Theodoros Eliades
Interviewer(s):
Theo Xenophontos
Project:
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Scarborough, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
May 10, 2022

Interview Summary:

Theodoros Eliades was born in 1938 in a small village near the Troodos Mountains. He first left Cyprus for the United Kingdom during the 1950s due to the EOKA struggle and for educational reasons. He then migrated to Canada in the 1960s. In 1974, he served as the President of the Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario following the junta-engineered coup and Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
May 10, 2022
Scarborough, ON
Interviewee(s)
Theodoros Eliades
Interviewer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Languages
English
Reference ID
FAMREF004
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Education
Historical Events
Homeland Activism
Migration
Working Life
Tags
Australia
Cypriot Canadian 1974 Protests
Cypriot Canadian Economic Relations
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cyprus 1974
Cyprus Coup
Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario
EOKA
Junta
Postsecondary Education
Pre-1974 Migration
Religion
The Cypriot Brotherhood
UK
USA
Decades Referenced
1930s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
2000s
2010s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Troodos Mountains; Canada; Toronto; University of Toronto; Cypriot Community Centre (Thorncliffe); Australia; the United Kingdom; the United States of America; Ukraine
Occupation(s)
He worked as a chemist. He also worked as a lecturer at the University of Toronto. In 1974, he was the President of both The Cypriot Brotherhood and the Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario.
Parents Occupation(s)
Names Referenced
Christine Amygdalidis (President of the Cypriot Federation of Canada); Martha Henty (Cyprus-Canada Chamber of Commerce); Theodoros Xenophontos

[00:00:18] Childhood memories of Cyprus

[00:02:40] Migrating to Canada for university

[00:04:04] Working as a chemist

[00:06:53] Leaving Cyprus during the EOKA struggle

[00:08:52] Schooling in Cyprus

[00:10:25] Adjusting to Canada

[00:11:45] The Cypriot Brotherhood

[00:12:48] Working on the Cyprus Relief Fund in 1974

[00:15:59] Involvement with the Cypriot Community Centre

[00:19:15] Assimilating into Canadian life

[00:20:26] Hearing news about the 1974 invasion

[00:21:47] The invasion uniting Greeks and Greek Cypriots

[00:24:08] Communicating with family in Cyprus

[00:26:32] Fading interest in audiovisual preservation

[00:30:24] Photographs aiding the remembering of the past

[00:30:59]  Feeling more Canadian than Cypriot

[00:32:00] Hopes for the future of the Cypriot community

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Theodoros' father, 1930s or 1940s
School photo, 1940s
Theodoros, late 1950s
The writing on the back of the previous photo, late 1950s
Theodoros during his time in the United Kingdom, late 1950s
Theodoros with a cat, late 1950s
One of Theodoros' cats aiding the interviewer as he goes through photo albums
Theodoros in the lab, late 1950s
Theodoros dancing (on the right), late 1950s or early 1960s
Wedding photos for Theodoros' brother (top) and Theodoros' sister (bottom left), 1960s
The writing on the back of the previous photos, 1960s
Theodoros and his wife, 1960s or 1970s
Theodoros and his wife, 1970s
Photo album belonging to Theodoros and his wife
Various photos of Theodoros and his family, 1970s
Letterhead for the Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario, 1974
Theodoros' family enjoying ice cream at the Toronto Zoo, late 1970s
Theodoros and his wife outside of Casa Loma, late 1970s
Theodoros at Casa Loma, 1970s
The cover of a book Theodoros gave to the interviewer, July - December 1979
Theodoros with family outside of Toronto City Hall, late 1970s or early 1980s
Postcard from Cyprus in a photo album belonging to Theodoros' son, early 1980s
Theodoros with family during Easter, late 1980s
No items found.
Theodoros' father, 1930s or 1940s
School photo, 1940s
Theodoros, late 1950s
The writing on the back of the previous photo, late 1950s
Theodoros during his time in the United Kingdom, late 1950s
Theodoros with a cat, late 1950s
One of Theodoros' cats aiding the interviewer as he goes through photo albums
Theodoros in the lab, late 1950s
Theodoros dancing (on the right), late 1950s or early 1960s
Wedding photos for Theodoros' brother (top) and Theodoros' sister (bottom left), 1960s
The writing on the back of the previous photos, 1960s
Theodoros and his wife, 1960s or 1970s
Theodoros and his wife, 1970s
Photo album belonging to Theodoros and his wife
Various photos of Theodoros and his family, 1970s
Letterhead for the Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario, 1974
Theodoros' family enjoying ice cream at the Toronto Zoo, late 1970s
Theodoros and his wife outside of Casa Loma, late 1970s
Theodoros at Casa Loma, 1970s
The cover of a book Theodoros gave to the interviewer, July - December 1979
Theodoros with family outside of Toronto City Hall, late 1970s or early 1980s
Postcard from Cyprus in a photo album belonging to Theodoros' son, early 1980s
Theodoros with family during Easter, late 1980s
No items found.
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