Australia is often held up as the paradigm for a multicultural society. Especially the Greek Diaspora has managed to integrate well and thrive in the land ‘down under’. However, the story of two young Greek girls is a reminder that sometimes following the letter of the law is not the most humane course of action. Calliope-Maria Alexiou, 10, and her 7-year old sister Theodora are facing the threat of deportation after 3 years in Australia, as they are unable to pay for their primary school fees at Melbourne’s Qakleigh Primary School.

The story of the Alexiou family is a sad one, as father Alexander and his wife Athanasia migrated to Australia in 2013 with their two daughters due to the dire economic conditions in Greece. They managed to scrape a living and enroll Calliope and Theodora into the Oakleigh Primary School.

Their mother Athanasia died of cancer two after they arrived and father Alexander did all sorts of menial jobs to cover the bills. The therapy and funeral cost nearly 40,000 AU dollars (a lot of which was covered by donations of the Greek community). 50 year old Alexander fell back in his school fees and requested from the Victorian board of education to be exempted from the law that provides that if someone staying in Australia on an education visa is unable to cover school fees they are deported once a certain period has elapsed. The Victorian authorities turned his application down, meaning his two daughters were expelled from their school and now the three-member family faces the prospect of being deported back to Greece. The money the Alexiou family have to pay amounts to 14,000 AU dollars for the girls to continue their studies at Oakleigh Primary School.

Calliope-Maria Alexiou, 10, (left) and 7-year old sister Theodora (right)

Source: Neos Kosmos