The Maronite community sheltering Lebanon’s displaced in Cyprus

A 'disaster’ in Lebanon

In Nicosia, The Maronite Archeparchy of Cyprus, Selif Jean Sfeir, is seated in an armchair in the Archbishopric. He is recounting the history of the Cypriot Maronite community which arrived on the island 1,200 years ago from Lebanon and Syria.

“There were tens of thousands living in 83 villages. But now you have to go to Kormakitis, one of the last Maronite villages, to understand the Maronite community,” he says. Today, about 10,000 remain. “We probably reach 20,000 with the Lebanese diaspora - they integrate and strengthen our community,” Sfeir adds.

The young couple who arrived from Lebanon last year, and who were taking part with the choir, have stopped by to say hello.

Georges explains that he arrived before the summer to work and Maria joined him in September when full-scale hostilities with Israel were starting. “It was a disaster,” she says, shaking her head. She is grateful for the community they have found in Cyprus.

“The Maronite community was very important for us. Thanks to them I managed to find work as a physiotherapist. I also participate in the choir; this is the third time I have come to rehearsals.”

Back in Larnaca, a strong sea wind is blowing in front of the castle near the beach, where a few hundred people have gathered, displaying banners and flags. It is a demonstration called by the Cyprus Peace Council, a protest march “against the transformation of Cyprus into an aggressive launching pad for the USA and NATO”.

In September, there was another demonstration organised by the same pacifist group in front of the British base of Akrotiri, a legacy of the island’s colonial past, from which the attacks on Yemen began in early 2024.

“Cyprus is close to the conflict, many people don't think about it, but just look at a map,” says Mattew Stavrinides, a young activist from the group Genocide-Free Cyprus. He explains that cooperation between Israel and the Republic of Cyprus is nothing new: “Just think that in 2017 the Israeli army held exercises in the Troodos Mountains, in the centre of the island, to simulate war situations in southern Lebanon.”