Helen Kolovos bid farewell to her father on Saturday at a funeral aimed at paying tribute to the life of a man who had contributed greatly to the community. Born in WWII, he lived through the Greek Civil War, the Cold War and Greek dictatorship experiencing painful moments in history before migrating to Australia and dying on 5 April in his sleep.
Despite the deceased man’s popularity and status in the community, the family ensured that they limited the participation to 10 people in line with Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s tough new restrictions. They made calls to relatives to ensure that the limit was kept, and the family also abided by social distancing rules and ensured that mourners sat in separate pews, understanding the necessity for this.
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The family however was left devastated by the presence of two armed police officers inside the church during the service, who arrived towards the end of the funeral and didn’t stop talking or taking notes as the family carried their father and grandfather in his coffin out of the church.
Helen’s daughter Benita Kolovos, a journalist for the AAP, wrote on Tuesday that the “small, sad congregation” was interrupted with “about 15 minutes left in the funeral” by “two uniformed officers carrying weapons”.
“They started speaking to church staff while the funeral director cut the service short, quickly calling for the coffin to be taken out,” Benita wrote in an article for the AAP.
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Yesterday we lost the man who made me who I am. My Papou Dino was always on the right side of history. He believed in human equality. He was naturally suspicious of those in authority, always backed the underdog and absolutely loved an argument. (And he always won). pic.twitter.com/8G5kwDjQ7Q
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) April 6, 2020
