Karapanagiotidis asks Greeks to exhibit filotimo and help the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre at a critical time

“Brother, I want all the Greeks to help,” Kon Karapanagiotidis sounds urgent over the phone. The CEO and founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, (ASRC), must fill a “gap created by 45 per cent drop in donations since last July.”

“People have not stopped caring, but since July last year donations from the public are down 45 percent, we’re under budget, and we’re not overspending.”

“We have until the end of March to fill that gap to make sure that we are not at risk of having to close our doors.”

The ASRC has assisted more than 30,000 people. “We are a place of welcome and hope. During the pandemic we doubled in size to meet he needs of refugees – the public were incredibly generous.”

“We pay for 80,000 nights of accommodation, our health service provides 6000 medical appointments, and we pay for medicines.”

Over 1600 people use the ASRC’s food bank, and the centre provides legal representation to more than 400 families currently.

“During the Covid crises, we spent $3 million to provide food, housing, medicine. Many charities closed but the ASRC “kept people safe from the pandemic.” The needs remain, they do not diminish says Karapanagiotidis.

He says the nine interest rates hikes, and inflation have resulted in a drop of donations.

“The public have been amazing, we the public’s confidence and this foundation that goes back a long way, but the reality is that the Reserve Bank didn’t see that pace of these pressures coming.”

Karapanagiotidis emphasises that all the good work is done without any support from the federal government.

Coalition and Labor governments since 1996 have both sought to display toughness on asylum seekers- some of the world’s most vulnerable people. An absurd situation has developed as asylum seekers, living in Australia have no right to work, no access to Medicare, or Centrelink. Civil ghosts.

“We have asked for help from state government” Karapanagiotidis says and is hopeful that the Victorian government will cover some of the gap.

Karapanagiotidis congratulated the federal government for giving permanency to 19,000 people on temporary protection visas, but says that it does not change things on the ground.

“These were people have Centrelink and Medicare and the right to work.”

He wants the government to allow everyone to work and give them access to Centrelink and Medicare. “They need the basic safety net we all have,” Karapanagiotidis says.

“Put us out of business for the right reasons,” he goads the federal government. “I hope that we would not have to do what we do because asylum seekers have access to health, welfare, and the right to work.”

Karapanagiotidis had to make some heartbreaking decisions. “We cut staff by 10 per cent last year, but I can’t cut nurses, and social workers.”

To never face a situation like this again Karapanagiotidis says that the ASRC will reduce in size.

“We’re going to have to resize and we are staying within our means.”

The ASRC budget is being assessed so that can continue to deliver essential services like the foodbank, accommodation, health, and legal support.

Karapanagiotidis’ voice cracks. “People have been incredible… staff are turning up to work doing all they can… they have families as well… they are so forgiving.”

“We’re not going to stop fund raising and fighting and pushing until we get there. I’ve been doing this for 22 years. I’m not going to give up now.”

He is “immensely proud” of his cultural heritage and will soon publish a book of his mother’s recipes, both in Greek and English. A significant portion of his fee has already been earmarked for the Centre.

“I am asking people to do what Aristotle advised, ‘the good’” Karapanagiotis invokes Aristotle. There is also an ancient Hellenic notion of filotimo which accompanies ‘the good’.

Filotimo binds two of the most important words of the Greek language – friendship and honour. From Homer’s times filotimo has been the compass of an ethical life.

Filotimo is at the core of the ASRC and guides us to give. Aristotle said it was easy to give money but advised that giving it to “virtuous cause” is a way of achieving the intrinsic good.

To donate to Save the ASRC click here.