Farewell to Jo Diday

Farewell to Jo Diday

Another friend has left us!
Jo Diday was the founder of the AJOE: association des juifs originaires d’Egypte.
With his wife Simone they kept us ‘connected’ as is said nowadays.
Other groups followed: the AJE London, the AJE Canada.
It is only when I became civilised i.e. bought a laptop that I discovered this rich network of Jews who had left Egypt. The world was no longer a desert! We corresponded, we met and kept one another informed of what was Egyptian Jewry. A rich culture of peaceful people who remembered their former country.
We all had a story to tell and could do so thanks to the website. I remember when I met Jo he told me the horrendous story of how his father died in transit.
However, we Jews from Egypt are strong and active people. We pushed back our sleeves and fought for our lives. The same story was repeated again and again.
The AJOE organised meetings, conferences, parties to everyone’s satisfaction. In Paris we met, enjoyed ourselves and tasted some Egyptian goodies. We cannot forget that we come from Egypt and the conafa, bassboussa or other delicacies were a real treat.
All good things come to an end, each year one of us goes away and our circle becomes smaller.
Now Jo has gone as well, what a great sadness that is.
We shall remember him.
I thank you Jo for the good work you did keeping us Jews from Egypt in a tight affectionate group.
We also thank your wife Simone who took over most of the job when illness caught up with you.

Suzy Vidal