Radio for the Community! Spoken Histories From 3ZZZ
Katie Georgiou, a key figure in 3ZZZs Greek Cypriot program, joins me us today’s episode. Katie has dedicated decades to broadcasting, training and bringing people together. Her work with 3ZZZ highlights her contribution to the Greek Cypriot community of Melbourne, and her dedication to preserving and sharing her rich cultural heritage through radio broadcasting and community service.
Radio for the Community! Spoken Histories From 3ZZZ highlights the impact that 3ZZZ broadcasters have made to their communities, increasing diversity in community media, benefits of multiculturalism, sacrifices made by new migrants in Australia, and benefits of volunteering in community radio.
Note: this transcript is automatically generated and may contain errors.
Maram Ismail: Welcome to radio for the community spoken histories from 3ZZZ. I’m your host, Mariam Ismail. Katie Giorgio, a key figure in 3ZZZ community radios Greek Cypriot program, joins me in today’s episode. Katie has dedicated decades to broadcasting, training and bringing people together. Her work with 3ZZZ highlights her contribution to the Greek Cypriot community of Melbourne, and her dedication to preserving and sharing her rich cultural heritage through radio broadcasting and community service.
Katie Georgiou: After all this time, after all these years, that hardship in Cyprus, you can see the people there feeling that they are friends, they are compatriots, they brought up the same country and they’ve got the same friends, the same families. You know, our families were very, very close.
Maram Ismail: Katie’s journey into radio broadcasting began with unexpected twist. Originally from Cyprus, she found herself in Australia, where a chance encounter led her to make an official announcement on 3CR, which is another community radio station based in Melbourne. This unexpected event marked the beginning of an exciting journey into radio.
Katie Georgiou: When I first came here the same week, the then president of the community gave me a big announcement. Official announcement from the high commissioner. And he says, can you go to Thrissur because this station wasn’t existed yet? And I said to him, Where is Thrissur? What is Thrissur? And he said, it’s a radio station. I said, okay, I’ll take it over there. I went over there and I am the guy who was there. I said, can you please do this announcement? He said to me, um, I don’t make announcements, but can I see it? So the announcement, it was very official, and it says to me, the girl who does the news and the announcements, she was born here. And with this announcement, with all these words, she will fight in difficult. Can you do it? I said, I don’t do radio. I am my my job is different. I said he said, but you know the language very well. So can you do the announcement? I said, okay.
Maram Ismail: Katie’s talent for precise language and clear articulation soon caught the attention of the station managers. Despite her initial reluctance, her expertise in language made her a natural fit for the new segment, planting the seeds for her long time involvement in community radio.
Katie Georgiou: The manager was outside and he heard me. He comes in and says, who are you? I told him, and then he said to me, can you come and do the news? Because the news has to be correctly pronunciation. And also when you’re reading, you read correctly a lot. I said, I don’t do radio. He said, just only the news. You can try. I said, okay, I’ll try. And I did with Richard. And then I had to work with some other people. And in one stage we heard that they have an application to open another station, which is 3ZZZ.
Maram Ismail: The creation of 3ZZZ offered new opportunities for many talented volunteers in Melbourne. Katie was one of them. She was approached to start a Greek Cypriot program. Despite having no prior experience in radio, her passion for her culture and her community’s history propelled her to accept this challenge, embarking on a journey that would enrich the lives of many before.
Katie Georgiou: It was 3ZZ. So and Elias from the governor of the all the Greek programs he was on Tuesday, they said to me, well, if you want to get an hour of your own, you have to sign this paper, this, um, application form and also signed by the president of community. I went to my president of the community, my community. And I said, uh, Peter, can you do you want us to have an hour Greek Cypriot program, talk about homeland and things like that? Just who is going to do that? And I said, they asked me to do it. I said, can you do it? I said, no, but I try. That was history. It was uh, when, uh, the district was adopting the very first venue that we had. It was a very small room, half of this in the Universal Theatre. And it was Tuesday, I remember, and they said, okay, you’re on. You’re the first to go on. And I said, I don’t know any panels and things like that. So the guy that I gave him the announcements and he explained that blah, blah, blah, blah, he said to me, don’t worry, I’ll sit with you for a few weeks, and I’ll teach you all the panels. And that’s what he did. And I am very, very thankful to see you, Marcos, because he was sitting three months with me until everybody, even the station manager, was satisfied that I can do it myself. And then he left.
