Reconceptualizing the Myth of Return: Continuity and Transition amongst the Greek-Cypriot Refugees of 1974

In: Journal of refugee studies, Band 12, Heft 1, S. 1-22

Abstract

Based on longitudinal data collected over the last decade from a sizeable number of Greek-Cypriot refugee households in Cyprus, it is argued that refugees seek to retain, to a greater or lesser degree, the social & cultural attributes of the past, while adjusting to future needs in exile & aspirations of return. This relationship is mediated by the present conditions of exile-refugee assistance programs & political discussions about return. Since the refugees are cut off from the material & symbolic representation of the past, this is reconstructed & preserved in a mythical form that becomes the basis for subsequent strategies of adjustment & transition. Two contrasting positions are suggested -- reproduction of the myth & replacement of the myth -- that are associated with contrasting aspirations of belief in return & hope of return. Considered in conclusion are some of the consequences of the strategies used to reconstruct the triangular relationship between past, future, & present. 45 References. Adapted from the source document.