Pyrpolizer wrote:I did not have any direct experience of how that period affected the TCs, and as I said in other topics the average GC had absolutely no idea. All we were hearing was for "troubles" here and there.
I learned the details many years later after studying various sources from the internet. From what I learned the death toll was higher among the TC people than that among GC people however those numbers were so small, that equal the number of dead people we have today at road accidents over an 11 year period...(I did that calculation last year when omeone said the TCs were been killed from 1963-1974 -11 years that is). Anyway that death toll seemed to fit well with what the GCs were hearng about "troubles" given the fact they also had their own death toll. Yet the Tcs still insist to call that a "massacre".
In any case the TCs come with so strong feelings about that period (not only in this forum but in real life as well), that made me question myself as to why? I asked myself whether they suffer some sort of massive hysteria/paranoia, or whether they were brainwashed to beleive what they beleive, or whether they were trained to lie as much as poossible as part of their national goal.I then thought that such questions don't stand to logic. So I had no other logical option than take it for granted that those feelings were genuine.
Even so however I still had problems explaining the reasons. I 've put a lot of thought on that and I concluded some things which I am not sure how valid they are:
My personal opinion is that it has mostly to do with losing the feeling of securirty in their own homes. As many TCs said "It was like going to bed and night and not knowing if you will wake up alive in the morning". Even a 1 per thousand possibility of that happening is enough for every parent parent to have enourmous stress, and unbearable load for the safety of the family.It is enough for every child to be afraid go for sleep at night or have nightmares when it does..
Then I figured this feeling went on for to long, for some TCs is was for a few months after 1963, for others for a few years from 1963 to 1967 and for others all the way from 1963 to 1974.
We all know the majority of Tcs got concentrated in some ghetto type areas called enclaves. This separation together with the resentment caused by those "troubles" between the two communities made the TCs very vulnerable to any sort of injustice coming from those who were the majority, the GCs i.e.
So an extra feature got added to the total insecurity feeling: that of injustice.
Please comment and or add your thoughts.Contribution mainly required from TCs. Please concentrate to the question of the topic.
This is such an important topic, and is the reason that I signed up to this forum is to reply to you. Firstly well done for posting it, and I think a similar one should be done for GC to tell us what they endured as well, as I think both sides have tried to cover up the sins of their past (and dont want their own people to know what they did)... both sides have at least some blood on their hands
Ok let me start by saying that I was born after 1974 so i have no direct experience. I have spoken to a lot of TCs and they have told me a lot of things but I will leave them out of this post as well.
I will only concentrate on what my father and my grandfather have told me because I know that what they say is a 100% accurate and have come through their personnel experiences rather then hearsay.
Ok my fathers family came from a town near pathos they all speak and write Greek as well as Turkish they grew up with Greek friends shared meals celebrations even intermarried.
From 1963 to 1968 (when they left Cyprus) two things happened to my family that shook them to the core and turned their world upside down.
The first thing was the kidnap and murder of six of my Dads cousins on the way to their work (we still have not found their bodies). The second thing was on a bus journey my Granddad who must of been in his, or close to his sixties at the time was marched off the bus at gun point and was going to be shoot. Some of people that were doing this knew him, I cant say they were friends of the family but they defiantly knew our family - he was only saved by the plea of a solitary greek woman on the bus who pleaded for them to stop (bless her - I dont who she is or if she is still alive but if I ever get the chance I would like to love to meet and thank her).
Because of this in 1968 when they had the chance to leave for london they did for theier safety. Leaving behind approximately 50 donums of land.
So this is a family (my family) that fully intergrated in the way of a singular Cypriot community, they had was no secrete plan for Taksim no involvement in the TMT they lived in and loved Cyprus but they had to endure great losses at the hands of the people they knew and thought were friends and country men.
You quite rightly bring up the subject of insecurity and yes there was lot of insecurity but on top of this there is another huge factor that you miss out.
And that is of BETRAYAL.
TC were betrayed by the people that they saw as brothers, those that had come to eat in their houses, to play with their children to join them in celebrations etc etc.
These were the people that (and this was proved with happened to my granddad on the buss), were ready and willing to kill them.
But the betrayal does not stop their because not only were GC that they knew all of a sudden turning on them but the government itself and its President - the one that was supposed to represent us as well - was calling us the enemy, threatening to wipe us off the map (i can get you the quotes if you want).
Then there is the police force that to my knowledge (and if I am wrong please correct me and show me the relevant details) from 1963 - 1974 did not arrest and prosecute one eoka member- they were supposed to be our police force as well why were they not protecting us?
So yes scared and betrayed we went to enclaves and protected ourselves with the help of the TMT and Turkey. And what happens the government of Cyprus (supposedly our government as well) bans baby milk (amongst a whole heap of other things) from reaching Turkish Cypriot enclaves- BABY MILK, can the message be made any clearer?
So on to Today the world has changed no? ROC cyprus wants us back, wants us to become citizens again....
That is the picture that is being painted... but if you look closer you will see that we are still being descriminated against...
-Where are the criminal cases against those that killed our people?
-Why do we have to spend 6 months in a country that is NOW foreign to us to claim our land (this is against human rights)?
-Why do you encourage the embargo on our people in the North of Cyprus? ( i know the answer to this - but it does not make it right)
- Where are our missing people?
- why dont you teach your people more of what was done to the TCs - then they will be more open to reconciliation?
- why do you not come down hard on racism on Turks (graffitti- army t-shirt saying the only good turk is a dead turk- in football games and the recent student march - how many arrests were there?
- there is much more.... but I will stop
Yes I know that these questions can be put to the TRNC as well but the ROC is supposed to represent us as well as the GC (even now according to them) - if this is the case why are they still not working for us as well?
:lol::lol:
