An adventurous Greek in Harrar of Ethiopia in the 1870s

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek presence in the Horn of Africa’)

Harrar was considered a holy city for the Muslims. Consequently, non-Muslims were not allowed to enter it. The first foreigner who managed to get in the city was Manolis Chlampoulakis, a sailor that worked on a ship that reached the port of Zeila in Somalia. The Greek sailor knew Turkish and convinced the city's emir that he was a Muslim. Chlampoulakis settled in the city, married one of the daughters of the local emir, and dealt with the cultivation of coffee and fruit. In the late 1880s, he co-operated with ‘Abe Stein’, an American company based in Aden, He managed to dominate the trade in the wider Harrar region. Later, he cooperated with Markos Dalentzas and was also involved in leather trade.

The Greek pioneers of Beira in Mozambique

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Mozambique’)

In the 1890s, the first Greeks from Lemnos immigrated to Beira in Mozambique. Most of them were hired at the railway works between Beira and Salisbury. Some of these pioneers were D. Paraskevas, P. Paraskevas, N. Chalamandaris, K. Chalamandaris, S. Lecanidis, N. Kampanis, K. Diomataris, N. Vertsonis, N. Trataros, I. Miltiades, D. Verghis.
That time, the city was a miserable and dangerous place. Malaria, sleeping sickness and other tropical diseases plagued the whole region resulting in an increased mortality. Because of the frequent tidal waves, the Portuguese built a wall around the business district to limit the impact of the water, giving a higher sense of security to those lived there.
Few years later, more Greeks immigrated to Beira and settled in Dez, in prefabricated houses made of tin. The vast majority originated from Kasos and used to live in Egypt, where they had settled because of the construction works of the Suez Canal. Due to the increasing unemployment in the construction sector in Egypt, they immigrated to East Africa. Some of them were G. Galanakis, G. Meimarakis, K. Piperis, N. Kakomanolis, N. Antoniou, N. Moridis and H. Zouridis.

The 'dark' Karageorgis case in Burundi in 1961

(Excerpt from the book ‘Greeks in Burundi and Rwanda’)

In 1961, elections were held in Burundi, which was still under Belgian rule. Prince Louis Rwagasore emerges victorious, but the Belgians organized his assassination and selected a capable sniper, Ioannis Karageorgis, to carry out the execution. Rwagasore was assassinated on 13/10/1961 and Karageorgis was immediately arrested and sentenced to death by a Belgian court. Shortly before his execution, on 29/6/1962, Karageorgis sent a letter to the Burundi Attorney General stating the conspiracy plan. He also sent another letter to his parents, naming Jean Paul Harroy, the Deputy Governor of Congo and Ruanda-Urundi in 1955-1961, and Roberto Regnier, a resident of Burundi, as those who led him to the murder. However, the original decision was not changed and on 30/6/1962, Karageorgis was executed in Bujumbura.

A few years later, another Greek, Michalis Iatrou, was charged for the same case and was executed.

Fifty years later, the journalist Guy Poppe revealed the conspiracy and the culprits after an investigation into the files of the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

The dominant Greek farmers of Vila Pery in Mozambique

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Mozambique’)

In the 1890s, lots of Greeks settled in Vila Pery, Cafumpe and other smaller settlements a few miles from Beira port in Mozambique. Most of them were involved in agriculture and livestock. Although the Portuguese owned most of the estates, the Greeks were the most prominent producers in the region's economy. Some of these pioneers were Dimitris and Paul Babiolakis, Athanasios Biblis, Anastasios Petridis, Aristides Petridis, Zacharias Zachariadis, George Yalas, Eugenios Koutsis, Emmanuel Damoulakis, Dimitris Creticos, N. Kougoumis, Poliadis, Andreas Polentas, Kimon Diamantaris, Emmanuel Vandouzis, Bantoulas, Anthony Galanakis, Dimitris Verghis and Spyros Kavallieratos.

The role of the Greeks in the campaign of Kitchener in Sudan in the 1890s

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Sudan’)

In the late 19th century, the British wanted to ensure control along the Nile and stop the plans of the French and Belgians who wanted to move eastwards of their possessions in Africa. For this purpose, Lord Kitchener was assigned to command a campaign which would conquer the Sudan in the name of Great Britain and Egypt. In 1896, the army of Kitchener departed from Egypt and moved southwards. It was followed by few Greeks who provided the army with food and water like Coutsouridis, Georgantellis, Kyriazis, Papadellis, Lorentzatos, Galanidis.

The Greek pioneer industrialists in Mozambique in the 1910s

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Mozambique’)

The tobaccos company ‘A.E.George & Co. Ltd. Succs’ was one of the first initiatives of the Greeks in the industry sector, not only in Mozambique but the wider South Africa. It was founded in the late 19th century, possibly between 1895-1900, by Aristides Eugenides and John Michaletos. Aristides Eugenides was born in Kirkagac of Asia Minor, in the 1870s. In the late 19th century, he immigrated to South Africa along with his cousin Aristides Angelides. They settled in Cape Town but soon they left for Lourenço Marques in Mozambique. Between 1915 and 1918, the two Greek pioneers proceeded to the establishment of the company ‘AE George & Co.’ and started producing luxury cigarettes that became extremely famous among the

Mozambicans.