The interconnection of the work of older researchers with contemporary findings and new cases, is a challenge for every new researcher. Thus the examination of research endeavors, in the field of alternative research can result in a series of benefits. Ignoring these contributions would be nothing short of destructive. When we consider that it was those very researchers who, nearly 60 years ago, succeeded in forming the first research groups, sparking enthusiasm among the country’s more restless minds, then the value of their research becomes of vital importance. One of these is Ion Panidis, who while young in age, is considered one of the oldest researchers in the field. Having worked closely with people like Podotas, Ekaterinidis, Saragas, Fourakis, Balanos, and many more, he started studying, searching, and enriching his knowledge. Together they crisscrossed the country, talking to people, taking pictures, filming, keeping records as they became a source of constant inspiration and progress for all of us, leaving a large legacy to the next generation, in stark contrast to today’s so-called ufologists—armchair researchers, who stayed in the comfort of their homes.
interview
Thank you for having me—it's truly a privilege. It’s true that I’m part of the “old guard” of researchers of the “unexplained”, even though the last few years, just like the rest of my generation’s researchers, we have avoided public appearances in the media. As for your first question: Back when we started out, we were among the few of the opinion that we are not alone in the universe. Sometime later the National Space and Aeronautics Association (NASA), with its program for the Search of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), of which I am a collaborator, as noted in the official program materials, “just as a plot of land supports many kinds of crops, so too must the universe support more than one planet with intelligent life”. As they have shared with their partners the three basic protocols are:
1. In case of detecting a potential extraterrestrial signal, take measures to confirm that it is genuine.
2. Make the discovery known – to everyone.
3. Don’t attempt to transmit a reply without first consulting with the international community.
Today, however, I believe that few are those that still believe that we are in fact alone in the Universe. Meaning that the numbers have been reversed.
Ion, we want to thank you for agreeing to give us this short interview for our magazine Unlocking the Truth. You are one the “old” researchers who were involved with UFO research, you have a great experience and knowledge on the topic, and I’d like to ask you a very simple question: Are we alone in the universe or is there life elsewhere too?
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I first got into it at a very young age. Almost from the time I can remember myself, in the early years of the first grades in Elementary school. I would gaze at the stars and the skies. I’d collect various articles from magazines and newspapers of the time. Importantly, it was also a time of upheavals, when human knowledge about space, technological breakthroughs, and also reports about UFO sightings worldwide were all on the rise.
Deep down, I believed that humanity’s destination can’t be the prison of Earth, but the infinity of the universe! I believed that out there somewhere, lived our brothers, cousins and other unknown lifeforms. It was the age that arrived with the first exit of mankind into space, the Moon landings. It was the era of the first alien movies, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, They Live, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was the time of Start Trek! Of course, the fact that I had seen a flaming object, racing with breakneck speed in the sky above Corinth, one summer night, and was expecting to see a news report that some airplane caught fire (something we never saw), might have played its part in shaping my belief that, it was something strange that I must have seen that night with my friends!
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When did you first get into the field of UFOs? Was there some event that led you there?
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Of course back then, if you were talking about UFOs in the sky or about the existence of alien life, you were a heretic, an Antichrist, conceited, or an idiot! Others might mock you, but there were also those that would look at you with surprise, as if you were a madman, perhaps even with fear that you had something evil inside you. A giant wave worldwide began to flood the market with books, magazines, and news about the field. People were beginning to study, search, and go to talks. Others got organized, and this is how the first research teams were born.
Some were investigating in the field, while others were limited to discussions. We began to get the first foreign language magazines, which enriched our knowledge. I recall we would go to select import newsstands around Omonoia Square to find them! We were reading reports of animal mutilations attributed to UFOs, human abductions, implants, and retrospective accounts, where victims were narrating their experiences. About government agencies trying to cover up such events, and much more. The most important thing is that we got organized this way. Through all this information, we started to better understand the legacy of our predecessors through their works, material or non-material. The Greek mind was achieving greatness! We began to unravel riddles, piece together the puzzle, and collectively shape our understanding of the TRUTH—which, in my view, time has since vindicated. We came forward on TV and radio, and then something magical happened — tongues began to loosen. We started getting calls from all over the country. They were telling us their own stories, experiences, sending us photographic and material evidence. At that point, we were called to separate those who had a real story to tell, from those who either made light of us or had a very fertile imagination.
What do you remember concerning UFO research in Greece at the time?
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It was an honor and a joy that I took the initiative to develop a methodology for documenting and analyzing the information we gathered, based upon what we already knew at the time. Something that has been developed even further to this day.
A. First we contact the person who has something to tell us and ask some questions, about the basic descriptions.
B. Next, if there was reason, we would organize an onsite investigation with the special equipment we had available at the time, like for example imaging devices, measurements of physical quantities, traces of radiation with Geiger counters, spectrometers, infrared photography, thermal photography, EMF meters and others.
