“For the national interest, for the Greek families in America, for the indestructible future of Hellenism, we will work here.” In an excerpt from the main article of the Simaya newspaper, his second editorial attempt, we find his voice. And it wasn’t easy. It took archival research and perseverance to reconstruct the life of Konstantinos Dimitrios Fassularides. – says Kostas Hartofilis “K”., who decided to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot from the Dodecanese – one of the first members of a small Greek-American community before the beginning of the twentieth century. The work of Mr. Hartofilis, the care and interest of his compatriots resulted in a publishing project: the 22nd volume, published by the Society for Nisirian Studies, is honorably dedicated to him.

OUR Konstantinos Fasularidis (photo), Nisirios of Mandraki, publisher of the first Greek-language newspaper in the United States, a journalist, but above all a restless spirit, an idealist and a romantic, was one of those brave Greeks who immigrated to America very early. The adventures of his life are such that they easily turn him into a fictional character. Was he born in 1843, as some evidence suggests, or in 1866, as stated on his naturalization certificate?

There is no doubt that, following the example of the young Nisyros of his time, he left the island for Constantinople in search of a better life. There, after graduating from the Great School of the family, he taught at various schools in the area and at the same time collaborated with Stavros Voutiras in the publication of the main Greek newspaper of the city, Neologos, demonstrating his love for journalism. early age. But times have changed. The Ottoman Empire was already showing clear signs of decline, while America across the Atlantic was emerging as an economic and intellectual center, a place of opportunity for the able.

According to his naturalization certificate, he arrived in America on October 25, 1891. Without funds, with difficulties and at the same time working, four years later he entered the very demanding MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). However, there is no evidence of its end. What is certain is that he was later hired as an interpreter on Ellis Island, known to the Greeks as “Kastigari”, the island where immigrants bound for the US are selected. Realizing that there was no Greek-language newspaper that could be a link with the homeland and the main source of information for the newly arrived Greeks, with many efforts and with the financial support of his Greek friends, he published on March 25, 1892 in Boston, the first newspaper in America was published in Greek under the name “Neos Cosmos”.

The small number of Greek immigrants there – about 200 – explains why only a few sheets were produced. The newspaper existed for several months, and those researchers who were looking for at least one of its sheets have not found it anywhere until today. Failure did not stop Fassularidis. He moved to New York and in 1894 became editor-in-chief of the new newspaper Atlantis, founded that same year by the brothers Solon and Dimitrios Vlastos, who are credited with founding the first Greek printing press in New York. . The newspaper was originally published as a weekly, and in 1905 turned into a daily. However, disagreements with publishers forced him to leave and try again to publish his own newspaper. The Flag came out on March 31, 1905, and came out twice a week.

Second attempt and second failure. This was followed by another collaboration in another newspaper-magazine “Simaa-Termopilai” until 1908. Then he started having health problems. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which he did not properly cure, continuing to work at a grueling pace. To raise funds, his friends bought him a ticket to return to Greece. He left New York on the Carmania and arrived in Piraeus on March 20, 1909. “He arrived in Athens very depressed after being admitted to Evangelismos Hospital,” he wrote in a letter to his Nisyrian friend Michalis Kavaliotis. He died three days later, poor, unknown and alone. He was buried in a cemetery in Athens, which, despite the efforts of his compatriots, could not be found. He was 66, or perhaps only 43.

It is comforting that, at least in America, many events honor his memory over the years, and every study of the first arrivals of Greek immigrants to America mentions him with particular respect. The Nisyrian Research Society will present its publication at a gala event on 11 August in Nisyros.