Introduction

I thought I would start by putting together some thoughts about family and a life journey from early childhood in Egypt, adolescent years in France and adulthood in the US. I hope to contribute to the story by way of email communication which I will add from time to time. This first email corresponds with the Eve of Passover 2022. As I collect my thoughts, I am reminded that freedom cannot be taken for granted. I was barely a child growing up in Alexandria, Egypt in the early 50s and I could not comprehend all that was going on, except that the events surrounding our daily life got progressively worse under an autocratic leader and government. We saw our lives completely disrupted and a path to expulsion from Egypt inevitable. Sadly, we have seen many countries and citizens of all races and ethnic backgrounds fall in the hands of dictators in our modern times. Our family’s story and expulsion from Egypt, as difficult as it seemed, cannot compare to the devastating and brutal events we are witnessing today in Ukraine. On this Eve of Passover, we pray for an end to this conflict and for all the victims and their families.

My childhood

During the early years of my childhood, I saw a transformation from normal life to increasingly more unstable. I saw this through the lens of a child, but remarkably I could remember some of the events that eroded our daily life leading up to our departure and (expulsion) in early 1957. I did not realize how my parents (Grandpa and Grandma) and my Aunts and Uncles were affected or the conditions under which they were forced to leave Egypt. Nonetheless, I could sense from emotions the stress they were experiencing. I knew little of what was about to come, and leaving on a passenger boat to reach the shores of southern France seemed like a fun adventure. I will add to this story and further details on life in Egypt later.

All I remember was that it was dark upon embarking on the ship and it seemed like the middle of the night. The boat started to move away from the dock and I could see people on the dock waiving to the passengers on ship, and I could hear some crying. While on board the ship, I quickly reunited with friends whom I did not realize were leaving on the same boat we were on. These friends remain close to this day and we keep in touch regularly. They live in Italy. Incidentally, and unbeknownst to me, I later found out that other family members left on different boats, all headed for the port of Marseille, France. This was our port of entry as immigrants, or refugees, as we were called. From this part of France, families were given choices where to go. We chose Bordeaux for reasons I will explain later.

I will pause here and hope to continue the story later.

Thank you for your interest.