Stathoula Paleshi | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Stathoula Paleshi

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Waterloo, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

March 7, 2026

Interview Summary:

Stathoula Paleshi was born in Pentageia, Cyprus in 1963. In this interview, she juxtaposes her warm, communal upbringing in Potamos tou Kampou with her family’s first Christmas in Canada post-1974. Stathoula further details her involvement with various facets of church life in Kitchener, most notably her work on the Greek radio show, Basically Blue and White. Stathoula also shares a story about returning to say goobye to her familial village after the checkpoints in Cyprus opened.

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Date and Location

March 7, 2026

Waterloo, ON

Interviewee(s)

Stathoula Paleshi

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF142

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

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Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Migration

Working Life

Tags

Decades Referenced

No items found.

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Famagusta; Limassol; Makedonitissa Tomb (Nicosia District); Morphou (Nicosia District); Nicosia; Nicosia International Airport; Pentageia (Nicosia District); Potamos tou Kampou (Nicosia District); Soli Amphitheatre (Nicosia District); Taht-el-kale (Nicosia District); Trachypedoula (Paphos District); Varosha (Famagusta District); Xeros (Nicosia District); Canada; Kingston; Kitchener; Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church (Kitchener); Toronto; Waterloo; Greece; Athens; Chios; the United Kingdom; London; the United States of America; Albany; Kingston (New York State); Philadelphia; Australia; Beirut; Berlin; Iran; Japan; Turkey

Occupation(s)

Factory worker, waitress, and secondary school teacher

Parents Occupation(s)

Father: Miner and served in the Cypriot military

Names Referenced

Antonis Paleshi, Elisseos Kyrillou

[00:00:20] Childhood in Potamos tou Kampou

[00:09:34] The divide between Grivas and Makarios supporters

[00:14:01] Discussing her uncle who went missing in 1974

[00:19:52] Familial migration patterns

[00:25:38] Life in Canada upon arrival

[00:34:17] Community life in Kitchener-Waterloo

[00:39:56] Her working life

[00:41:14] Her daughter joining the Greek community in Japan

[00:45:00] Meeting her husband through a Greek radio show

[00:47:27] Her husband’s migration story and family history

[00:51:14] Discussing Cypriot and Canadian identity

[00:54:48] Saying goodbye to her village in 2006

[01:04:12] Ambivalence over a solution to the Cyprus issue

[01:08:01] Question about Cypriot Canadian institutions

No items found.

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