Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Lefteris Pitarakis And Derek Gatopoulos The Associated Press
KALAMOS, Greece (AP) — Chryssa Ntalaka’s classroom has become an object lesson in subtraction.
asserted
classroom → become → subtraction
The sole teacher in the last school on the idyllic Greek island of Kalamos has a shorter list of students every fall.
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teacher → have → students
On Sept. 23, the sixth graders sat at Ntalaka’s table beneath the whiteboard, in front of rows of unused desks and benches.
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graders → sit → desks
When they head to middle school on Greece’s mainland next year, her school will be mothballed.
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school → head → mainland
Toys and picture books still sit on shelves in the nearby kindergarten since it was shuttered three years ago.
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it → sit → kindergarten
“Usually, teachers are placed on these islands against their wishes,” Ntalaka told The Associated Press.
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Ntalaka → place → Press
“Whereas for Kalamos there are teachers and kindergarten teachers, as far as I know, who want to come — but there are no children.”
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who → be → Kalamos
Falling enrollment across Greece this year prompted authorities to close 75 schools and suspend or extend suspension of classes at more than 400 others.
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enrollment → fall → others
It’s a situation playing out across Europe and beyond.
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It → ’ → Europe
The region has 16 of the world’s top 20 oldest nations, particularly in Southern Europe, according to the independent World Population Review.
uncertain
region → have → Review
And its remote communities act as an early warning system: Mountain villages and small islands are among the first places where schools and services disappear in a deepening cycle of population decline.
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schools → act → decline
Some 17 million people live on more than 4,000 islands across the European Union; Greece has about 200 of them.
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Greece → live → them
“Closing schools leads to young people not staying and to them leaving,” said Byron Kotzamanis, co-founder of the Institute of Demographic Research in Athens.
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Kotzamanis → close → Athens
“Leaving means fewer and fewer people — fewer and fewer births.
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Leaving → leave → people
It means depopulation and dead settlements that will become nursing homes.”
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that → mean → depopulation
Commuting across the sea each day
Kalamos’ year-round population is just 80.
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population → commute → sea
A decade ago, it had 40 children in local schools and public daycare.
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it → have → schools
We played together every day.
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We → play → ?
We went to (primary) school every morning,” Antonis Aivaliotis, a high school senior, said during a ferry ride in the predawn light.
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Aivaliotis → go → light
Aivaliotis is among Kalamos’ seven teenagers who today make a choppy crossing to school on the mainland.
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who → make → mainland
They miss class on days when strong winds pose a risk.
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winds → miss → risk
He spent several years as a student of Ntalaka’s class, which at the time was a single room with children of all ages.
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which → spend → ages
Half that time was in Kalamos, located not far from Odysseus’ home island Ithaca in “The Odyssey.”
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time → locate → Odyssey
She fell in love with Kalamos’ unspoiled beaches that are a magnet for yacht tourists.
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that → fall → tourists
She learned to dive and became an accomplished spearfisher.
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She → learn → ?
But she will have to leave.
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she → have → ?
All it would take for her school to remain open would be the arrival of two families.
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school → take → families
She and town officials have desperately sought to spread the word, but there’s no sign of any comers.
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She → seek → comers
“We’re very welcoming and we’re trying.
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we → ’re → ?
That’s what we want to do, even right now — for someone to hear us,” Ntalaka said.
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Ntalaka → ’ → us
As for Aivaliotis, he sees moving away after graduation as an inevitability.
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he → see → inevitability
“Of course I would like to stay here,” he said.
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he → like → ?
“I love Kalamos.
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I → love → Kalamos
From Croatia to Japan, islands fight to keep schools open
Aging countries are struggling to keep their island schools open, with limited success.
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countries → fight → success
Croatia has invested 4.6 billion euros ($5.1 billion) in its islands over the past 10 years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in June.
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Plenkovic → invest → June
That includes 20 kindergartens being built or expanded, and renovation of primary schools and sports arenas.
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That → include → schools
Croatia’s parliament, the Sabor, in January passed an Islands Act aimed at improving life for islanders.
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parliament → pass → islanders
Japan faces grimmer demographics.
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Japan → face → demographics
In the decade through 2023, the population of over 250 remote islands covered by a government support program fell 19%, almost double the national rate, according to the most-recent government data.
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population → cover → data
Nearly 1 million people lived on those islands in 1955, and 340,000 by 2020.
This has led to a shortage of people to operate ferries and other transportation, worsening economic contraction on remote islands.
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This → live → islands
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
