VOICES From Migrations | Katerina Kakhniashvili's story

"VOICES From Migrations” is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration. Katerina Kakhniashvili was born in Greece as the daughter of Georgian parents. This is her story:

Katerina Kakhniashvili | VOICES From Migrations

“I’m Katerina. I was born in Greece, but my whole family is from Georgia. My parents moved here for economic reasons. Originally, they only planned to stay for a few years, make some money, and go back. But they ended up staying. 

From my family, only my mother, sister, uncle, and cousin are here. Everyone else is in Georgia. My mother did a good job of keeping us connected with our family there. We spend as much time as we can with them, but of course, we miss them while we are away. I go to Georgia once or twice a year. It’s weird, but it also feels very familiar. Sometimes, when I’m in Georgia, I feel Greek, and when I’m in Greece, I feel Georgian. I think it’s because I was raised with both cultures, so I have mixed characteristics. 

I remember that in the first years of primary school, teachers would make comments like: ‘she speaks such good Greek.’ I didn’t understand these comments because I was born in Greece, raised in Greek, and schooled in Greek, so these comments didn’t make sense. On the other hand, the fact that my sister and I didn’t grow up surrounded by Georgian culture might have affected our relationship to the country; however, at home we speak Georgian, and eat traditional foods. We also went to Georgian classes. Through that, we met a lot of Georgian families who had migrated to Greece too. 

One of the challenges that has shaped my family’s story is how many immigrants end up working in jobs far below their qualifications. My mother, for example, studied Law, but she couldn’t continue her career as a lawyer here.

I often feel sad for my parents, having to come to a new country, not knowing the language, not knowing what will happen tomorrow… The way I feel about Greece is the way they feel about Georgia, that’s where their families are, where they grew up, and where a part of them will always belong.”

Interviewed by Nikolas Papoulakos, Laura Panis, Lorenzo Palmer, Boglar Gabriella Kiss, Yuliia Smykovska, and Luka Prpić

Katerina Kakhniashvili'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.