A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details THE ‘RETURN’ OF BRITISH-BORN CYPRIOTS TO CYPRUS A NARRATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY Janine Teerling DPhil in Migration Studies School of Global Studies University of Sussex August 2010 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature: Summary of Thesis My thesis is the product of an in-depth qualitative study of the ‘return’ of British-born Cypriots to Cyprus. By specifically focusing on the second generation, my thesis seeks to rectify the lacuna in research on the second generation’s connections to the ethnic homeland, capitalising on these migrants’ positionalities with respect to questions of home and belonging. The thesis consists of eight chapters: Chapter 1 introduces the context in which the research was conducted; Chapter 2 provides the historical and geographical background for the Cypriot migration experience; Chapter 3 presents the methodological and ethical context in which my research was conducted; Chapters, 4, 5, 6 are the main empirical chapters, discussing the British-born Greek-Cypriot returnees’ experiences, motives and viewpoints, from childhood memories to today’s adult experiences; Chapter 7 provides an additional comparative angle through the inclusion of a subsample of British-born Turkish Cypriots; and finally, Chapter 8, my concluding chapter, revisits the research questions, draws comparisons with other empirical studies on second-generation return, and re-evaluates my methodological framework. Through the voices and life-narratives of second-generation British-Cypriot ‘return’ migrants – following a biographical timeline – the multifaceted perspectives in which notions of ‘return’, ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ can be viewed and experienced in a migratory context are revealed. My study shows the complexities and ambivalences involved when exploring ideas of ‘identity’ and ‘return’, views of ‘home’, and feelings of ‘belonging’ in the ancestral homeland – demonstrating how boundaries of such notions are blurred, eroded and re-established by a new generation of migrants, reflecting their time, experiences, choices and ideologies. My findings deconstruct the meaning of ‘return’, move beyond the primordial cultural confines of notions of ‘belonging’, and challenge the simple dichotomy of ‘home’ versus ‘away’, revealing new similarities (and differences) beyond such predefined labels and categories, which form the building blocks for new, contemporary, ways and spaces of belonging. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 CHAPTER 1 SETTING THE SCENE 7 1.1 Introduction 7 1.2 The Research Cast 9 1.3 Second-Generation ‘Return’: Defining the Terms 11 1.4 Research Context 15 1.5 Research Questions 22 1.6 Overview of the Thesis Structure 23 CHAPTER 2 THE BRITISH-CYPRIOT MIGRATION EXPERIENCE 26 2.1 Introduction 26 2.2 Recent Political History 27 2.3 Cypriot Migration and Settlement in the UK 32 2.4 The Second Generation 39 2.5 Return Migration to Cyprus 47 2.6 Migration Reversal: From Emigrant to Immigrant State 50 2.7 Concluding Remarks 53 CHAPTER 3 CONDUCTING ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH WITH BRITISH CYPRIOTS 55 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 Pilot Study in Cyprus 55 3.3 Fieldwork in the UK 56 3.4 Main Fieldwork Period in Cyprus and the Issue of Sampling 58 3.5 Methodology and Methods of Data Collection 59 3.6 Positionality and Ethical Considerations 65 3.7 Further Methodological Reflections 71 3.8 Approaches to Data Analysis 76 CHAPTER 4 CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF THE PARENTAL HOMELAND 80 4.1 Introduction 80 4.2 Growing Up in the UK 83 4.3 Holiday Visits: Freedom and Family Warmth 92 4.4 Childhood Experiences in Cyprus: Home or Holiday? 98 4.5 Other Transnational Childhoods 102 4.6 Reflecting on Relocation: Experiences Then and Now 106 4.7 Concluding Remarks 119 CHAPTER 5 MOTIVES FOR ‘RETURN’ AND ADJUSTMENT UPON RELOCATION TO CYPRUS 124 5.1 Introduction 124 5.2 Reasons for Return 126 5.3 Experiences upon Return and Adjustment to the Island Environment 134 5.4 Experiencing and Managing Everyday Life in Cyprus 141 5.5 Concluding Remarks 154 CHAPTER 6 ‘WHERE DO I BELONG?’ ON HOME AND NEW SPACES OF BELONGING 158 6.1 Introduction 158 6.2 Dymamics of ‘Home’ and the Journey to Belonging 161 6.3 Constructing ‘Third Cultural Spaces’ of Belonging in Cyprus 171 6.4 Personal Relationships and Social Spaces 175 6.5 Agency, Choices and ‘Cypriotness’ in the Development of ‘New Third Cultural Spaces of Belonging’ in Cyprus 182 6.6 Female Returnees in their Fifties: Some Different Perspectives 187 6.7 Concluding Remarks 190 CHAPTER 7 BRITISH-BORN TURKISH-CYPRIOT ‘RETURNEES’ 195 7.1 Introduction 195 7.2 British-Born Turkish Cypriots in the UK 198 7.3 Reasons for ‘Return’ to Cyprus 206 7.4 Everyday Life in Cyprus 211 7.5 Articulations of Home and Belonging 216 7.6 Second-Generation Returnees: Potential Agents of Change? 