Cyprus-Forum.com

[askimwos]

GCs do not hate Greece, "hate" is a very strong word to use anyway. I would say the majority of GCs have given up hoping that Greece can do anything about the Cyprus problem. The GC community and RoC have long gone their own way and consider Greece just to be an ally and not a country that has a say regarding ts interior and foreign affairs and policies. The RoC may inform Greece and discuss with the Greek government issues that may affect them but that's it - decisions are taken in Nicosia. Any attempt of intervention on Cyprus interior or exterior affairs by Greece will not be tolerated by GCs.

As for whether GCs dislike Greece I would say that this is valid for around 30% of the GCs, there is a 20% that perceive themselves first Greek and then Cypriots and another 50% that perceive themselves Cypriots first but of greek decent - but beware GCs don't dislike Greece as a country or its people, they dislike its policies with regards to the Cyprus problem and at the same time perceive Greece (at least the junta of 1974) guilty for the sell-out of Cyprus to the CIA and Turkey. Don't forget that Greece was one of the countries that benefited from the cyp prob , though indirectly, as democracy returned to greece due to the plight that the junta caused to the Cypriot people.

Personally I perceive my self Cypriot, and I merely care about my "national" decent in the same way as a Canadian does not care about his. A Canadian call himself a Canadian and that's it. Language and religion (btw I am an atheist) do not define nationality. If they did then the whole latin america would call themeslves either spanish or portugese.

[Sotos]

askimwos I think you are not very accurate. Most Cypriots feel first Cypriots and then Greeks in the way that Cretans feel first Cretans and then Greeks. Most Greek Cypriots don't feel any less Greek than any other Greek. Just remember what happened in Cyprus when Greece won the Euro and you will understand what I mean I agree that the days that Cypriots hoped that Greece will be much help are over. Still Greece is our closest ally and the country that supports Cyprus most than any other. And thats why we also support Greece like no other country What happened in 74 is not the fault of the Greek people. The junta took the power by force. The Greeks didn't elect them and they didn't approve their actions. Those dictators were jailed!

[askimwos]

Hmm after reading Humanist's post I guess my real question is are you Greek Cypriots proud of your Greek heritage? And do you Greek Cypriots also consider youselves Greeks aswell? From the Greek Cypriots I know personally all of them are proud of their Greek heritage and consider themselves Greeks aswell as Cypriots but I just want to hear your thoughts.

What do you mean? If GCs are proud about the ancient Greek civilisation? Why be proud about something that happend thousand of years ago? I admire the ancient greek civilisation as I admire the Egyptian, the Mayia, the Roman civilisations. What does this have to do with whether one perceives himself/herself Greek or not? I like Greece as a country and I consider it one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I also like the greek everyday people in the same way that I like the Turkish everyday people or the Italian everyday people. Does this makes me a Greek or a Turk or an Italian?

There is one thing that I dislike however about some Greek people - this is the look of their face when they are told by a GC that he/she perceives himself a Cypriot with some links to Greece (language, religion) and not a Greek.

[Sotos]

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=31099 is another Eurobarometer study in the news today and again the results from Greece and Cyprus are very similar. I saw many such polls and almost always Greeks and Cypriots answer these polls in the same way. So the association is natural.

[humanist]

Venizelist, my heritage is cypriot. I was born in Cyprus my parents were born in cyprus my grandparents and great grandparents were born in cyprus and their also were all brorn. I am a cypriot, at what point do we stop chasing "our" so called heritage. I am not Greek I happened to be born in Cyprus where there are two main languages Greek and turkish. If you take offence to what I amsaying that is entirely your problem by wanting to box me into something that I am not.

Australians, are Australian regardless of their great granparents getting off the boat as convicts, my Cypriotness goes back to more than 6 generations of Cypriot born people. I think I qualify as Cypriot

I am also staunch about this because I want the Cyprus problem to end and I want to live in a cyprus that Cypriots live without getting into this ancient identification crap, turkish vs greek etc. It was this strong identification that got cyprus in the first place, so as an educated man whose background or at least 6 generations were born in cyprus, i feel that I am grown up enough to have my own identity as cypriot. I am proud to be a Cypriot who speaks greek and english and one day soon hope turkish also, I am proud of the helenic civilization and all the great philosophers that had come out of greece and the legacies they left behind. I am thank ful that I have that knowledge to access and to this end I value what they have taught us. I no longer wish to parttake in aworld of divide and conquer that is enough.

