She left behind her homeland, but held on to her roots

Chariklia Biri was born in 1949 in Paliochoraki, a small village in the Nafpaktia region of Greece. At just 12 years old, she left her family home and found herself working in agriculture, far from her mother and siblings. At 16, she followed her father to Germany, and not long after, she took the bold step of emigrating. Ηer destination? Australia. There, she started from scratch, toiling for endless hours in factories and hospitality businesses. Yet in this new homeland, she found her life companion, and together they began building their own family. When she eventually decided to return to Greece, she came to realise that the hardships of daily life and the deep concern for her children’s future no longer allowed her to truly take root there. Her future, and theirs, now lay elsewhere.