Cypriots Emigrating From Cyprus

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

It is obvious that most Cypriot emigrants chose to emigrate to Britain. In 1951 3.145 Cypriots emigrated to Engalnd; this number was increased in1954 since 5.325 Cypriots chosen Britain to create their new lives. It has been counted that from 1951 until 1958 sixty thousand Cypriots moved to London. [1] Furthermore, in 1960 14.245 Cypriots emigrated away from Cyprus; the 13,191 went to London. [2] By 1961, 41.898 Cypriots left their country and searched for a better life in Britain, while this number was increased to 59.019 in 1966 and to 73.295 in 1971. According to a survey of Commonwealth emigrants in Great Britain which was held in 1961, sixty two per cent of Cypriot emigrants left Cyprus as a result of unemployment and lack of opportunities; fifteen per cent for financial reasons and the other three per cent for political reasons. [3] Furthermore, many Cypriots moved to Great Britain because of the good relations between Britain and Cyprus during the colonial years. [4] In addition the small percentage of political emigrants reveals that Cypriots abandoned their motherland because of economic uncertainty, being influenced by the political situation. [5] Moreover, the majority of Cypriot emigrants by 1961 were between the age of fifteen and sixty four. [6] 

(i) Economic reasons

During 1950s and 1960s most of the Cypriots were settled in rural areas and had to move to towns as a result of the depletion of agriculture, the chronic underemployment and the forced sales of their properties, known as demoprasia. [7] The people in the country side had no hope of survival and as a result they joined the unemployment queue in the towns. However, the urban labor market of the country was unstable and the number of available jobs decreased. [8] For example, the only available workplace was that one in Troodos Mountains mines, where the workers were working under insecure working conditions and received very low wages. [9] Trade declined and industry and shipping were devastated causing the loss of the homes of many Cypriots. [10] Cypriot emigrants wanted to improve their material position and escape poverty and the uncertain life of Cyprus, resulting in the depopulating of rural areas. [11] Respondent Mrs. Eleftheria Marcou was born in the small village of Choirokitia and both of her parents were working in agriculture. She stated that her arrival to London in 1957 occurred in order to find a better life and provide her children the necessities she could not offer them in Cyprus. [12] Moreover, Mrs. Lambrou, who was born in Nicosia stated that there was an economic crisis in the country and the poverty levels were risen up. She gave the example of the people living in Karpasia, which was a town that had no industry and included the highest level of poverty in those decades. Like Karpasia, many towns in Cyprus and most of the villages were suffering from low levels of agriculture development that increased poverty in the country. [13] 

(ii) Political Reasons

Furthermore, many Cypriots emigrated, as it has been mentioned above, for political reasons, since the country was divided about the decision to revolt against the British Empire and the unification with Greece. Mrs. Lambrou stated that she was forced to emigrate to London in 1969 because of that political division. [14] Moreover, Mrs. Eleftheria Marcou mentioned that her husband left Cyprus because of these political reasons and that he was framed as a traitor and his life was threatened. [15] Mr. Mikides is another example of political emigrant. He was imprisoned in 1956 because he participated in the struggles against British Colonialism and left as soon as he got free because his life was in danger. [16] A final example is that of Mr. Zenonos who was born in Kalo Chorio village and came to London in 1957. He emigrated for economic reasons in order to earn more money. Conversely, the most vital reason that forced him to emigrate was the political destruction in Cyprus. As Mr. Michael says, "I feared for my life. The revolution against the British reduced my rights and my freedom". [17] 

(iii) Social Reasons

Apart from the economic and political causes to emigrate, a Cypriot had social grounds too. During the British control over Cyprus, many children did not have the opportunity to go to school since they had to work in agriculture with their parents. As a result many young Cypriots settled in Britain in order to seek education and as a result of finding a better job and to have a better financial status. [18] The conception of a family was very important to the Cypriot community and especially for women. Many poor Cypriot girls were sent to Britain to earn more money and improve their life opportunities; for those ages their only goal was the building of a strong dowry and to get married and form their own family. [19] Moreover, many Cypriot villages were isolated by 1956 since the young men emigrated to Britain with the intention of seeking a better destiny, and as a result their villages were left with old people and women only. For example in 1956 there was an interview in the Cypriot newspaper Haravgi with a young woman who was living in a village and made the decision to emigrate since she refused to remain alone in her village, without having the opportunity to get married and make her own family. [20] In addition, a few Cypriot women emigrate to London following their husband’s decisions. For instance, Mrs. Chrystalla Nicolaou, who was born in Sia village and her parents were working in agriculture, came to Britain in 1970 because she got engaged to an English-Cypriot man and followed him to London. [21] In addition, Mrs. Savvide was born in Nicosia and came to Britain in 1953 after she was influenced by her husband to follow him to London and create a family together, abandoning at the same time her nursing studies in Cyprus. [22] 

(iv) Why did Cypriots chosen Britain?

The fact that Cyprus was a colony of the British Empire for so many years made the connection between the two countries much easier. The fact that many Cypriots had a British passport, made their entrance in the United Kingdom much easier than in other countries, like America and Australia. [23] The post war period in Britain was an era of colonial emigration. People from the most British colonies came to the country as replacement workers for the jobs that the British abandoned in order to have more stable employment. [24] During the late 1950’s the demand for labor was increased in Great Britain [25] and in Cyprus there were rumors that "The British streets were paved with gold", as Mr. Zenonos mentioned. [26] Therefore they could enjoy full employment and regular earnings; two benefits that were impossible to have in Cyprus. In addition, the establishment of a small Cypriot community the 1930’s in London influenced the Cypriot emigrants of the later decades since there were rumors that Cypriots of London managed to find a good job or create their own business. [27] This kind of social network in London seemed to be ideal for the new emigrants who would have the help they needed to find a good job and a place to live in for a while.

