The book attempts a brief yet comprehensive presentation of the history of Greek political refugees in Eastern countries, from its beginning - symbolically the summer of 1949 - until the collapse of socialism in 1989.

- Why and how were civilians from war-torn areas of the Civil War, children from the 'child gathering', fighters from the Democratic Army of Greece, etc., accepted by the 'People's countries' (initially the neighboring ones)?

- How was their life organized and how did it evolve in the refugee communities?

- How was 'Hellenism' preserved (and in the new generations)?

- Why did the 'forced diaspora' last so many years?

- When was the return to Greece allowed and how was it initiated?

Regardless of their initially heterogeneous composition (political, social, cultural), Greek political refugees became recipients of the 'socialist paternalism' of the Communist Parties in their host countries. The Greek Communist Party (KKE) was informally recognized by these parties as a party of power and by the refugees, both communists and non-communists, as the regulator of their lives, even their family and personal lives.

This, as a 'Father Party', managed through its organizations the reunification of families, living conditions, the education of refugees and their children, their employment, marriages, and their repatriation.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]