Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, in a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Friday, posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix to Angela Moira and Philip Antonis Mandalio, the volunteer interpreters who lost their lives during the Greek humanitarian mission in Libya on September 17, 2023.
The awards were presented to their father Kanakis Mandalios and their sister Lilian Mandalios, in the presence of their mother, relatives and friends. The ceremony was attended by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
“It is with great emotion that I award today the Grand Cross of the Phoenix, the highest honor that the state can award to the two heroic siblings, Angela Moira and Philip Antonis Mandalio,” Sakellaropoulou said in a speech during the ceremony.
“Their voluntary initiative to participate as interpreters in the Greek humanitarian mission in Libya after the disasters caused in the country by Storm Daniel, spontaneously offering their services to their second homeland, testifies to an attitude of life imbued with humanitarian ideals, selflessness, mental generosity,” she added.
“I know that the pain of their loved ones does not ease, no matter how many honors are given to them. However, let these awards be a symbolic gesture of support and participation of the state in the long process of alleviating suffering and transforming mourning into memory,” said the Greek president.
The Greek interpreters were among five members of a Greek humanitarian aid team and three members of a Libyan family who died in a road collision in eastern Libya on September 17 last year. They were traveling on a bus to the flood-ravaged city of Derna when their vehicle collided with a car carrying the family.
The massive flash flood that has left over 4000 dead and thousands missing came as eastern Libya was lashed by the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel on September 10.
The storm affected several cities, including Benghazi, Bayda, Al Marj, and Soussa, resulting in massive destruction of infrastructure and a significant loss of life.
Derna was hardest hit by the deadly flooding, causing the city’s dams to burst, washing away homes and people.