Day: October 31, 2012

Greeks of the diaspora have migrated for a variety of reasons, whether as a result of events in Greece, or to be close to family that have already migrated. Dr Maria Palaktsoglou, Lecturer in Modern Greek language and culture in the Department of Language Studies, Flinders University, has recently discovered another reason Greek women in particular decided to make the long journey to Australia and has decided to investigate it further, so as to understand more fully the experiences of these women.

Through a scheme established by the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) and Australia in the late 1950s called ‘Operation Domestic’, Greek women were invited to migrate to Australia as domestic servants for families both in cities and in the country. This plan was intended to benefit both countries involved, as many in Greece were still suffering the social and economic after-effects of both the German occupation of Greece during the Second World War, as well as the Greek Civil War that followed.

Australia, on the other hand, was much more economically stable, and there was a need for cheap domestic labour. These women were apparently eager to escape the harsh economic climate of Greece, and so agreed to migrate to Australia. In total, nearly 4000 Greek women were involved in this scheme. While researching Greek migration, Dr Maria Palaktsoglou stumbled upon ‘Operation Domestic’, and was surprised to discover that although domestic servants have received much attention from scholars around the world in more recent years, there has not as yet been any research undertaken on this unique group of Greek women who came to Australia from the late 1950s.

Dr Palaktsoglou is currently the Director of Studies and the co-ordinator of first year Modern Greek topics at Flinders University. She is well versed in matters relating to Greek migration, having carried out research related to both literary history and semi-migration-history. She has written two books and several articles on these topics, which makes her well suited to an analysis of the Greek women who were a part of ‘Operation Domestic’. She is herself also a Greek migrant to Australia, so can relate somewhat to the women who were a part of ‘Operation Domestic’.

Palaktsoglou told Neos Kosmos: “I can partly understand the emotions, the doubts, the fear these women experienced before and upon arrival and settlement in Australia. It’s a story which needs to be told.” Indeed, research on these women is vital now, as most are in their late ’60s and ’70s. Dr Palaktsoglou fears that the unique experiences of this group of women may be lost in the future, so is eager to draw from their extensive “cultural knowledge and personal memories” to aid this essential study on Greek migration to Australia.

Similar studies have emerged about Greek women who migrated to Canada for similar reasons, and Palaktsoglou has realized the importance of similarly documenting the experiences of those who came to Australia. She has already spent some time in National Archives around Australia collecting information about Greek female migrants to Australia, and has analysed newspapers from the period.

She also plans to access the archives of the ICEM for more information. Dr. Palaktsoglou has identified three main aims of her research, being to collect these women’s stories first hand, to figure out exactly how ‘Operation Domestic’ worked, and to determine how long it lasted, as well as how successful it was in aiding Greek women to leave a country that was in economic turmoil. She is now searching for Greek Australian women who came to Australia under the ‘Operation Domestic’ scheme so as to gain this information.

She has not yet conducted any interviews with women, as the correct procedure for research involving human subjects did require her to gain ethics approval from the Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee before seeking interviewees. Having now gained that approval, Dr Palaktsoglou has now advertised publicly for Greek female migrants who arrived in Australia under the ‘Operation Domestic’ scheme, through the ICEM, in the late 1950s and 1960s, and then were then domestic workers in Australia.

These women will help Dr Palaktsoglou include this significant group of Greek women in the body of knowledge already existing on domestic workers around the world. Those who do become involved will be interviewed, either in Greek or English, with a Greek-speaking researcher from Flinders University, about their immigration and later domestic work. As demanded by ethics standards, all confidentiality is assured, and the women involved will remain anonymous in all resulting publications – whether they are articles or books.

Dr Palaktsoglou believes that this research will benefit not only the growing number of people around the world investigating domestic workers, but will also aid general history focusing on Greeks of the diaspora, as well as specifically Greek-Australian history. She told Neos Kosmos: “I believe that the project is very important as it will add to the collective history of Greek migration to Australia. Greek women came to Australia in large numbers and in the early sixties they outnumbered the men.

