Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

How has life been for you over the last 34 years, since 1974?

What have been your most notable achievements which give you pride; and conversely, how could things have been better?

[Nikitas]

Events of 1974 forced a radical change of direction from what was the assumed and planned course. Which proved that the best laid plans are the ones to foul up first. Learned to be adaptable in the most fundamental way possible.

Things would have been better? I wonder if being in Famagusta over the last 34 years would have been better or worse, who knows?

[umit07]

Well if it hadn't been for the 20 th of July 74 , Cyprus would officially be part of Greece and TC's would have shared the same fate as the TUrks on all the other islands.

[halil]

Before 74 as a Turkish Cypriot i was living at enclave area . Cyprus was an island but i couldn't go to sea .... most of the people at my age still they don't know how to swim . We have seen the sea after 74 ....Can you imagine

Before 74 we didn't have electric city in our villages but around us was Greek Cypriots villages were with electric .

Our roades were from ground .... no asphalts ....during the winter times it was very difficult to walk in the streets of our villages ....

there was no telephone , no tv , no radio .... we couldn't communicate with world ..... our letters were arriving after 4-5 months late ....


too many things to count ............ thanks to god now ,after 34 years time we all have these things now ... have a look , i can have a chat with you in a seconeds ... we can tell each other our strories , we can share something , we can swear to each other or have a fun .....

for me lots of things improve at my life and my kids are more luck than my child hood ....

i hope soon peace will come as well and they can see their future better than me ....

[Oracle]

My most notable achievement was that I learnt to skipper a boat and use navigation charts, when I have absolutely no sense of direction ...

[Magnus]

I'm in a slightly different situation than some or most of you because I wasn't alive in 1974 and if it hadn't been for the Turkish invasion I wouldn't be alive now. So are people like me a consequence of that detestable act or are we some kind of symbol of the enduring strength of the Greek Cypriots? But let's leave the philosophy for another time, before some idiot turns up to say 'you wouldn't exist if it wasn't for us' and I lose my temper.

Maybe I haven't lost as much as some people who 'were there', but I've seen and felt the misery of so many of those people. I don't want to mention my own family experiences but I can tell you that I've been on the marches and seen mothers and women younger than myself dressed in black and mourning their lost loved ones, holding pictures of their missing sons, husbands, brothers etc, wondering what happened to them. Every time, without fail, regardless of what other difficulties they may have, those women are there.

I've seen those people hold their heads up and carry on while members of the 'great' British public have shouted insults and mockery while their politicians promise those people help and enjoy their friendship but turn a blind eye when the votes have been counted.

I've been ridiculed and had people try to beat me up and humiliate me just for having a 'foreign' name, and I've been told to 'get out of our country'.

I've seen the pain that the memories of those days 34 years ago has brought into families, with some people unable to deal with those events and turning to alcohol, drugs and every other addiction you can think of in some attempt to drown out the past. Families torn apart by the confusion and pain of grief, people trying to live a life in the 'ksenitia' trying to remember what it was like in the old days without remembering how it all fell apart. Even some people who appear living but have a look of utter defeat and despair about them because they really don't have a reason to live since their loved ones were all lost.

Make no mistake my friends, the Turks killed and hurt more people than just those poor souls lost during those days of invasion.

But on the other hand, I've seen people who lost everything start all over again from nothing and make a success of their lives, while those that took everything remain dependant on their masters, and the Republic has gone from strength to strength in the face of adversity, never forgetting the past but moving forwards. A handful of people on half a tiny island now finds itself with a voice in the European Union while the 'TRNC' and mother Turkey look in from the outside.

I feel sorrow for those lost, but I feel pride for those that fought and still stand. I don't know if there will be a solution or what form it will take, but one thing I do know is we aren't going to be the victims again, even if that means saying 'no' again and again and again.

So while our friends in the 'TRNC' have their little parade and airshow, and all the brainwashed pawns wave their Turkish flags, maybe we should spare a few minutes and have a think about those people that were lost and ask ourselves if they died just so we can turn around 34 years later and surrender. I already know my answer to that and I invite you to find your own.

I'm sorry if my post has offended people and I apologise ot Oracle if this isn't the kind of response you wanted in your thread. I am sure that Lana or the Admin will delete it if necessary. You can all make your comments and flame all you want, I really don't care right now.

[Oracle]

Magnus I take delight in expecting the unexpected and I am never offended by replies (just spurred to react in one capacity or other), least of all from someone such as yourself whom I respect and admire for your many fresh and balanced views.

I am conscious this is in General and would like it to remain so, which is why I made my comment after halil's desire to dredge up the past ... pre 1974 unnecessary parallels.

And that is why views such as yours Magnus, are the most sought after.

Halil and I are the old dogs who cannot learn new tricks (although I fight with that assumption daily ).

So say what you will, from whatever viewpoint.

Magnus once again, thanks for a quality post ... which I shall now re-read (accompanied by a box of tissues ....... ).

[halil]

There are two side of the coin always . We must learn to excepts other side story too .........

we all have our Achievements and Disappointments ...........

[kafenes]

Before 74 as a Turkish Cypriot i was living at enclave area . Cyprus was an island but i couldn't go to sea .... most of the people at my age still they don't know how to swim . We have seen the sea after 74 ....Can you imagine

Before 74 we didn't have electric city in our villages but around us was Greek Cypriots villages were with electric .

Our roades were from ground .... no asphalts ....during the winter times it was very difficult to walk in the streets of our villages ....

there was no telephone , no tv , no radio .... we couldn't communicate with world ..... our letters were arriving after 4-5 months late ....


too many things to count ............ thanks to god now ,after 34 years time we all have these things now ... have a look , i can have a chat with you in a seconeds ... we can tell each other our strories , we can share something , we can swear to each other or have a fun .....

for me lots of things improve at my life and my kids are more luck than my child hood ....

i hope soon peace will come as well and they can see their future better than me ....

Utter rubbish, if you lived in some backward village, that was your problem and don't blame anyone else. I went to school in the mid to late 60's and had a lot of TC classmates (American Academy in Larnaca) with whom we spent all day together at the beach and go to the cafes and discos at night. They were allowed to come to the GC side but we weren't allowed to go to the TC side. Can you explain what kind of 'enclave' that was???

[Oracle]

halil ... much as you love your life history and its endless re-telling like many old folk ... the thread is about the last 34 years and not before.

But you managed to get your "side" in as always so be satisfied now forever Turk!

Kafenes is of course now also allowed his due response, as a consequence of this