Within the migration process, the fate of objects plays a central role, shaping a narrative of historical significance and profound meanings. In examining the role of domestic material culture in the migratory journey of Greeks who set out from Egypt to Greece in the early 1960s, the focus goes beyond the objects they transported, to capture the transformative power inherent in the containers they used to move their belongings from one country to another. The narratives of these migrants illustrate how home — in its material form and as a metaphor — can change meanings during migration.
In the early 1960s, as Greeks prepared to leave Egypt, they were granted permission to transport their household goods to Greece—a critical occasion marked by the formal declaration of their final departure (information provided from an interviewee). The choice of objects they had to take or leave behind reflected their values and priorities and symbolized the transformation they would undergo during their journey. For the Greeks from Egypt, this choice was also dictated by the practical issue of space, as the houses, at least of the upper- and middle-class families in Egypt, were larger and more spacious than their new homes in Greece.
Figure 1. Anonymous photographer, Fourgons in Athens ready for their final destination, circa 1950, Beinoglou private collection.
Families wishing to leave Egypt sought help in organizing the transport of their possessions, which usually took place in the late hours of the night. Furniture and other items were taken to the street and loaded onto carts destined for a specific location, where everything was carefully packed with straw, sacks and sturdy ropes and got prepared for transportation. In Egypt at that time, household possessions were shipped in special containers, namely room-sized wooden boxes of various sizes, which the Greeks referred to by the French term fourgon (Figure 1). Those containers held a profound significance for those leaving Egypt as they represented the primary means for safely carrying their belongings.
The physical transfer of their possessions, as their households made their way from Egypt to Greece, marked the beginning of a complex and multidimensional process. Upon reaching Greece, the wooden containers found themselves in the hands of local carriers, responsible for distributing and placing the possessions within the migrants’ new homes. After reaching their final destination, the containers commonly met one of two fates: either being discarded, especially if damaged, or being offered to the transportation company in Greece.
The migration journey of the Greeks from Egypt, as reflected in their domestic material culture, provides deep insights into the complexities of carrying one’s sense of home across borders. While the act of leaving their former homes in Egypt was undoubtedly an emotional and challenging endeavor, the process of furnishing their new homes in Greece was a profound act of self-preservation, allowing them to maintain a tangible connection to their past lives, creating a bridge between Egypt and Greece
At the heart of the migration process, however, was the in-between stage of transporting their household goods from Egypt to Greece. In the collective imagination of those migrants – vividly depicted in their narratives – the large shipping containers used for this purpose, emerge as powerful metaphors and symbols. They stand not just as mere physical vessels for belongings; they embody the very “essence of home”, the heart of their former residence. The significance of using the French term fourgon to address them, cannot be overstated. While their containers were stationary wooden boxes of room-like size, reminiscent of a house, the term fourgon in the French language refers to a truck, a wheeled vehicle for the transportation of people or goods. This choice of terminology adds a layer of metaphorical depth, emphasizing the transformative nature of these containers. Just like the migrants themselves, these “moving homes,” cross borders, functioning as symbolic representations of their migratory journey from one country to another.
Figure 2. (From left to right), Crane lorry transports the fourgon to the family’s property ; From container to holiday-“home” ; The converted fourgon by the sea (1962, private collection).
Tracing the fate of a particular fourgon that arrived from Egypt in 1962 (Figure 2), laden with the household goods of a wealthy Greek-Alexandrian family, reveals a remarkable account that further highlights the dynamic nature of home as a concept. After arriving in Athens and having achieved its purpose of safely transporting the family’s belongings, this container met a different fortune from the rest of the containers in question. Instead of being abandoned by its owners, as was the norm, it was kept and treated as an object with the potential to fulfill a new role. Having furnished their new home in Athens, the family also wanted to build a retreat in the countryside. The container was therefore seen as the perfect solution. After being suitably modified — windows were opened on both sides and an additional roof was installed — it was transported by lorry to the family’s property in an area outside Athens and was transformed into a fully habitable holiday home.
This is a vivid example of how a simple wooden box, originally intended to carry a family’s belongings, was transformed into a vessel of continuity that adapted to new roles and meanings. Reflecting on the migration journey of Greeks from Egypt and their profound connection to home, the fate of this container stands as a poignant reminder that home is not confined to a fixed location. Instead, it is a dynamic, evolving, and adaptable concept. It can be transported across geographic boundaries, reimagined in new environments, and reconstructed in new homelands.
Eirini Chryssocheri
This post is based on ethnographic data. For a more comprehensive understanding of the topic, the following bibliography offers further insights.
Boccagni, Paolo & Brighenti, Andrea M., « Immigrants and home in the making: thresholds of domesticity, commonality and publicness », Journal of Housing and the Built Environment32, 2017; p.1-11.
Dalachanis, Angelos, The Greek Exodus from Egypt: Diaspora Politics and Emigration, 1937-1962, New York: Berghahn, 2017.
Horst, Heather. A., « Reclaiming Place: The Architecture of Home, Family and Migration », Anthropologica: Journal of the Canadian Anthropological Society 53, n° 1, 2011, p. 29-39.
Ling, Minhua, « Container Housing: Formal Informality and Deterritorialized Home-Making amid Bulldozer Urbanism in Shanghai », Urban Studies 58, n° 6, 2021, p. 1141-1157.
Morley, David. Communications and Mobility: The Migrant, the Mobile Phone, and the Container Box, Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2017.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
chrysocheri (13 janvier 2024). The Transformative Journey of the Fourgon. Destins d’objets. Consulté le 7 décembre 2024 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/vn63