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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| July 14, 2003 |
Rediscovering Cyprus – Presentation - Effie Gavriel |
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| International student from Greek Cyprus, Effie Gavriel, giving a personal account of the Greek/Turkish divide on the island of Cyprus |
The first national of Cyprus to take part in Peace Boat's International Student Programme, Effie Gavriel gave a personal account of the division between Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus to Peace Boat participants in her presentation on "Rediscovering Cyprus". It was only in April this year that she was able to cross the border for the first time and realize that she actually lived on an island. Since the Turkish invasion of 1974, forcing over 142,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their homes in the north, and over 40,000 Turkish Cypriots to flee their homes in the south, there has been almost no contact between the two communities.
When the checkpoints opened in April, many people from both sides of the "Green Line" returned to knock on the doors of the homes they had been driven from 29 years before. On first hearing of the Turkish Cypriot government's plan to open the line, Effie was worried at what might happen when people who have been divided for so long, suddenly meet.
The social and educational systems in both communities teach differing versions of the same history. Effie says that "Greek Cypriots only learn of the Turkish crimes, and Turkish Cypriots only learn of the Greek crimes". She added, "This teaching of the other as just an enemy from an early age creates unnecessary fear" and that many people "still live in the myth of the evil other". |
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| With fellow Cypriots, Sarper Ince and Anna Mishaouli |
Before actually meeting Turkish Cypriots face to face, Effie knew little of what life was actually like the other side of the Green Line. The first time she went to Pila in 2002 - one of just two bi-communal villages in the UN buffer zone where people from both communities can meet - she was shocked at how similar the Greek and Turkish cultures were. The dances and songs that the groups took part in were exactly the same, and when Effie looked at a group of deaf protestors and couldn't tell who was who, she realized how ignorant she had been. She said she "didn't know what differences she expected to see" and that it was tragic that they had so much in common yet lived apart from each other.
By joining an organization called Youth Encounters for Peace (YEP), Effie and other young people from the north and south sides of the border hope to contribute to the reconciliation of the two communities. YEP have formed music, theatre and discussion groups, as well as a dance team called "Steps for Peace". The meetings in the bi-communal village of Pila have helped to break down the stereotypes that existed between the two communities in the past.
Young people, through interaction with their fellow Cypriots on the north or south side of the line, are now able to make up their own minds about the situation without the "false realities" that Effie was raised with. Although the situation is far from a solution, and the authorities are still slow at working for reunification, real progress is being made by the people. Effie looks forward to the day when she can visit her mother's former house in the north without having to carry her passport. |
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