President of the Greek Cultural Centre of Tashkent, Costas Politis recently made a short trip to Melbourne where he gave a seminar and had the opportunity to meet the Board of Directors of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM).
Those of Greek background remaining in Uzbekistan, probably around one thousand, are mainly descendants, children, and grandchildren of political refugees who arrived in 1949 after the Greek Civil War.
Although the community’s numbers at one stage approached 40,000, the fall of the junta in Greece, the recognition of the National Resistance by the Andreas Papandreou government, and the fall of the Soviet Union were all factors that accelerated repatriation efforts.
The declining community has seen a re-energising of its cultural programming by Politis, who has been able to reinvigorate and put the community back on the map.
Politis was accompanied by Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos to meet the GCM Board, who along with the Greek Community of NSW organised a photographic exhibition in Sydney for the Greeks of Tashkent.
Those in attendance included President Bill Papastergiadis OAM, Vice Presidents Michael Karamitos, Dr Jim Bossinakis, Dr Nick Dallas, Secretary Nick Koukouvitakis and Assistant Secretary Vicky Kyritsis.
In a media release detailing the meeting, Papastergiadis stressed they “the GCM is willing to assist Mr Politis in his efforts and will be considering bringing the photographic exhibition to Melbourne.”
Dr Dallas, an education convenor, added that “I’m sure the community of Tashkent can leverage some of the experience we have in educational and cultural programming.”
Politis commented on his vision for the Tashkent community.
“Although the Tashkent community has made great strides in the performing arts, there are very few people who speak Greek. Creating a robust Greek language program in the near future is a key priority,” he said.
“I’m realistic; I won’t be here forever. At some stage down the track, the reins must be passed on to younger generations living here.
“I’m trying to mentor a team of young locals by giving them more responsibilities and assigning them ownership of projects so that they acquire experience.”
He said the absence of the Greek state in Tashkent is a problem, and everything takes longer when it comes to dealing with Greece, especially visas.
He added that they’re expecting a new embassy and ambassador to be in place by the end of the year, a decision made during the pandemic.
“Hopefully one day we can also receive seconded teachers; it will make a big difference in reviving the language.”
While in Melbourne Politis also visited Alphington Grammar School, Evangelismos Church, and the GCM’s language campus in Bentleigh.
He was said to be in awe of the Greek Community in Melbourne, from its size and infrastructure, and commended the multi-level activity in various fields. Politis was also impressed by the educational facilities and teaching staff.
