Leaving Egypt : Greeks and their strategies, 1937-1977

Abstract

This dissertation is an examination of the departure of the Greek population from Egypt from 1937 to 1977 and the various, often contradictory, strategies they adopted concerning not only their departure but also their continued residence in the Nile Valley. To date, the historical literature has discussed the departure of the Greeks from Egypt as a result of factors external or internal to the paroikia, as the Greek entity was called. This study takes a critical, historical perspective on the matter and provides a more complex view, taking into account the general historical context of post-Capitulations Egypt, the Second World War, the creation of the Israeli state, the Cold War and decolonization. To do so, I consider the social stratification of the Egyptian Greeks and the changing social and economic profile of paroikia members in the post-Capitulations era. I reveal important issues regarding issues of identity and belonging among the members of the paroikia. I emphasize mobility in terms of physical movement as one of the basic features of paroikia life. This dissertation, through the examination of many dissimilar sources, brings to the fore the departees as agents of migration but also the state and paroikia officials who played an active role in the departure. This study captures the complexity of the phenomenon and hence contributes to the history of people on the move.