Androula Tsoukalas

FAMREF013

Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Participants
Androula Tsoukalas
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
July 16, 2023
Belleville, ON
Languages
English with some Cypriot Greek
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF013
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Economy
Education
Historical Events
Homeland Activism
Migration
Rites
Tags
1974 Protests
AHEPA
Australia
Baptism
Cleaning Work
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cyprus 1974
Dance
Engagement
English Learning
EOKA
Greek Community
Greek Coup
Greek School
Intercommunal Violence
Junta
Marriage
Military Service
Post-1974 Migration
Pre-1974 Migration
Religion
Sponsorship
The Cypriot Brotherhood
UK
WW2
Decades Referenced
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Mesogi (Paphos District); Timi (Paphos District); Polis Chrysochous (Paphos District); Limni Mine (Paphos District); Argaka (Paphos District); Prodromi (Paphos District); Paphos; Troodos Mountains; Kyperounda (Limassol District); Akrotiri (British Base in Cyprus); Canada; Toronto; Belleville; Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (Belleville); Kingston; Trenton; Picton; Ottawa; Montreal; Halifax; Victoria; Vancouver; Australia; the United Kingdom; the United States of America; Russia; Ukraine; Israel; Palestine; Greece; Athens; Rhodes; Crete
Occupation(s)
As a child, she helped her mother as a basket weaver. Then when she was older, she worked at Limni Mine. Her first job in Canada was working as a dishwasher and then later on she worked as a cashier at Home Depot.
Parents Occupation(s)
Her mother was a basket weaver and her father was a government foreman. Her father also served in the British military during World War II.
Names Referenced
Makarios III; Georgios Grivas; Spyros Kyprianou; Georgios Papadopoulos; Dimitrios Ioannidis; King Paul of Greece; Chris Tsoukalas

[00:00:17] Biographical and familial background

[00:03:30] Leaving Cyprus due to the troubles in the 1960s

[00:08:56] Details about her childhood in Cyprus

[00:13:37] Details about EOKA and the troubles in the 1960s

[00:25:51] Interactions with Turkish Cypriots

[00:28:32] Imperialist politics in Cyprus

[00:31:53] Reasons for picking Canada over other countries

[00:35:32] Describing her first job in Canada

[00:38:47] Adjusting to life in Canada

[00:39:51] Fading Cypriot presence in Belleville  

[00:42:47] Connection with the Cypriot Community of Toronto

[00:44:39] Memories of 1974

[00:49:51] Arguments with junta supporters

[00:55:19] Cypriot dances & children attending Greek school

[00:56:56] Differences between Cypriot and Greek language

[01:04:06] Moving back & forth between Cyprus and Canada

[01:08:30] Association with AHEPA & Daughters of Penelope

[01:15:28] Cypriots in Victoria, B.C.

[01:19:20] Connection between Belleville & Kingston Cypriots

[01:20:57] Founding of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

[01:25:14] The importance of photography

[01:28:32] Harassment from a Greek over Cypriot identity

[01:31:58] Hopes for the future of Cyprus

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