C. Questionnaire filling about ambient temperature, sky conditions, for example clouds, rain, etc. We even included some trap questions to check for contradictions or inconsistencies in the witness’s account. Many of the questions automatically eliminated the existence of some of the other data. At this point, I can’t reveal more as you can understand, it’s a delicate matter. Suffice to say, we have ways to evaluate cases and witnesses
that come into our investigation’s process. As you can see I use the plural, because I was never working alone. In previous years while SESEP was active (Society for the Study of the Universe and Extraterrestrial Civilizations) I was there with the veterans, like for example Podotas, Ekaterinidis, Bonatsos, Karpodinis, Saragas, Robert Williams and many other friends. In addition, I had the honor to tread the same road and learn from other older researchers, like for example from Fourakis, Giolvas, Palmos, Balanos and I apologize that I can’t mention all the rest of these friends, but they are just too many! Today fellow travelers in research are the friends called INVISIBLE TRAVELERS, like the title of my show!
What was the methodology you used in your investigations when you first started?
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I strongly disagree! The phenomenon of unidentified aerial phenomena is stronger than ever! What you might not realize, is that research continues, but today it happens away from the spotlight. It’s just that the work that had to be done under the spotlight has already been done! The people found out and now they know where to go to. This continues to this day. As for the decline in sales of magazines, it is attributed to three reasons I can tell you about.
The first reason is advancements in technology and particularly smartphones that have direct access to information. Regardless of the fact that people can evaluate neither the reliability of the information nor the quality. The second reason is the financial crisis. But the most important one, in my humble opinion, is the lack of original case-material and first-hand data at their core. This is because investigators who make many expanses for equipment, transportation, accommodation etc, are not reimbursed by anyone for these, while publishers want the final article for peanuts! As a result, the data is not given. I always have had a radio show for the last 20 years, passing through stations such as Egeo FM, ATLANTIS, Channel 1 Piraeus, SPORT FM, ROCK FM and for the last three years ELLADA FM 94.3. There’s a lot of people who have either followed us for years, or are even discovering us today! Television on the other hand, rarely shows any interest for a particular topic. It’s mostly looking to increase viewership ratings and wants to do this first by distorting the subject and the facts. Many times this ends up in polite mocking. Their operating method is purely economically driven. If you check both my YouTube channel “01 maze” and my radio show, the flow of subscribers and listeners is never in decline. I keep receiving messages of support from people and I see their support. Of course the show’s subject matter and the guests vary.
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In the last decades, the issue of UAPs has faded into the background and holds no mainstream media appeal. Do you believe that mistakes were made from researchers of your generation, that led to this decline in interest about UAPs?
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What has surprised me the most, in the fled of research, is the number of people who have had experiences but did not have the courage, strength or freedom if you will, because of fear of criticism, from their social environment, to share them with anyone but us. Because we are the only ones that hear them and understand them. On the other hand, what has caused me the greatest disappointment is the grounded beliefs of some researchers, whose Ego is so much bigger than God Himself, if you’ll forgive the expression. Those who don't collaborate with others so as to facilitate the creation of a national body, open to all for access to every researcher, that might want to reevaluate and investigate any incident, one would be interested in. As if events are anyone's property! Comprehensive records bring cross-referencing of evidence and we say for example X sighting has different accounts on the same day, at the same time, in 5 different places in area X, and is corroborated by 5 eye-witnesses of different ages, educational background, etc profiles. I hope this made sense. Unity is strength!
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Given your extensive and productive research on the issue of UAPs, what has surprised you the most? At the same time, what has disappointed you the most?
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The current situation with so-called "armchair researchers" is the worst iteration of the role of the "researcher". Everything you mentioned holds true to a degree. However, when it comes to people who ask for some guiding steps, be it for our knowledge or our experience, we are always available and open, everyone on the team. The armchair researchers who are know-it-alls, who live for self-promotion and false humility. They seek nothing but to satisfy their bottomless ego that drives their existence. First thing they usually do in view of their applauders, is attempt to deconstruct older researchers, even if they copy or imitate them. Personally I've heard a "researcher" deconstruct an older author-researcher and at the same time to appropriate terms that same person had used in a book at least thirty years prior! It’s tragic! Even the worms in the soil are laughing! Of course all the research is surface level, lacking and in my humble opinion, it's not even research. Frankly, they don't deserve the title “researcher”—or any more of my time, for that matter. The worst is a case of intellectual property theft, that happened to me once. I had been to a lecture and I heard my own discovery from a "friend" in my group, that I had discussed only ten days ago!