The Cypriots who wanted to emigrate to Britain had to satisfy the Cypriot Colonial Government to be allowed to emigrate from Cyprus and have free access to Britain. Before 1960, a Cypriot who sought to emigrate to England should have had an invitation from a fellow Cypriot that was already settled in the United Kingdom. In addition, this person who was named as the guarantor of the new emigrant, had to provide his name and economic status to the British authorities; also it was necessary that the guarantor had an accommodation and a job available for the new Cypriot emigrant. [28] For example, Costas Zenonos was eligible to enter Britain only when he received an invitation from his cousin. [29] 

(v) The Reaction of the Families of the Emigrants

This huge emigrant wave influenced not only the emigrants themselves but also their relatives too. On the one hand some were pleased that their children could find a better life in London and on the other hand there were others who refused to agree with the decision of their children. Majorities of the parents of Cypriot emigrants were living in poor circumstances and could not provide their children all the necessities they needed. As a result they saw their children’s decision to emigrate to Britain as a good opportunity for their future and a way which could provide them with a better economic status and an easier life than the one they had in Cyprus. Mrs. Nicolaou mentioned that her relatives were happy when she announced that she was going to London in 1970. Her family was poor and her parents urged her to move in London, to facilitate a better life and do not face the same economic problems they had. [30] When Mrs. Marcou announced to her family her decision to emigrate to London in 1957 she stated that "my mother was shouting and crying for days. She wanted me and my children to stay in Cyprus". What is more, she was afraid that she would never been able to see her daughter again because the transportation in those days was very expensive and difficult. [31] 

(vi) Accusations Against the Government for not preventing the emigration wave

A vast number of the newspapers of the 1950s accused the British Colonial Authorities of taking no action to prevent the extended emigration wave. To begin with, they accused the British policy of establishing standards and raising hopes among the Cypriots without creating permanent movements; this action spread the feeling of insecurity among the Cypriot youth who emigrated to Britain with the aim of finding wealth. [32] Cyprus suffered from chronic underemployment which was developed inside a colonialist context, while the British colonial government failed to provide sufficient resources and workers for the mechanization of agriculture. [33] In time they failed to develop a local industry. The journalist Teukros Anthias wrote in 1958 that Cypriot emigration during 1950s was gangrene for Cyprus. He stated that Cypriot emigrants could not realize the catastrophe they themselves caused to their own country with their withdrawal. Moreover, he urged that harsh attitude from British authorities towards the Cypriot citizens resulted to the distraught of agriculture and created the forced emigration of the populace of Cyprus who wanted to have a free life. [34] Andreas Kanaouros is another journalist who blamed the British Authorities for the problem of emigration in Cyprus. In October 1956 he wrote in Haravgi that the British failed to solve the problems of their colony and in addition they created new ones. For instance they did not strengthen the agricultural development of Cyprus, which is one of the strongest in the Mediterranean Sea and caused economic problems which encouraged the growth of emigration wave. [35] 

On the first of October in 1960, Cyprus became an independent country with its own government. During the following years Cypriot newspapers started the accusations against the Cypriot government for not solving the problem of emigration. In December 1963 there was an article in Haravgi which suggested that the Cypriot government should create productive projects to support agriculture and local industries. [36] The Cypriot government was urged to enlighten the workers about emigration and warn them that moving to a new country was not always a pleasant experience and that in many cases they were going to face remarkable difficulties. [37] Apart from the accusations and beliefs of the journalists, it is also imperative to highlight the opinion of the Cypriot workers. In 1960 the Cypriot Workers Federation, which belonged to the left wing political party AKEL, made an announcement expressing their beliefs on the problem of emigration. The federation stated that emigration caused tribulations to the economy of the country because many workers left Cyprus; also it created social problems because of the destruction of family institution. [38] They suggested that the government should provide safety to the Cypriot workers and ask for the help of the United Nations in order to build up the Cypriot industry and educate Cypriots to be able to work in these industries. [39] 

(vii) Ideology of Returning among the Cypriot Emigrants

Despite all the difficulties the Cypriot immigrants had in Cyprus which obliged them to make the decision of living away from their country, most of them went to Britain with the aim to earn more money and return back to Cyprus after a few years. The "Ideology of returning" was spread all over the first generation of Cypriot emigrants of Britain who dreamed that they would return back to their homes. [40] Respondent Mr. Zenonos mentioned that he intended to return back to Cyprus with the family he created in London; nevertheless the Turkish invasion in 1974 destroyed his plans. [41] It is worth noting that returning back to Cyprus was such a fundamental scheme for most of the Cypriot emigrants that the Cypriot community of London created the first Greek schools in order to keep Cypriot culture strong and furthermore expand the idea that Cypriots of London should have as their ambition to return to Cyprus. [42] 

To conclude, the Cypriots were facing devastating problems in their country; economic difficulties and underemployment made the creation of a good quality and wealthy life impossible. Moreover, the quarrels between the Left and the Right political parties along with the mistakes of the British colonial authorities and at a later stage of the Cypriot government, destroyed the Cypriot hopes for a bright future. In accordance to these circumstances they decided to emigrate to Britain in search of a better future which would make their life easier as.