Cyprus-Forum.com

[Natty]

Do we, the Greek and Turkish Cypriots really sympathise and empathise with each other? Can we ever truly understand why we feel the way we do?

For example can the Turkish Cypriots ever be able to sympathise/empathise with the Greek Cypriot call for enosis? And can the Greek Cypriots ever really be able to sympathise/empathise with how the Turkish Cypriots felt during this period?

And can the Turkish Cypriots ever really fully sympathise/empathise with how the Greek Cypriots feel today, after the invasion, and can the Greek Cypriots sympathise/empathise with how the Turkish Cypriots feel today? Can we understand the fears and doubts we had and have?

I think that if we want to unite we need to be able to look at why we Cypriots (Greek, Turkish, etc..) felt/ feel the way we do..Why we wanted what we wanted, and try and understand as much as possible. Obviously we can not agree on everything, but we can try and at least understand why what happened happened. If we have that level of understanding perhaps we can move on instead of staying where we are and squabbling over past events...I don't know, just a theory of mine...

I've just finished watching a documentary on the television about the history of the Partition of India, into India and Pakistan. And the closing sentence was by a women who used to live with many Muslims before the Partition, and she said something along the lines of,

'It's the emptiness you feel, you feel a great emptiness because you'd been living with these communtites all your life and suddenly they're not there anymore, and I felt that at 17. I still look at Pakistan, India and Bangladesh as being the same culturally...'

I thought that was quite poignant..

[Natty]

I don't know, just a theory of mine...

Obviously not a popular theory....

well I'm off to bed, Night night...

[free_cyprus]

Natty
first of all you have devide the cypriot people by calling them turkish and greek to start with ....................................i have not seen one person greek speaking or turkish speaking in this forum who has the vision or the intelect to see things for what they are in cyprus and what they done to us the damage is so bad that even the cypriots are blinded by it all soo they shout greek and turkish anthems and sing songs from the so called motherlands

heres a present for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR5oTJV_www

[humanist]

Yes I can Natty,

[zan]

Natty
I can appreciate the overall sentiment behind what you have asked but there is one problem with the example you have given. The Indian lady you have quoted is one of the older generation that has seen the split. What do you think the new generations would say....Those that know nothing else??????


I am not trying to stir things up just trying to say you cannot sell the same thing to both generations. The realities of life.

[shahmaran]

Unfortunately Natty, most people will always have difficulty understanding what is not in the best of their interests....

And like Zan says, people like me have no recollection of what Cyprus used to be so we have nothing to miss or a sense of emptiness, since i was a kid, wondering around TRNC and seeing the leftovers of a united Cyprus, the empty houses and Greek writings all over the place always gave me the feeling that there used to be something a lot different here, when everything was a lot more vibrant and interesting, unlike now its all broken down and deserted, but unfortunately one can only see all the clues and try to imagine what it was like

[Natty]

Natty
first of all you have devide the cypriot people by calling them turkish and greek to start with ....................................i have not seen one person greek speaking or turkish speaking in this forum who has the vision or the intelect to see things for what they are in cyprus and what they done to us the damage is so bad that even the cypriots are blinded by it all soo they shout greek and turkish anthems and sing songs from the so called motherlands

heres a present for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR5oTJV_www

Hi free_cyprus, I can understand what your saying, but believe it or not I do not believe that Greece is my 'Mother land' or that we should be singing the Greek Anthem, if we are an independent country we should have our own national anthem. Unfortunately the two main communities of Cyprus have been separated (and I'm talking about before 1974 as well) and because of this we have followed separate paths, what I'm proposing is a certain amount of understanding and empathy as to why we went these separate paths, if we can have that level or understanding it would make it easier to reunite again, without bitterness getting in the way...

[humanist]

Natty, I appreciate what you are sayoing, though I do not think our paths are that different, what are we all seeking as human beings on this planet?

To have god health, see our children grw, own our home, have a job that we love, socialise with our friends and family, make friends, live in a safe environment, be free to be ourselves without judgement.

What am I Greek/ Turkish Cypriot???????


Perhaps a human being ......... our paths are the same we have just simply chosen a differnet road. As a spiritual leader once said to me ....... perhaps we create our experieneces and continually recreate who we are........ perhaps we can learn from thses words and begin to recreate our experiences by creating a free UNITED Cyprus. Where we all walk the same path of peace love and respect for ourselves and those around us. Remember we only get around 80 years to do this.

[Natty]

@Humanist, I agree that our paths are the same but the roads we followed are different (You explained in one sentence what I tried in a whole paragraph, you obviously have a way with words..), what I'm saying is for us all to follow that path without problems getting in the way and without past decisions we both made hanging over our heads just waiting to come out and bite us in the back of the neck, wouldn't it be best if we attempted to understand why we followed those separate roads? Wouldn't the shared path be smoother if there was a level of understanding and empathy?

@Zan and Shahmaran, it's true that for people who were born after the Partition of the Island it would be difficult to be able to imagine what Cyprus was like before, and to be able to understand when others talk of an 'emptiness' felt after. But I am like you Shahmaran, I grew up after 1974 and I have no idea what it was like before, but from hearing stories from my family and people on this forum I can imagine the emptiness and it has made me want to see the 'real' Cyprus even more. What I'm saying is, if we can try and understand one and other, and try and empathise (I don't think I have ever used these to words before as much as I have today.. ) as to why we did the things we did, and felt the way we did, I believe it will make the path to reunification easier..

[humanist]

Thank you Natty, I guess what I have got out of your post addressed to Shahmaran and Zan is that we have not all decided that Unification is what we want .... some people are honest about that and have expressed it so ... it leaves little scope for re-unification, however the moment we all decide that we are all human beings who share same dreams and aspirations to have a the best possible life we want for ourselves and those around us then we will be able to work towards the same path and take the same road.

For me I appreciate that Turkish Speaking Cypriots have in the past experienced discrimination based on their background, however, 32 years later I believe that Cyprus and indeed the world has changed, Cyprus' membership with the EU means that Greek Speaking Cypriots cannot assume that Cyprus is Greek Speaking and to this end discrimination cannot continue. A unified Cyprus will be different and peoples lives will hence be different.

I also have come to appreciate the pain and fear experienced by Turkish Speaking Cypriots and to this end I do believe the RoC needs to come up with strategies to ensure that some Turkish Speaking Cypriots remain in the villages they are currently living in, for example the Turkish Cypriots from Tochni. I would never expect that they would want to return after their loved ones were so bruatlly murdered by the co-villagers.

Hence I come back to the RoC creating a register of those Greek Speaking Cypriots who would be happy wth comensation of property and not return to their villages. This will open up land and property that can be made available to Turkish Speaking Cypriots. And ofcourse Talat needs to make the sale of refugee land illegal and punish those selling it and piss those who have bought refugee land. That would be a fair road to unification.