kapelis- The Hatmaker

by Andreas Kappa

  Greece had been betrayed and abandoned. The Greek and Turkish governments agreed to engage in a population exchange.

  The Greek prime minister, Venizelos, stated to a British newspaper:

  Greece is not making war against Islam, but against the anachronistic Ottoman Government, and its corrupt, ignominious, and bloody administration, with a view to expelling it from those territories where the majority of the population consists of Greeks.

  The Venizelos government was not respected at the time. His words were not heard, and he was undermined by foreign powers, including Britain, who promised to adhere to several agreements and treaties negotiated by Britain to end World War I.

  King Constantine was nowhere to be seen.

  The national schism in Greece was the deep split of Greek politics and society between two factions. One was led by Eleftherios Venizelos, and the other by the king. It predated World War I but escalated significantly over the decision on which side Greece should support during the war.

  The control over Constantinople was severe. Constantinople was, after all, the core of the Orthodox Church. As Smyrna and Constantinople fell to the control of the Turks, thousands—in fact, millions—of Greeks living in western Turkey were displaced. Others were executed or killed by the Turks, leaving only a history of their existence behind.

  The Armenians were also severely punished by the Turks by the almost-complete genocide of their people. The Turkish army was far from honourable and did not consist of distinguished men.

  King Constantine I reigned for a short period until 1922, and then King George II became the monarch of Greece over significant protest.

  Andreas was deep into his studies for his law degree.

  On 25 March 1924, during the celebration of over one hundred years since the revolution in Greece took place, an anti-monarch uprising took place, and Greece became a republic without a monarch.

  A plebiscite of the Greek people wanted a republic. Andreas took part in the movement to expel the king. Andreas was also in his final year of law school.

  The celebrations were grand. The people of Athens took to the streets, cheering, and there was great merriment.

  One of the lecturers at the law school in Athens on comparative law—that is, civil law in comparison to common law—was Associate Professor Demertzis. He was a hard marker on exams and papers submitted by the students and generally a hard man with little tolerance.

  During one lecture, he asked the students about their political views. As each student spoke innocently, complying with the request of their lecturer, he took brief notes down.

  Andreas did not share his views, nor did he respond to his request. He simply said he was a patriot and had served his country and that his father had told him never to disclose your politics or how much you earned.

  The professor said to Andreas, ‘You will make either a fine diplomat or an extremist.’

  As Andreas left that lecture, he could see the students’ names on a sheet with his lecturer’s interpretation of whether that particular student was alpha (aristeros) left wing or delta (deksios) right wing. There was no in-between.

  Andreas performed well in his exams but not as well as he did in his philosophy degree, which he enjoyed much more. After the final marks were posted in early 1925, he had passed well.

  He then had to approach the head of the department, Professor Demertzis, to obtain verification of his entire law degree subjects to confirm his degree and graduation ceremony.

  Demertzis said to Andreas, ‘Before I certify all the subjects of your degree, I need to know the answer to one question. What are your political views?’

  Quite cleverly and calling upon his learning in philosophy, he replied, ‘Teacher, you taught the law, but you have not kept it.’

  Demertzis did not respond. He signed the certification and threw the document at Andreas. Andreas left him outraged.

  Andreas sensed that the professor was categorising students for political purposes to create a fakelo, a file about each of the new professionals graduating in law.

  At Andreas’s graduation, his family attended with his sisters and their families and his unmarried aunt, who had looked after him all this time.

  Politically, Greece remained in turmoil with scheming and positioning at every turn. Greece was a republic, and the people thought they had seen the back of any king ruling Greece.

  Andreas had kept his employment with Dunhill and was now knocking on the doors of attorneys to begin his professional career as a lawyer. He wanted to be an advocate like the lawyers he had seen in London.

  After six months, it seemed impossible to get employment as a lawyer as he was from a village, a public-school student, not rich, and did not have the right connections.

  That was what he thought, but his failure to tell his lecturer about his political views was also a factor being manipulated without his knowledge.

  At around the same time, Mr Dunhill came to Athens to audit his store. He was very pleased with the results and the success and growth of the business.

  Mr Dunhill, Andreas, and Aristos spent quality time together.

  He said to Andreas in the store one morning, ‘You recall when you came to London that I had promised I would speak to you about a proposal.’

  Andreas nodded.

  Dunhill said, ‘Well, now that the wars are over and there is stability in the region, I want to open a store like this one in the Middle East. Are you interested?’

  Andreas thought it was a great idea and said, ‘Where?’

  ‘Phoenicia, its capital being Beirut.’

  Andreas, who was young and looking for adventure, said, ‘Of course, Mr Dunhill.’

  Dunhill said, ‘I will be sending two employees from London to help you set the store up. Then you can employ a local man, who can speak Arabic, to sell my tobacco. You leave in two months for a two-year posting. You will spend six months in Lebanon and six months back in Athens, and Aristos will take your place on a rotating roster.’

