Greek Diaspora Stories – the importance of honouring the older generations of migrants
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
The experiences and challenges faced by the older generations of Greek migrants are something that the subsequent generations can barely fathom, and it is that legacy which Kat Zam firmly believes is worth preserving.
Kat Zam, an online content creator, embarked on a journey this year that incorporated her digital roots to engage with elderly Greek-born migrants, working on an online series titled ‘Greek Diaspora Stories’.
The series, which ran for roughly the first half of the year on social media platforms Instagram and TikTok, involved Zam interviewing migrant παππούδες and γιαγιάδες and letting them share their stories to give a glimpse of their history and what they have gone through in their lives.
Zam explained that the inspiration came from a sudden realisation she had about her own grandparents.
“I wanted to do it because after visiting my grandparents I realised that there will never be another generation like them,” she told Neos Kosmos.
“I just really love my grandparents and have always been interested in hearing about their lives because it sounded like they went through so much to start fresh and escape poverty back in their homeland.”
With her interest piqued, she took it a step beyond her own family to explore the broader experiences of other stories from the Greek Diaspora’s elderly, managing to feature 16 grandparents in total.
She remarked on her joy in seeing how willing people were to just open up straight away and share their stories to her.
“It was just beautiful to connect with everyone, and of course everyone offered me a Greek coffee and one yiayia gave me the biggest piece of pastitsio I have ever seen,” Zam said.
The content creator elaborated on how she met a Pontic Greek yiayia through the series which she found an enlightening experience.
“Her stories about what she and her family went through were pretty devastating – I didn’t know much about the Pontian community, so it was really interesting (and sad) to hear about their lives,” Zam said.
Zam raised over $3000 to get the project started, taking time off work to do it, and she was thoroughly pleased with both her personal experience working on it and its reception.
“It has been really positive, so many lovely messages and comments from people who have lost their grandparents and felt so touched and reminded of their own grandparents’ stories.”
She stressed that endeavours such as these are crucial, particularly now, as these members of Australia’s Greek Diaspora are in “their final chapter” and are an important part of migration history (which is sometimes forgotten).
“We should honour and recognise their contributions and the fact that they left their families behind, even when some of them didn’t want to, so they could build a better life for themselves.”
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
