Dedication: This book is dedicated to my mother, Maria
and to the memory of my father, Dimitri
and to my wife, Krystall
and to my children, Dimitri, Maria, Yannis.
Epigraph: The past is not the past. The past, present and the future are,
as they always are, part of each other, bound together.
When people tell their stories, they usually enjoy feeling proud,
and delight in being named and in claiming their own history.
Not so the stolen children...Listen to me, we say, let me tell you
what has happened to me, let me tell you my story. If I can make
you understand me, I may better understand myself. (Carmel Bird)