His arrival in the US made headlines. On November 18, 1958, the Washington Post published a photo of a woman affectionately stroking a little boy under the headline: “Her Baby Speaks Greek.” OUR Michael Swat he was then 22 months old, one of seven “Greek orphans” who were welcomed by their adoptive parents in a foreign country. Six decades later, having already reconstructed the history of his biological mother, Svad, trapped in a bureaucratic labyrinth, tries in vain to “restore Greek citizenship.”

Yellowed newspaper clippings, a temporary Greek passport issued when he was an infant to travel abroad, his mother’s statement of adoption, an American certificate of naturalization – none of which has so far been considered sufficient evidence due to some inconsistencies in featured names. in some documents.

“Separate entrance”

“I don’t feel like I’m either fully American or fully Greek. I didn’t grow up in a Greek family, I don’t speak the language, but whenever I visit this country, I feel a special connection that is difficult to describe,” says Mr Swad in his telephone connection with “K”. “I have a birth certificate, a 1958 passport. All this is my personality. And yet they tell me that I can’t be that person. I try to be who I really am.”

Examining the documents at the disposal of Mr. Swad, h “K” unfolds thread of his life. He was born in Amaliada on November 16, 1956. Two years later, his mother, Stavrula Tsukala, signed an affidavit to adopt her illegitimate child. This document was drawn up in a notary’s office in the presence of a lawyer and the owner of the coffee shop, who acted as witnesses. In her responsible statement, Tsukala, who at that time was 23 years old, said that she had agreed to the adoption of her son Konstantinos and his trip abroad. “I understand that by doing this, I will never and will never be eligible to enter the United States of America. God and the Bible are my witnesses,” he said.

He was one of the “Greek orphans” who were given up for adoption in the US and driven into a bureaucratic maze in an attempt to regain Greek citizenship.

Mr. Swadt’s new parents were photographed with him in American newspaper reports. According to reports at the time, they turned to Greek businessman George Peter for help in finding the child. “Even if we searched the whole of Greece, we could not have made a better choice,” his stepmother, Betty Swad, said in one of these publications. An estimated 3,200 children between the ages of two weeks and 14 left Greece for adoption in the United States between 1949 and 1962.

His adoption was no secret. He knew his route from early childhood. However, for many years he did not want to delve into the past, disturb some traumatic memories. When his first child was born, he decided to look for more information. He tracked down his biological mother, who died in 2006, and learned more about the circumstances of his birth and adoption.

Personality

In 2015, he began the process of restoring his Greek origin to official documents. It turned out to be more difficult than he imagined. According to his e-mails with lawyers and consular officials in Greece, identification is not yet possible. According to what he was told, there are documents in which his adoptive parents appear under a different surname, and his biological mother under a different name. He explains that at the time, due to an incomplete translation, the name may have been changed in translation.

OUR Linda Carol Trotter explains “K” that Mr Swad’s case is not unique. It took her about two and a half years and a long legal process after she discovered her Greek biological family to regain her citizenship. In 2019, he founded the non-profit organization Project Eftikhia with the aim of helping other people find their Greek roots or solve related bureaucratic issues. For two years, they met with representatives of the Greek authorities and ministerial officials with a request for greater transparency in matters of their adoption and streamlining the process of recognizing them as citizens of the country.

Ms Trotter, whose Greek name is Eftichia Noula, says many of the children given up for adoption left Greece with passports, and some still have them. Usually, the difference in names is enough to complicate things. In proposals sent “Project Eftikhiya” to the Greek government to resolve relevant issues, also attached is a letter from Mr. Swadt. “When I leave this earth, I want to be a real Greek,” he writes.