The first days in the life of a Greek in Mozambique

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

 

Panos Macropoulos left Smyrna in 1919 and immigrated to Mozambique. After an arduous journey of 40 days he arrived in Lourenco Marques. Then, he embarked on a ship and after 40 hours he reached Jangamo. There, he rode a horse for 25km through the jungle in order to reach the farm of another Greek where he would work. During the first year of his staying, he lived in a round hut 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, Macropoulos worked hard and within the next decades became one of the pioneer industrialists in the history of Mozambique. 

 

The Greek contribution to the railways in Mozambique and Rhodesia

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

 Most Greeks who arrived in Beira (Mozambique) worked in the construction of the railway. Greeks, Indians, Chinese and other railway workers faced extremely difficulties, not only because of the type of the work but mainly because of the diseases that plagued the area and the wild animals attack. Almost 60% of the Europeans who built the railway line between Beira and Salisbury died from malaria. It should be mentioned that the Greek presence was crucial to the completion of the railway because of their prior experience in similar projects both in Asia Minor and Egypt, and their resistance to the difficult weather conditions and the dangers of the jungle.

The Greek football team in Sudan in the 1930s

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

In 1921, a football championship was launched in Khartoum with the participation of teams formed by members of the British administration and people of different nationalities. The “Hellenic Athletic Club” was one of those teams. Matches were usually held at Gordon College and there were two annual cups. In 1931, the Greek team played a total of 20 football matches with 14 wins, 3 defeats and 3 draws.

 

Migrants from Ithaca to South Africa in the 1890s

[Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in South Africa’]

Following the discovery of diamonds and gold, small groups from Ithaca immigrated to South Africa and worked as gold diggers, miners, railway workers and shop-owners. Some of the pioneers were Vlassopoulos, Frangos, Couvaras, Macris, Paxinos, Mouzakis, Adrianatos, Deftereos, Divanis, Drakopoulos, Gerontis, Kallinikos, Karantzis, Comnenos, Koutsouvelis, Maroudas, Moraitis, Paizis, Palmos, Raftopoulos, Sofianos, Sikiotis, Zaverdinos and others.

 

The first newspaper in the official language of Ethiopia was Greek

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

The Greeks in Ethiopia were pioneers in a many fields including the publication of newspapers. In 1908, Andreas Kavadias, who worked as an accountant, published the first newspaper in the local official language of Ethiopia. This was the Aemero.

 

The first Greek school in South Africa

 

(excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in South Africa’)

In 1927, the Greeks of Johannesburg decided to establish a Greek language school and started raising money. Soon, Greeks from the Transvaal, Natal, Cape and from as far away as Rhodesia, also contributed to this project. The foundation stone of the so called ‘The Great School of the Nation’ in Malvern was laid in February 1928.

 

The racism of the British against the Greek traders in South Africa

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

 In Transvaal, Greek shopkeepers and retailers faced the racist of the British. The Greek shops also experienced prosecutions in Cape Town. There were several incidents of anti-Greek behavior by the officials in relation to the granting of licences and certificates.

The financial survival of the shopkeepers made the wholesalers and wealthiest merchants angry. For that reason, in collaboration with the city authorities, they realised that new legislation had to be designed in order to keep these immigrants out of the colony. Even so, the columns of the South African Review openly "accused" Greeks of "monopolising" the small confectionery business and the fruit shops in the 1900s.

 

The Greeks of Sudan during WW2

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

The outbreak of the Second World War mobilized all the Hellenism of Sudan. Apart from those who fought on the North African front, the Greeks of Sudan initiated a fundraiser and sent clothing and money to the Greek Red Cross in Alexandria in order to be transferred to Greece. Financial assistance was also given to the British Red Cross and the RAF. Furthermore, the Greeks of Sudan joined the Sudan Auxiliary Defence Force which was formed by the British in order to protect the eastern borders of the Sudan that were threatened by the Italian forces that had occupied Ethiopia and were constantly trying to invade Sudan.

 

A Greek of great importance for the British in Ethiopia in the 1910s

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

 Philippos Zaphiropoulos was born in Constantinople in 1874. He immigrated to Cairo and in 1896 he went to Ethiopia to work as a interpreter for an American millionaire. Shortly after, he dealt with the organization of safaris, which allowed him to get acquainted with the British diplomatic authorities. As a result, in 1904, the British Ambassador appointed Zaphiropoulos as the border inspector between Ethiopia and Kenya. After completing his mission on the southern border of the country, he moved to Addis Ababa where he was appointed as an interpreter and secretary of Ethiopic affairs at the British Embassy. Zaphiropoulos was honored by the British government in 1934.

 

 

From Lemnos to Mozambique in the 1890s

 

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

 During the late 19^th century lots of Greeks from Lemnos immigrated to Beira in Mozambique such as Dimitris Paraskevas. Paraskevas fled Lemnos around 1885 because he had attacked a Turkish soldier. He boarded a ship heading to Africa and arrived in Dar es Salaam. In

1890, he moved to the south and settled initially in Beira and then in Vila Pery where he involved in the cattle breeding and trading.

In 1892, he started a bakery business with his brother Panagiotis. Other pioneers from Lemnos were Nikolaos and Komnenos Chalamandaris,

Sarantos Lecanidis, Nickolas Kampanis, Kimon Diomataris, Nickolas Vertsonis, Nicholas Trataros, John Miltiades and Dimitrios Verghis.

 

From Kephalonia to Cape Town- The life story of a true patriot

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

Nikos Adelinis was originated from Kephalonia. He immigrated to Cape Town in 1891 and was the leading figure behind the establishment of the ‘Mutual Help Organisation’ in 1898, and the Hellenic community of Cape Town in 1902. Adelinis was the first to donate large amounts of money to the church fund too. The Greek community recognised his services and made him an honorary life president of the community and the Greek government decorated him with its highest award, the Silver Cross of the Lord.