Egyptians are relative newcomers to the United States. For thousands of
years, ruling powers came and went, but the inhabitants of the Nile
valley tended to stay in the land of their birth. They rarely emigrated
from Egypt. Modern times have seen a notable reversal. Successive waves
of emigration from Egypt started after the Second World War.
Independence from colonial rule, the creation of the state of Israel,
and the 1956 War against England, France, and Israel caused increased
political instability in the region. Small numbers of Egyptians began to
leave the country. But after the 1967 War with Israel, the trickle
became a flood. Many Egyptians became disillusioned with the
governmental system and decided to emigrate.
Why did they leave Egypt? How did they adjust to and integrate into
their new lives in the US? How did they relate to their motherland? The
answers to these questions can be found in this anthology. The
autobiographical essays include personal reflections of thirty-two
Egyptian-American women and men from diverse backgrounds, living in
cities and towns across the United States. They include engineers,
medical doctors, taxi drivers, business people, scientists, stay-at-home
moms, Egyptologists, artists, teachers, and university professors, among
others. There are Jews, Christians, Muslims, and atheists. Egyptians
immigrated to the US for a variety of reasons: educational, political,
religious, and economic. Some were pushed out of Egypt by adverse
circumstances; others were pulled toward the United States seeking new
opportunities. Often it was a combination of both.
Contributors include: Annie Whitney - Awatef Hamed - Dina Samir - Fayek
Andrawes - Fekri A. Hassan - Fikry Andrawes - Gamal Omar - Giselle
Hakki - Hisham Issawi - Joyce Zonana - Lofty Basta - Magda Saleh -
Mahmoud F. Agha - Marlene Barsoum - Maysaa Barakat - Mohamed Elgamal -
Mona Michail - Mona Mobarak - Moustafa Elkhashab - Naeem Mady - Nahla
Bakry - Mahmoud EL-Shazly - Nimet Habachy - Norm Toma - Rawia El
Wassimy-Agha - Reda Athanasios - Samia I. Spencer - Samir Ansary -
Sherif Abou Sabh - Sherif Nasr - Souheir Eldefrawy Elmasry - Sylvia
Iskander - Tarek Nazir Saadawi
