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INTRODUCTION and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - Panayiotis Yiacoumi, GPA chairman |
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| THE GREEK CYPRIOT DIASPORA
An overview of the UK experience Cyprus is among the youngest of nations, yet it has a much longer history than most. Its geographical location makes it a bridge between the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, the Fertile Crescent and Europe. Due mainly to their cosmopolitan background, Cypriots have never been ‘stay-at-homes’. Today, the Cypriot diaspora stretches from California and South America to Australasia and many islanders have made their mark as leaders of science in their adopted homes. In particular, the community in the United Kingdom has grown immensely and is probably the second Cypriot conurbation in terms of population. The present project will focus on the experiences, problems and stories and, there were many fascinating ones, of those pioneers who set forth, into the unknown, across Europe to build a new life for themselves and their families. It is often said that 1878, the year when Britain assumed the island’s occupation and administration, opened the floodgates for Cypriots to emigrate to London and elsewhere. Emigration among seamen, merchants and some, who were persecuted for their religious beliefs, existed long before that year. For those who could afford it, Venice and Marseille were very popular destinations. Trade, the quest for a better education and possibly escape from political and religious persecution were undoubtedly major factors in such ‘forced’ emigration. Such opportunities were, however, few and far between. Evidence indicates that prior to World War I, the Cypriot presence had been extremely sparse – reliably estimated at around 150. In fact, the record of marriages, celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Sophia prior to 1918, show only a handful of persons whose ‘origin’ was given as Cyprus. However, during the war years many Cypriots enlisted in the allied forces and served with distinction. With the British annexation of the island in 1914, the political status of the Cypriots changed and as a result the dangers of travelling were minimised. Military service had already given a number of young men the experience of travel and a broadening of their horizons. They met other soldiers from Europe and America, and became aware of a variety of opportunities which lay beyond their native island. These two factors were responsible for directing a sizeable flow of ‘long distance’ migration. Initially, such immigration was directed towards the US and as before, towards Egypt. With the US imposing a strict quota system (emigration restrictions) from 1921 to 1928, Cypriots chose other distant lands: Australia, Argentina, the Belgian Congo and central Africa. However, a constant trickle of such ‘war veterans’ and a few others found their way to the UK. This trickle soon became more noticeable. Adverse financial factors, such as those which affected the island throughout the 1920s and 1930s, accompanied by the ‘myth of return’, and the so-called ‘family-pull’ were powerful determinants in pushing, especially poor tradesmen, labourers and farmers, to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The movement had the character of a ‘chain’ migration, with networks of kinsfolk and even whole sections of villages reconstituting themselves in this country over a period of time. What they were coming to was certainly not ‘the mother country’, a land of milk and honey, where the streets were paved with gold. Even though their path was uncertain, there appeared to be opportunities, life-chances, openings to be taken up by those who were willing to gamble with the future, because there was so much at stake but in reality so little to lose. That was the ‘wager’ which made men and women uproot themselves (sometimes forever) from their families, friends, their environment and their ‘roots’, and ultimately take the plunge. Evidently, a step into the unknown! Cypriots certainly have never been ‘stay-at-homes’. By the beginning of the 1930s, they had identified a ‘niche’ (an opening) within the British catering industry that was not filled by indigenous labour, and that could be exploited by workers willing to accept low wages and risk seasonal unemployment. As early as 1933 the Greek Cypriot ‘colony’ in the West End of London consisted of some 900 mostly young males. The majority were employed in restaurants and hotels but some earned their living by being employed as tailors, shoe-repairers and hairdressers. When it came to recreation, they spent most of their time in cafes run by their compatriots. There were then six in Soho, four in the Tottenham Court Road district and they were usually open 24 hours. Many were the occasions when young Cypriots, desperate for work and shelter, spent countless nights and days in such cafes. Other interesting facts emerge: where their numbers were large, as for example in the catering industry, they joined associations and trade unions. The young colonists were desperate to consolidate and bond with others for their common good. They also made great sacrifices to learn the new language of their adopted country. The Pulteney Evening Institute was a popular centre for such learning. A world-wide recession however, stopped our forefathers from consolidating their hold on the catering industry. Many stories had been recorded of the hardships endured by them in London at that time – especially during the long winter months when the catering industry was at its lowest ebb. Many fell back upon the ‘dole’ (unemployment handouts) for survival; some took to hawking peanuts and chestnuts in the streets from a tray slung round their neck, while a small minority became involved in various criminal activities. During World War II however, a considerable number of Italians were forced to leave the UK as proscribed aliens. The eclipse of such a specialist workforce certainly left a gap. The Greek Cypriots, who endured a costly and as it seemed a ‘journey round the world’ seized their chance and replaced them. Their hold on this trade was therefore consolidated. Commi waiters became waiters, supervisors and managers; kitchen porters became