After meeting with Mayor Bakoyianni, SAE President affirms sense of safety, urges Hellenic organizations to visit Greece

CHICAGO, March 10 – World SAE President, Andrew A. Athens, issued a statement this week strongly supporting travel to Greece by the Omogeneia, especially organized visits by Hellenic organizations, and confirmed his earlier position about excellent safety conditions in anticipation of the forthcoming Olympic Games Athens 2004.

“Following recent meetings in Greece with the new mayor of the City of Athens, Dora Bakoyiannis, and then attending Omogeneia meetings in the U.S., it has become apparent that we need to dispel misinformation and unfounded fears about travel to Greece among certain groups,” Mr. Athens stated. “I have been visiting Greece very frequently, for many years, and I have repeatedly attended international conventions and meetings over the past 12 months in Athens and in Thessaloniki,” SAE’s President stated.

“I feel very safe and very comfortable every time I visit Greece, especially with the tremendous improvement of such facilities as airports and hotels recently,” Mr. Athens said. “When it comes to safety, there is no question that Greece is absolutely safe for all travelers and especially for Hellenic organizations.”

SAE fully endorses attendance at the Olympic Games and is proud to support every effort to draw the Omogeneia and its thousands of organizations to Athens 2004. “We ask all SAE delegates throughout the world to visit Greece and to encourage the federations they represent to do the same in the year 2004,” Mr. Athens said.