Maram Ismail: The Greek Cypriot program under Katie’s guidance, has been inspirational and essential for the community, providing not just local content but also connecting listeners to Cyprus, England and Greece. The program has become a platform for diverse voices, including politicians, historians and health experts.
Katie Georgiou: We don’t do only local program, we do international program as well because we have interviews with Cyprus, we have interviews with England and interviews with, um, Greece, and we try to talk to the people that they are very, very well aware of the history of the culture, even politics. Sometimes we talk to politicians. And at the beginning of the program, I had a doctor who was, um, every second week he was on the radio with me for 15 minutes to give advice to the listeners, and the listeners had to give me the, um, their questions a week before. I’ll forward it to that doctor, and the doctor will answer the questions to every single one. For two and a half years.
Maram Ismail: Katie’s journey to Australia is intertwined with her community work. Initially intending only to visit her brothers, she ended up making Melbourne her home, her early and short career in the Royal British Air Force, and her experiences upon arriving in Australia laid the groundwork for her community engagement.
Katie Georgiou: I came to see my brothers. I had these three brothers here and I stuck here. Gradually, the two of my brothers went back home and only one left behind. But the very first week I came here, the next day I was packing my things. Uh, my brother was at work, my sister-in-law was at the hospital. She was secretary here at the, um, Melbourne Hospital. And the two kids, my nephews were at school. Andrew comes in. What are you doing? I said I’m packing because I call a taxi to take me to the airport. I don’t like it here, I go. He calls my brother said, dad, dad, auntie’s ready to go. She called a taxi. My brother came. He said, listen to me. At least stay here for a month or a couple of months to say that you came for holidays. Otherwise you came and you go. Is that that? That’s the one. Seemed very, very well. So I stayed. But I had, um, my older brother, which is now about, I think, 85. He had his daughter at Melbourne University. She was a lecturer over there. So she goes to a women’s hospital, which was next to the Melbourne University and says, do you have any vacancies for I’ve got my auntie. She came from Cyprus and she’s looking for a job. I didn’t know that. She went over there. They said, okay, we’ve got vacancies, why don’t you why don’t you ask your aunty to come on Friday for interview? That was, uh, Wednesday. I went there and I had the interview, which was a little bit off. I think by the end of the interview, uh, I said, okay, sir, thank you very much for listening to me. Goodbye. My passport fell and he went straight near his foot. He looked at it. Where did you get that? I said, you didn’t ask me if I was working or where I was working. I said before I came here and what’s that? I said, I was in the Royal British Air Force. He says, how long? I said, unfortunately for us, it was the Turkish invasion against Cyprus occurred. So I had to leave because what is fair, the last one that is higher for the job is the first to go. And I was only a few months there, so they let me go and I couldn’t find a job there. And I came to see my brothers, and I wanted to go back to find something, but my brothers kept me here and saying that, I explained why. In one state he said to me something and I didn’t understand what he was saying. The personnel, because he was sitting half of the words and I said, I beg your pardon, sir. He turned around and said, don’t you know English? And I said, I am sure that you got a formal application form in front of you and says, I can speak English, French, Italian, Greek. Why are you asking me if I, I can’t speak English? Well, you are not listening to me. I said, I’m listening to you, but I can’t understand you because you’re eating half of the words. That was very funny. And then again we continued talking and he said, are you a pom pom? They called the English people. And I said, are you serious with these colours? I had long hair, black hair, like my father’s and the son of a there is a really strong. And I was tongue and I said, with this colour, do you think that I am a friend of you? You got you got a form that says, I’m Greek-Cypriot. And then he said, okay, you know, there is no vacancies here today or, or in the near future. So if you leave a number here, we call you. And that was the time that we said, sir, thank you and my possible left. And when he saw it, he said, you start Monday and it was Friday, 2:00 in the afternoon. And he said, you start Monday.
