Our Greek ancestry demands that we ought to politically engage more meaningfully; that is what I’ve learnt from my grandfather’s political persecution and exile during the Greek Civil War.
The Greek Australian diaspora’s past – political dissent, and Civil War – anchors our identities to political engagement. We know that civic engagement in politics runs deep in us.
However, Greek Australians — and Australians more broadly —fail to engage with policy issues when voting, in sharp contrast to our predecessors’ political activism .
Greek Australian Diaspora only need to learn what their ancestors experienced to appreciate the need to cast an informed ballot at Australia’s upcoming federal election.
My grandfather George Batsis, experienced the fratricide of the Greek Civil War, he was made a political prisoner and exiled to the island of Makronisos for a year and a half. Because of his political beliefs, he was displaced from his home, leaving behind a wife and a young son to fend for themselves.
In exile on Makronisos, he was enslaved and forced to work on military projects, and due to the harsh conditions, he caught tuberculosis and various other health issues. In 1950, he returned to his village, Sofiko, weak and in a financially precarious position. He had to work hard over the years to rebuild his life and to pave a way forward for his family.
However, the end of the war did not eliminate his political persecution. In deciding whether my father, Dimitrios Batsis, should stay in Greece or immigrate to Australia, my grandfather determined it’d be safer for him to leave.
He told my father that if he decided to stay, he’d have to serve his time in the military, and there was every chance he would never return home — in his words, “they will come to get you because of my past”.
My grandfather’s exile left a scar, an indelible mark, on my family for generations to come. It impacted my father’s decision to never become an Australian citizen, due to his distrust of royalist rule.
My grandfather’s story is not too dissimilar to other Greek Australian Diaspora. It begs the question: is the level of political engagement of Greek Australian diaspora commensurate to our ancestors’ sacrifices and political engagement of their time?
Australia is heading to an election — time to turn the dial
The 2025 federal election is set to be packed with serious economic, financial, environmental, and social issues — all of which will no doubt shape the direction of our nation for generations to come. With both major sides of politics, Labor and LNP, pre-empting drastic reforms and major economic policy, this is a time when Greek Australian Diaspora should know the detail.
Despite the many important policy issues, voter engagement data from the most recent 2022 federal election tells a very different story. Statistics from the 2022 federal election showed a significant decrease in voters casting their ballot based on policy issues. In 2019, 66 per cent of voters considered policy issues when voting, however, in the most recent 2022 election, only 53 per cent of voters considered policy issues.
This decrease is a concern. Close to half of Australia seems to cast their vote thoughtlessly. And, Greek Australian engagement with policy issues more broadly seems to be waning.
Greek Australian diaspora’s political power emerges from our war stories and memories
Greek Australian Diaspora needs to step up and honour their elders’ sacrifices to ensure Australia maintains its status of being a land of fairness and opportunity. The Diaspora should demand that this very land which attracted their family’s immigration — where they sought a life of economic, social, political, and financial freedom — be better and fairer today than it was when they arrived.
The same for our Greek Australian organisations and media. Though Greek language, culture, religion, and elder care are important policy matters, our organisations can do better to advocate on broader intersectional policy issues impacting Greek Australians. Housing policy, First Nations justice, climate change, diversity and inclusion are a few areas.
We can achieve change if we use our political power. We all have the right to vote, which is why our vote must be informed by policy. Casting your vote thoughtlessly — without meaning or regard to policy issues — is like giving your blank ballot paper to the powerful to decide your fate. Such disregard pulls us back in time and does not advance our lives and country .
When the federal election in 2025 comes around, I will reflect on the sacrifices my grandfather George made. I will think on how his fervent political engagement nearly cost him his life. Moreover, why I owe it to him — and the Greek Australian Diaspora — to use my political power to make our country a better place for all.
Alexander Batsis is a lawyer and community leader based in Melbourne, Australia. He is currently undertaking a Master of Law and Finance at the University of Oxford, where he is attending as a General Sir John Monash Scholar and Rotary Global Grant Scholar.
