Title
Did the crocodile laugh?
Author
Diana Nassiopoulou
Layout - Design
Myrtilo, Lena Pantopoulou Copyright© 2021 Diana Nasiopoulou Athens, December 2021 ISBN 978-618-205-216-7
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the author.
DIANA NASSIOPOULOU
Did the crocodile laugh?
NOVEL
The story takes place in Greece from the 1930s onwards. Maria, a nine-year-old girl, in a time of material and emotional impotence, is forced – by her own parents – to emigrate and face all that an adult has to face. The extreme and adverse situations she experiences while working away from her family indelibly mark her soul and her life as well as her child’s life. Unfortunately, this story is not the only one concerning the exploitation and abuse of a minor, and it does not only concern the Greece of the previous century. At the end of the 19th century, at the beginning of the 20th and during the interwar period of 1923-1940, the majority of the Greek population lives below the poverty line. The impoverishment prevailing in cities, islands and agricultural areas leads to children being exploited – as a means of survival and tackling poverty. Many children work well over ten hours a day. Many times, children are raped – not only mentally but also physically. Many young girls who worked at the time as service staff are forced to endure viciousness, humiliation, mental and/or physical abuse by their mistress. In many cas-
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