Cypriot Emigration to the United States of America (1910-1930)

Abstract

Ioannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came from a poor family and was sent by his father to Smyrna, in 1888, aged 14, to seek employment to strengthen the family's income. The young Greek Cypriot's family was counting on help that would be provided to the young immigrant by his uncle (on his father 's side), who had been living in that multicultural Ottoman city for a considerable length of time. Despite his uncle 's efforts, the search for employment proved fruitless, and thus, after a brief period of time, Tserkezis was forced to return to his native country. He was not disheartened, though. He continued his efforts to find employment abroad during the years that followed. In 1899, he made efforts to settle in Alexandria and in 1902 went back to Smyrna, but both ventures proved unsuccessful. Up until then Tserkezis had chosen to emigrate to the most common destinations for the Cypriots of the time. That is, to Egypt or countries within the Ottoman Empire (Tserkezis 1988: 13-101).