While trying to return umpteen decades back to the first years of my long life, I discovered glimpses of memories that have been deeply impressed on my mind.
I was born in India, of Greek parentage, and I considered myself very fortunate because I had loving parents and a very happy childhood.
Every two and a half years we used to go on home leave, so each time we boarded and Anchor Line or a Peninsula and Oriental (P&O) vessel and sailed for Greece.
To return to the theme of this post, my very first memory, is me bending over trying to wear my pink ballet shoes and my mother's voice from the background saying "Go to Nona (grandmother), she wants to see your dress." This took place in Cephalonia, during our home leave, several months before my third birthday. Another image that I remember vividly is that of my beautiful mother sitting at her dressing table, her hair gleaming in the sunlight.
In our garden in Karachi, I remember the horror I felt when a "huge" ant bit my finger. The poor little creature must have been terrified of this gigantic being that apparently trying to harm it. This yet another memory, an image, a glimpse without beginning or end.
I have very fond recollections of my nursery school, dear friends and the wonderful birthday parties we all so enjoyed.
I also remember the sheer delight I felt while swimming and splashing in the sea at Sandspit and Hawksbay, the lovely sandy beaches, near Karachi, on the Arabian Sea.
On the other hand, I remember when I was sick with diphtheria, the terror I used to feel each time the doctor came to inject my tummy with an enormous needle. I used to beseech him, "pleas doctor, I was a very good girl today". After the ordeal, he very kindly offered me a tiny bunch of violets.
Home leave was the great event that we planned a year ahead and anticipated with great pleasure. I was just under five when I nearly drowned in the ship's swimming pool and my dear father jumped in to save me. During the same voyage, I ensconced myself, behind an armchair with a book and was lost for hours. My dear parents nearly went crazy with anxiety.
When we returned to Greece we stayed at Ellinikon, an Athenian suburb which was near a girls' school that my parents intended me to attend, on our next trip when my mother and I would be settling down in Greece, as planned.
We went to Loutraki, a popular spa near Corinth and obviously to Cephalonia, our home island where I saw my beloved Nona Sophia, and my aunts, uncles and cousins. I was much younger than my cousins but I especially loved visiting Ioanna Papa and her husband Vassili, their baby daughter Dia and her sister Aliki, because it was a house full of fun and laughter and good vibrations.
I also loved cycling with my cousin Angela Becatoros, who was charming and amiable and told me eloquently the most fascinating fairy tales. It was like a performance.
That year my parents bought a spacious house in Argostoli, with a beautiful garden, made all the necessary alterations and installed central heating. My cousin Angela and her husband Gerasimos stayed in our new house when we lived in India.
When our home leave ended we returned to Karachi and continued our life. My father worked for Ralli Brothers, my mother besides being a wonderful, wife, mother and hostess, played mahjong and went to coffee mornings with her girlfriends. I attended Mrs Walton's nursery school in the mornings and played with my friends in the afternoons. Needless to say, that all the year round I eagerly looked forward to the Christmas and Easter celebrations and my birthday. It was a very happy period of my life, I felt content and protected.
Unfortunately on the 1st September 1939, World War II broke out, the cause being that Germany invaded Poland. Two days later the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany which is still considered the deadliest combat in human history. Although I was very young I had a smouldering feeling of anxiety that my parents and their friends were very concerned about this very disturbing information.
When the time arrived for our next home leave, we went to Greece in late February 1940 and intended to return to India, by November of the same year.
Apparently, most Greeks were living in a fool's paradise, because they believed that our country could never be possibly be attacked by Italians or the Germans. This was most improbable and any possible problems could solved through diplomatic channels, they hoped. Wishful thinking....
On the 28th October 1940, Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece demanding the cession of the Greek territory, which the Greek Prime Minister rejected "Alors, c'est la guerre" he told the Italian Ambassador Grazi who had conveyed the message.
The Italian army invaded Greece on the 28th of October, 1940, before the Italian ultimatum had expired but they were stopped by the unexpectedly severe resistance of the Greek troops. The Italian army failed to achieve its prospective and lost prestige in this war. As Greek independence and national sovereignty were at stake, the Greeks were determined to drive the invaders outside the borderline. In contrast, the Italians fought because the Mussolini regime sent them there to fight a war of aggression. Needless to say, that the average Italian soldier saw no reason at all to die while conquering Greece. According to Mark Mazower, it was the first Axis setback of the entire war. It was an ugly war, fought in atrocious weather conditions on a very difficult terrain.
Evidently, we stayed in Cephalonia during the war and the Italian and later the German occupation. We were deprived of our liberty our dignity and our pride. Our currency the drachma was being daily devalued, for instance, one could buy a pound of tomatoes for 1.000.000 drachmas. Most of us were extremely poor. Moreover, there was a serious food shortage in Greece. During the bitterly cold winter of 1941 most Greek citizens were undernourished and many people died of famine in Athens and other cities all over Greece. It was slightly better in the countryside and on the islands because one could survive by planting pulses, potatoes and other vegetables. But unfortunately, no meat or poultry could be found as most of it was confiscated to feed the enemy forces. My resourceful compatriots invented a rather delicious dark syrup made out of currents called "stafidini" to replace sugar which had also disappeared from the shelves.
Our house was requisitioned by both the Italians and the Germans, so we lived in a small flat that a friend provided for us, desperately trying to make ends meet. Very difficult years but at least we were healthy so we managed to survive until the end of the war.
(I wish to thank, Mr Apostolos Marinopulos, Mr Mark Mazower and Wikipedia for the valuable information for this post.)
