Cyprus-Forum.com

[GorillaGal]

I've been dipping in and out of this forum for several months and been undecided whether or not to participate.

We love this Island.

We have a house here and are very frequent visitors and are made generally very welcome. We are English. We do not speak Greek, have no tatoos but quite like Keo beer.

We have however been subject to several instances of 'Racism' in Cyprus.
Driving out of a car park in Polis (in a zed car) a gang of youths spat through the open window onto my face. Next day in the same car driving into Polis a 'package' was thrown into the windscreen of the car by a youth.

There is a definite undercurrent of racism and resentment towards the English in Cyprus, which is reflected on this forum.

I do not pretend to understand the history and politics of this lovely island so do you really hate us?

Im afraid I have to dissagree with you. The Cypriots on the whole are very friendly to visitors and more so the English. Im afraid once again I will have to bring my personal experience on to the forum.
My wife is English , we have been together since 1963 .
My sister in law is also English and has been with my older brother since 1962.
Both look 100% English and both DO NOT SPEAK GREEK other than the most colloqualy used words. Both my wife and sister in law have spent considerable , protracted time in Cyprus either on their own or with either my self or my brother.
Not once has either of them brought to our attention an incident involving racism , in their younger days they perhaps attracted a leering look now and again but NEVER have they encountered any anti English sentiments.
My own daughter , half English , arrived in Cyprus some 15 years ago unable to speak Greek , she speaks fluently now , again she never once encountered anti British feelings.
I'm talking from my own experience and that of many of my friends in similar circumstances.
Cyprus is still one of the friendliest and most welcoming places on earth , both the G/Cs and the T/Cs are extremely hospitable people.
Its bad luck that you were in Polis when GR was there too !!!

i tend to disagree with you mitliades. my recnet trip to cyprus, i met ONE nice cypriot. all the rest of the nice people where all expats.
or if they were cypriot, they did most of thier growing up in the UK.
i think new yorkers are a hell of alot friendlier than any cypriot i met.

When did we meet?

we didn't meet. you were behind me the whole time. too chicken to say something i guess?

[webbo]

Hold it....

Before we go back to the original (tiresome ) topic ...

I would jut like to point out that on the preceding page, Bubbles is telling us at 12:45pm that she nearly got put off her cereal; and then at 12:56pm she was off to prepare lunch ...

Maybe "Bubbles" describes her shape ...

I, like you do have a few extra pounds. What should we do about it then O?

I know I was late in posting this morning, but I did have my cereal about 9am, and, even though I went off to prepare lunch early, it was not ready till 2pm. That, apart from a few pieces of 'snack fruit' is all I have eaten today, so I hope that is ok with you. Thanks for your concern about my welfare though!

Bubbles

Less concerned ...... more envious and eager to find excuses to over-consume too!

Still making the lemon cakes huh?



Bubbles

Chocolate Marble Cake on the go at the mo.! .......

With lemon drizzle?

Had breakfast (8am!) and have just prepared a very healthy chicken casserole for dinner
No more cakes and biscuits for me - well till the next time

Bubbles

[roseandchan]

we live in a turkish village in cyprus. since we moved in we have been shown kindness and acceptance. someone is always on hand to help if we need anything. the problem we find is that when we go into the tourist areas. they seem to think you are a meal ticket, because your english. lots of retired brits here this side. they just accept the price and pay, so the shopkeepers think all brits will. we shop in the turkish cypriot areas and don't rearly hang out with the expat community. that way we are always looked after and charged a local price. i can see why some of the cypriots don't like the brits cos lots of the expats do still think they are in england and forget that they are visitors in someone elses country.

[Z4]

we live in a turkish village in cyprus. since we moved in we have been shown kindness and acceptance. someone is always on hand to help if we need anything. the problem we find is that when we go into the tourist areas. they seem to think you are a meal ticket, because your english. lots of retired brits here this side. they just accept the price and pay, so the shopkeepers think all brits will. we shop in the turkish cypriot areas and don't rearly hang out with the expat community. that way we are always looked after and charged a local price. i can see why some of the cypriots don't like the brits cos lots of the expats do still think they are in england and forget that they are visitors in someone elses country.

