When the kafeneio fell silent!
A poem, a memory and a tribute to Greek migrant women.
One of the most heartfelt moments at Kafeneio Lakonias today arrived not with loud laughter or lively debate, but with silence.
As conversations rolled on around the tables, kolitsina cards continued slapping down with confidence, tavli pieces clicked steadily across polished boards and discussions about life, family and the troubles of the world filled the room. Then, with quiet grace and dignity, our dear Koula Tsintziniotis gently asked if everyone might pause for a moment.
The room slowly settled.
What followed was a beautiful recitation of the poem “I Ellinida tis Afstralias”, a warm and deeply nostalgic tribute to the Greek women of Australia who carried family, faith, language and tradition across oceans and through the long years of migration.
Koula’s initiative was far more than the simple reading of a poem. It was an act of remembrance and appreciation for a generation of women who stood quietly at the centre of community life. Women, who raised children, supported husbands, worked tirelessly, comforted homesick hearts, preserved customs and created the warm spirit of companionship still alive today in places like Kafeneio Lakonias.
As the verses echoed gently through the room, many listeners could not help but reflect on their own journeys. The poem spoke of friendship, excursions, shared laughter, growing older together and the passing of time, from dark hair turning white “like snow”, to the realisation that some of life’s best years were spent here in Australia, far from our ancestral motherland but never far from Greece in the heart.
For a few quiet minutes, the kafeneio became something more than a meeting place. It became a living memory of migration itself.
At its heart, the poem reminds us that communities are not built only through buildings or organisations, but through people, especially the women whose patience, sacrifice, kindness and faith held families and friendships together across generations.
And perhaps that is why the room listened so carefully today.
Because in Koula’s words, many heard echoes of their own mothers, sisters,
wives, grandmothers and younger selves.
At Kafeneio Lakonias, memories are never far away. Sometimes they arrive through photographs, sometimes through old songs and sometimes, as happened today, through a simple poem lovingly shared among friends.
Η Ελληνίδα της Αυστραλίας
Εις το κλάμπ όπου πηγαίνω
εθεώρησα σωστό
για να γράψω πέντε λόγια
στις γυναίκες το γραφτό.
Ελληνίδες γεννημένες
και μητέρες τιμημένες
εβρεθήκαμε μοιραία
για να κάνουμε παρέα.
Τι υπέροχες ημέρες
επεράσαμε παρέα
γέλοια, ευχάριστες στιγμές
και ωραίες εκδρομές.
Η ζωή στην Αυστραλία
έχει πλούτη μεγαλεία
μακριά από την Αθήνα
εμείς τα περνούμε φίνα.
Ελληνίδες τιμημένες
πως περάσανε τα χρόνια
και τα ολόμαυρα μαλλιά μας
γίναν κάτασπρα σαν χιόνια.
Τα καλύτερά μας χρόνια
τα περάσαμε εδώ
γιατί ήτανε της τύχης
όπως λένε το γραφτό.
Υπερήφανη πατρίδα
πούχεις κόρες τιμημένες
και με του Χριστού την πίστη
μένουν πάντα ενωμένες.
Translation of the poem
The Greek Women of Australia
At the club where I go,
I thought it only right
to write a few small words
about the women and their destiny.
Greek women, born with pride,
and honoured mothers too,
found ourselves brought together
to enjoy each other’s company.
What wonderful days
we spent together,
with laughter, happy moments
and beautiful excursions.
Life in Australia
has wealth and splendour,
far away from Athens,
yet we manage very well.
Honoured Greek women,
how the years have passed,
and our jet black hair
has turned as white as snow.
The best years of our lives
we spent here,
because it was fate itself,
as destiny would have it.
Proud homeland,
you who have such honoured daughters,
and through faith in Christ
they always remain united.
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