Italy and the Suez Canal: Historical and Historiographical Passages from a Euro-Mediterranean Perspective

Alexander Kitroeff, The Greeks and the Making of Modern Egypt; and Angelos Dalachanis, The Greek Exodus from Egypt: Diaspora Politics and Emigration, 1937–1962

“…Thus, pivotal events like the Suez "crisis" of 1956 and the nationalisations that followed into the 1960s, which have been framed as catalysts for the en masse departure of foreigners from Egypt, were events that punctuated more protracted processes for many individuals. 5 Dalachanis narrates this history with a critical, yet deeply source-based definition of what defines community. On the one hand, he draws attention to the terms that were worked out in Greek circles to situate their placement in Egypt by referring to the term "mutamassirun", or Egyptianised Greeks.…”

“…In both Kitroeff's and Dalachanis' books, the relationship between the Greek state and the Greek Orthodox Church could have been presented in clearer terms; this perception might stem from my own position outside modern Greek history. These terms of communal membership are further articulated with "repatriation", at once an idea and a practice that indicates how such social and political membership unfolded in and through the lives of individuals between Egypt and Greece (3)(4)(5).…”