"There was a Turk, a Greek and an American and they went up a very tall
mountain. The American took his shirt off and threw it down. The Turk asked him: 'Why did you throw your shirt down?' And the American told him: 'We have a lot in America.' Then the Turk was jealous and took his watch off and threw it down. The Cypriot [she means the "Greek"] says to the Turk: 'Why did you throw your watch down? It's so nice!' They were all friends. And the Turk said: 'Ouh, we have a lot in Turkey.' Then the Cypriot takes the Turk and throws him down from the cliff and the American says: 'Why did you throw the Turk down the cliff?' And the Cypriot said: 'We have a lot of them in Cyprus.'"
When Elena, a sixth grader, told me this joke she laughed with her heart. It was meant to be a joke, to entertain. But the matter to which it referred was a serious one, for Elena and all the other children I worked with and who at times would tell me jokes like this. The choice of Turks
in the punch line is not accidental of course. It is precisely the reason for it being a joke. The Turks are a well-understood problem for Greek Cypriot children. They are the invaders, the occupiers, the enemy. Therefore, as a group they have a unique position in their imaginations.
This paper describes and analyzes how Greek Cypriot elementary school children perceive, imagine, and talk about Turks as a people. My attempt is to illustrate the process of ethnic identity construction in childhood as it takes shape in contemporary Greek Cypriot society.
SMALL IMAGINATIONS: GREEK CYPRIOT CHILDREN'S CONSTRUCTIONS OF "THE TURK"
Spyros Spyrou
Cyprus College, Nicosia
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cac ... xMUs5bGHAw