Despite that, we do not have many works which specifically address women’s migration.” Dr Palaktsoglou is seeking to redress this imbalance. She does have some information about the women from archives she has already consulted: “For the women who came as domestic servants the information is very limited. Because it’s early stages I do not know what the findings will be but I hope that the outcomes will be revealing. According to the Scheme ‘Operation Domestic’, the women who were targeted were ‘underprivileged, with no dowry and no real prospect of getting a prosperous future’ (a good marriage that is).

So it’s interesting to see if these women stayed with their employers for the duration of the two years and if they settled in the country successfully.” Dr Palaktsoglou is hoping that, with the cooperation of a number of the Greek women who were involved in this scheme, she will be able to add to the already rich body of knowledge of Greek domestic workers and Greek female migration to Australia.

This will not only help us today discover how significant members of our community migrated to Australia, but also ensure that those in the future will have as much information as possible about the history of Greek migration to Australia. Those who are interested in participation, or for further enquiries, contact Dr Maria Palaktsoglou, Lecturer in Modern Greek at Flinders University, South Australia on (08) 8201 5960 or maria.palaktsoglou@flinders.edu.au

Greeks living in Australia may have the right to vote in Greece’s elections after the debate resurfaced this week led by Greek Minister of Interior, Euripidis Stylianidis. Mr Stylianidis told members of the Hellenic Parliament’s Special Committee on Hellenes Abroad, that the right to vote for expatriates was a “critical national issue” and told the committee that many Greek politicians are in favour of giving the vote to Greeks of the diaspora.

As it stands, a working group of the Ministry of the Interior are preparing draft law for expatriates to vote. The law will need to include information on the equality of the voting process; the legitimacy / transparency of the voting process and administrative procedures needed for the votes to take place worldwide. The ministry is also looking at the financial aspect of Greeks abroad voting and the need for the financial impact of the operation to be minimal.

The draft law will be followed by a public consultation and after the suggestions of the parties have been included, will go up as a bill for a vote in the Parliament. Greece views Greeks abroad as a powerful source in promoting Greece’s image as many expatriates around the world are in prominent position. The ministry feel allowing them to vote will ultimately create a strong and more successful Hellenic Republic.

Allowing Greeks of the diaspora the right to vote will also create solid relationships between the countries and Greece and create a better peace and understanding for Greeks of the diaspora and for Greeks in Greece. All the members of the Hellenic Parliament’s Special Committee on Hellenes Abroad expressed their desire to give rights to expatriates to vote. The members of the committee have also discussed the need to solve administrative issues, such as: the registration of expatriates on the electoral lists; how they would vote – postal, with polls, or via internet – and the reliability of these votes; and the costs of voting aboard.

Several members suggested one or two regions abroad are created with electoral seats that could be removed from the ballot territory. However, with the postal vote, the minister raised some concerns. One of them being high cost, as well as the fact that the postal vote does not ensure that the voter is the one voting and not his relative or member of the family.

In contrast, the ballot box is the only unimpeachable vote, but should be seen from the reduction of costs point of view. Interior Minister Stylianidis has described this week’s fruitful discussion as an important first step on the vote of expatriates, stressing a need for constant dialogue on this issue. The President of SAE (World Council of Hellenes), Stefanos Tamvakis, who attended the meeting, expressed his disappointment about the lack of representation of expatriates in the Greek Parliament, stressing though that the Greeks of diaspora do not want their vote to influence the balance of power in Greece. Mr Stylianidis explained that of all member countries of the EU, only Greece and Ireland do not give this right to their expatriates.

Steve Kyritsis, author of Greek Australians in the Australian Armed Forces WWI and WWII will be talking about his motivations for writing the book, and shedding more light on the remarkable stories it contains, at the Ithacan Philanthropic Society next month.

In May, hundreds of veterans’ families, MPs, and other dignitaries joined Mr Kyritsis at the Victorian Parliament for the book’s official launch by Murray Thompson MP. At the launch, Mr Thompson – speaking on behalf of Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu – said that Steve Kyritsis had created “a lasting tribute to the ideals, service and courage of Greek Australians who had served Australia”.

