By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
The weather was very cold…
A young African at the supermarket…
He was wearing a pair of rubber or plastic summer sandals…
He had no socks on…
And it just so happened that the rain that never comes poured that day…
-*-*-
An old tracksuit and an even older hooded top, worn out…
Obvious that he had not shaved for months…
Nor showered…
-*-*-
He bought a package of rice…
A single package…
He gets in line to pay…
I am standing behind him…
-*-*-
He extended the package of rice to the Turkmen lady at the cash register who scanned it with an optic scanner. Beep, ₺27.90…
The young boy or man, extremely embarrassed extended his right hand; he only had a ₺20 bill and a single ₺5 bill…
₺25…
It wasn’t enough…
He bows his head…
The cashier is very sad as well…
-*-*-
Whispering to the cashier, I tell her, “I’ll pay the remaining ₺2.90, please let him go.”
The cashier woman handed the man the package of rice…
He took it and walked towards the exit, as he left, he glanced back, he understood what I had done and said “Thank you” in English…
-*-*-
A few days later…
At another supermarket…
Another young African…
I saw him holding a single tomato, one onion, and a few packs of biscuits…
And two loaves of bread…
Beep, beep, beep…
₺105 and a few kuruş [cents]!
The boy extends his hand…
A single ₺100 bill!
He returned two of the biscuits, and the cashier took them back, reduced it from the total and I think gave him back ₺3 in change…
The boy left…
The clothes he was wearing were old, unwashed…
-*-*-
I know, you will rush to tell me about the loud African young men and women who drive around in luxury cars and who live a life of luxury!
-*-*-
That’s where the problem lies…
You, I mean the TRNC state, has tricked these children, these young people into coming to this country…
Of course not all of them…
And unfortunately, the majority of these young people who were lured to this country with promises of “going to a paradise”, guaranteeing them an education, jobs and a European life, find themselves in a trap after arriving.
-*-*-
The disaster of being “penniless” is an “evil” that pushes people into all sorts of crimes from drugs to money laundering and prostitution!
-*-*-
Did you say equal and sovereign state?
Was the motherland always by our side?
Were we living a life of luxury?
Ohhh, the taverns are full!
Did everyone have four cars parked in front of their homes, and two mobile phones in their pockets?
And the best brands too!
-*-*-
That is exactly how we are!
If that’s what you’re saying, if that’s what Ersin bey [Mr Ersin (Tatar)], Ünal bey [National Unity Party leader Ünal Üstel], the [Turkish] Ambassador and Mehmet bey [Translator’s note: likely reference to Mehmet Kaya, senior advisor to Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay responsible for Turkish Cypriot affairs] are saying, then that is how it is dears!
So keep going!
Keeping living like this!
-*-*-
What we have here is a human tragedy, one that you fail to see or refuse to acknowledge!
Keep on going, [keep talking about] the flag, the Ezan [Islamic call for prayers], Ahmet Ünsal [Head of the Department of Religious Affairs], making promises at Külliye no.2 [Translator’s note: reference to presidential complex under construction in the north, considered a miniature version of the one in Ankara] “we will do this, we will do that,” and all is good!
In 2023, in Cyprus, the most favourite country of Europe, the mindset that opposes any political solution and regards the occupied Cypriot land as “Turkish property – rightfully won by the sword”; openly engages in human trafficking or turns a blind eye to it…
It is pushing young Africans into all sorts of crime from drug trafficking to money laundering and the country is like a bomb ready to go off.
These people are openly exploited as very cheap labour…
They are condemned to a life of hunger…
And naturally; they are pushed into committing crimes.
***
What lovely birds parrots are!
Parrots, belonging to the order “Psittaciformes”, are a species of bird with curved beaks, thick and fleshy tongues, with shiny feathers that live in warm climates.
In addition, some of the species can imitate what we say…
That’s what is written in “Wikipedia”…
-*-*-
So what does it say?
Some parrot types can repeat or imitate words we say…
-*-*-
My mother owns a grey parrot named Behlül…
It can imitate only a few words…
For many years, I bred many “love birds” or “cockatiels”…
Now I only have one zebra… Of course, I’m talking about the bird zebra [finches], not the donkey type!
Anyway, putting them aside, there are a variety of parrots with different colours living in this country, and some can even form long sentences…
-*-*-
Their owners teach them, the parrots learn and they keep repeating the same sentences for years…
For example one of the most taught and repeated “lines”, is “The TRNC will stand firmly on its feet as a result of Turkish-TRNC cooperation… the Greek Cypriots will be jealous”…
-*-*-
What a lovely “line” it is, isn’t it?
I wish it were true!
I wish the Greek Cypriots envied us, so that the 100-year-old “social-economic gap” in terms of development that exists [between the two sides] would not be seen!
-*-*-
Another frequently repeated and taught “line” which carries “no proper meaning” is “sovereign equality”…
Squawk… sovereign and equal!
Squawk!
The bird is squawking!
After all, it’s nothing “serious!”
-*-*-
And then there are the completely ridiculous unnecessary “squawks”…
The ones that make people laugh!
For example: “Good morning… Our nature is smiling again after the rain. It’s green everywhere. I hope more [rain] will come…”
Or, “The Mesaoria plain is lush green… The blessing has come and gone, we hope more will come…”
-*-*-
Parrots are among the most important and valuable “bird” species in our homes…
We love them greatly, they are cute.
They are known for their ability to imitate, their dazzling colourful feathers, the sounds they make and their high level of intelligence.
But in the end, they are “birds”…
In other words, their brains may be more evolved compared to other birds but they are still “bird brains”…
[Photo insert: A photo of a red parrot]
Source: THE HORRIFYING HUMAN TRAGEDY YOU FAIL TO SEE, REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE!
