Maritsa Andrea Karaoli

Maritsa Andrea Karaoli, was born on August 5, 1929.

She passed away on June 3, 2024.

She had suffered the wear and tear of time, but her spirit still remained sparkling, until her death, as seventy years ago when a 27-year-old girl, with three children, competed in the EOKA race for the throwing off of the English yoke. Together with her husband Andreas Karaolis, they went through the heroic but difficult conditions of the struggle with the anxieties for their three children, the hospitality of Grigoris Afxentiou, Antonis Papadopoulos, Kyriakos Matsis and the many other rebels who passed and hid in their welcoming home in Palaichori¹.

When the treachery of the hideout they had in their house led Andrea to the tortures of Platra and the detention centers of Pyla² and Kokkinotrimithia³, where he was held for 25 months, Maritsa took on the entire difficult burden of caring for their children. She was able to stand tall and proud until the English prisons were opened and Andreas returned to his family. For Andreas and Maritsa, the fight is over and they do not ask for any reward for their great offer. They have three more children and enter another fight, that of bio-wrestling for survival.

In the same unique way that she communicated with the people of the village, she welcomed, hosted and spoke to everyone who visited her home. Her speech was always gurgling, concise and clear whether she was addressing the most important figures in the political, intellectual and social life of Cyprus and Greece or to friends and guests or to adults and school children. Everyone listened with attention and emotion as she spoke to them about the fight, Grigoris Afxentiou and the other fighters and heroes of EOKA.

Among the memories of the fight is Anorthosis. She remembered with nostalgia when, about 30 years ago, she was invited by the association to speak at the ceremony for the naming of the stadium in memory of Antonis Papadopoulos. With Antonis, the Andrea Karaoli family had and has a special connection to this day.