You live in a place which doesn't belong to the people. You too are not respecting the country you are living in. You are a hypocrite.

[halil]

we live in a turkish village in cyprus. since we moved in we have been shown kindness and acceptance. someone is always on hand to help if we need anything. the problem we find is that when we go into the tourist areas. they seem to think you are a meal ticket, because your english. lots of retired brits here this side. they just accept the price and pay, so the shopkeepers think all brits will. we shop in the turkish cypriot areas and don't rearly hang out with the expat community. that way we are always looked after and charged a local price. i can see why some of the cypriots don't like the brits cos lots of the expats do still think they are in england and forget that they are visitors in someone elses country.

You live in a place which doesn't belong to the people. You too are not respecting the country you are living in. You are a hypocrite.

The place she lives was TC'S village before 74 and still it is . you have no idea about Cyprus or TC's villages .
http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus15282.html

[roseandchan]

well z4, put your money where your mouth is and prove it. how many greek cypriots are from pinarbasi/kirini? why not trying to think before you speak.

[GorillaGal]

we live in a turkish village in cyprus. since we moved in we have been shown kindness and acceptance. someone is always on hand to help if we need anything. the problem we find is that when we go into the tourist areas. they seem to think you are a meal ticket, because your english. lots of retired brits here this side. they just accept the price and pay, so the shopkeepers think all brits will. we shop in the turkish cypriot areas and don't rearly hang out with the expat community. that way we are always looked after and charged a local price. i can see why some of the cypriots don't like the brits cos lots of the expats do still think they are in england and forget that they are visitors in someone elses country.

this is true no matter where you live in the world, if it is not your native country. as an american, i lived in Germany for 3 years. most of the americans were lazy slobs who felt that the germans should learn english, instead of the lazy americans learning the launguage of thier host countries.
and now as an american living in USA--i see how we treat the expats who live here, who are doing the same thing. my country has recently become bi-lingual (spanish speaking) because of the huge population of aliens. it has become a huge resentment between the americans and the latino community.

[Feisty]

Racism does exist everywhere and whilst I have never encountered any in Cyprus I am sure it exists. I have found the attitude of one particular person on here very offensive but there will always be uneducated bigots.

A couple of years ago I dated an American airline pilot. In a lift of a hotel were a very respectable looking Arabic family. The look he gave them made me disgusted to be in his company. I ensured I never was again.

Last week I had an Australian friend (now a former friend) stay with me for a few days. During a conversation he kept referring to 'them and they'. Quite who 'them and they' were I never really found out but I gathered he was referring to 'tanned immigrants'. He was born in the UK, left when he was 6, returned at 9 and left again at 12. 18 months ago at the age of 45 he returned to the UK and has been on the dole ever since. He believes that immigration should be stopped in the UK. He does not of course view himself as an immigrant. He calls immigrants a drain on the economy, the NHS and the education system. He complains that 'they' take jobs when he cannot find one. He refuses to 'telemarket' as objects to being sold to so doesn't agree with doing it, won't work in a call centre, and moans about immigrants working in the job centre where he signs on. He assumes that because they have a foreign accent they weren't born here. He doesn't seem to think he has an Australian accent cobber. He told a story of a middle eastern man working in his local kebab shop. The man is a qualified engineer and has a wife who is a doctor but does not have the necessary qualifications to work here. The man works in the kebab shop because he cannot get work as an engineer. Presumably he pays national insurance and income tax. I asked my ex-friend if he would work in a kebab shop. His immediate response was of course predictable and said "I don't suppose I'd be given a job in a kebab shop." I asked if he'd work in a McDonalds to which he was silent. I then asked who was the drain on the UK economy and he again was silent.