assistant cooks, cooks and chefs. In due course they became the outright owners of very large establishments. The first arrivals, migrants seeking employment, were almost entirely adult males, although the proportion of women – wives, sisters or fiancés – increased sharply by 1939. This feature, before the advent of World War II, both reflected and contributed to the stabilisation of our community especially in London. Greek Cypriots first settled in the West End, around the Soho area and in particular Charlotte Street, Rathbone Street and Windmill Street, where they worked mainly in restaurants close to where the first Cypriot Brotherhood, loosely formed as early as 1927, was located and in Camden Town, which is still referred to as ‘little Cyprus’. Until the 1960s, the wider West End area was known as the ‘horkon’(village) Established in 1948, the Church of All Saints played a major role in the consolidation of our community during those early years of settlement. It was not simply a place of prayer but it also became an important meeting place where our compatriots were able to purchase traditional delicacies such as koupes, loukoumadhes and shamishi. It was also in this area that Tefkros Anthias, the celebrated Cypriot poet, and a small group of dedicated and forward looking individuals proceeded to establish in 1952 the first Greek Parents Association community school. Since then (there were of course ‘schools’ long before that date) other organised bodies but especially the Church had set their sights on maintaining our cultural heritage, language and religion, by sponsoring scores of schools. Hard work is a must if we are to preserve such lofty ideals. When sufficient funds were raised, Cypriots spread to Islington and Hackney where they occupied old terraced rows of houses and then moved northwards (around the popular no. 29 bus route) to Haringey and some crossed the river in the other direction towards the Elephant & Castle, Camberwell, New Cross and Lewisham where they occupied cheap housing, that gave easy access to their place of work. Taking advantage of financial and other opportunities our grandfathers and fathers moved to Enfield, Barnet, Kenton, Harrow and Brent; Greenwich, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton; Fulham, Ealing, Acton and Richmond; Leyton, Waltham Forest and Barking – a spread covering the entire Greater London area. In fact, this vast area is the home of three quarters of our total UK population. A fair number of our compatriots, who served in the allied forces, emigrated from Cyprus after World War II to a Britain desperately short of manual workers. The 1950s and the early 1960s, saw the main influx which swelled the numbers to well over 70,000 by 1964. In fact, a major wave of Greek Cypriot immigration took place between 1960 and early 1962 when some 22,000 left for Britain. The last major influx occurred in 1974 following the tragic events of that year, when thousands relocated within their own island, and when some moved to places like Australia, while an estimated 20,000 found their way to the UK. This had a profound effect on the already settled community here. Families, who had been on the point of returning to their birthplace, put their plans on hold to accommodate relatives, even friends, who had arrived in the UK, both heartbroken and penniless. Subsequently, the move back to Cyprus never materialised. On a positive note the post-1974 years have seen the resilient and highly progressive Greek Cypriots move away from the traditional occupations, such as catering and the rag trade. Children and grandchildren are now more focused on education and on the professions – areas where the remuneration is high and the hours worked are both flexible and sociable. Success has also meant that families moved, once again, to more congenial and more accessible neighbourhoods. A simple overview of work patterns reveals a marked continuity between the pre-World War II origins of settlement and the present situation: The catering trade was and is popular, and an estimated 20 per cent are still employed in hundreds of privately-owned establishments. Yet, such involvement had no roots in traditional culture. It was simply a response to the opportunities available to the immigrants at that time and taken by them especially in the 1930s and 1940s. This is not so with the other main area of Cypriot economic activity – the clothing industry. Here, the traditional skills of tailoring and dressmaking had been put to direct use on a substantial scale. Factories spread up with great rapidity – from around four in the early 1950s to hundreds in the 1980s and were of particular importance, not only in that dozens had become large and extremely profitable (some trade with their own labels) but also because an estimated 2/3 of all Greek Cypriot women in employment were engaged in this field. Although many still do outwork on their own machines, such social life as was available, especially to the older women outside their own homes, was chiefly found within these workshops and factories. A cluster of workshops and showrooms in Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park, has given the area the name of ‘North London’s Oxford Street’. Saturdays in particular, continue to attract hundreds of eager shoppers desperate to find top quality bargains. The flair, hard work and marketing acumen of their proprietors and managers is still highly praised. A number of other craft trades, using skills traditionally practised in their native country, have also continued to be popular among our ancestors since their early days of settlement in the UK. Hairdressing, tailoring and shoe-repairing are typical examples. Also popular are certain retail trades, especially grocery and greengrocery – both not a traditional Cypriot occupation. These and many other instances prove that it was not simply indigenous skills that have determined the occupational pattern of the immigrants. These settlers have proved time and time again that they are highly adept in learning new trades and skills. Above all, however, is the desire of many Cypriots to run and control their own establishments. Over 25 per cent are self-employed, certainly far higher than the national average. A vibrant entrepreneurial spirit combined with an industrious nature, has