Refugees and Citizens The Armenians of Cyprus
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Abstract
This article explores themes raised by Peter Loizos in his work with refugees post-1974 in Cyprus. Using examples from the experiences of Cypriot Armenians over the twentieth century, comparisons and connections are made with these themes, particularly regarding the reconstruction of narratives of meaning and belonging following disruption. Armenians have dwelt at length on the defining transformation of the 1915 Genocide but many other kinds of disruptive changes preceded and followed this most radical one, continuing into the present. Physical and economic instability of host countries, including Cyprus, has precipitated continued displacement and migration for many Armenians. This continually creates a kind of demotic cosmopolitanism that is an openness to the world based upon a diasporic people’s juggling of identities, seeking a rootedness in a particular place alongside connections across time and space.
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displacement, memory, identity, homeland, demotic cosmopolitanism, refugees, citizens, Cyprus Armenians
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