Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

I wrote that! Where?

Gasbag was accusing you, further above, of calling her/his/its friends 'liars' and I corrected her/him. (As has DT. now). Don't worry, gasbag just misquotes to get more attention.

[Nikitas]

"Land and heritage is never forgotten. "

Absolutely true Wyoming. A friend from Famagusta who is now a doctor in Greece was asked one night what he would do if he ever won the lotto.

"I am going to buy a village" he said. Why would he do that? "So when you bastards go to your village at Easter I will have a place to go too". It is telling that all the mainlanders in the group laughed, all the Cypriots remained silent.

[Nikitas]

Re land and heritage. Note how TCs on the forum, like Deniz, Birkibrisli, YFred, to mention a few, also show an attachment to their native villages. It is understandable that it is hard to be shoved into the Kyrenia district or Karpasia and feel happy about it when you grew up in Paphos or Limassol.

[cymart]

Part of the problem is that our generation who remembered the north before 1974 is being rapidly super-ceded by people who did not,as well as non refugees on both sides.Effectively we are a minority and the number of people who would want to return even if there is a solution is becoming less all the time.The most practical way to deal with this is for the authorities on both sides to make a catalogue of everyone and ask them whether they would like to return to the areas which will remain under the adminstration of the other side or prefer to receive compensation.For G.C's from territory which is returned to the Greek-Cypriots it will be up to them to decide if they want to sell it or not.
Varosha is a special case because it is not inhabited,although there is also the question of whether everyone-or their descendants would go back after so long?
Concerning my father-in-laws family home in Karpasia it has been inhabited by the same mainland family since his parents left in 1976 when most of the enclaved were co-erced into going to the south.(they came to London where they both eventually died).All of their children now live abroad in the U.K. Canada,U.S.South Africa etc. and their children would not come back either so compensation is the answer for them too...
in fact,my wifes grandmother even said before she died that she was glad that her house was still being used as a home by somebody who enjoyed living there,rather than falling into ruin-the family now there have also had their own children in the place,just as she did in the olden times!Whether they would agree to leave and return to Turkey nowadays is debatable-until 2004 they often said they would if they were given some money,but since then they have made improvements and extensions and of course,their children see it as their home....
The passage of time changes many things,for better or worse!

[Nikitas]

CYmart,

What about thinking out of the box and asking the question in reverse? How many of us would pay good money to regain our ancestral lands? Now that is an acid test.

I am speculating that a a surprising number of GCs would actually pay money to regain their lands. How many settlers would be willing to outbid us? COnsidering the rate at which GC land in the north is being sold to foreigners there is not that much of an attachment to the land, more to the money that can be made from it.

As for Famagusta, I think most people would return. This would cause a slump in property values elsewhere naturaly and some people would not like it- well f***k 'em. They had a good 36 year run from their "developments", it is time to hitch the donkey again.

[cymart]

That last paragraph reflects the reality of Cyprus today and some of those people you mention are very well connected and influential here!For example a certain firm from Paphos is about to embark on a major project in Limassol with a large amount of backing from abroad,especially dodgy Russians!This phenomena did not start now but was apparent even when I came back here in 1979:Limassol, was booming and the government and most of the cabinet at that time was composed of people with major interests on this side.To understand the reality nowadays you have to live here and experience what is basically a consumerist society culture where everyone is out for themselves and there are no ideals or visions of the future any more,except of finding ways to make more and more money!Of course things have started to go wrong now with the recession and the feeling of general discontent is rising as more and more people get fed-up with the economic situation.Paphos is probably worst affected and of course they expect the government to bail them out by starting costly major projects such as the Polis road which will ruin the environment in what is one of the last unspoiled areas in this side of the island and is totally unnecessary on the scale it has been planned....but here in Cyprus where lunacy prevails you can expect anything!
Meanwhile,people like ourselves still dream about how we might return to Famagusta!

[humanist]

The bottom line is that Cypriots who moved because of the war on either side of the divide have the right to their properties. I do believe that in a case of settlement a lot of ppl will move back to the currently occupied areas. Why would a child of a refugee spend thousands of $$$ buying land in the free areas when they can just have a block of land on the other side for free lol. The way communities are formed where neighbours stay away from each other why would it matter if you have a turk, a greek, a russian, a briton living next door to you. simple economics will drive it that way.

if you ask me more ppl should go to the ECHR to get right to actually move back, into their homes under the current regime. Sooner or later they will exceed the Turkish speakers in the north and they can ask for rights and create their own country ... lets see how far this farce that the UN has supported for so many years will last.

[Nikitas]

Andrea,

I have my sources and my information is that lots of plots have been purchased in the north by corporations of unknown shareholding. Under EU rules it is not permitted to ask for shareholder ID. You would be surprised how many acres in the north are indirectly owned by GCs.

[humanist]

well I hope they all move right back. But the question is whose land are they purchasing lol

I cannot help thinking that our friends in the north have been stooged big time and the best thing they can do is return to the RoC under the 1960 Constitution

[Viewpoint]

The bottom line is that Cypriots who moved because of the war on either side of the divide have the right to their properties. I do believe that in a case of settlement a lot of ppl will move back to the currently occupied areas. Why would a child of a refugee spend thousands of $$$ buying land in the free areas when they can just have a block of land on the other side for free lol. The way communities are formed where neighbours stay away from each other why would it matter if you have a turk, a greek, a russian, a briton living next door to you. simple economics will drive it that way.

if you ask me more ppl should go to the ECHR to get right to actually move back, into their homes under the current regime. Sooner or later they will exceed the Turkish speakers in the north and they can ask for rights and create their own country ... lets see how far this farce that the UN has supported for so many years will last.

Are you aware they have to now go via the IPC?