Summary

Icon featuring Lebanese Christian saint, St Charbel, placed in Tansa Eid's taxi, while driving taxis in Melbourne during the 1980s.

Tansa and his brothers Youssef and Romanos hung Christian icons in their taxis for protection. During the 1980s both Tansa and Youssef proudly displayed medallions of Saint Charbel, a Lebanese saint, in their taxis. However the depiction of his long, dark beard provoked passengers to constantly ask why they had a picture of Khomeini, the Iranian leader, in their taxi? They soon removed the medallion and decided to only display western Christian images.

Brothers Youssef, Romanos and Tansa Eid were born in Hadchit, a small Maronite Catholic village in the mountains of northern Lebanon. After receiving a letter from his brother-in-law praising the economic opportunities in Australia, Youssef and his wife Nadimie migrated in 1965 with their three children. He later sponsored Tansa, Romanos and his family. They all planned to stay for a few years and return to Lebanon with enough capital to establish businesses. Instead they settled permanently and established taxi businesses in the early 1970s and experienced the highs and lows of working in the industry. With over 75 combined years of driving taxis, the Eid brothers left the industry in the 1990s and 2000s - weary of the working conditions and fearful of the impact of deregulation.

This is part of a collection of objects, documents and digital photos relating to the migration and working life of Tansa Eid who migrated to Melbourne from Lebanon in the 1960s and worked as a taxi driver along with his brothers Youssef and Romanos (whose collections the museum also holds) from the 1970s-2000s.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
The taxi industry has been a significant employer of migrants since World War II and the experiences of migrant taxi drivers offer valuable insights into working life, industrial relations, and prejudice and racism. The Eid brothers taxi drivers' collection is of particular value as it spans a 35 year time period which witnessed great social and industrial changes - post World War II migration waves, Melbourne as a multicultural city, the taxi industry and balancing working and family life.

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