Reclaiming the Homeland: Belonging among Diaspora Generations of Greek Australians from Castellorizo

Abstract

This article examines the differential degrees and methods of adaptation to the host society and engagement with the homeland by successive groups of migrants and their second- and third-generation descendants hailing from the Greek island of Castellorizo and settled in Perth, Western Australia, since the beginning of the twentieth century. It examines how Mannheim’s historically grounded generations are reproduced in subsequent genealogical generations of Perth Castellorizians and how this phenomenon is linked to the current “return” of these generations to the ancestral homeland. The article demonstrates that the behavior and profile of each diasporic generation are linked to distinctive historical experiences, especially traumatic ones that their members shared throughout their lives. “Generational units,” based on shared gender, age, and class, are shown to be instrumental in the maintenance, transformation, and transmission of identity. The article also examines the intersection between ethno-regional and ethno-national identity and shows how regional and national identification shift over time for the members of this diasporic group. Finally, the article demonstrates the importance of the family in the construction of diasporic identities. Perceiving themselves as links in a chain of family bonds, second- and third-generation Castellorizians “return” to the ancestral homeland both symbolically and physically to reclaim and revitalize it through their practices and imaginings.