Danai Kokkinopoulou (Interview 1)

FAMREF008A

Participants
Danai Kokkinopoulou (Interview 1)
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
October 26, 2022
Toronto, ON
Languages
English
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF008A
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Categories
Tags
Decades Referenced
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Geri (Nicosia District); Nicosia; Tartakala (Nicosia District); Kambos (Nicosia District); UN Buffer Zone; Angastina (Famagusta District); Kyrenia; Lapithos (Kyrenia District); Stongkilo (Kyrenia District); Kyperounda (Limassol District); Limassol; Ayia Napa; Bedrock Inn (Ayia Napa); WaterWorld Themed Waterpark (Ayia Napa); Paphos; Polis Chrysochous (Paphos District); Canada; Toronto; CN Tower; Nathan Phillips Square; Seneca Polytechnic College at York Campus; York University; Ryerson Polytechnic Institute; Greektown (Danforth); Coxwell; Broadview; Serano Bakery (Pape Avenue); Scarborough; Cypriot Community Centre (Thorncliffe); Kitchener; Newmarket; Ottawa; Canterbury High School (Ottawa); Medelhavsmuseet (Stockholm); Stockholm; Sweden; New York City; Florida; China; Germany; South Africa; Asia Minor; Turkey; Greece; The United Kingdom
Occupation(s)
Psychology student at York University and works part time at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Parents Occupation(s)
Her mother used to work for Cyprus Airways and her father works as a mechanic for Harley-Davidson.

[00:00:07] Life in Geri and familial background

[00:04:58] Family moving back & forth between here & Cyprus

[00:07:53] Covid changing her perceptions of Canada & Cyprus

[00:14:44] Migrating to Canada for education

[00:17:16] Living in the Danforth to be closer to her roots

[00:20:33] How she learned English

[00:22:38] Communication with loved ones in Cyprus

[00:24:10]  Staying in Cyprus every summer

[00:25:27] The dynamic between the diaspora and Cyprus

[00:26:47] Using Greek TV & radio to stay connected to home

[00:28:17] Canada’s impact on her Cypriot identity

[00:29:11] Cypriot and Greek friends at York

[00:31:58] Other interactions with Cypriots & Greeks here

[00:34:15] The failures of the Cypriot Community of Toronto

[00:35:48] Staying Cypriot and how the diaspora is changing

[00:37:51] Her experience of university in Canada

[00:40:57] Photographs of loved ones

[00:49:14] The double significance of August 15th in Cyprus

[00:51:14] Her family's religious practices

[00:53:35] The political divide in Greek churches

[00:58:37] The junta, EOKA-B, and Makarios

[01:01:38] Photographs and ephemera as memory triggers

[01:04:55] Going through her memory box