Andreas and Cleo Frantzeskos

FAMREF009

Participants
Andreas and Cleo Frantzeskos
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
May 28, 2023
Kingston, ON
Languages
English
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF009
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Categories
Tags
Decades Referenced
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Agios Ilias (Famagusta District); Apostolos Andreas Monastery (Famagusta District); Bogazi (Famagusta District); Gastria (Famagusta District); Trikomo (Famagusta District); Varosha; Othello Castle (Famagusta); Famagusta; Kyrenia; Larnaca; Canada; Meleville, Saskatchewan; Yorkton, Saskatchewan; Regina, Saskatchewan; Toronto; Scarborough; Keswick; Queen's University; Kingston; Belleville; Montreal; Newfoundland and Labrador; Huntsville, Alabama; The United Kingdom; Manchester, England; Wales; Turkey
Occupation(s)
Cleo was a teacher in Cyprus and a Greek school teacher in Canada. Cleo also briefly helped run a motel in Meleville, Saskatchewan. Andreas was a electrical engineer in Cyprus. During his early years in Canada, he was an electrician and plumber. Andreas briefly helped run a bus station that was part of the motel Cleo worked at in Meleville. Andreas then owned a sporting goods and clothing store in Meleville. Once Cleo and Andreas moved to Kingston, he briefly worked at H&R Block during a solitary tax season, before working as a night auditor.
Parents Occupation(s)
Andreas' mother cooked for the workers who toiled her father's farm. Andreas' father was a cook, then a fisherman. Cleo's father was merchant exporter of potatoes and fruits. Her father also had a hotel in Famagusta. Her mother was a cook at that hotel.

[00:00:03] Family memories and life in Famagusta before 1974

[00:11:33] Fleeing Famagusta due to the invasion

[00:18:09] British divide and rule destroying coexistence  

[00:22:56] Details on how they met and migrating to Canada

[00:26:14] Life in Melville, Saskatchewan

[00:32:56] Organizing a Greek school in the province

[00:37:59] Family in Cyprus and Wales

[00:40:02] Adjusting to life in Canada

[00:42:43] Balancing Cypriot and Canadian cultures

[00:45:50] Leaving their possessions behind in 1974

[00:47:55] Details about their children adjusting to Canada

[00:50:41] Joining Greek groups due to a lack of Cypriots

[00:58:27] Communicating with family in Cyprus

[00:59:10] Andreas’ photography and film hobby

[01:00:56] Difficulties visiting Cyprus

[01:03:45] How audiovisual media helps to sustain heritage

[01:07:55] This generation lacking interest in Greek school

[01:09:17] Photographs aiding the remembering of the past

[01:10:52] The divide between being Cypriot and Canadian

[01:12:10] Uncertainty over Cyprus’ future due to Turkey