220 7.7 Summary and Comparisons 223 CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSIONS 227 8.1 Introduction 227 8.2 Research Questions Revisited 228 8.3 What can be Learned from this Study on British-Cypriot Second-Generation ‘Return’ Migration? 236 8.4 A Personalised Conclusion: My Research Journey 242 BIBLIOGRAPHY 244 APPENDIXES 4 Acknowledgements Many people, far too many to mention individually, contributed to the realisation of this thesis in innumerable ways. I am grateful to all of them and would have not been able to complete this journey without their aid and support. First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to my principal supervisor, Prof. Russell King – for his invaluable and thorough advice, feedback and comments, his encouragement, his wisdom, his open mind, and above all his integrity and endless kindness. Thank you so much for believing in me and supporting me throughout, whilst allowing me the room to work in my own way. You have been the best supervisor I could have possibly wished for. I am also extremely grateful for the great advice, support and inspiration I received from my second supervisor and project-team colleague, Dr. Anastasia Christou. Furthermore, I wish to thank our project-team colleague at the University of Brighton, Prof. Ivor Goodson, for the stimulating discussions and valuable advice, particularly during the early stages of my research. Thanks, too, to Dr. Tracey Reynolds (London South Bank University) who became a valuable project-team member during her six-month fellowship at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research in 2007. I also wish to thank Jenny Money for her wonderful help, assistance and support throughout. This DPhil would not have been possible without the generous financial and academic support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). I gratefully acknowledge the research studentship I received under their ‘Diaspora, Migration and Identities’ programme. Special thanks to the programme director, Prof. Kim Knott, and the programme administrator, Katie Roche, for their tremendous effort in organising and managing the numerous workshops, conferences and seminars throughout the course of the programme. My work and overall research experience has benefited from the stimulating and welcoming environment you created, and I feel proud to have been part of such a successful and fascinating multi- and inter-disciplinary project. Thanks, too, to all the other AHRC award holders, whose fascinating contributions, 5 presentations and discussions, covering the full range of arts and humanities disciplines, demonstrated that the field of migration and diaspora studies truly has no boundaries. My friends, colleagues, teachers and fellow doctoral students at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR) have contributed immensely to my personal and professional time at the University of Sussex. The fact that they are too numerous to list here does not take away from the sincerity of my gratitude for the enriching experiences, precious friendships, valuable lessons, inspiring discussions, and the warmth and laughter I experienced during my times spent at Sussex. My appreciation is great and I have chosen to thank you personally, rather than here in writing. Throughout the years, many individuals at conferences, seminars, workshops, universities and research centres have shown great interest in my work, listened patiently to my presentations and provided me with valuable feedback. My work has benefited hugely from their time and generosity, for which I would like to thank them wholeheartedly. The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), both in Norway and in Cyprus, deserves special mention here. The team in Cyprus have been extremely welcoming and accommodating from the very first moment, early in 2008, when I knocked on their door in Nicosia and introduced myself and my research. The advice, hospitality and various invitations I received from them throughout my stay in Cyprus were greatly appreciated. I was also fortunate enough to have been selected for the two-year (2008-2010) Training for International Publishing on Transnationalism and International Migration (TIP-TIM) workshop series for early-career researchers, a collaboration between PRIO in Oslo and SCMR. The programme has been highly rewarding for me, as it provided me with vital practical tools and a useful insight into the world of international publishing, as well as encouraging fruitful discussions and interaction with other researchers in the field. I wish to thank the workshop coordinators, faculty members and participants for making it such a valuable experience.