Hello to all you seasoned members, Im new here so please be gentle with me. I like to share my recent experience with you on my travels to Cyprus. I found this experience humiliating and have since had a change of heart for "reunification".
I flew into Larnaca with my English wife. we had our 2 weeks holidays in Kyrenia. During the 2 weeks we crossed over the border 3 times with TC friends and enjoyed some GC food and hospitality. The people we went out with are keen on reunification.
Btw, I should mention at this stage that we visit Cyprus once every couple of years and we normally fly into Ercan. I have tried to be as impartial as possible in explaining to my wife the problems of Cyprus. I also made it clear to her that my wish for the island was for Greeks and Turks to live side by side in peace and harmony.
Anyways, we had our 2 weeks holiday and checked in at Larnaca for our flight back, the check in and security was uneventful. It turned ugly when we went through police/passport control. We were in a line of about 8-10 people. each time the next person/s went and showed their passports the officer sitting in the kiosk would smile and ask if everything was OK and if they enjoyed their stay in Cyprus, he would then wish them a good flight, He genuinely looked like a nice man. However, when I handed our 2 passports he looked at both the pictures and the names and just banged them hard on the wooden surface in front him and turned to the next couple behind us with a smile and "how are you, you enjoy Cyprus?", I'm sure he did this to rub salt into our wound. Let me point out that if he didn't ask if we were OK or not or if we enjoyed Cyprus or not I wouldn't care, he doesn't have to be pleasant, he just needs to be professional. It is the loud way he close the passports and banged them on the desk that had a huge message for me and my wife. That message was clearly, "I don't like you, in fact I hate you, now get out my site"
As I took the passports I saw and heard a side of my wife (English first name but typical Turkish surname) I never before. She shouted at me " and you're telling me you're going to reunite with this people and live happily ever after?" The Greek officer and the others in the line could also hear this and they exchanged uncomfortable looks.
As we sat down recovering from this humiliation she further commented that we will never ever fly into the south again and we will never visit Greek restaurants again, and worst of all I'm never to mention "reunification" again.
An airport is the shop window of any country, this man was clearly a Turk hater, if the Gcs are negotiating for a united Cyprus then why have a racist Turk hater like him on duty? I had never met this man before, I was not rude to him, was he right to treat me like this because of my Turkish name? More important, was he right to be rude to a lady who just happens to carry a Turkish surname? If we ever unite what are the chances of me and my wife getting this treatment repeatedly?
Whats the point of reuniting when clearly we dont like each other, even hate each other?