‘Living museum’ dedicated to the stories of Australia’s Greeks celebrates first anniversary

“Whoever disregards their past is similar a tree that severs its ain roots,” Archbishop Makarios of Australia said astatine an lawsuit astatine the Australian National Maritime Museum successful Sydney earlier this month, marking the archetypal day of a “living museum” dedicated to the stories of Greek immigrants.

Titled “Our People, Their Stories,” the task documents the idiosyncratic histories of Australia’s Greek diaspora, 1 of the largest and astir vibrant Greek communities successful the world. 

The initiative, a collaboration betwixt the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and the Greek Ministry of Culture, collects oral testimonies, videos and idiosyncratic accounts, which are then made available bilingually astatine www.opts.org.au

Presiding implicit the lawsuit was Vrasidas Karalis, prof of Modern Greek studies astatine the University of Sydney, writer and translator. Speaking to Greece’s nationalist vigor Voice of Greece, Karalis described the task arsenic “an unfastened museum.”

“These radical near poverty, hardship and often persecution behind,” Karalis said. “Their travel from Greece to Australia was similar the voyage to Ithaca – a travel into the unknown.”

Karalis credited task manager Markellos Petropoulos arsenic “the driving unit down the effort,” emphasizing that oral storytelling “captures the lived clip and world of migrants, their truth, not a theoretical narrative.”

“Each story is simply a abstracted section successful a caller understanding of history,” Karalis added. “Together, they uncover the diverseness of the migrant acquisition and bring to the surface the trauma of uprooting.”

In his code astatine the day event, Makarios reached retired to young Greek Australians, urging them to “take attraction to larn the stories of our radical – your parents, your grandmothers, and your grandfathers – and beryllium inspired by their illustration to look the challenges of the modern age.”

“I implore you, bash not place this precious inheritance,” helium said.

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni besides attended the event, vowing that Athens’ committedness to “this patronage will not beryllium simply symbolic, but substantial.”