The pain of success: Justice Kyrou

Early life for Supreme Court Judge Emilios Kyrou wasn’t easy. In between punches, he would come to the realisation that knowing the law gives you power.

Early life for Supreme Court Judge Emilios Kyrou wasn’t easy. In between punches, he would come to the realisation that knowing the law gives you power.
“One of the biggest problems I had was my name – as soon as people found out my name was Emilios, which is such an unusual name, I was immediately called a ‘wog’.”
Meet John, also known as Emilios. Fearing the wrath of racist taunts at a young age, Justice Emilios Kyrou went by his father’s name, John. Like many migrant children, he led a double life, trying to fit in the foreign Australian world and live the Greek life he was used to at home.
Coming to Australia was more than a struggle. His parents’ expectations were very different to reality, settling into a life of very hard work, overtime and the dream of moving back to Greece ever fading.
Having to leave an already established life in Greece, Kyrou felt very disenchanted.
“I was doing very well, I was on top of the subjects; and then to change from that environment to an environment where you’re lost because you don’t understand what people are saying to you at school, and looking around and seeing everyone participating, enjoying themselves…I was totally disconnected,” he says.
The sheer differences within the Australian way of life started to change Kyrou’s personality.
“I tried to avoid the radar as much as possible, to go unnoticed. I certainly didn’t advertise the fact that I was Greek.”
So much so that when he would catch the train to Greek school every Saturday morning and get spotted by the school kids, he would panic and lie, saying he was going into the city or to the football.
Sadly, racial slurs weren’t the least of his worries.
Early on in his days at Broadmeadows Primary, Kyrou would take the long route to school to avoid the wrath of the bullies.
“I experienced quite severe racism, including physical beatings, just walking to school, for no reason other than I was a migrant. I had an unusual name, and I would have looked different back then because I would have had a crew cut, [and] I still would have worn the homemade clothes we came out from Greece with.”
This followed many years of avoiding any situation that would promote such behaviour – for example, by sitting in a secluded spot for lunch, knowing his Greek leftovers would instill jeers and ridicule, or not going on camps or participating in sport.
Peace came when the bullies started dropping out of school. Kyrou reached the age of 15 and felt safe to reclaim his Greekness.
His first step was reclaiming his name.
“When I told my teachers I’d like to be called Emilios and not John, they said [it was] a lovely name; and I hadn’t quite associated loveliness with my name, because my name was previously associated with pain and humiliation.
“So it was quite an awakening for me to appreciate that, in fact, there was a positive to being Greek, to have an unusual name; and I was encouraged to find out what being Greek meant.”
His love for the law was something he can trace back to his school years. The injustice of racism, the assaults and his family’s struggles all contributed to the man he is today. His parents wish for their children to get a good education pushed Kyrou to pursue a meaningful career.
“It occurred to me very early that the best way to look after your family and advance your interests was to know the law,” he says – a sentiment that has stayed with him today.
Justice Emilios Kyrou is a Supreme Court judge and is the only Greek born judge appointed to the great honour.