The hero of the Cypriot tragedy, 21-year-old George Zervomanolis, “returned” to his village, Parakoila in Western Lesvos on the 50th anniversary of his death, defending himself during the process of unhooking the defenders of the Hellenic Force in Cyprus (ELDYK) military camp from hill A on the outskirts of Nicosia on August 16, 1974.

Giorgos Zervomanolis, who was considered a missing person for 43 years, until 2017 when his remains were identified in a mass grave, “stands” in the square of the Parakoilon Community in his bust, which was created on the initiative of the Municipality of Western Lesvos.

It is the work of the young Lesbian Yiannis Kalargalis, which was made of bronze and rests on a base of local volcanic rock (ignimbrite). The bust of it was placed in the area of ​​the square that now bears the hero’s name, and very close to his ancestral home.

Particularly touching in her greeting to her hero brother, George Zervomanolis’ sister, Katerina, who with her brother Fotis and their children, decorated the bust with flowers and unveiled it along with representatives of the authorities. 

Katerina Zervomanoli referred to her brother with touching words and to the difficult years of anticipation of his return, an anticipation with which her parents left without ever learning about the fate of their child who for 43 years was considered a missing person.

As reported by Euronews, during the ceremony, a message from the Ambassador of Cyprus in Athens, Stavros Augustidis, was also communicated.

Apart from Giorgos Zervomanolis, two other victims of the Turkish invasion also come from Lesbos: Asimakis Bourekas from the village of Moria in Mytilini whose remains were identified early, and Sergeant Konstantinos Patsanas, 22, from Gavatha of Antissa in western Lesbos, who remains missing to this day.

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