Maram Ismail: Katie’s motivation to be involved in the radio stemmed from a deep seated desire to serve her community. Recognizing the importance of preserving and sharing the Greek Cypriot culture, she actively organized cultural events and educated the younger generation.
Katie Georgiou: It’s just when I wanted to go back home. My clever brother went to the to the president of then then president of the community, says Peter. Give her something to do because she knows how to organize things and she knows how to talk to the people. Give us something to do. So we’ll keep her here. And he said, can you do the files of the members? I said, okay. Which I did. And he said, where did you learn that? I said, this is nothing, this is easy. And then when I was going, I said, Peter, do you do any, uh, any functions about this 3rd of March and the 1st of April? He said, no. I said, why they do all over the world it’s national days, for God’s sake. And he said to me, and who is going to do it? We are all volunteers here, and we haven’t got anybody who have the skills to do that.
Maram Ismail: The 1st of April is a significant date for the Greek Cypriot community, as it marks historical events crucial to their national identity. Katie wanted these critical historical moments to be remembered, honored and celebrated for her community in Melbourne.
Katie Georgiou: I said what a pity and I was thinking to come and see at my clever brother said, give us something to organise and she will organise in no time. Just like that, I came 26th of February for the first time in Australia and 3rd of March I had the function going on the ceremony for the National day and on the 1st of April the same thing.
Maram Ismail: That was just the beginning of her contributions to the community in Melbourne.
Katie Georgiou: When I, I came here, it was a young, very young person and was the youngest president ever to any organization, not only Greek Cypriot organization, but of all the languages and cultures and nations. He was only 25 when he became the president. He had two university diplomas. And he called me in and says, come here, Katie. I said, yes, John. And he said to me, our community needs to show our culture how. And I know that you know about the culture. I know about that. You know about the history and our customs. And can you be the leader made a group and we sit down and we see what can we bring here to show the people our culture? I said, of course. And we created the, uh, wine Festival. We created the um, Cataclismo festival, we created the Halloumi Festival. I got the kids and I said to Johnny, you ask the parents who bring the kids here to learn dances, to bring each, um, group one hour before. He said, why? Because I said, we have to teach them their language, their customs of our culture. He said, yes, but the community right now doesn’t have the money to pay a teacher. I said, you don’t have to, and this is what he’s going to do that I said, I do, I’ll do that. And we did the group, and not only from the students and then all the people join in. And we had, uh, theatrical part, we had choir, we had dancers, and we start doing the, um, our festivals. And all of a sudden, because the first festival we did one festival, it was at the, um, Darebin Art Centre. We had 20,000 people, and the most of them were not Cypriots, and they liked it. And every year that we have anything going on, they come down the community centre and they said, how hospitable is your, um, your community, how kind of your people? And we said, you can join in any time you want.
Maram Ismail: Navigating the complexities of multicultural Melbourne. Katie’s work with the Greek Cypriot programme has fostered a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding among various cultural groups.
