Cyprus-Forum.com

[stuballstu]

This may seem a silly question, however is Turkish, which is an official language of the ROC, taught in Greek Cypriot schools?

I for one beleive that is essential for all kids to be taught both Greek and Turkish on both sides of the "green line"

[cypezokyli]

recently, turkish has become it is an elective in (i think in the last years of ) high school.

in the north, a private school tried to introduce greek in junior school. from what we read in the south, the above action sparked some discussions in the north. i dont have more info on what happened in the end.... (i opened a thread about it, but people were not that excited about the topic )

[zan]

Cyp Wrote

this is the (usual) pessimistic perspective.
which of cource hides some truths in it.

Cyp I am trying to get a discussion going here. If I was to write a couple of pages on just what I think then you guys' will have nothing to say.

My pessimism is because I cannot walk into a fire with optimism unless I am wearing a protective suit. These discussions are the protective suit to maybe protect and prepare us.

By the way, I think we might all be coming at this from different directions. My scenario is full integration, where all the GCs return to their homes and there is no north or south.

I think you are simplifying this whole thing by making it a case of just being able to speak Greek or not. What about the bad feelings, the inferiority complex, the superiority complex, the, they’ve come to take our jobs and so on…….


I agree that capitalism will sort most of these problems out but what happens at the very beginning. What safe guards have to be put in place to avoid conflict and possible riots. What can we do to prevent mistrust esculating.


We seem to be quite happy to play the politician but not the social worker. If a politician you must be then take time to examine all the offices not just the prime ministerial slot.

[andri_cy]

Zan I think you are taking the most pessimistic approach in which all the bad in the world is going to happen to TCs. They will be second class citizens etc. I don't believe that is true and I do not believe that the little people really have time for this crap. You also say most TCs wont get any good jobs? Well whoopty doo. Unless you know someone who is someone being a GC doesn't help you in that either so I find us to be pretty equal. Maybe we are young and we don't know what's going on like you said. I am not too young to remember stories coming from my family about their TC neighbors and friends. If they could do it, we can do it. You do not want to get compensation but then you are worried about the rent and a home. I have to tell you that sometimes what you least want is what you most need. How do you think the refugees made it in 1974? Someone had to help them as they had just lost everything, they left everything behind. Is that not in its basis what the TCs would be left with if there was a solution? Aren't there claims anyway that TC were big land owners? They would be getting their land back too so no worries. I think you are trying to present issues in a bigger scale than there would be. Will there be problems? Yes, of course. Are you exaggerating it a bit? I believe so.

[zan]

OK! Lets try it this way. I have been working with the “Little people “ here in the UK for the last 30 years and I have to say I know them pretty well. This is not in the work place or meeting them in the streets but in their homes. When they are at home you are privy to almost every thing about them. They even sometimes forget you are there and carry on arguing and discussing things that they should not. I see the real person that is sometimes filthy and sometimes neurotically clean. I see if they really care about their children’s education or they are more worried about their dog. They, sometimes even talk to me about their political or racial beliefs. I have met more races of people than I can possibly count with out leaving the country.

Greek Cypriots like to talk. Turkish Cypriots like to watch. Nigerians sleep all day. Pakistanis sit on your shoulder. Indians keep out of the way but offer you all the tea and food you can handle. Jamaicans use such small light bulbs that you cannot see a thing. Africans have at least ten chest freezers. Chinese have the greasiest kitchens. The older generation English is normally quite nice. The younger generation is hopeless. Recently we have the eastern Europeans that are so much more intelligent than the people around them that you feel sorry for them. There are more but I can’t think of them at the moment.

The one factor I have found that ties these people together is they are all racist. They are pleasant to each other when they meat on the balcony or in the streets but as soon as that person has gone it’s business as usual. When your parents tell you about how well they got on with their neighbours, be a bit pessimistic and inquisitive and ask how many times they went out with them to restaurants or days out. Ask how many mixed wedding ceremonies they attended together. Ask what trades the TCs did and what the GCs did. I am sure there are some that did on a small scale but get a real feel of what the majority lived like. It was probably pleasant on the balcony and in the streets but what was the reality. It is the “little people” that have the time to sit around and read the newspapers and over react to situations presented to them. It is the so called educated people that are trusted to feed it to them.

