This study investigates the mechanisms of social identity persistence among Asia Minor refugees in Greece decades after their forced displacement. Renée Hirschon, an anthropologist, utilizes ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the urban quarter of Kokkinia to analyze how a displaced population maintains a distinct cultural identity despite sharing language, religion, and nationality with the host population. The work argues that structural, social, and spatial factors within the urban environment serve to reinforce these boundaries long after the initial migration event.

Scholars in the fields of migration and Mediterranean studies frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the long-term social integration of the Asia Minor refugees. Experts highlight the depth of the ethnographic data and the clarity with which Hirschon articulates the complexities of identity formation in a post-conflict urban setting.