Μαρία Αραβαντινού Φατώρου
Maria Aravantinou Fatorou
Σουλλάροι
Soullari
year born
1936
έτος γέννησης
Συνέντευξη: Μαρία Φραντζιού
Interviewer: Maria Frantziou
Προσωπικές πληροφορίες
Personal information
“I’ve been here [in Soularous] for the last 15 years. At the age of 23 I got married and lived in Athens for 46 years. Never I, or my siblings had to migrate abroad. My father’s two brothers, however, left for the U.S.A. when I was five in search for jobs. I’ve only seen them two or three times ever since. My own brothers had plans to study, afterwards they became seafarers. ”
Περιφερειακά ορόσημα
Regional landmarks
“Girls in my village and my family were very restricted and we rarely left the village. Our knowledge of Lixouri and the rest of Kefalonia was limited to what the men in the family would communicate back to us. To the people of Soulari, however, Santa Marina, a very old church, is of particular significance. Nowadays it is common knowledge that it’s a monument that needs protection. Back then, however, we only knew it as our church.”
Αξιομνημόνευτες πρακτικές
Memorable Practices
“There were ten children in our family, six boys and four girls, plus my parents.My brothers would wake up very early in the morning. The eldest would go to nearby villages in order to fetch milk for our dairy. Once he brought that home, he would help out my father and others in the fields.
We girls, we stopped going to school at the age of ten. We would help our mum with household chores and our younger siblings. My father had a store, the only store in the village, and we sometimes helped there, too. At the age of fifteen, I started helping my mother at the dairy. Everyday work usually ended around five in the afternoon.
In the afternoons, the girls would work with their embroidery and prepare their dowries.
Every Sunday, my mum, me and my sisters would wear our best clothes and go to the church. Of course, the whole family would go to fairs, especially during the summer period. We danced, ate and talked to everyone at the village, since we weren’t able to socialize with them on an everyday basis. On name-days, my mother and I paid visits to people on behalf of the family.”
We girls, we stopped going to school at the age of ten. We would help our mum with household chores and our younger siblings. My father had a store, the only store in the village, and we sometimes helped there, too. At the age of fifteen, I started helping my mother at the dairy. Everyday work usually ended around five in the afternoon.
In the afternoons, the girls would work with their embroidery and prepare their dowries.
Every Sunday, my mum, me and my sisters would wear our best clothes and go to the church. Of course, the whole family would go to fairs, especially during the summer period. We danced, ate and talked to everyone at the village, since we weren’t able to socialize with them on an everyday basis. On name-days, my mother and I paid visits to people on behalf of the family.”
Προσωπικά ανέκδοτα
Personal Anecdotes
“We lived in Soularous when the earthquake happened. I remember that we were shaken for many days before, but we weren’t frightened, we were used to it. At the time of the earthquake, I helped my father draw water out of the well, to cool down the cheese at the dairy. The earthquake was so strong that it knocked us down to the ground. My father took me by the hand and we tried to find our way back home to check on the others among ruins, as most of the houses and the stone walls were shattered. Thankfully we were all outside of the house. A cloud of dust was suspended in the air for many days after.”
Βραχυπρόθεσμος/μακροπρόθεσμος αντίκτυπος
Short/long Term Impact
“Many family relatives left for Athens and the U.S.A. in search of a job, and never came back. The children stopped going to school in order to work, and many lost their parents and thus grew up as orphans. Many houses were destroyed and the winter that followed was difficult. Families that lacked a member that was employed, due to the war or due to illness, were not in a position to make ends meet. Many children left, mainly for the USA, many young women left Kefalonia to get married, and most people who left the island never came back, because they started a new life somewhere else. Although my family faced no particular difficulties, my father preferred that we get married to men who left Kefalonia.
From what my father said, many great buildings were destroyed, such as the Mercado. In our village, Santa Marina, our church, didn’t suffer from great damage, but the 2014 earthquake affected the church in a way that the 1953 earthquake didn’t.”
From what my father said, many great buildings were destroyed, such as the Mercado. In our village, Santa Marina, our church, didn’t suffer from great damage, but the 2014 earthquake affected the church in a way that the 1953 earthquake didn’t.”
Επιβίωση και ανθεκτικότητα
Survival and Resilience
“Although our house was destroyed completely, we were fortunate that the store was intact and we stayed there. I remember that we helped other families with cooking, families that lacked the means. We gave them bread and food. The wood-fired oven was the first thing in our household that my siblings repaired.”
Βοήθεια αρωγής
Relief Aid
“[Aid] was offered, including food, tents and medicine, but I don’t remember whether it came from Greece or elsewhere. I remember that Israel and Sweden offered support, both immediately after the earthquake and in the next years with rehabilitation plans. It is said that Lixouri was reconstructed thanks to Swedish engineers and builders.
At that time Greece was coming out of very severe circumstances. Adversity wasn’t foreign to us, but somehow everyone collaborated with one another. Relief aid was coordinated locally by high rank ministry officials, and where needed, scientists and builders from all over Greece. Many continued to live in Lixouri.
The Lixouri hospital was built by the Matzavinati family. Other ship-owners helped, too, to rebuild municipality buildings, churches and schools.”
At that time Greece was coming out of very severe circumstances. Adversity wasn’t foreign to us, but somehow everyone collaborated with one another. Relief aid was coordinated locally by high rank ministry officials, and where needed, scientists and builders from all over Greece. Many continued to live in Lixouri.
The Lixouri hospital was built by the Matzavinati family. Other ship-owners helped, too, to rebuild municipality buildings, churches and schools.”
Συμβουλές για τις νέες γενιές
Advice for new generations
“Love and mutual support is what I’d like younger generations to keep.”
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