[cypezokyli]

i cannot claim that what you say is wrong, since i have actually no clue about it.
but with so much racism around, how does the system manages to function ?
and if it does, how well does it function ?

and another question. assuming that on the surface we have an illussion of everything- goes- well-multicultaralism , but underneath its full of small groups racism, would you say that you see a danger in that thing at some point exploding into sth bad ? (the same way for example you would expect it to explode in cyprus ? )

[cypezokyli]

on the topic at hand, the biggest danger imo would come from interest groups whose competitor would be someone of the "other side". this is indeed dangerous, and we have already seen it happening in a couple of cases, where out of the fear of competition (and loosing money) , the whole topic has become patriotic.

economic interests hidden behind patriotic slogans can for sure affect the small people - without them knowing the real reasons. this would be the biggest challange imo.

[zan]

i cannot claim that what you say is wrong, since i have actually no clue about it.
but with so much racism around, how does the system manages to function ?
and if it does, how well does it function ?

and another question. assuming that on the surface we have an illussion of everything- goes- well-multicultaralism , but underneath its full of small groups racism, would you say that you see a danger in that thing at some point exploding into sth bad ? (the same way for example you would expect it to explode in cyprus ? )

The system functions in the UK because all the factions are immigrants and have no real claim to the land. They can only effect it on a political level. It also functions because these factions basically look after themselves. GCs and TCs shop and live in one area and Jamaicans in another. There are enclaves all over the place and all the English that can afford to move do. If you want to find real England, you have to go to the countryside or to the coast.

There have been quite a few riots through out the country that have been racially motivated and journalists and some politicians are saying that much bigger ones are possible because of the Islam conflict.

I have seen people being turned down for jobs because of their colour. I had a man working for me from St Lucia who was refused entry by a white family and I had to go and finish the job. On another job A woman asked if I wanted tea and deliberately ignored him. I was livid but he said it was part of every day life for him and for me not to worry about it.

The English people that I actually work with regularly quote to me the latest immigrant that is being reported to be abusing the system and is taking away their jobs. I have noticed a big growth in racist comments from the “whites” in this country lately and it is beginning to worry me. I think they have really had enough.

[Piratis]

Zan, if the Turks didn't like multiculturalism they should have thought of it before they came to Cyprus in the first place. It was not us that choose to live with you, but the opposite.

Maybe a multi-culture society can have some problems but we will deal with them in the way they are dealt in all other countries.

As you understand ethnically cleansing all other cultures so you can go from multi-culture to uni-culture because that suits you better is neither a solution nor your right.

However, for the sake of argument, since you advocate and you are trying to promote partition in all ways possible, would you accept partition if the 18% of TCs were to keep the 18% of land and 18% of coast line?
Personally I am convinced that the the main reason by far that most TCs want partition is that with that they can gain a lot of land on our loss. All the rest are only cheap excuses.

[zan]

Zan, if the Turks didn't like multiculturalism they should have thought of it before they came to Cyprus in the first place. It was not us that choose to live with you, but the opposite.

Maybe a multi-culture society can have some problems but we will deal with them in the way they are dealt in all other countries.

As you understand ethnically cleansing all other cultures so you can go from multi-culture to uni-culture because that suits you better is neither a solution nor your right.

However, for the sake of argument, since you advocate and you are trying to promote partition in all ways possible, would you accept partition if the 18% of TCs were to keep the 18% of land and 18% of coast line?
Personally I am convinced that the the main reason by far that most TCs want partition is that with that they can gain a lot of land on our loss. All the rest are only cheap excuses.

I didn't say I did not like multi culturism. What we adults are trying to discuss are the problems that are inherent in such cases and how they are exacerbated by the tensions in the Cyprus Problem. What we are trying to avoid is a head on crash and whether it is right to integrate at this moment in time. We are trying to make sense of the whole affair and to find out whether the dictatorial and Hitlerite way you want to do this, is the correct way.


You have made over 5000 posts and you still talk rubbish. Now shhhh while the grown ups talk.