Struggling Greece Asks Greek-Americans Help

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On a typically humid summer day, Greek Ambassador Christos Panagopoulos welcomed his guests for a salon performance of Opera Camerata of Washington at the Fairfax Embassy Row hotel. ?I would have loved to host you at my residence across the street,? he said, ?but, like the economy of my country, it is under reconstruction.? The American-educated ambassador was putting on a brave face. Renovations on the 1906 Beaux-Arts building, the most impressive of the four that Greece owns around Sheridan Park, have been a low priority for his government given the country?s strained finances. The building has been closed for three years. The only hope for its revival anytime soon may be the Greek American community. As the country?s reputation suffered in the crisis, many were initially reluctant to support the land of their ancestors, but they are rallying now.

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