La République de Chypre, lieu de passage, et le passage des Libanais

This paper presents some factors allowing us to situate the passage of the Lebanese in that part of the island under the authority of the republic of Cyprus, and to characterize it as a place of passage for temporary immigrations and the conduct of business. The passage of the Lebanese in the southern part of the island falls within a particular conjunction of two calendars, that of Cyprus itself and that of the Lebanese wars. The Lebanese were the first foreigners to arrive and to be welcomed after 1974 as refugees and at the same time businessmen and tourists, providing for the republic significant assistance in the re-launching of the economy. This particular conjunction seems to have fallen apart from 1991. During this period the presence of the Lebanese in Cyprus was consolidated, this part of the island acting as a platform where were mixed and redistributed the various routes of the Lebanese themselves, together with other routes from the Middle East (from Palestine, Croatia and Saudi Arabia). This period also saw the economic re-development of the southern part of the island towards a service society directed both to business and tourism. The departure of numerous Lebanese manifested the temporary character of their establishment within the republic, marked through all these years by a provisional organization produced in interaction with the host country.Battegay Alain. La République de Chypre, lieu de passage, et le passage des Libanais. In: Chypre et la Méditerranée orientale. Formations identitaires : perspectives historiques et enjeux contemporains. Actes du colloque tenu à Lyon, 1997, Université Lumière-Lyon 2, Université de Chypre. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2000. pp. 79-92. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen, 31