(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Mozambique’)
During the first years of their settlement in Mozambique, Greeks who were involved in farming lived in huts equipped with only a bed and table in it. The heat was unbearable. Tropical diseases like malaria and wild animal attacks made everyone’s daily life a true hell. However, Greeks worked hard and did it. You can read interesting stories in the relevant book.
In 1923 gold deposits were found in the Lupa River to the southwest of Tanzania. A gold rush developed in the area and some pioneer Greeks arrived. In 1938, there were at least 120 Greek ‘diggers’. But, conditions were harsh and only few of the Greeks were able to make money. The majority died as a result of the primitive and unhealthy conditions.
(excerpt from the book 'The Greek community in Burundi and Rwanda)
In 1954, Christos Baïraktaris (Philipou) who left Lesvos and immigrated to Burundi, used for the first time the way of fishing sardines with a circular net. This was a landmark for the fishing on Lake Tanganyika.Gradually, more and more Greeks, mostly from Lesvos, took up fishing as ship owners or captains.
Excerpt from the book-The Greek presence in the Horn of Africa
Sotiris Chryseos was born in Samos and in 1880 he settled in Aden where he engaged in trade. He was the first to trade in the Ogaden region, in the southeastern of Ethiopia, where local tribes were particularly aggressive toward foreigners. Chryseos, who knew the local languagesand customs, extended his activity to Mogadishu, creating a trade route that connected eastern Ethiopia with southern Somalia. In 1885 he expanded his activities in Zeila of Somalia with great success.
[excerpt from the book 'The Greek community in Malawi']
In 1928, Nikos Trataris left Lemnos and went to Beira to work for his uncle who had a farm. He worked from morning till night without a payment and after eight months he left for Malawi. He decided to set up the first bakery in Blantyre but he had no funds so he borrowed some money from his friend, George Cocorozis who was in Beira. He opened the “European bakery” which was later renamed to “Associates bakery”. In the 1950s, Trataris built an ultra modern and automatic bakery which was baking 1,200 loaves per hour. In 1955, it reached 8,000 loaves an hour. It was such an accomplishment that the owner of the biggest bakery of South Africa came to see it. In 1975, Trataris’s sons who were running the business were forced to sell it at a low price. One of them, George Trataris, who refused to cooperate was imprisoned for 18 months.
