If you’re a third generation Greek living in America, Canada, Australia or any other major hub of Hellenes worldwide, there’s a good chance you are still clinging onto your Greek heritage.

That’s a good thing, but it must be said that those members of the Diaspora statistically have a very consequential decision to make: they can either repatriate themselves back to Greece, or let the forces of Western culture erase their children’s heritage, and the heritage of their children’s children.

Let’s call upon some helpful examples for proof. Statistically in America, third generation immigrants lose their native language for all but a few simple phrases – a process that is called “language attrition.” While Greeks do better with cultural preservation abroad than most ethnic groups, no culture is impervious to the pressure of the modern Western world.

We can see this pattern manifest in the image of celebrities of Greek descent. Jennifer Aniston, John Stamos, Zach Galifianakis and Tina Fey are all famously Greek, but none of them speak more than a few words of Greek. They simply don’t have a reason to, and have deeply ingratiated themselves in American popular culture. Of course, there are other ways to preserve one’s culture, but language is a good indicator.

At KTE, we regularly talk with Greek lawyers who handle citizenship proceedings for Greeks in the Diaspora. They deal with first generation, second generation and, yes, third generation Greeks who wish to reunite with their homeland, but never have we come across a fourth generation Greek who desired the same. This is because of the potency of Western culture, and how one’s environment eventually becomes their identity across multiple generations.

Once again, let it be said that there is a lasting, decisive choice to be made here on the part of Greeks living in the Diaspora who still cherish their Hellenic culture. Whether you are a first, second, or third generation Greek living abroad, your lineage has been Hellenic up until the point your recent ancestors sought out Western promises not too long ago. You represent a critical link in that chain which can decide the lasting cultural fate of all those who bear your name in the future.

The choice is yours. KTE believes in reconnecting Greeks with their homeland and using the skills, capital and experience Hellenes have learned abroad to revive the Greek economy and traditional way of life in Greece.