Athina Charalambides | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Athina Charalambides

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Scarborough, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

December 18, 2025

Interview Summary:

Athina Charalambides was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1950. Athina recalls memories from her childhood of the EOKA struggle such as being forced to give up her bed for the guerrillas during the insurgency. During her adolescence, Athina witnessed Cyprus being granted its independence and the intercommunal violence of the 1960s. As a young adult, she worked as a nurse during the junta-engineered coup and Turkish invasion. In this interview, Athina recounts members of EOKA-B visiting her hospital during the coup in order to try and recruit former members of EOKA to join their ranks. She got married in November 1974 and arrived in Canada with her husband. Athina was integral in establishing the Greek Cypriot Heritage Program in Toronto, later serving as the Secretary and President of the Parents Teacher Association for that program. She also became involved with the Cypriot Community of Toronto and the Cypriot Federation of Canada. In 2003, she was elected the first female President of the Cypriot Federation of Canada. She further served as the Secretary of PSEKA and Treasurer for the Canadian Ethnocultural Council. Athina also used part of her interview to discuss her grandfather’s service in the Macedonian Mule Corps during World War I.

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Date and Location

December 18, 2025

Scarborough, ON

Interviewee(s)

Athina Charalambides

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF137

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

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Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Homeland Activism

Migration

Rites

Working Life

Tags

Decades Referenced

1910s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

2000s

2020s

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Agios Pavlos (suburb of Nicosia), American Academy Nicosia; Central Jail of Nicosia; Central Nicosia Hospital; Dhekelia (British base); Episkopi (Limassol District); Kermia (Nicosia District); Kioneli (Nicosia District); Kyrenia; Ledra Palace Hotel; Nicosia; Paphos; Trachonas (suburb of Nicosia); Varosha (Famagusta District); Greece; Thessaloniki; Canada; Toronto; Towers Department Store; University of Toronto; Australia; France; Germany; Haifa; India; Italy; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Siberia; Turkey; the United Kingdom; the United States of America

Occupation(s)

Nurse, Toronto Hydro worker

Parents Occupation(s)

Father: contractor. Mother: cleaner

Names Referenced

Andreas Charalambides (husband); Christina and Edward O’Neil (daughter and son-in-law); Christine Amygdalidis (President of the Cypriot Federation of Canada and Athina’s sister); Georgios Grivas; Makarios III; Michalis Karaolis; Nicodemos Nicodemou (grandfather); Simon and Stella Charlambides (son and daughter-in-law); Stelios Mavrommatis

[00:00:22] Early life & her pappou’s service in World War I

[00:03:52] Why her father did not fight in World War II

[00:05:16] Memories of the EOKA struggle

[00:09:45] Independence & interactions with Turkish Cypriots

[00:13:07] Her mother’s work in the British bases

[00:15:08] Her life pre-1974 and how she met her husband

[00:19:28] Married and migrated to Canada in 1974

[00:21:42] Working life, education, and adjustment to Canada

[00:24:03] Memories of 1971 – 1974, the coup, and invasion

[00:31:10] Her work with various Cypriot groups in Canada

[00:41:09] Interactions with international Greek groups

[00:42:34] Discrimination she experienced from Greeks

[00:45:26] Going through select family photos

[00:47:47] Sponsoring her sister’s migration in 1979

[00:49:14] Feeling equally Cypriot and Canadian

[00:51:36] Hopes for the future of Cyprus

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