  Both Aristos and Andreas were pleased with the news.

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  BEIRUT, 1924

  In November 1924, Andreas left by ship for the port of Beirut.

  Andreas expected the people to be Bedouins and, in effect, uneducated savages. That image was quickly dispelled when he arrived in Beirut.

  The ship slowly navigated after almost four days into the most picturesque port, which was horseshoe in shape. The city climbed up into stunning mountains filled with cedar trees.

  When the ship moored, he was greeted by two Englishmen, William and Henry, who were there to establish the Dunhill store.

  There was hustle and bustle in the streets, with people selling their wares, and the men and women were well dressed.

  Arabic was the principal language; however, English could be heard as well as French, Spanish, Turkish, and other languages Andreas had never heard before.

  William and Henry showed Andreas to his quarters, which was a bedroom apartment near a busy street.

  About two hundred metres from his home was the store that was almost complete with the Dunhill name on it and ‘Tobacconist’ in English and writing in Arabic that Andreas assumed meant ‘English tobacconist’.

  After resting and chatting with the Englishmen, Andreas went to bed.

  For the next two weeks, there was construction activity as the men were finalising the store to open it. Then the store was finished. The two men returned to Britain, and Andreas was left alone to run the store.

  Andreas conducted several interviews for a local employee to assist him. He was fortunate to meet Elias, a Christian Maronite local who spoke Arabic, English, French, and a little Greek. The men got on well together.

  The store flourished, to the great elation of Mr Dunhill back in London.

  Andreas made many f
riends in Beirut with the help of Elias. Andreas enjoyed the nightlife, coffee lounges, and tavernas by the sea in his spare time. He became quite a popular foreigner amongst the locals and was well respected.

  He held a responsible role to ensure the success of the business and did not make hats in his first six months there.

  In Beirut, he met an exquisite almond-shaped eyes young lady by the name of Almira. Andreas was falling in love. Almira was also falling in deeper love with Andreas.

  She invited him to her home by the beachfront. It was obvious to Andreas she was the daughter of a very rich family. Both the father and mother welcomed him to their home and offered him coffee and desserts.

  The father spoke almost perfect English. The mother knew only Arabic, and the father translated.

  He said, ‘I own ships, and I trade in goods in the entire Mediterranean. I understand that you and my daughter are fond of each other. If that is so, then you must marry her.’

  Andreas said, ‘I intend to do the honourable thing by Almira.’

  His eyes lit up. He said, ‘What is your religion?’

  Andreas said, ‘Greek Orthodox, a Christian. Why do you ask?’

  He said, ‘In order to marry my daughter, you must enter our religion as a Sunni Muslim.’

  Andreas said, ‘I cannot do your bidding. I served my country as an Orthodox, I expect my future wife to be an Orthodox, my children to be Orthodox and I will be buried an Orthodox.’

  The last comment by Andreas brought an abrupt end to the romance.

  Andreas was despondent, as he truly loved Almira. Almira was also heartbroken with the inflexibility of her father’s demands. She never married despite the enormous wealth of her father and wrote poetry of love in her life.

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  ATHENS, 1925

  In May 1925, Andreas returned to Athens, and Aristos replaced him. Andreas continued to run the Dunhill store and make hats. He employed an assistant and was enjoying his life. He courted a few young ladies, but without success.

  Greece remained a republic without a king, but there was an undercurrent for the return of the king by the royalists.

  In late October 1925, Andreas was contacted by a firm of lawyers in Athens in response to a letter he had written to them two years previously for a position as an attorney in their firm.

  Andreas had to choose between his role in Athens and Lebanon with the Dunhill Company, in which he was being paid handsomely, or starting his career as a lawyer with the firm at a greatly reduced rate of pay.

  Andreas chose the law firm. He advised the director in London, who wished him all the success in the world, and then Alfred Dunhill himself wished him well in his new career as a lawyer.

  Mr Dunhill also expressed gratitude to him for making his stores a success and invited him to apply again for employment if he found he did not enjoy his career as a lawyer.

  In late November 1925, Andreas began his career as a lawyer with the firm Panagopoulos Brothers, who had numerous connections with the government and shipowners and also had ties with the exiled king and those loyal to him.

  The firm was in the affluent suburb of Kolonaki in Athens. Although they said to Andreas that they were apolitical, it was obvious to Andreas they were all monarchists.

  The firm consisted of five senior attorneys, three junior attorneys (of which Andreas was one), and a support staff of ten typists, secretaries, and paralegals.

  Andreas was soon in the thick of his profession with many daily tasks to achieve. He preferred attending court, but he was tasked in conveyancing, contracts, and shipping law. There was also some tort law involving damages to property caused by farm animals.

  His days would start at 7.30 a.m., and he would rarely finish before 8 p.m., six days a week. Sunday was a holy day, and Andreas would attend his church.

  The year 1926 speed by as Andreas was deep into his practice. In 1927, Andreas had developed his practice sufficiently to request the partners of the firm to permit him to litigate.