seen a band of generally uneducated and very poor immigrants from a rural background, flower into a wealthy community. Certainly a community which generates a high degree of self-sufficiency and autonomy for its members – Cypriots scattered all over Greater London, Birmingham (originally around Pershore Road), Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, the South Coast and in many other smaller towns and even villages and hamlets. Today the Cypriots of the UK can choose to live virtually within their own ‘identifiable native environment’ – albeit, for some at least, far away from their places of birth. Language, which was one of the major difficulties of the first settlers is now not even a ‘token’ barrier. Today, there are dozens of Orthodox Churches (currently over 100), banks, three weekly newspapers, printers, accountancy and legal practices, hotels, bakeries, restaurants and schools. And it is not surprising that ‘all’ the professions are taken up –doctors, dentists, designers, architects, social workers, academics, bankers, journalists, actors, TV producers etc. In politics, Cypriots grace local councils, trade unions, political parties, semi-governmental bodies and have even made in-roads into the mainstream of politics as well – the national arena. The community also boasts a 24-hour radio station (LGR), a cable TV network (Hellenic) and even an all - Cypriot Sunday football league run by KOPA. With permanency of residency now an accepted reality in what is for most their second homeland, community centres, especially for the elderly, play a pivotal role in maintaining and preserving traditional values. Surely, London’s ‘Cypriotness’ can be seen and heard in many areas and places. And, with Cyprus joining the European Union in 2004, whereby settlement restrictions become a thing of the past, the future of the community in the UK could even be much rosier. Dr. Stavros Panteli |
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 Dr. Stavros Panteli, a Cypriot-born historian now living in London.
Stavros has lectured and written extensively on Cyprus and the Greek
world in general. An area where he has in-depth knowledge following
some 25 years of research into unpublished documents in the UK, Cyprus,
Greece and the US.
He has many publications to his name as author, contributor and editor.
Amongst his many publications in English are the following:
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| Introduction and acknowledgments The Greek Parents Association (GPA) was established in 1952 with the aim of assisting our members and their families to become confident and useful members of the country they now lived in whilst at the same time keeping our traditions, language, culture and links to Cyprus. Over the years the tools required and the methods used to achieve these aims have been adapted to the ever-changing conditions and needs of our developing community. The Cypriot Diaspora project can be seen as another tool in our endeavour. Most third and fourth generation children are not in a position to know first hand about the reasons their Grandparents and Great Grandparents were forced to leave Cyprus. They do not know about the problems, hardships and sacrifices they had to endure, in order to survive and to lay the foundations of our community. We believe that by learning about their ancestors they would feel proud of them and also of their Cypriot heritage. The Cypriot Diaspora Project is also a form of homage to all those brave persons who uprooted themselves from their homes and families and supplanted themselves in this country without having any friends or family or knowing the language. However, in spite of all these difficulties they managed not only to survive and to progress but also to keep our traditions and the link to both Greece and Cyprus. The Cypriot Diaspora project, which in addition to this book, includes the documentary, the photographic and artefact exhibition, the play Migratory Birds and the Cypriot Diaspora website, is the product of the efforts of a group of dedicated people for whom this project became a labour of love. On behalf of the Greek Parents Association I wish to say thank you to all the many volunteers who helped in all aspects of the project. I thank the members of the Cypriot Diaspora Committee, George Georghiou, Yiannis Mouskis, Loukas Demetriou, Martin Poole, Demetrios Efstathiou and Maria Kasamia for all their hard work and support. I am especially thankful to Mr. George Georghiou who proposed to me, two years ago, the idea of the Diaspora project and for taking care of all the artwork and< photographic exhibition. Grateful thanks go to Doros Partasides for directing and filming the documentary, Elena Ioannou of CYBC for the montage, Kyriacos Yiacoumi and Marianna Partasides for writing the script and production notes, Lia Yiacoumi for presenting the documentary, Dr. Stavros Panteli for his advice and historical overview and for translating all the interviews. Christos Prossylis for writing and directing the play, Maria Andreou for the scenery, our young cast for their performance and their parents for the costumes. Maria Kasamia and Elli Politsos for taking care of the administration and the transcription of the interviews. We are most grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for supporting our project and to Caitriona Fay for her guidance in taking it forward, to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CYBC) for undertaking the post production of the documentary and to Ms Deborah Hedgecock curator and Robert Waite deputy curator of the Bruce Castle Museum for their advice and for staging the exhibition. We are indebted to our interviewees, without whom this project would not have been possible, who in telling us their testimonies opened their hearts and minds to memories that were sometimes both painful and emotional. We thank them for their candour and wish them good health and peace of mind for the future. Panayiotis Yiacoumi GPA chairman |
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 Panayiotis YiacoumiMr Yiacoumi is also chair if the GPA and has worked closely with the project manager to co-ordinate the Project. |
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info@cypriotdiaspora.com |
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