Nitsa Benkovic (née Pingos)

FAMREF011

Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Participants
Nitsa Benkovic (née Pingos)
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
July 9, 2023
Kitchener, ON
Languages
English
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF011
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Categories
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Education
Historical Events
Migration
Rites
Tags
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cyprus 1974
Dance
Discrimination
Greek School
Junta
Language
Marriage
Military Service
Religion
Sponsorship
Decades Referenced
1960s
1970s
1980s
2000s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Troodos; Limassol; Kambos (Nicosia District); Makarios Avenue (Nicosia); Apostolos Andreas Monastery (Famgusta District); Kyrenia; Australia; Melbourne; Canada; Kitchener; University of Waterloo; Toronto
Occupation(s)
Working in the cafeteria at the University of Waterloo as a teenager.
Parents Occupation(s)
Her mother worked in the cafeteria at the University of Waterloo.

[00:00:20] Growing up in Troodos and school years in Limassol

[00:08:56] Migrating to Canada after the 1974 invasion

[00:11:32] The political situation and the invasion

[00:18:06] Her family's religious practices

[00:20:06] Her cousin's disappearance during the war

[00:22:20] Her father’s sponsored migration to Canada

[00:28:30] Coexistence of Turks and Cypriots in Limassol

[00:30:14] Settling in Kitchener among other Greek Cypriots

[00:36:45] Easing into Canadian society, but staying Cypriot

[00:47:34] Her communication with friends back in Cyprus

[00:50:20] Her children's Greek education

[00:58:28] Feeling more Canadian than Cypriot

[01:08:30] Her trip to Cyprus in 2005 and her aspirations

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