  He did so, and he carried many a matter in the courts and was more successful than unsuccessful in his efforts as a lawyer. This impressed the partners, and they increased his salary and briefed him in more difficult cases.

  During the firm’s Christmas party in 1927, in attendance was a middle-class family of haberdashery shop owners selling sewing items, zips, clothing, and other material in the centre of Athens near Omonia Square. The family was there with their daughter.

  The senior partner introduced the family to Andreas as the Prasinos family. The daughter was introduced as Ourania (the heavens). The father was named Yiannis, and the mother Vasiliki, but she was known as Vaso.

  The young lady’s name befitted her. She was twenty-one and had finished senior high school and was well educated for a girl at that time.

  Ourania had deep, almost-olive-green eyes, dimples in her cheeks, a pointy chin, slightly olive skin, a beautiful voice, tallish, and with hair down beyond her waist like the tail of a mare.

  They were introduced to each other, and the chemistry between these two young people was instant and could be felt by the others present. There was idle chatter at the party, but Andreas and Ourania kept their eyes on each other.

  Just after New Year in 1928, Andreas asked where exactly the haberdashery was located, and he went to the store. He was greeted by Mr and Mrs Prasinos.

  He said to the father, ‘Mr Prasinos, may I please spend some time with Ourania for the purpose of courting her with a chaperone or otherwise.’

  Mr Prasinos said, ‘You may see my daughter with the escort of her mother.’

  Andreas then spent the next three months courting Ourania with the escort of either her mother or father or both.

  He made clear his intentions and that he was honourable and wished to see her more often and alone.

  The father said, ‘If that is to happen, you now know what I expect.’

  In response, Andreas said, ‘I am satisfied she would make a good wife and love me. That is all I ask for.’

  The father said, ‘Well, what is it you ask?’

  Andreas said, ‘I love Ourania, and I dearly want to make her my wife.’

  ‘And so it will be, Andreas,’ he said.

  The couple gave their respective word for betrothal, and they were engaged soon after with a small party to celebrate the occasion.

  The wedding date was set for 10 May 1928. At the wedding were family and guests from both sides of the family.

  To the absolute surprise of Andreas, Aristos was in attendance with Mr Alfred Dunhill, who had travelled from distant London to be there. Mr Dunhill was very generous in his monetary gift to the new couple.

  The wedding was a wonderful and festive occasion.

  The couple then set up their home in a two-bedroom cottage behind the royal gardens in Athens. They rented it from a wealthy Athenian who rented his properties.

  Ourania was almost immediately with child. Andreas continued to work hard in his practice. Andreas was also active, with other citizens like him, to ensure that Greece remained a republic.

  In February 1929, Andreas and Ourania were blessed with a baby boy, whom they named Kostas.

  Prime Minister Venizelos was in power, heading the Liberal Party of Greece. He had recently won elections. There was a false sense of peace, both within the country and in the world in general. Venizelos had ensured that peace treaties were signed with Turkey.

  Andreas continued in his legal practice and had developed his own clients, who gave him work. In 1931, the couple was blessed with a second child, a boy named Yiannis.

  Athens was beginning to flourish, particularly with merchant shipping, as a direct result of peace in the capital. Prime ministers were changing often.

  Andreas began acting for clients in shipping law and disputes in contracts. In 1933, Ourania w
as busy as a mother of two children and in home duties. Andreas and Ourania had a third child during this time, and they named the child Achilleas. Andreas named the child Achilleas in honour of the fallen friend of his grandfather.

  There had been no king of Greece for nearly a decade, and there was harmony in the country.

  In 1935, the couple had a girl that they named Maria after the Holy Virgin Mary. Andreas and Ourania now had four children, and Andreas was working even harder to support his growing family. The eldest, Kostas, was now attending school.

  In late 1935, the unthinkable occurred.

  Prime Minister Kondylis, a general, assumed government with the support of the armed forces’ chiefs and abolished the republic by his own decree.

  He was not a prime minister but a sinister, yet temporary puppet, for the monarchists. He remained in power for little over six weeks to arrange for the exiled king of Greece to return peacefully to Athens.

  King George II was reinstituted as the sovereign and king of Greece in November of that year.

  The country was in disarray. The partners of the law firm had a meeting with Andreas present. They made it clear that there would be even more work for the firm, as they were all monarchists and knew King George and his family very well.

  Andreas’s suspicions about the political views of the partners of the firm were proven correct. Andreas had never disclosed his political views to the partners of the firm.

  Within a few weeks of the return of King George, the legal briefing for the firm doubled. The managing partner had a private and confidential meeting with the king.

  The direction by the king was simple. All those who were against the monarch during his absence were not to be clients of the firm. If there was a matter in progress where the firm acted against such people, there was to be the tactics of delay, a rigid fight, and obstruction to bleed them.

  Anyone not loyal to the king could not be employees of the legal firms retained by the state.