The Minister of Health was in Cairo, Egypt Adonis Georgiadis who visited the city’s Greek hospital there.
As he wrote on social media: “In 1912, the then-prosperous Greek Community of Cairo founded the Community Hospital. Years passed and the once prosperous community numbered less than 1,500 people. But these people remain dignified and keep the Hospital and Nursing Home in excellent condition.”
It is mainly staffed by Egyptians and receives services from Egyptians, but remains a viable business, from which all the Community’s expenses for its churches and institutions are paid.
Every Greek, just for using a Greek passport, does not even need to be a member of the Cairo Community, has a 50% discount. The poor Greeks pay nothing. And the Hospital lives off the money of the native Egyptians, as it works as a private clinic for them, but a clinic of high standard and reputation.
Cairo’s Hellenic Hospital had not been visited by any member of the Greek government since World War II. Mr Georgiadis is the first Greek Health Minister to visit, accompanied by the Greek ambassador to Egypt, Mr Papageorgiou.
History of the hospital and the Greeks of Egypt
The presence of the Greeks in Egypt has been evident since the time of the pharaohs, in the 10th century BC. However, when the Arabs prevailed in the 7th century AD, the decline of the Greek element began. All this changed centuries later, when Muhammad Ali (1805 – 1849) took power in the country and abolished the restrictions imposed on foreigners. Since then and in the following years, the migratory flow was great and thousands of Greeks chose Egypt for their future development.
After the creation of the first Greek Consulate General in Alexandria in 1833, the need to establish Greek Communities in Egypt’s two main cities, Alexandria and Cairo, began to become clear.
In 1856, the Greek Orthodox Community was founded in Cairo. It had religious status and the Patriarch of Alexandria was named president. The members of the Community were not only Greeks, but also Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians (Syro-Orthodox), as well as those under the Patriarchate.
In 1904, the need arose to establish a purely Greek Community, a legal entity with a national dimension, which would serve the preservation and development of existing and later charitable and educational institutions, as well as the Foundation of a Greek Church, Hospital and Nursing Home. elderly.
On April 25, 1904, the original Orthodox Community was dissolved and with the initiative of prominent men of the time, as well as the agreement of the Patriarch of Alexandria, the establishment of the Greek Community of Cairo was deemed necessary. On April 29 of the same year, the first General Assembly of the parish was held at the Princes’ Club and then the “Greek Community of Cairo”, “the Community”, was founded with the intervention of the then diplomatic agent in Cairo. At the first meeting of the EKK, on 6 May 1904, a presidium was elected by secret ballot, with Alexander Rostovich Bey as the first president.
Several decades after the creation of the Community and specifically from 1952, the political and economic situation forced a large part of the Greek population to abandon Cairo. Gradually, from 1957 to 1966, the Greek Community of Cairo merged with all the Greek Communities in its surroundings.
The purpose of EKK’s existence is to provide cultural, educational, nursing, social and religious services to its members.
More detailed the fields of activity of the Association they are:
The protection of the family, children, young people and motherhood. Protection from old age. Cultural, scientific and religious services. Social Welfare. Working in the educational, cultural and sporting spheres. The development of friendship between the people of Egypt and friendly peoples, especially the Hellenic ones. Educational action and activity in the health sector.
The management committee, which always ensures the achievement of its objectives and continues to this day uninterrupted, its operation, for an indefinite period, is composed of:
- President –Christos Kavalis
- Vice Presidents – Chrysanthi Skoufaridou and Michalis Grunstein
- General Secretary – Willy Politis
- Treasurer – Antonis Iordanidis
- And members: Andreas Yosri – Leonidas Fontrieu – Andreas Roussos – Stelios Chalkias