An Examination of Greek Canadian Transnationalism, 1900S-1990S
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Homeland Activism, Public Performance, and the Construction of Identity: An Examination of Greek Canadian Transnationalism, 1900s-1990s By Noula Mina A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of History University of Toronto © Copyright by Noula Mina, 2015. Abstract Homeland Activism, Public Performance, and the Construction of Identity: An Examination of Greek Canadian Transnationalism, 1900s-1990s Noula Mina Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Department of History University of Toronto This thesis examines cases of Greek Canadian transnationalism throughout the twentieth century. It utilizes a large database of oral interviews, newspaper records, both Greek and English language publications, and a variety of archival documents, including government correspondence, community records, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police files, to investigate the ways that Greek immigrants, and to a lesser extent their Canadian- born children, responded to political and humanitarian crises in Greece and engaged in homeland practices. Focusing on Greek Canadians’ use of public performances, namely cultural presentations, humanitarian relief campaigns, commemorative celebrations, and public protests, in mobilizing broader support for their cause, I argue that such transnational acts nurtured a diasporic space that drew Greek Canadians into a public dialogue on the meaning of Greek immigrant identity. Mediated by immigrant elites and shaped by particular conditions in both Greece and Canada, Greek Canadians’ transnationalism contributed significant material and symbolic aid to Greece, but also served as a vehicle for them to privilege and project their ethnic and national identities on a public stage. Though, to be clear, no single narrative emerged, as multiple authors professed to represent the majority of Greeks even while women and working-class men were relegated to less public roles and, often, engagement ii in homeland affairs engendered political and ideological strife among Greeks. While chapter one addresses various forms of public and private transnationalism among early twentieth century Greek immigrants, each of the remaining chapters provide a detailed case study of homeland activism. Chapter two examines Greek Canadians’ humanitarian aid work in the Greek War Relief Fund during the Second World War, and chapters three and four focus on Greeks’ political engagement in response to the right-wing military dictatorship and competing claims over Macedonia. In exploring how homeland practices and politics became localized in the diaspora, this thesis demonstrates the significance of transnationalism in the construction of Greek immigrant identity. iii Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been completed without the support of many individuals. Firstly, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Franca Iacovetta who has enthusiastically supported this thesis from the beginning. I am grateful to have had her as my supervisor but also thankful for her scholarship, having been inspired to study immigration history after reading Such Hardworking People. Special thanks to Ian Radforth and Steve Penfold whose astute comments and helpful suggestions throughout the writing phase significantly improved this thesis. I wish to also thank Carmela Patrias, Donna Gabaccia, and Phil Triadafilopoulos for their generous encouragement and constructive suggestions at the defense. I am thankful to the dozens of Greeks who warmly welcomed me into their homes or offices, fed me, introduced me to their friends and family, and generously shared with me their photographs, scrapbooks, and, of course, their memories. I simply could not have written this thesis without their oral histories. I wish to also thank my friends in the history department who offered encouragement and helpful feedback, especially Nadia Jones-Gailani, Jen Evans, Brad Miller, Camille Bégin, Laura Smith, and Laurie Bertram. Thanks also to Peter Chimbos for commenting on an earlier draft of the thesis. My deepest thanks go to my family. I am especially grateful to my parents, Irene and Stelios, for their unwavering love and support, and to my in-laws, Evangelia and Aristides for their encouragement. My mother and mother-in-law deserve special recognition for providing much-needed babysitting during the final stages of writing. My brother Nick has been my trusted proofreader since high school. I thank him for helping to hone my writing skills and for his friendship. My partner George encouraged me to iv pursue graduate school and has steadfastly refused to allow fear get in the way of my success. I couldn’t have done this without him. Lastly, I’d like to thank my daughters, Daphne and Sophia. Your birth both prolonged the completion of this thesis but also gave me the motivation to finally get it done. I dedicate this thesis to you both. v Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Early Twentieth Century Greek Migrants in Ontario and the Development of Transnational Networks .................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: Transnational Humanitarian Relief, Ethnic Pride, and Community Hierarchies: the Greek War Relief Fund during the Second World War ........................ 72 Chapter 3: “We presented the forbidden voices of Greece”: The Anti-Junta Resistance Movement in Toronto ..................................................................................................... 123 Chapter 4: “Get your hands out of Macedonia!” Identity Politics and Competing Claims to Macedonia ................................................................................................................... 173 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 219 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 226 Figures............................................................................................................................. 254 vi Introduction In the wake of the April 1967 coup d’état in Athens, in which a group of right- wing military colonels overthrew the government and established dictatorial rule, a Greek immigrant in Toronto penned an open letter to King Constantine of Greece. Claiming to represent “Canadians of Greek descent” who “feel deep concern and even shame for the degeneration of the political situation in Greece,” the letter-writer blamed the king for his complicity in the coup and admonished him to return parliamentary democracy to Greece.1 Published in a Greek-language Toronto newspaper, this letter, and the political demonstrations that followed, reflected important themes in Greek Canadians’ transnational activism throughout the twentieth century. The Greeks who took to the streets in protest believed, as the letter-writer put it, that they had a right to intervene in homeland affairs – a right derived “from the deep love and affection we have for Greece which has not weakened by our emigration,” to say nothing of the vast sums of remittances supplied annually to Greece.2 Yet in condemning the dictatorship, Greek immigrants and their Canadian-born children expressed more than simply their enduring love for Greece; indeed, in their protests on city streets and in the pages of the press, they sought to provide meaningful moral and practical aid to Greece and, in so doing, forged a diasporic public sphere – a material and discursive space not bound or limited by national borders.3 1 Nick Skoulas, “Advice to a King, an open letter to King Constantine,” New Times (Neoi Karoi), April 27, 1967, 1. 2 Ibid. 3 Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996); Nancy Fraser, “Transnationalizing the Public Sphere: On the Legitimacy and Efficacy of Public Opinion in a Post-Westphalian World,” Theory, Culture & Society 24, 4 (2007): 7-30; 1 Throughout the twentieth century, sizeable numbers of Greeks in Canada transcended vast distances to engage in homeland practices and politics. Privately, they nurtured kinship ties and resourcefully adapted cultural and religious rituals to the Canadian landscape. Publicly, they rallied in response to various territorial, political, and humanitarian crises in Greece and, through their words and actions, endeavoured to mobilize other Greek immigrants to the cause and urge the Canadian government and broader public to intervene on behalf of Greece’s interests. Public performances, notably protests and cultural and commemorative celebrations, were commonly appropriated in service of the homeland, as were newspapers, both English and Greek-language. Significantly, the communal experience of such performances and the circulatory nature of newspapers served as a public stage for Greeks in Canada to negotiate the meanings of a Greek ethnic and national identity.4 Mediated by immigrant elites who sought to script positive narratives of the homeland and of their immigrant community, and shaped by particular conditions in Canada, this transnational activism facilitated the creation of an alternative space for Greek Canadians to forge collective identities. This thesis addresses several key themes. Certainly, some attention is paid to the private or familial forms of transnationalism,