(AFP) Hours before the masked men came, brandishing Cypriot flags and Molotov cocktails, hushed whispers of the imminent rampage travelled down the Limassol seafront strip home to many migrant-owned businesses.
Egyptian restaurant owners rushed to bring their water pipes indoors, and a Vietnamese vendor quickly cleared their street displays of greens and sugar cane stalks.
But they couldn’t hide the distinct cultural heritage each of them has proudly embraced as they have built their livelihoods on the Mediterranean island.
Egyptian restaurateur Mohammed el-Basaraty, 38, recalled, “I was standing with a neighbour and she told me to leave … ‘because if they see you, a foreigner, they will beat you,’ she said.”
