A hop and a jump

Over a hundred thousand Egyptians -- mostly migrant workers -- have chosen to hop across the Mediterranean. Iason Athanasiadis meets Greece's Egyptian community
The promised land has long been known as the United States. In recent years, however, Egyptians are finding a greener grass not across an ocean, but rather, just a sea
As the sun sets on another manic day in Athens's commercial district, the smog, traffic and bustling energy dissipate for a few, brief hours, while the Parthenon towers over the Greek capital in illuminated splendour. Under its timeless gaze, groups of weary men make their way to several well-lit cafés. These spit-and-dust establishments, often just a jumble of cheap formica tables, clattering cups and blaring televisions, are the favourite retreats of Greece's migrant Arab workers. Their architecture gives nothing away, but a closer look reveals something decidedly Oriental about them. The drink of choice is tea and Turkish coffee, often accompanied by shisha. The television, locked onto an Egyptian channel, is broadcasting an Arabic sitcom. And the customers are all a shade darker than the Greek passers-by in the street.
As evening turns to night, the harsh contours and bustling interiors of these establishments are softened by a haze of fragrant shisha smoke. The warbled melodies of Umm Kalthoum, Farid Al-Atrash and Mohamed Abdel- Wahab waft out into the cool spring air, embracing the huddled forms occupying tables that spill out haphazardly onto the pavement. Waiters move with practiced elegance among the serried ranks of patrons, delivering a few hours of peace and respite.
These migrant workers constitute an integral part of the Greek workforce. As the European Union's easternmost country harnesses lavish EEC funding to an expanding economy -- the fastest growing in the continent -- it is increasingly seen as a professional Mecca that rivals America in desirability, surpasses it in attainability and, in relative terms, is just round the corner from the developing world. For these and other reasons, Greece has, in recent years, seen a demographic explosion as Albanians, Bulgarians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Iraqis, Kurds, Lebanese, Romanians and others flock to the Promised Land of the Balkans. Their search for a better life has, on occasion, been rewarded, and fortunes have been made.
Said is a good-looking Egyptian in his early 30s. He has spent 13 years in Greece and is not planning to return to Egypt anytime soon. A friend of his arrived last night from Egypt with newspaper reminders of a forsaken homeland. Leafing through them, Said chances on a page of calls for professional or charitable assistance, a reminder of the dire conditions he fled. Said's hard work has been rewarded; he is married to an attractive Polish girl and has recently opened an electrical appliances store. In its spotless interior, Said busies himself while keeping up a running commentary on life away from Egypt: "Most Egyptians here are unwilling to go back -- they have made their escape so why return? I expect I'll go back to Egypt for a visit at some point. I still love it, though from a distance."
Said also talks about the chasm that develops between those who emigrate and their family, friends and acquaintances in Egypt: "The longer you spend here, the more cultural differences you notice developing between yourself and the people back home. My marriage to Arletta would be considered shameful in my village because she's Christian and foreign, but here it's completely unremarkable."
Said got a reminder of his changed perspectives when his mother came to visit. He was reluctant to tell her that his wife works as a cleaner, despite the fact that Arletta brings in much-needed funds to their household. In the end, Arletta stayed away from work for the duration of her mother-in-law's visit and, apart from one incident -- Arletta saw her praying, and thought she had lost something -- Said's mother returned to Egypt satisfied.
But, as Said points out, "I'm considered a failure by my family because I'm not a lawyer or an engineer -- despite the fact that here I might be earning more than my lawyer brother does. It's cultural snobbism and, from a distance, it seems ridiculous. Close up, however, it is suffocating."
Egyptians living in Greece present a wide social spectrum. From illiterate peasants who have arrived on Greek shores in search of good wages to wealthy businessmen, the story of Greece's Egyptian community reflects the divergent make-up of the now almost extinct Egyptian Greek community.
One of Greece's better-off Egyptians is Mohamed Samanudi. A resident of Athens's up- market Glyfada suburb, Samanudi is one of the most successful Egyptians working in Greece today. In 30 years of life there, he has worked with some of the most celebrated Greek businessmen. His cluttered office speaks of a life spent in shipping. Dominated by a large world map, and stuffed with the accoutrements of his profession -- packed files, a Lloyds maritime Atlas, a calendar showing photos of tankers, and a vast, crowded desk -- Samanudi confesses that the job has taken its toll on him: "The hearing in my right ear has been impaired by all the hours I've spent on the phone," he shrugs. A hook attached to the receiver, intended to keep the phone on his shoulder and leave his hands free, bears testament to the days when Samanudi would spend dozens of hours every month filling Alexandria-based Greek shipping companies in on the latest trade news.
"They talk about the USA," Samanudi says, referring to Egyptians he knows. "I tell them that this is the USA for me. They (the Greeks) love us and they know about xenitia [exile]." Many Egyptians seem to be in on this secret: though overall Egyptian investment in Greece is low, many individuals own houses here and visit for their holidays. "There are at least 12 people I know who have bought at Vouliagmeni and at least 20 in Glyfada (both chic seaside neighbourhoods). Greece is cheaper than Egypt for holidaying -- going to Sharm El-Sheikh for Bairam has become prohibitively expensive, whereas Egyptians who come here are surprised at how cheap Greece is for eating out."
On the subject of Egyptians who live in Greece, Samanudi is disappointed at the new generation of young workers who refuse assimilation, insist on speaking only Arabic and stick to their Egyptian habits. According to Samanudi, they take on board only the worst aspects of local culture, developing an undue interest in their appearance, chasing girls and turning, in some cases, to crime. Away from their family and the strict social background in which they grew up, these Egyptians, Samanudi believes, are intoxicated by the freedom offered them by Greece.
Samanudi reminisces about the good old days, when there was an official Egyptian community consisting of the elite -- doctors, businessmen, engineers -- who spoke on behalf of the 70,000 or so Egyptians living in Greece. It eventually fell apart because "Egyptians are like Greeks. When you have three Greeks you have four parties. When you have four Greeks, you have six parties." These days, the Egyptians have lost ground to the Albanians, Bulgarians, Romanians and other immigrants driven to Greece by the instability in the Balkans, whose presence has created competition and driven salaries down. However, as long as Greece's economy is growing at its current pace, almost everyone is guaranteed a slice of the pie, however meagre.
Back in the cafés, the hour is past and groups of customers are starting to disperse, in anticipation of another early start tomorrow. Farewells are shouted out in Arabic and the TV is turned off on a crooning Abdel-Halim Hafez. The shishas are put away and used cups stacked in the kitchen. Said offers a friend a lift home on his motorbike, manoeuvring effortlessly through the busy Athens streets. For him, now, Athens is home.
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