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The classic way of obtaining first hand material, but a basic way of obtaining empirical knowledge too, after the appearance of a UAP, is through an onsite investigation, which is a very common scientific tool. This is something that your generation knows intimately. Unfortunately however, today many a self-proclaimed researcher, resting from the comfort of his home without ever having presented any original personal research, can open a website, recycle any kind of nonsense that is already circulating. They might even publish "books" recycling the same material again and again, from antiquity until today, without ever making an on-site visit, without soaking in the surroundings, having a picture of the local reality or interviewing the eye-witnesses. And that’s not even mentioning the egomania—when many forgot the "we" and began projecting only their egos, just as you mentioned yourself earlier. Unlike someone like you, who being part of a generation of researchers who started groups, you traveled together all the lengths of the country, talked to people, photographed, videotaped, and recorded. What do you think of this new situation that has been so well established today?
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The new world order instrumentalizes everything! They thought it was their prerogative to use the public's interest in UFOs and alien life, through certain channels once again, with the intent of controlling people. To clarify, by “channels” I mean: A. The appearance of UFOs and aliens is used as a tool of fear, and fear always works on humans. B. This is followed by the collapse of religion and a shift toward an overwhelmingly materialistic ideological system, sold as rationality and salvation. When the time comes, the real revelation will be made by the UFOs and their passengers, when they determine that the human race is mature, and provided there are reasons to do so. According to contactee witnesses, there are "intergalactic" laws that do not permit interference with less advanced civilizations, because it would be catastrophic for them.
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Το 2022 ήταν μια αναμφισβήτητα αντιφατική χρονιά από ουφολογική άποψη. Από τη μια τα ΑΤΙΑ επέστρεψαν για να καταλάβουν τις σελίδες των εφημερίδων με άρθρα για τις νέες «επίσημες» μελέτες που προωθεί το Πεντάγωνο στην Αμερική, από την άλλη όμως όλη αυτή η φασαρία δεν μεταφράστηκε σε αύξηση των ΑΤΙΑ, ούτε και μάθαμε κάτι περισσότερο. Θεωρείτε ότι η αναθέρμανση του ενδιαφέροντος για το εξωγήινο ζήτημα τους τελευταίους μήνες από επίσημους φορείς και επιστήμονες μπορεί να σημαίνει κάτι; Τι πιστεύετε ότι θα μπορούσε να αποκαλυφθεί;
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I say this with absolute certainty: Beyond the widespread presence of life, there exists a unified space-time continuum with states and worlds that lie beyond our dimensional reach. This means that within our own planet, solar system, galaxy—or local universe, there exists something parallel to us. It operates on different frequencies, dimensions, vibrations, spacetime constants, and other principles beyond the scope of our known physics and linear time. And it exists simultaneously. Under certain circumstances, this “something” can cross over to our world and become temporarily visible. Some may call this a gateway, others might call it "time travelers" and still others will call it aliens! And it really is, as long as it is outside of the earthly reality, as defined and perceived by humans with the biological equipment that we have available. Just as we know we can't hear ultrasounds or infrasounds, we can't see greater movements beyond those permitted by the spectra of the eye and the brain, etc. We seriously limit our perception of reality. But is this the truth? The researcher's work begins here and meets the work of the scientists, who try to prove if these assumptions have a place in science. But then, can anyone actually see reality? Maybe so. Under specific circumstances, like for example through the creation of vibrating frequencies which can tune someone in to a different reality. Alternatively, it could also be done with psychosomatic alignment exercises, which enable one to reach a state of self-regulation. But those are difficult tasks. I won’t go into further detail, seeing as this subject would need pages upon pages of analysis to go more in-depth.
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In the last decades, a large number of researchers all over the world, from the older ones like Jacques Vallée and J. Allen Hynek, even to the late Giorgos Balanos here in Greece, to the more recent ones, have slowly distanced themselves from the extraterrestrial hypothesis. They have moved toward the interdimensional explanation of the UFO phenomena. This explains the multitude of sightings and the diversity of shapes for those objects. After years of experience and activity, what is your opinion about the alien questions and the possibility of other lifeforms being present on our planet?
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My favorite UFO case in Greece took place in the village of Prinos, near Karditsa. We conducted an onsite investigation with Giannis Manias, and it even had news coverage on TV. It's important to get to the site of an incident for an investigation, while the memory of the eye-witnesses is still fresh. When everyone is still excited and talkative, you can find out about the events more easily. We went to the site while traces were still present in a filed. The locals saw a flying saucer land and beings they described as “imps” (because their body type was reminiscent of goblins) come out of it. We found spiral-shaped imprints on the ground from something heavy that had touched down. We also found missing soil from the center of the field for no apparent reason. Additionally, there were traces of radiation and a disruption of the magnetic field. All this along with the eye-witnesses reports, lead us to conclude that something really did happen there! It’s deeply moving when you take part in an investigation where the result confirms the claims.
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What is your favorite case of UFO sighting in our country and why?
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