Her father knew that life abroad was her only hope for a better future

Calliope Doumani was born in 1939 in the village of Kattavia on the island of Rhodes, but she never had the chance to experience a true childhood there. With the outbreak of the Second World War, her family was forced to seek temporary refuge in Palestine. When they returned to Greece and settled on the island of Leros, Calliope’s father soon realised that, if he wanted a better future for his children, they would have to look beyond the borders of their homeland. And so, one by one, her siblings set off on the path of migration, heading for what was, at the time, an “uncharted” land in the eyes of many: Australia. In that vast fifth continent, far from her beloved Rhodes, Calliope too eventually put down roots.