‘Who Are We?’: Identity, Belonging and Place

Abstract

The second generation descendants of post-war Limnian immigrants are the primary focus in this chapter. The narrative is about the experience of return visits to the ancestral island, interrogated by Afentoulis by focusing on the significance of belonging and on formative influences that impact on this generation’s identification and sense of place in the diaspora. Afentoulis builds on the book’s proposition that migration is a complex and ongoing experience, crossing intergenerational boundaries and sites. Members of the second generation make multiple return visits which gain momentum in the narrative, highlighting the significance of place in a renewed connection to the ancestral home. Most respondents recounting their early years of growing up in Australia reveal how they grappled with an ‘outsider’ status though wanting to belong and to be accepted as Australian. The first return visit to the ancestral village, was, for some respondents, a turning point in resolving identity ambiguities and doubts. The unique experiences of ‘return’ brought harmony to many respondents and their different identities and greater confidence about who they were and the way they chose to identify themselves in different contexts and at different stages of their lives. Frequent returns built the bond that has become, ongoing.