“One by one, I brought them all here”

A male informant describes the immigration procedure through the invitations of family members.


D.Κ: Afterwards over here where I came, I brought my siblings as well afterwards. One by one I slowly brought them over here. Yes.
RES.: Good.
D.Κ: Yes. Because back in those years you needed to have a brother or an uncle, in order to be able to bring someone over from Greece. You understand? I brought my siblings, they’ve gotten married. They brought their siblings, they brought the… Some of those who have come here… they’re still telling me, when I meet them, they’re telling me “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have come here”. And they’re telling me this even today.
RES.: This is something very nice.
D.Κ: Yes. And they had also… and they have settled in very nicely here and in Zakynthos.
ΕΡ.: Bravo.
D.Κ: Yes. Even my wife has brought over here… because… some acquaintances of course, whom we knew and they couldn’t bring their nieces over and my wife was going to the… two or three she brought over here that she wants maids.
RES.: Ok.
D.Κ: The immigration agency was telling her, “Why do you need the maids, what do you want them for?”. She says, “I’m working, my mother can’t, my mother…” Yes. However it was easy back then in the immigration, they knew it, they were signing and she brought some this way.
RES.: Bravo.
D.Κ: Yes.