gabaston wrote:Kifeas let me here and now express something to you.
I have an eighteen year old daughter. She has been going out with a greek boy for over a year. His name is Jimmy, he is welcome in my home any and every minute of the day. I would give my blessing to their marriage in the knowledge that they love one another, above and beyond that of any turkish boy coming for broxenya (hope u understood that one).
My business partner and best freind for the last ten years is greek, I love him like a brother.
But in Cyprus there is just too much hate for me to allow myself or my children to return to my land where i in theory can make a load of cash and live like a king in Laranaca.
I hope thats helped you understand my position.
What you probably dont understand is that you've read or been told about the sixties, but i experienced it. If my mothers village were not Kophinou maybe i might not feel this way, But that manyak Grivas poured two thousand greek soldiers or national guard into unarmed Kophinou armed with mortors, armoured vehicles, handgrenades, machine guns, blasted the place to bits, killed 22, and then poured petrol evrywhere.................
sorry, you've been told one thing, i actually know what the sixties were, and im not gambling my kids or my life on even the remotest, slightest, one in a million chance of that ever happening again.
And you talk of Akritas2
gromi re
Dear Mr. Gabaston,
I am well aware of the events in Kofinou village and you are right in the way you described them. On a hill overlooking the main road between Pafos and Limassol, some TCs had set a machinegun firing post and they were occasionally and randomly firing towards passing by cars, especially if they were police or army vehicles, but also towards civilian cars as well. Grivas took a disproportionately larger than necessary force, in order to neutralise the TC firing post (at least this was the excuse given so that the mission was ordered.) However the attack did not end there and unfortunately there were unreasonable and unnecessary killings and mistreatment of TC civilians, in Kofinou and Ayios Theodoros villages.
Anyway, based on what you said, you
do not want to see a solution that will bring the two communities in close contact and coexistence,
because,
although we are now more than 40 years after the inter-communal conflict,
although Grivas and his likes are now dead and buried,
although the Enosis dream has for a long time now been equally dead and buried,
although Cyprus now is an E.U. member,
although GCs are now enjoying one of the highest economic prosperities in the Middle East and not only we have no intention loosing it but we also hope that TCs will soon, with a solution, be able to reach that level too,
although almost half of GCs below the age of 40 are now university graduates –one of the highest ratios world wide,
although south Cyprus receives nearly 3 million tourists a year –making it probably the highest ratio worldwide in comparison to its population,
although almost every single GC takes at least one holiday abroad every year,
although there are so many other small communities like British, Russians, Asians, etc, living happily and peacefully among them,
although for 2 years now so many TCs are crossing daily into south for work and other services, without anyone having so far been heart,
although you yourself has business and even family relationships with GCs,
although …., and
although…, you are
still afraid that in the year 2005, some TCs will
again set up a machinegun post in some new Kofinou village and that a
new Grivas with 2,000 GCs will
again attack them and commit similar atrocities like then.
I would like to thank you for the very high regard you have for the GCs. I am sorry but I am not in the business of proving that me or the rest of the GCs are
not elephants. If you sincerely feel they way in which you have been expressed, then I see no solution
other than permanent partition.
What do you think?
