(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.
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.