Katie Georgiou: I remember some years before because right now I can’t do that. What I was doing when we used to go and we used to have people from opposite to Spanish feds, Italian feds, which was in Lygon Street and Spanish was in um, uh, Johnson Road or down the uh Art centre. And it was really very, very good to see all the people, the procaster to be there, some of them with families, they would bring their families to the fed, or if they will ask the other protesters of the other communities to, can we help you? Can we do something for you? It was really a very good to see these materials, as we call it, uh, with the people. The good thing for us, which opposite doesn’t give you any restriction on what you say or not want to say, as long as you are respectful to everybody else. I met this girl from the Egyptian program years ago, and though I it’s been some years that I didn’t see her. I think it’s about, uh, nine years now that I didn’t see her. We were so very good friends. And I remember when it was the Olympics in, um, Greece, I invited the manager, the then manager to talk, and I had a group of my students. I’m not a teacher, but I was teaching the kids of the community. And also we knew that Turkey had, uh, athletes. And I said to the Turkish people, would you like to come and talk to the, uh, on the radio? I said on the show, because you are part of the Olympics. They looked at me and they said, what did he say? I said, I’m inviting you to talk. Are you sure? I said, of course I am. Sure. Why? But you’re Greek Cypriots and we’re Turks. And, uh, difference. I said the simple people, they don’t have differences. It’s the politics. And I don’t believe in politics. I said to them, I do believe that to the people, to the goodness of their heart. And I know Turkish people. I said, I worked the hospital and it was a Turkish girl, and she heard me speaking Greek in one day and she come to you speak Greek? I said, yes, where are you come from? I said, I’m Cyprus. She said, can you do me a favour? I said, by all means. He said, my mother used to do Flonase. We used to do that, uh, traditional things of Cyprus. But now she’s not very well. And can you are you doing that? I said, of course we do that. It’s traditional things. He said, can you bring me a piece? So I give to my Sigma. I said, of course.
Maram Ismail: Flour was a traditional cheese filled pastry from Cyprus often symbolizes the Greek Cypriot identity. These pastries, specially made during Easter, are more than just a culinary delight. They represent a rich cultural heritage that Katy passionately offered in the diaspora to those who searched for it.
Katie Georgiou: I said, oh my God, all this for me. I said, yeah, how’s this for you? And tell mom to teach you and you teach your little girl. When she grows up, you will know this is not very difficult. So also another day I was doing the program at the Church Street, and this guy for three continuous weeks was walking outside and I was all up by myself in the studio. So I start feeling uncomfortable. So I put a song and I opened the door and I said, are you looking for someone? Can I help you? I said that in English and he said, in Greek, hello, Katie. I said, do you know me? I don’t know you. What is your name? He said, Tim, I said, Tim, what? Timothy or uh, Dimorphos, whatever it says, no time machine. I said, this is Turkish name. He said, yes, I am Turkish. And I said, yes, what do you want for me? He said, you know that I was protesting, but another day. But I heard that your Greek from Cyprus. And I said, yes, I am. He said, my wife is very, very sick. And I stopped working. And I look after her because she can’t walk. And he asked me the same thing. Can you give me one flower to take my wife and I? And I said yes. And then he said, you know where I come from. I come from a master’s, a master’s in English. We call it Famagusta. And I said, okay, don’t worry. Anything that you want, you ask me, you see, we didn’t have any difference. And when I asked him to talk about the athletes Olympics, he said, are you sure you are calling me? You are asking us to come to the program? I said, yes, I don’t have any difference with the people.
Maram Ismail: In her time at 3ZZZ, Katie has been part of numerous memorable interviews and shows. She shares stories that have stayed with her, including an interview with a young author and a collaborative play between a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, showcasing the power of radio in healing and uniting communities.
Katie Georgiou: I think that it was this young girl. It was very touching because she’s a very young girl and she wrote her experiences through the eyes of the people who lived this experience, and she wrote a book. And though she was very young and she was competing internationally with people that they were awarded so many awards, she got the first award and she was honoured by everybody. And she’s in her 20s. I said to John, because, uh, Yanni, Professor Yanni Melody, he’s a professor of university, for God’s sake. And I said, Yanni, what do you think about this girl? He said, she’s remarkable. She says, it’s the first time that I’m hearing that. She competed internationally about 37 countries. And she got the award, and she’s only 22. She went and asked the people there, especially the refugees, about their experiences having to become refugees. How are was hard for them and their families, and how did they cope with that? And it was so very touching. It was so, you know, when you do interviews like that and you feel what they feel, you go home and you can’t sleep and uh, you find yourself, uh, you know, uh, weeping or just trying to dry your eyes. And that was something else. And, uh, it was it was an experience that the listeners call here and they said, you don’t afraid to say the truth, both of you, Jani and you, Jedi and you don’t afraid to say the truth. And you gave this girl the opportunity to say her truth through you. That was one. And the other one. It was when a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot, they, um, wrote a play. The Greek Cypriot wrote the play, and he gave it to the Turkish boy to present it. And it was, um, he put it on the international competition and they won. And that year was to present the awards in Constantinople. And they went over there. And the mayor of Constantinople, what do you call it? Sumbul. Yeah. He gave the award to these two people, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish boy. And he said, that’s what we want. We want the people to be happy, to work together and to be friends and to feel each other’s pain, feel each other’s joy and help each other. Nobody saw that. But yes, after all this time, after all these years, that hardship in Cyprus, you can see the people there feeling that they are friends, they are compatriots, they brought up the same country and they’ve got the same friends, the same families. You know, our families were very, very close.
