Birkibrisli wrote:Nikitas wrote:"Nikitas its the same for many TCs they do not want to visit their old villages because they want to remember them as they were filled with all their memories and not as they are today, some will not even find their homes as they have been erased off the face of the earth."
Viewpoint wrote the above. Well I went past Peristerona and the Turkish houses there seemed shuttered but untouched. In my ancestral village my relatives tell me that half the houses were demolished, by TCs to prevent them being occupied by settlers from Turkey. I also drove past Mala and Kouklia, and the TC houses there were shut but still standing. In Lefkara I visited people living in houses belonging to TCs and they were kept in original condition, any repairs done must be approved and no one has the right to demolish houses.
Well...As some of you might be aware,I just visited my village in the ROC,Istinjo,in Paphos,after some 40 years...Very little is left standing,as I knew from photos...Mostly by time's cruel hand,and some by other cruel hands I suspect...I am very glad I did go,so that I have no illusion now how difficult the process of reconciliation and rehabilitation of our communities will be...The magical part of my "homecoming" was this: I was accompanied by 3 True Cypriots (One of Armenian,two of GC background) who supported me emotionally all the way..I felt that they felt strongly the pain that I felt seeing my village in ruins,and my family's land beyond my reach..Humanity is alive and well in Cyprus...WE just have to give it a chance to blossom,instead of trying to bury it...WE shall overcome,people...I have no doubt...
I'm happy for you Birkibrisli.
If only I could convince my father-in-law to visit his village as well.
