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Europe in Brussels part 14: Meet the Greeks

21:43 23/03/2017
Greece's national day on 25 March coincides with a football match against Belgium here in Brussels

On 25 March, Greece celebrates a double holiday: a historical and a religious one. Greeks celebrate the War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire and the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In view of this national day, the president of the Greek community in Brussels, Dimitrios Argyropoulos, describes how Greek migrants made Brussels their home while introducing their culture to the Belgian landscape.

According to Argyropoulos, there are approximately 20,000 to 22,000 Greek nationals in Belgium, including those of dual nationality. However, many Greeks do not enrol themselves at the Greek Embassy, therefore it is not possible to know the exact number.

Overall there are five waves of Greek arrivals to Belgium. The first migrants came as merchants right after the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922. Two concrete examples are the migrants Leonidas and Daskalidès. These Greek chocolate manufacturers were the founders of two well-known confectioneries which are still popular in Belgium and globally.

The second wave began in 1943, an important year for Greek-Belgian relations as the Greek community's statute of foundation was officially recognised by the Belgian state. During that period and a bit after the second world war, Greek migrants came to Belgium seeking better job opportunities.

The third wave of arrivals (1955-56) included about 20,000 Greeks who came to work in the mines due to Greek-Belgian bilateral agreements on labour migration. The fourth wave relates to those who were disappointed by the military dictatorship in 1967-1974.

Finally, the fifth wave of Greek migration starts in 2009 and continues today as a result of the government debt crisis. Argyropoulos does not include the country's accession to the EU in 1981 as a wave of migration, as he says: "Greeks who work for the EU institutions cannot be considered as migrants as they came to Belgium having already a profession."

Community events

The Greek community in Brussels organises and supports a variety of activities including gatherings with MEPs and other important figures in the political landscape, theatrical performances in the Greek language for educational purposes, humanitarian activities such as Argo, which provides medical support to remote areas in Greece and informative sessions that aim to answer questions with regards to the Belgian administration.

Argyropoulos adds: "It's important to note that this year we will not organise any special events for 25 March, our national day. Why is this? Most of the Greeks will go to the Greece-Belgium football match, which is scheduled on the same day (at King Baudouin stadium).

"However, 12 July is another important day for the Greek community centre as we will celebrate the 60-year anniversary since the Greek miners generation came to Belgium."

The celebration will include educational trips to the mines where the first miners worked, an exhibition with photos from that period and speeches by professors specialised in Greek migration in Belgium.

Argyropoulos suggests for those who would like to get a slice of Greek culture in Brussels, to "try out the famous Greek cuisine in one of the over 500 Greek restaurants in Belgium. Strofilia, Poseidon and L'Altro Mondo are just few of them."

'Looking for another chance here'

Dora Nikolakopoulou passed the EU concours and moved from Athens to Brussels with her husband, son and daughter four years ago, to work for the European External Action Service.

"To be honest it was because of the financial crisis," she says. "There were lots of Greek families that were interested in coming to the European institutions - but also people seeking work in the private sector - technicians, hairdressers - any kind of profession, they were looking for another chance here."

She made new friends with other parents at the Greek section of the European school. "Greeks find other Greeks - we connect very easily, we can smell each other. At work, Greek colleagues were very easily identified among us. We organise trips together, children's activities. All this helps a lot."

Asked what she misses about Athens, the reply comes quickly: "First of all the weather - that's the thing we always discuss, the frustration you get when you open the curtains, or when you receive a call from a friend in Athens saying it's a bit cold there, 18°C. Also friends, family… the help of grandmothers is something you don't appreciate or don't realise until you come here."

While 25 March is a big deal in Greece, Nikolakopoulou says: "Here you are lucky if someone mentions it - we tend to forget it."

Her children still feel very attached to their home country. "They often say: I don't like it being here," she adds. "But I think they don't understand that inside them, they are growing up in a different way. Every day they hear so many languages spoken around them - different cultures, different religions, everything.

"They are developing a completely different character, a different way of thinking. They don't realise now - they will when the gap gets so big between them and the rest of the Greek kids that they left when they were young."

Written by Margarita Chrysakis, Paul McNally