I was born in India, of Greek parentage, and I considered myself very fortunate because I had loving parents and a very happy childhood.
Every two and a half years we used to go on home leave, so each time we boarded and Anchor Line or a Peninsula and Oriental (P&O) vessel and sailed for Greece.
To return to the theme of this post, my very first memory, is me bending over trying to wear my pink ballet shoes and my mother's voice from the background saying "Go to Nona (grandmother), she wants to see your dress." This took place in Cephalonia, during our home leave, several months before my third birthday. Another image that I remember vividly is that of my beautiful mother sitting at her dressing table, her hair gleaming in the sunlight.
In our garden in Karachi, I remember the horror I felt when a "huge" ant bit my finger. The poor little creature must have been terrified of this gigantic being that apparently trying to harm it. This yet another memory, an image, a glimpse without beginning or end.
I have very fond recollections of my nursery school, dear friends and the wonderful birthday parties we all so enjoyed.
I also remember the sheer delight I felt while swimming and splashing in the sea at Sandspit and Hawksbay, the lovely sandy beaches, near Karachi, on the Arabian Sea.
On the other hand, I remember when I was sick with diphtheria, the terror I used to feel each time the doctor came to inject my tummy with an enormous needle. I used to beseech him, "pleas doctor, I was a very good girl today". After the ordeal, he very kindly offered me a tiny bunch of violets.
Home leave was the great event that we planned a year ahead and anticipated with great pleasure. I was just under five when I nearly drowned in the ship's swimming pool and my dear father jumped in to save me. During the same voyage, I ensconced myself, behind an armchair with a book and was lost for hours. My dear parents nearly went crazy with anxiety.
When we returned to Greece we stayed at Ellinikon, an Athenian suburb which was near a girls' school that my parents intended me to attend, on our next trip when my mother and I would be settling down in Greece, as planned.
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| Argostoli |
We went to Loutraki, a popular spa near Corinth and obviously to Cephalonia, our home island where I saw my beloved Nona Sophia, and my aunts, uncles and cousins. I was much younger than my cousins but I especially loved visiting Ioanna Papa and her husband Vassili, their baby daughter Dia and her sister Aliki, because it was a house full of fun and laughter and good vibrations.
I also loved cycling with my cousin Angela Becatoros, who was charming and amiable and told me eloquently the most fascinating fairy tales. It was like a performance.
That year my parents bought a spacious house in Argostoli, with a beautiful garden, made all the necessary alterations and installed central heating. My cousin Angela and her husband Gerasimos stayed in our new house when we lived in India.
When our home leave ended we returned to Karachi and continued our life. My father worked for Ralli Brothers, my mother besides being a wonderful, wife, mother and hostess, played mahjong and went to coffee mornings with her girlfriends. I attended Mrs Walton's nursery school in the mornings and played with my friends in the afternoons. Needless to say, that all the year round I eagerly looked forward to the Christmas and Easter celebrations and my birthday. It was a very happy period of my life, I felt content and protected.
Unfortunately on the 1st September 1939, World War II broke out, the cause being that Germany invaded Poland. Two days later the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany which is still considered the deadliest combat in human history. Although I was very young I had a smouldering feeling of anxiety that my parents and their friends were very concerned about this very disturbing information.
When the time arrived for our next home leave, we went to Greece in late February 1940 and intended to return to India, by November of the same year.
Apparently, most Greeks were living in a fool's paradise, because they believed that our country could never be possibly be attacked by Italians or the Germans. This was most improbable and any possible problems could solved through diplomatic channels, they hoped. Wishful thinking....
On the 28th October 1940, Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece demanding the cession of the Greek territory, which the Greek Prime Minister rejected "Alors, c'est la guerre" he told the Italian Ambassador Grazi who had conveyed the message.
The Italian army invaded Greece on the 28th of October, 1940, before the Italian ultimatum had expired but they were stopped by the unexpectedly severe resistance of the Greek troops. The Italian army failed to achieve its prospective and lost prestige in this war. As Greek independence and national sovereignty were at stake, the Greeks were determined to drive the invaders outside the borderline. In contrast, the Italians fought because the Mussolini regime sent them there to fight a war of aggression. Needless to say, that the average Italian soldier saw no reason at all to die while conquering Greece. According to Mark Mazower, it was the first Axis setback of the entire war. It was an ugly war, fought in atrocious weather conditions on a very difficult terrain.
Evidently, we stayed in Cephalonia during the war and the Italian and later the German occupation. We were deprived of our liberty our dignity and our pride. Our currency the drachma was being daily devalued, for instance, one could buy a pound of tomatoes for 1.000.000 drachmas. Most of us were extremely poor. Moreover, there was a serious food shortage in Greece. During the bitterly cold winter of 1941 most Greek citizens were undernourished and many people died of famine in Athens and other cities all over Greece. It was slightly better in the countryside and on the islands because one could survive by planting pulses, potatoes and other vegetables. But unfortunately, no meat or poultry could be found as most of it was confiscated to feed the enemy forces. My resourceful compatriots invented a rather delicious dark syrup made out of currents called "stafidini" to replace sugar which had also disappeared from the shelves.
Our house was requisitioned by both the Italians and the Germans, so we lived in a small flat that a friend provided for us, desperately trying to make ends meet. Very difficult years but at least we were healthy so we managed to survive until the end of the war.
(I wish to thank, Mr Apostolos Marinopulos, Mr Mark Mazower and Wikipedia for the valuable information for this post.)
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