These are my beliefs and strictly my thoughts, if you or others disagree and wish to label it as something that is entirely your prorocative. I am choosing to be cypriot.

In my life I have met good greek people and not so good greek people, nice turkish people and not so nice turkish people, nice turkish speaking/ greek speaking cyriots and not so nice, and now I have found myself and I do not need to identify with any ethnic group, heritage or not.

[Sotos]

There is one thing that I dislike however about some Greek people - this is the look of their face when they are told by a GC that he/she perceives himself a Cypriot with some links to Greece (language, religion) and not a Greek.

So you think a Cretan is more Greek than a Cypriot? We have a separate country in Cyprus but this is due to the political games of those that have the power and not what GCs wanted. If it was up to GCs then Cyprus would be just like Crete or Rhodos. Don't confuse things with citizenship. For example some English can get the Cypriot citizenship and he will be Cypriot in that sense but he will not stop to be English would he?

[askimwos]

askimwos I think you are not very accurate. Most Cypriots feel first Cypriots and then Greeks in the way that Cretans feel first Cretans and then Greeks. Most Greek Cypriots don't feel any less Greek than any other Greek. Just remember what happened in Cyprus when Greece won the Euro and you will understand what I mean I agree that the days that Cypriots hoped that Greece will be much help are over. Still Greece is our closest ally and the country that supports Cyprus most than any other. And thats why we also support Greece like no other country What happened in 74 is not the fault of the Greek people. The junta took the power by force. The Greeks didn't elect them and they didn't approve their actions. Those dictators were jailed!

I do not see where you see the inaccuracies in my post. What I said is that:
30% perceive themselves Cypriots and only Cypriots
20% as Greeks and only Greeks
50% that perceive themselves Cypriots first but of Greek decent

My maths say that 70% of the GCs perceive themselves as either Greek or Cypriots of Greek decent - the last time I checked 70% makes a majority, don't get agitated. But a mere minority of 20% perceive themselves first as Greek.

As for the Cretans my friend this is bulshit. The Cretans perceive themselves Greeks of Cretan decent and not the other way around. As for what happened in Cyprus when Greece won the Euro I don't think that the 70% of the population were out in the streets. The question to ask in order to get the real answer is if Cyprus played Greece, which country would the GCs be supporting? I think the answer is obvious.

[askimwos]

There is one thing that I dislike however about some Greek people - this is the look of their face when they are told by a GC that he/she perceives himself a Cypriot with some links to Greece (language, religion) and not a Greek.

So you think a Cretan is more Greek than a Cypriot? We have a separate country in Cyprus but this is due to the political games of those that have the power and not what GCs wanted. If it was up to GCs then Cyprus would be just like Crete or Rhodos. Don't confuse things with citizenship. For example some English can get the Cypriot citizenship and he will be Cypriot in that sense but he will not stop to be English would he?

I have analysed what the GCs perceive themselves to be. Please stop using the Cretans as an example, I have already explain that these are two disimilar things.
Here is another question for you nationalist people - how many GCs do you think will accept to become a greek district as Crete is today and be governed by Athens? Now ask yourself how many Cretans want to split from Greece and become an independent country.

[joanna]

Ive never been to greece but hope to do so very soon, planning this summer. I am GC, and i like everytihng and am proud of greek history and the fact that we are Greeks. There are many people who hang greek flags out of their houses on national days, and my husband for one, used to have a greek flag draped over our babies cot when he was born, a bit fanatical i know but what can you do.

[Sotos]

I am not Greek I happened to be born in Cyprus

My father was born in Cyprus when Cyprus was a British colony. Therefore my father is British? Stop confusing politics and the borders that the big powers draw on the map with the people!!