The book, dedicated to the contribution and sacrifice of Australians of Greek heritage who served in both World Wars, took three years of painstaking research at the National Archives and in many cases extensive personal interviews with veterans and their families across Australia. Published in Greek and English the 745 page publication reveals the name of every Greek who enlisted with the Australian military as far back as the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).

His research uncovered five individuals who took part in the Boer War, 80 who served in WWI – (including 11 who fought at Gallipoli) and nearly 2500 Greek Australians who served in WWII. Mr Kyritsis told Neos Kosmos: “I felt I had a duty as a veteran myself to tell these stories going back more than 100 years. “These veterans’ names were in a dark room, and I wanted them to be acknowledged.”

Mr Kyritsis’ talk will take place on Sunday 18 November at 3pm at the Ithacan Philanthropic Society’s club rooms at 329 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

Ambassador Jenny Bloomfield used the platform of a major investment forum organised by the International Herald Tribune to proclaim the need for stronger engagement between Greece and Australia on trade relations.

The forum – which took place in Athens on October 15 and 16 – was attended by leading analysts, advisors to the Greek government and political leaders – including Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and PASOK president and former Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

Ms Bloomfield’s speech entitled Developing stronger links to the Greek diaspora: The role of Hellenism abroad in today’s Greek crisis invited Greece to harness the entrepreneurial skills of Greeks living outside Greece, had been nation-builders in their adopted countries – none more so than Australia. The Ambassador told the conference that Australia’s migrants had “contributed to building one of the world’s most open economies, and one of the most open and fair societies,” and that Greek Australians were “an asset which can and should be utilised to broaden and deepen bilateral relations and help develop cooperation which promotes productivity, entrepreneurship, innovation and our common prosperity.

“Greeks abroad are an important bridge and a link between Greece and the world, which can help support the country’s efforts for sustainable long-term economic and social development. “Just as the one million Australians who live, work or study abroad, including 150,000 in Greece, represent Australia in the world, Greeks abroad are Ambassadors for their country,” said the Ambassador.

“The skills, knowledge and experience they gain, the connections they forge, their understanding of different cultures and ways of thinking, can bring substantial economic, educational, cultural, diplomatic and other benefits to their homeland.” Ms Bloomfield added that “in today’s globalised world, the term ‘migration’ takes on new dimensions and new meaning.

“Today, mobility among professionals is a natural trend which impacts positively on the individual, but also on broader society,” she said. “Not the so-called ‘Brain Drain, but ‘Brain Gain'” Ms Bloomfield told the conference that the world’s most successful economies are also the most open economies, and that the Greek crisis offered companies opportunities to restructure and adapt their business models, as well as provide a greater capacity to expand and invest in overseas markets.

Countries with a diaspora presence she said could offer new markets for products, services and two-way investment: “At the same time, businesses of the diaspora can have an important role to play in the effort to secure economic growth. “They know the language, the culture and local conditions. They have personal and professional links and financial, property and business interests in both countries.

They are in a unique position to recognise and take up investment opportunities, utilising their understanding and connections with both countries”. Ms Bloomfield said that trade connections to the diaspora offered important advantages to Greece. “But of themselves, they are not enough,” she added. “The right conditions in the origin country must also be in place, to enable the full potential of this valuable resource of the diaspora to be realised.

“These include an open, stable, well-managed and supervised regulatory framework for business activity and investments, achieved through institutional and structural reforms that free up productive capacity by removing distortions, reduce barriers and bureaucratic limitations, and improve performance through enhanced productivity and competition.”

Ms Bloomfield said that Australia’s experience with structural reforms had underpinned 20 years of continuous growth in the Australian economy, at rates higher than most other developed economies. The Ambassador suggested the Greek government should consider implementing policies which would make it easier for commercial collaboration between the diaspora and the Greek state, including the transfer of pension and taxation rights and the offering of tax incentives.

She also proposed that the government in cooperation with business could help support network building, identify investment opportunities and enable co-funding diaspora investment initiatives. “Exploiting synergies, investing in the valuable resource of the diaspora, is worthwhile,” she said. “I believe that the diaspora has the capacity to make an effective and potentially substantial contribution to the recovery of the Greek economy.”