VOICES From Migrations | Islam Prokopis Katiaj's story

“VOICES From Migrations" is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration stories. Islam Prokopis is from Albania, and he moved to Greece in 1997. This is his story:

Islam Prokopis | VOICES From Migrations

“My name is Islam Prokopis Katiaj. I am 36 years old, and I came to Greece as an 8-year-old child from Albania. One of the main reasons we left was that my parents had better job opportunities in Greece than in our home country. Additionally, Albania experienced extremely challenging times in 1997-98, as the financial crisis led to a civil war within the country.

I can claim without doubt that Thessaloniki is my beloved home; I have never felt the same in another city. Fortunately, I was easily accepted by the people here, although my first half year in a school with only Greek students was challenging. However, I learned the language quite fast, and felt the other students were always welcoming. 

I am a very lucky man to have a job I love… I am a dance teacher: I teach Latin dances like salsa and bachata. I also have a family now: my wife came here also as a migrant from Georgia. So our 10-month-old baby will learn three languages at least – Albanian, Greek, and Russian (as she grew up in a Russian family in Georgia).

I’d say migration is something usual in our family. I have family members in Albania who also migrated to Greece, but then moved back. A huge part of our family stayed in Albania, so there is always a reason to go back for a visit. My brother instead migrated to Germany, and he has a family there. I think it is interesting how different opportunities shaped our family, even throughout borders.”

Interview by: Botond Divéki, Francesco Casciano, Elisabetta Taverna, Yan Fei Zhao, Caoilinn Moran, and Claudia Castel Gallart

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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.