He was also quite vocal on immigrants working here, paying tax and national insurance, scraping by a living and sending their families money. He said it shouldn't be allowed to take money out of the economy. Presumably they are supposed to spend their money on gas guzzling cars, tv's and luxury items and let their families starve. Of course, drawing money from his bank account in Australia to supplement his dole money is ok. At that point I nearly punched him but just gritted my teeth through the rest of his stay.

To the lady who experienced the incidents in Polis it is a sorry episode and maybe an indictment of the lack of respect for other people growing worldwide these days but I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Oracle and others to the lady who is made to feel sick by the thought of her holiday in Cyprus. If it is that bad don't go. Simple.

[GorillaGal]

Racism does exist everywhere and whilst I have never encountered any in Cyprus I am sure it exists. I have found the attitude of one particular person on here very offensive but there will always be uneducated bigots.

A couple of years ago I dated an American airline pilot. In a lift of a hotel were a very respectable looking Arabic family. The look he gave them made me disgusted to be in his company. I ensured I never was again.

Last week I had an Australian friend (now a former friend) stay with me for a few days. During a conversation he kept referring to 'them and they'. Quite who 'them and they' were I never really found out but I gathered he was referring to 'tanned immigrants'. He was born in the UK, left when he was 6, returned at 9 and left again at 12. 18 months ago at the age of 45 he returned to the UK and has been on the dole ever since. He believes that immigration should be stopped in the UK. He does not of course view himself as an immigrant. He calls immigrants a drain on the economy, the NHS and the education system. He complains that 'they' take jobs when he cannot find one. He refuses to 'telemarket' as objects to being sold to so doesn't agree with doing it, won't work in a call centre, and moans about immigrants working in the job centre where he signs on. He assumes that because they have a foreign accent they weren't born here. He doesn't seem to think he has an Australian accent cobber. He told a story of a middle eastern man working in his local kebab shop. The man is a qualified engineer and has a wife who is a doctor but does not have the necessary qualifications to work here. The man works in the kebab shop because he cannot get work as an engineer. Presumably he pays national insurance and income tax. I asked my ex-friend if he would work in a kebab shop. His immediate response was of course predictable and said "I don't suppose I'd be given a job in a kebab shop." I asked if he'd work in a McDonalds to which he was silent. I then asked who was the drain on the UK economy and he again was silent.

He was also quite vocal on immigrants working here, paying tax and national insurance, scraping by a living and sending their families money. He said it shouldn't be allowed to take money out of the economy. Presumably they are supposed to spend their money on gas guzzling cars, tv's and luxury items and let their families starve. Of course, drawing money from his bank account in Australia to supplement his dole money is ok. At that point I nearly punched him but just gritted my teeth through the rest of his stay.

To the lady who experienced the incidents in Polis it is a sorry episode and maybe an indictment of the lack of respect for other people growing worldwide these days but I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Oracle and others to the lady who is made to feel sick by the thought of her holiday in Cyprus. If it is that bad don't go. Simple.

Feisty,
as an american, i am wondering if that attitude your american pilot friend had toward the Arabics was post 9-11? as an american, i must say prior to 9-11, i had very little to worry about, but post 9-11---things changed bringing on a mass hysterica in my county. rightly so, as i see it. here were a bunch of terrorists living amung us, educating theri selves in my home country, and then attacking not only us, but all the other nationalities that were in the Towers that fateful day. and lets not forget the 4 aircraft that crashed that day as well. so have a little understanding on your pilot "friend." his job security was threatened that day, and for the rest of his life. you can't blame him really, although it's not right, it's also pretty understandable.

you may not have seen any racicm in CY, but just read this forum. it's everywhere. and it will never go away. everyone wants to belong to a group, everyone thinks thier group is better than the next. as long as societies remain closed, it's not going to get any better. i am in love with a GC, and i know he loves me. he can't marry me because his parents would not accept me, as i am not cypriot. it's sad, isn't it? both of us know i would make the better wife, but if he marries me, his family will be very upset, and we all know how important that family bond is in a cypriot household.

[JoJo]

GorillaGal, your love's family only need to read the cooments that YOU make on this Forum about the Cypriot people. That in itself would want them th run a mile!