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« In the beginning they didn’t know who was Albanian and who was Greek. They found out by chance, when an undergraduate student came and did some research and said "Whoever is Albanian should come this way. Whoever is Greek should go that way." And the child, Vangelis, didn’t go on the Albanian side. But the teacher knew and she said, "Vangelis why don’t you go over there … [the Albanian side]?" "I’m not Albanian, I’m Greek!" Vangelis said. "Because I was born here." This is something Vangelis came to as a little kid. That he is Greek because he was born here […] And he said so. And then the teacher took him and told him, "No, you are Albanian, you have to be in this group." »
« I attended primary school. And, okay, the Greek children treated me somehow, let’s say, differently. Okay, "He is Albanian," they were saying various things. I didn’t know any Greek. I was looking at them, "What on earth are they saying?" They were making a fool of me! But now, okay, nobody can do such a thing to me. Now they tell me "Come on, let’s go for a coffee." We’re very good friends now. I’ve gotten used to them, they too gotten used to me, and it’s, let’s say, like being in my own country. Now I’ve realized I’ve gotten used to it here. If I’d go to Albania it would seem to me like I would be the foreigner for them, like I would be a stranger there. This is how I would feel! Because now I’ve gotten used to it here. I’ve been here half my life. I’m seventeen-years-old! I’ve spent half my life there. But I am going to live more years here. That’s how I think about it. »
