History of Orphans in Greece

After World War II, and the Greek Civil war was over, the biggest victims in Greece were the children, orphans, lost, and abandoned children. The institutions were full of very hungry children.

Victims of this tragedy hardest hit was widows, women, and poor young girls, and they had to come to big cities to find work to survive. For years women stayed at home looking after their family and young girls under their parent’s protection . Now after the war they had to move alone, in order to work . New way of living, a way of living that they did not understand, and they had to fit in to survive.

The Patras, Greece Orphanage I lived at in the1950's

As young workers having no one to protect them they were frequently sexually abused, and a lot of them got pregnant. They had no where to turn to. The young girls that were fortunate enough to still have some family members still alive, their family would never take them back, they would call them prostitutes. So nearly all of them had to give their babies away. They left their babies, from the fear of the society, on the door steps, or at the door of the orphanages anonymously without a name.

Babies as young as five days old was left on the door step of the orphanage of Patra, with no name with them or just the first name pinned on them. The orphanages were full of babies and young children, but the conditions were not good for them. Two babies slept on the same tiny mattress no milk, no hot water, no covers. Food, warm clothes, and shoes was a luxury for many of these young children.

The State had to do something for them, and the only way was adoption. They advertised for willing couples from wealthy countries. One of them was USA, and hundreds if not thousands of them were given for adoption to US citizens. Of course it was easy, unfortunately for clever people such as a judge, lawyers, agencies and politic people to take advantage of the children in this terrible situation, and their adopted parents. This was one of the biggest catastrophes for Greek civilization since the War of Independence in 1821.

Mothers lost forever their children; children have lost their mothers, their motherland, their culture, and their language. Most of us also lost our Greek citizenship which is our birth right that being so young we never had control in, due to these clever people. These young babies and young children in the hundreds are now coming back today asking, and seeking help for their lost identity, and their roots. These are orphans, these are the Greeks.

“We never forget where we come from”

• Greek Orphans Birthright Center
• Roots Research Center (Greece)