By Marie Burgar

During a recent visit to Slovenia, I purchased a book titled “Moja nona- aleksandrinka”, published by Mohorjeva družba in Celovec. The story is about the author’s grandmother Marija and how she became her family’s breadwinner by going into service as a nursemaid for a wealthy French family in Alexandria, Egypt in the early 1900s. Peroci writes of Marija’s multiple trips to work in Egypt and the enormous guilt and soul searching she suffered throughout her life until her early passing at age thirty-nine. This is a unique immigration story of brave women who by necessity were forced to leave everything they knew for the unknown.

So who were the Aleksandrinke, a term used by the locals, and also known as Goriciennes, Slaves and Slovenes? Their story begins with the building of the Suez Canal in 1869. What followed after the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean were connected was an explosion of new economic opportunities. Wealthy people from all over Europe arrived in Egypt, to Cairo and Alexandria, along with their wives and children. There quickly became a need for chambermaids, domestic helpers, cooks, dressmakers, nannies, governesses and wet nurses.

At this time, women who lived in the Vipava Valley, the Goriška region, in the western Primorska section of Slovenia were employed by wealthy families in Trieste. They were considered hard-working and loyal, and possessed the traditional Slavic warmth and sunny disposition. Since they grew up in a valley that was extremely poor, with harsh weather conditions, and then later the rise of Fascism- all were accustomed to a hard life. They hoped to escape this poverty and provide some alternative source of income. The men on the other hand were unable to find work in this area, and some chose to find employment in far-off places like Argentina. Most never returned.

The reputation of the Aleksandrinke allowed them to quickly find employment in Egypt. They were paid very well, almost four times more than in Trieste or Vienna. Wet nurses (dojilje) were paid the most. Historians note that from 1870 until 1950, this migration of women from Primorska totalled over 7000. The money that the women earned was sent home by post or through relatives and friends and contributed enormously to this poor, peasant economy. Their earnings were used for their family’s survival for the purchase of more land, property renovation and payment of the high taxes.

The Aleksandrike’s long journey on steamers from Trieste across the Mediterranean quickly found them in a prosperous, cosmopolitan Alexandria. These new arrivals could not dwell on their new surroundings, but had to quickly begin work, learn a new language and absorb new cultural habits. They learned to speak the language of their employers- Greek, English, Arabic or French.

They experienced a huge culture shock in their new country. Back home there was no running water, bathrooms, central heating, street lights or electricity. Even food here was different- bananas, dates, mangoes and sweet potatoes. In this society the man worked and the women remained at home.

Homesickness and loneliness were pervasive in this new environment. Peroci’s grandmother described these struggles in letters home to her husband in Bukovica. The Franciscan School Sisters of Christ the King helped provide a refuge for these new arrivals. They created for them a chapel containing an image from Sveta Gora, a pilgrimage site in Gorizia, and also provided a meeting place for their comfort and support. Here they could enjoy each other’s company and exchange news from home. In 1900, an association was founded called “Slovenska palma ob Nilu”, the Slovenian Palm tree on the Nile. This group provided additional support.

There are many stories about the children of the noble and wealthy families who were raised by the Aleksandrinke. One notable example is Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the sixth Secretary of the United Nations. He was a Coptic Christian from an Egyptian family. He expressed fond memories of his nanny, Milena. She raised him and he considered her his best friend and confidant. It can be noted that in 1991, he oversaw the United Nations in the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Still another Aleksandrinka, Joža Sedmak, from Santa Croce d’Trieste, married an Englishman, Oswald Finney, who was one of the richest men in Egypt. Cotton production was at the center of the economy in Egypt and considered “white gold”. Joža became the “kraljica bombaža”, the queen of cotton.

The Suez crisis in 1956 brought an end to this Slovenian female migration. Some Aleksandrinke raised their own families there and after they left Egypt, they settled in other countries- Italy, Australia, Canada and the United States.

For years, the story of the Aleksandrinke was a shameful topic for some in Slovenia. When the women returned home from their Egyptian employment, many were treated with disapproval and distrust. Some villages became abandoned because the women all left to work in Egypt. Mothers who were employed as wet nurses were burdened with extra guilt because they had to leave their newborns behind with relatives or neighbors. World wars, especially the battle at the Isonzo Front (1915-1917), caused catastrophic damage and casualties to this area. Historians believe that the money sent home from Egypt helped save many lives from starvation and disease.

In the early 21st century there became a sudden interest in the Aleksandrinke phenomenon and their history was rediscovered. The Aleksandrinka story became the subject of documentaries, films, exhibitions, theater performances, academic research, and even part of the school curriculum. A museum was constructed in the village of Privačina that tells their immigration story.

None of the Aleksandrinke are alive today, but their descendants, such as Marija’s grandson Bojan, live throughout the world. The Society for Preserving the Alexandrine Heritage and Culture was established. Organized excursions were made to the homes where their grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived and cemeteries where they were buried. The Slovenian inscriptions on the headstones are a symbolic presence of their existence.