Cyprus-Forum.com

[BirKibrisli]

I said it elsewhere,dear humanist,but will say it again here.I am terribly sorry about your family's tragedy,and wish you all divine solace and courage in your hour of grief.

Natty,
This is one of my pet topics.I've been harping on for the need of empathy if a just and peaceful solution is to be found.I am totally bewildered by the lack of empathy let alone sympathy for each other.We are sooo ready to blame the other for all the evil which happened in Cyprus,yet we all must know that it takes two(at least) to start a fight.
There will be no solution while we hide and deny crimes against humanity,protect criminals and murderers from their dastardly acts,while we refuse to put ourselves in the others shoes and see how it feels.
I often lose hope, and despair that for some history was, is, and will always remain an unchangable tyrant,ready with its poison to silence any act of humanity towards each other.
A just solution can only come from the people.After we refuse to bow to the deadly tunes of our recent history,or the more poisonous impact of our more distant history.Politicians,or those who pretend to be our leaders,cannot solve this problem,because they are locked into a fight of political wills and global interests,where people are only pawns to be played at will.We have only one hope.For people to realise they have been fighting against their brothers,sisters,cousins,whathaveyou,and have been taken for suckers for too long at terrible pain and suffering at individual and community level.People have to rise up and say enough,this country is ours,we want to be the masters of it,and the hell with everybody else's interests.For that they need to empathise and sympathise with each other,and do it fast,because time is fast running out...

[Natty]

Hi humanist and Birkibrisli, It's late so I'm not going to write too much, but what I want to say is, I, like yourselves believe that I can sympathise on some scale with the suffering felt in Cyprus, and not just amongst my own community. When I, for example, read about what happened in Tochni, and other villages, I felt a mixture of sickness and a deep sense of shame. I could not believe that anyone could do such a thing...I know that people call it a revenge attack, but I don't care what it's called it's still despicable, and cowardly, and the people who committed these crimes should be caught and tried and sent to jail for what they did, and I feel very strongly about that...

But when I talk about being able to sympathise/empathise/understand how the 'other' community felt I don't just mean the suffering that was felt, I also mean we should be able to understand, for example, the past political aspirations either community had when it came to Cyprus, and past thoughts and actions as well. I'm going to use this idea of enosis again as an example, Can, say, the Turkish Cypriot community empathise/sympathise on some scale, with the Greek Cypriot call for enosis? Can they understand why the majority of Greek Cypriots wanted it? And can the Greek Cypriot community understand why the Turkish Cypriot community did not, and why they felt threatened during this period? And can the Greek Cypriot community understand why many Turkish Cypriots still feel threatened today? And can we each understand each others past and present doubts and fears?etc..

I think that at least if people try to empathise/sypathise/understand (Whatever word you want to use..) how we all felt and also the suffering we endured it would help to bring us closer together...

And one more thing on trying to sypmathise and empathise with the suffering both communities have gone through in Cyprus, I think it would be great if we were able to talk about this suffering not as two communities suffering separately, but as one community suffering together..if that makes any sense...but I don't think that will happen until we find a fair solution, and people will be in a unified country looking back on a divided country...

Anyway, I'm off to bed...

Goodnight!

[humanist]

Good night Natty, one thing that I read a while ago and stuck in my mind encapsulates what you are saying I think

"a problem shared is half a problem a JOY shared is double the JOY"

[Natty]

"a problem shared is half a problem a JOY shared is double the JOY"

Humanist that is exactly what I mean, again you put it so well...

You really do have a way with words...

[miltiades]

Birkibrisli wrote:
""""We are sooo ready to blame the other for all the evil which happened in Cyprus,yet we all must know that it takes two(at least) to start a fight ""

Absolutely 1000% correct , this is why neither you nor I , Kikapu , Humanist , Sadik , Natty and many many more on this forum alone refrain from blaming one or the other site but blame the political and social leaders for indoctrination manipulation and brain washing. We all know that the Cypriots the world over are seen as peaceful decent family orientated people who strive to improve their journey though life in a civilized and responsible manner.

[zan]

Birkibrisli wrote:
""""We are sooo ready to blame the other for all the evil which happened in Cyprus,yet we all must know that it takes two(at least) to start a fight ""

Absolutely 1000% correct , this is why neither you nor I , Kikapu , Humanist , Sadik , Natty and many many more on this forum alone refrain from blaming one or the other site but blame the political and social leaders for indoctrination manipulation and brain washing. We all know that the Cypriots the world over are seen as peaceful decent family orientated people who strive to improve their journey though life in a civilized and responsible manner.

The way you talk to people they just tell you what you want to hear. When I ask them they say we are all a bunch of fu**ing idiots and we hate each other.

[BirKibrisli]

We can be "simple decent family orientated people" as miltiades says and "a bunch of fcuking idiots who hate each other" as you say,Zan.

It is called being human...The trick is to be aware that we are capable of extreme compassion and extreme hatred,and do something about the later before it errupts. in Cyprus there were many people who were fanning the fires of hatred,for their own despicable reasons.I think we all agree on that.

Those barbaric animals who killed the wife and children of Major Ilhan at Kumsal in 1963,went home afterwards,washed their hands and kissed their children goodnight,before geting into bed with their wives...They metamorphosised into caring,passionate family men at the blink of an eye.

The key to solving this problem is for the TCs to start empathisising with their GC brother/sisters,and vice versa.When all TCs start shedding tears for the wrongs done to the GCs (without justifying the harm by whatever means), and when most GCs start shedding tears for the pain and suffering of the TCs (without similarly trying to justify the evil acts by the minority of monsters amongst us),and demand that justice be served now, without delay and without any conditions,there will no longer be a Cyprus problem...

[humanist]

[Natty wrote]Humanist that is exactly what I mean, again you put it so well...

You really do have a way with words...[/quote]

Hi Natty Thank you very much for the compliment, though I cannot take credit for the words above. I came acrross them one day in something that I was reading and in the meantime lost the page so I cannot even acknowledge the wise person who sahred them with us.

Good though isn't it?

Help ....... how do you guys get the quotes in a box?????? any assistance will be appreciated. I know two univerity drgrees later and I can't figure that one out.

[humanist]

Well said Birkibrisli ....... great example used.

I will take it further to say that dperhaps we have reached a level of maturity as cypriots to put into to practice what you have described above. I also think that the generations that perpetrated such violent acts have now aged if not passed on and with a new generation of Cypriots we could make a change if we all want. We can start by challenging our own governments on policies and issues to take action.

Personally I beleive that more Cypriots need to stand with plakcards at the steps of the Presidentila palace in Nicosia demanding that the RoC governement act quicker adn faster and with more vilgilance on issues of unification.

I also choose the word unification here as I do not believe that cypriots were ever allowed to be unified , yes sure there times when they tolerated each other but not really acceted each other as the same human being that they are.

[sweetie pie]

[Natty wrote]Humanist that is exactly what I mean, again you put it so well...

You really do have a way with words...

Hi Natty Thank you very much for the compliment, though I cannot take credit for the words above. I came acrross them one day in something that I was reading and in the meantime lost the page so I cannot even acknowledge the wise person who sahred them with us.

Good though isn't it?

Help ....... how do you guys get the quotes in a box?????? any assistance will be appreciated. I know two univerity drgrees later and I can't figure that one out.[/quote]

click on the little quote button on the top right of the quote you want to show and it somes up like THIS