VOICES From Migrations | Eleni Efraimidou's story

“VOICES From Migrations” is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration stories. Eleni Efraimidou left Armenia for Greece in 1991. This is her story:

Eleni Efraimidou | VOICES From Migrations

“I was eight when we left. My father was a Pontic Greek, my mother Armenian. Even in Armenia, we didn’t really fit in. People always saw us as different. So we thought that maybe in Greece, things would be better. It was supposed to be home. The journey itself, I still remember it. Three days by car through Turkey. Long, tiring, full of worry, but also dreams.

But when we arrived, nothing was easy. I didn’t speak the language. I was thrown into a school where no one looked like me, spoke like me, or understood me. I got laughed at for my accent, for the way I dressed. I felt foreign everywhere.

In Armenia, I was the Greek girl. In Greece, I was the foreigner. But you push through. What else can you do? My parents worked hard. Very hard. Slowly, I learned the language. Slowly, I found my place. Now, I live in Thessaloniki, and I work with kids. Maybe because I know how hard it can be when you're little, and you don’t belong, I want them to see that difference is not a weakness. It’s a strength. 

Sometimes, I go back to Armenia with my husband and my son. I want him to know both sides of where he comes from. I want him to feel proud of both. People ask me, ‘Where do you belong?’ and I say, ‘To both places. I carry both in me.’ Education matters, too. A lot. If my school had understood what I was going through, maybe those early years wouldn’t have been so hard. Language support, cultural understanding - it makes a difference.

There are a lot of migrants like me in Greece. Sometimes I look around and wonder, ‘Did I really leave Armenia behind? Or did I bring it with me?’ We came for something better. A life with less fear, less conflict. More hope. Migration is never easy. But if you survive it, you gain something strong. You learn to live in between worlds. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”

Interview conducted by: Gkesouli Ellie, Corina Elena Voicilă, Camila Velez Martinez, Grzegorz Zając, and Joaquín Emiliano Espinoza Castro

Eleni Efraimidou's interview, excerpt

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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.