Maram Ismail: As an experienced broadcaster without formal training in journalism or media, Katie’s natural instinct for storytelling and her deep knowledge of history have made her a respected voice on air. Her approach underscores the value of authenticity and passion in community broadcasting.
Katie Georgiou: I was very good at school, even primary school. I was very good in history. I was very good in writing. Whatever, uh, subject the teacher will give me, I will write something. And I remember when I was a primary school, I had a girl in my class that she was sick. She suffered epilepsy. So one day the teacher gave us a poem to learn the same poem. All of us. And next day he will see who are really, uh, read and, uh, know the poem. When her turn came, the teacher said, okay, that’s your turn. The girl was shocked and she knew the poem completely. But she start, she start trembling. It was a mixed school. Primary school at the break time in the backyard. I took like that the biggest boy. And I said, don’t you ever, ever make fun on this sick girl? Because I smash your face and I put you on the wall. But the boy said to me, if I give you just, just about a punch, you’re going rolling through. And I said, I’m not afraid of you. I am very tiny. I said, I was very tiny. I said, I am very tiny, but I’m not afraid of you. I said, I am Greek. The teacher called me and said, what happened? He said, what did you say? What did you say? I said to him, I was straightforward. I said to him not to make fun of the sick girl. He says, yes, yes, but what did you say? I told him that I’m going to smash his face. And then what he said, he said that he is going to punch me. And then you said something else. I said, no, no, I didn’t say yes. You said something. Oh, yes, I said, I said to him that I am Greek and I am not afraid of him. And he turns around and says, if you are Greek, you have to learn the history of the nation. Later on, when I went to the high school, our teacher was asking everybody where you come from because there is a lot of elementary schools of around our neighbourhood. Where did you come home? Which school? What do you remember? What? And that thing stuck on my mind. And when the teacher asked me, I said this and this happened. She come near me and she embraced me and says, yes, little tiny girl, but you know something to be good Greek. The things that you are learning now, you have to pass it to the next generations. And that’s stuck with me. And I was reading all the time I was. Yeah.
Maram Ismail: Katie’s message to her listeners and the broader community is gratitude and encouragement. She urges everyone to support the Greek Cypriot program and all the diverse programs on 3ZZZ, highlighting the importance of community radio and preserving cultural heritage and promoting understanding.
Katie Georgiou: Of course, they are very welcome to support us as every year that they support us and to encourage their families, their friends, to become members of the program. But also, we encourage our community to be friendly with all the programs and even if they don’t understand their language, at least to support everything when the radio is on, it doesn’t have to be the Greek program, the Cypriot program. You know that every community supports their community, but to keep the station working, we need every support that we can. The last general meeting that I’ve got, I talk to the people about supporting us. And I said, as you support your program, your Greek Cypriot program, because your Greek Cypriot, please support the other Greek programs. And if you know anybody from other programs like me that I know support their programs too. And when they have an event, a cultural event, go and learn about their culture.
Maram Ismail: Thank you for listening to this episode of radio for the community spoken histories from 3ZZZ.
Radio for the Community! Spoken Histories From 3ZZZ is proudly supported by the Community Broadcasting Foundation.