A 10-year-old girl named Eliana, breathes new air to the tiny island. A father and his 10-year-old daughter moved down from Wuppertal to settle at the island of Arkoi, part of the Dodecanese complex, having heard that the primary school housing a single student was about to close.
It was a call they responded to,so Eliana is now the second pupil at school, along young Angelos. They left Germany, where they had lived for many years, for the tranquil little island in the Aegean Sea, after the father paid a short visit to the island, only to make sure they would be able to adjust.
Hitting the road
Eliana and her father, George Tomlidis, had been living in Wuppertal, Germany, for years. They came across a report about the island's primary school -the school was about to close down, unless some more students were to enroll. The report said that if there were no more pupils coming in, the island would be left without a school. The residents were reasonably reported worrying that one day the rocky islet would be left uninhibited.
Father and daughter, in high spirits, got ready and hit the road. Interviewed on Open's main newscast, young Eliana sounded excited, “ I am a skilled fishergirl right now”, she said, “I want to have a farm of my own”.
Cheerful and Optimistic
The Tomlidis family new rather clearly from the beginning that the family would not be able to afford the move, so George Tomlidis looked for sponsors to back up a rural area settlement. Although sponsoring was provided, the family is not happily housed. “I didn't expect it would be so difficult to find us a home to live in”, the father said. “All I managed to get was a small room without a kitchen, flooded recently during the bad weather front Ballos”.
It is only true that on the one hand locals are hesitant to rent out property as it is solely addressed to tourists flooding the island during the summer, and on the other property was destroyed during recent weather front Ballos. The municipality of Patmos, where Arkioi administratively belongs, was reported fully willing to provide a solution. Lefteris Pentes, the mayor of Patmos, said the municipality is in close collaboration with the state, coming up with some decent residency for the newcomers, preferably close to the Arkoi School building.
When asked if he regrets the move to Arkoi, George Tomlidis answered confidently ”I do not. It takes time, but I trust we will be happily housed, in the end”.