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Nasserism and the Armenian Exodus from Egypt and Syria
Abstract
The political crises instigated by the rise of ISIS resulted in the mass emigration of Christians from the Middle East. This exodus, however, was not the first in the modern history of the region. A similar process was set in motion by the rise of Nasserism and Arab nationalism in the 1950s and 1960s. This paper focuses on the exodus of Christian Armenians from Syria and Egypt under the leadership of Gamal Abdul Nasser during and immediately following the United Arab Republic (1958-1961). This study utilizes Armenian, Arabic, and French (in addition to English) sources. Particularly useful are the Armenian-language newspapers published in Syria, Egypt, Canada, the United States, and the former Soviet Armenia. The thesis of this study is that the rise of Nasserism and intensification of Arab nationalism in the 1950s had serious repercussions for the Armenian communities in both countries. The Armenian population in both countries was primarily comprised of the survivors of the genocide (1915-1923) under the Young Turk regime in the Ottoman Empire, and their traumatic experiences had profoundly shaped their views on what they considered precarious status and physical security in foreign—especially Muslim—lands. They considered Nasserism and Arab nationalism, not unlike the nationalist Young Turk regime, an existential threat and therefore decided to emigrate. The virulently intense Egyptian and Syrian Nasserists imposed dictatorial rule and launched a campaign of “search and seizure” throughout both countries, including the Armenian communities. Subsequently, they attributed their failures in leadership and dissolution of the UAR to foreign machinations and domestic treason and espionage, including alleged activities by some members of the Armenian community. Nasserist “Socialist Laws” and nationalization policies and chronic economic insecurity led to mass Armenian emigration (particularly upper and middle class Armenians) from Syria and Egypt to the West—e.g., Canada, the United States, Australia. By the 1970s, the Armenian population in Syria had dropped from an estimated 150,000 in the 1950s-1960s to 120,000. Armenians in Egypt had numbered between about 20,000 to 40,000 prior to the revolution of 1952, but that figure dropped to an estimated 4,000-6,000. This comparative study contributes to the literature on ethnicity, diasporan studies, and authoritarian regimes. To the best of my knowledge, there are no comparative studies of the emigration of Armenian communities from Syria and Egypt as a result of Nasserism.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Egypt
Sub Area
None