With emotion and words of deep gratitude, the president of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok, honored Greek citizen Anastasios Garipis and Spanish citizen Iset Segura for their selfless act of heroism when they saved a Hungarian father and his 10-year-old daughter who were at risk of drowning off the coast of Epanomi, near Thessaloniki.
The Hungarian presidency characterized the rescue as “a wonderful example of humanity, heroism and selflessness.” President Sulyok emphasized that the two young people are worthy of respect “not only because they saved lives, but also because they showed our peoples and their generation what true humanity means.”
For his part, Anastasios Garipis stated that his experience at sea taught him that freedom is made of responsibility — “the responsibility to ensure we all make it to shore.”
Stelios Gapiris’s post about Anastasios’s award – “Message of hope and solidarity for the Europe of the future”
Stelios Gapiris, in his post, mentioned that Anastasios and Iset were awarded the gold medal of honor in a three-hour ceremony at the presidential palace in Budapest, which began with the playing of the national anthem. “For the first time, the highest distinction of excellence was awarded to a foreign citizen, as ‘recognition of the heroism he displayed during the summer, sending a message of hope and solidarity for the Europe of the future,’ as emphasized by the President in his speech,” wrote Mr. Gapiris.
The event was attended by Greek Ambassador Spyros Georgiles, Hungarian officials, representatives of the Spanish government, and Spanish champion Iset Segura, according to Mr. Gapiris.
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