Tales of Satisfaction and Disillusionment: Second-Generation “Return” Migration to Greece and Cyprus

Abstract

We examine the comparative “return” experiences of second-generation Greek-Americans and British-born Greek Cypriots who have relocated to their respective parental homelands of Greece and Cyprus. Sixty individuals, born in the United States or the United Kingdom yet now living in Greece or Cyprus, were interviewed and detailed life narratives recorded. We find both similarities and differences between the two groups. While the broad narrative themes “explaining” their returns are similar—a search for a “place to belong” in the ancestral homeland linked to what is, or was, perceived to be a more relaxed and genuine way of life—the post-return outcomes vary. In Greece there is disappointment, even profound disillusionment, whereas in Cyprus the return is generally viewed with satisfaction. For Greek-Americans, negative experiences include difficulty in accessing employment, frustration with bureaucracy and a culture of corruption, struggles with the chaos and stress of life in Athens, and pessimism about the future for their children in Greece. As a result, some Greek-Americans contemplate a second return, back to the United States. For the returnee British Cypriots, these problems are far less evident; they generally rationalize their relocation to Cyprus as the “right decision,” both for themselves and for their children. Greek-Americans tend to withdraw into a social circle of their own kind, whereas British-born returnee Cypriots adopt a more cosmopolitan or “third-space” cultural identity related, arguably, to the small scale and intimate spaces of social Second-Generation “Return” Migration to Greece and Cyprus exchange in an island setting, and to the colonial and postcolonial history of Cyprus and its diaspora.

Translocal space across migrant generations: The case of a Greek Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom

“…Cyprus has always been a country of emigration, and as a former UK colony, many Cypriots have migrated to the United Kingdom (Teerling, 2011). The bulk of this migration took place in the 1950s and 1960s (King, Christou, & Teerling, 2011;Teerling, 2011), with economic factors being the main motive (King, Christou, Goodson, & Teerling, 2008). Estimates of the number of Cypriots living in the United Kingdom today vary greatly; however, the National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom claims to represent more than 300,000 Britons of Cypriot ancestry.…”

“…Instead, the use of language contributes to many second-and third-generation migrants identifying as Greek Cypriot, rather than English/British (Charalambous, Hajifanis, & Kilonis, 1988;Papapavlou & Pavlou, 2001). Work exploring the experiences of second-generation Greek Cypriot "returnees" to Cyprus (King et al, 2008;King et al, 2011;Teerling, 2011) confirms that a degree of "Cypriotness" is maintained by returnees but often in altered, "fresh" or "unconventional" ways (Teerling, 2011(Teerling, :1089. This demonstrates a need to examine identity between and across generations and that the experiences of belonging "cannot be captured within predefined ethnic, national or sociocultural boundaries" (Teerling, 2011(Teerling, :1080.…”