“Nahni wa xfendik” (We and the others): Negotiation of multiple identities in the maronite community of Cyprus

In this study I will examine the negotiation of multiple identities in the Maronite Community of Cyprus which comprises four villages in the occupied territories (Kormakiti, Asomatos, Karpashia, Agia Marina) and a large number of displaced population in the area of Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, and especially the extent to which some identities are negotiable, while others are not. I will analyze the concept of collective identity in relation to religious and ethnic factors (Maronite, Arab origin vs the Orthodox Cypriots of Greek origin), differences within the community in relation to language (use of a particular Arabic dialect only by the inhabitants of Kormakiti, while other villages speak the Greek-Cypriot dialect) and a deliberate identification with Lebanon through Catholicism and similarities in history.