VOICES From Migrations | Alexandros Mouhsiadis's story
- Changemakers
- Dec 23, 2025
- 2 min read
“VOICES From Migrations" is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration stories. Alexandros Mouhsiadis is from Georgia, and he moved to Greece in 1995. This is his story:
“My name is Alexandros Mouhsiadis, and while I was born in Georgia and will always recognize it as my homeland, I'm also a person of Greek descent. When I first came to Greece 30 years ago, I immediately fell in love with it and never wanted to leave.
I had just finished my studies when I left Georgia. It was incredibly difficult to say goodbye to the place I grew up in, and equally challenging to start over in a new country. The journey here was long and hard, a bus trip from Georgia to Greece, but the desire to be here made all the difficulty worthwhile.
Initially, my plan was to work in Greece for a short time. However, a new law that allowed us to stay longer had just been approved, and I was so happy here that I took the opportunity. I truly felt like this was my homeland.
The language barrier was the most difficult challenge. We could find jobs, but not being able to communicate in everyday situations was a constant frustration. They did have language seminars, but it was hard to juggle them with our work schedules. I learned the language the old-fashioned way: by communicating with the locals every day.
Despite that, people were accepting and kind. I have nothing bad to say about the locals; if you are a good person and have a positive attitude, they will have a good relationship with you.
At the beginning, it was a real struggle, since we never had support like economic aid or housing assistance. But now, I'm comfortable and proud to be part of this community. What started as a foreign place has, through years of overcoming the hardships of migration, become a place I truly feel at home in.”
Interview by: Gkesouli Ellie, Corina Elena Voicilă,Camila Velez Martinez, Grzegorz Zając, and Joaquín Emilian Espinoza Castro
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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