By Hara Charalambous
As a Cypriot, today is hard. To know that Your country was torn apart! TO know that Cypriots died were made homeless and many more are still missing! I don’t just mean GC’s but also TCs. All Cypriots!
As a GC, there are so many mixed emotions. 37% of our island was separated, people are still missing, Churches, property, homes were left and stand in ruin.
BUT what role did GC’s Play in this day 45 years ago? The massacres of Villages like Tochni, Maratha, Santalari, and Aloa or in Paphos by EOKA B and the National Guard must be acknowledged! The ruined mosques and deserted TC homes should not be forgotten.
Please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that innocent people should be misplaced, killed or missing, but the fact that GC’s caused pain and loss in the name of ENOSIS with Greece is something that I just do not agree with! I condemn EOKA B to the highest level! The National Guard and the Greek Army planed a Coup to make Cyprus a Part of Greece.
In my opinion, this is not worth the loss of even one life! Unfortunately many were lost as part of the Coup, and Turkey’s action because of it.
As GC’s We are constantly demanding justice, demanding property back, demanding to know what has happened to the missing.
But why are we only demanding this for ourselves? Why are we not demanding justice for our TC brothers and sisters?
For ALL those killed? for ALL misplaced people to be found? Why are we not demanding justice for ALL the massacres? And why are we not demanding that we acknowledge our role in this situation, and wholeheartedly offer a sincere apology!
We can’t just focus on what we say has been done to us, We need to focus on the whole picture.
Today my heart cries for a divided island, for those who died (the innocent children, the normal people who’s only crime was the language they spoke or the religion they practised), for those who are missing, for the wrongs done, both by us and to us.
We are Cypriots, We should not be attacking our own. Let’s learn from our mistakes, let’s find a way to PEACE, UNITY, and JUSTICE! And to the TCs, to the innocent, the children, to the missing, to the misplaced, from my heart,
I’m am so very very sorry!
