By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
Mari brought time to a standstill in 2011 and the 13 people who died continue to haunt not only memory but also practically every political discussion to this day. [Translator’s note: reference to large munitions blast at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base in Mari, Larnaca in July 2011] Every untimely, sudden or unnatural death of a Greek Cypriot monopolises the news, causes fits of emotion or rage (if the death is a violent one), and sets off a frenzy of tears, love and solidarity on local social media with Facebook mourners working overtime. Basically, if a Greek Cypriot’s nose starts to bleed in London or Melbourne, the event will become front-page news and everyone will wear themselves out sending online wishes for a speedy recovery.
[Photo insert: Front page story from Turkish Cypriot news outlet with the headline ‘Hope died in the rubble’, accompanied by photos of Cypriots killed in the earthquake in Turkey]
Forgive me for referring to ‘Greek Cypriots’, but you are well aware of the nature of our race: If Metaxas’ victims did not include two young children to stir the emotions of the average racist (who responded with the classic “what did the children ever do to him?” – implying that their mothers must have done something to him for him to drown them) no one would have shed a single tear [Translator’s note: reference to victims of serial killer Nikos Metaxas], while the four Egyptians who burned to death outside [the village of] Odou after getting caught in the huge fire of the summer of 2021 were mentioned by only a portion of the media, after mentioning the burnt acres and pens. After. The. Fucking. Pens.
“Four lives were lost. Why hasn’t the universe come crashing down?” I wrote in an article on the matter in those dark days of July. And I added, “That’s a rhetorical question, because we know the answer: Egyptians.”
So let’s reiterate. So far, among the hundreds of people who lost their lives due to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are 34 Cypriots, including 22 of the 35 members of occupied Famagusta’s volleyball team. Four were rescued, but for the rest “hope died in the rubble”, as the headline of the front page of a T/C news outlet pictured above states. Why didn’t time come to a standstill? Why isn’t the story monopolising the news? Why haven’t election campaigns been put on hold with the candidates and their staffs expressing their indescribable grief by postponing all activity and appearances? Why don’t supporters of the Democratic Rally just shut up about their first world problem of whether to vote for the renegade or the communists, and mourn the 34 dead Cypriots? (at least House Speaker Annita Demetriou had the sense to speak of “our dead compatriots”). Why doesn’t Anastasiades put a pin in his not-so-discreet attempt to appoint Christodoulides as his successor (presumably so that he can enjoy his old age in peace, without the fear of having to drag himself in the courtrooms with his Zimmer frame) and instead see what he can do as President of this wretched parody of a state to relieve the families of the victims? Why hasn’t a three-day mourning period been declared?
Again, we know why: Turkish Cypriots. Therefore, non-Cypriots. Therefore, we dump a sad emoji on Facebook and we’re in the clear.
This is what we’ve been reduced to as a result of half a century of unyielding hatred, paranoia and suspicion towards the ‘others’, the ‘so-called’, the ‘Turks’, the ‘enemies’. How many opportunities have been lost? How many generations have been poisoned? We don’t even need official partition. The occupied areas and the Turkish Cypriots have by now become in the minds of most (and yes, I believe they are a majority) some distant, unknown country that is no more our concern than Djibouti or Haiti. Giving fodder to those rejectionists who do not want a federation with a “foreign body”. Because that’s essentially what it is. At least that’s the case for the official state that never considered T/Cs to be equal citizens. And this was passed on to the people – by the media as well. Foreign bodies. Who may be right next to us but might as well be on the other side of the Atlantic.
As I write this, the newscaster of a private television channel is reporting the evening news. The earthquake is the third news item, after the internal party politics of DISY [Democratic Rally] and the [presidential] candidates’ last messages. Fourth are the “touching contributions made by Cypriots” to the earthquake victims of Turkey and Syria, that bad habit of making ourselves protagonists in other people’s tragedies and giving ourselves a pat on the back while literally standing over the rubble (apparently the proverb about casting bread upon the waters is completely foreign to us). Not a single mention of the dead Turkish Cypriots. Nor that the island is in mourning.
Is this the country we want to reunite? Perhaps Christodoulides and his rejectionist riff-raff are what we deserve after all. All hope was truly lost in the rubble…
Source: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: HOPE DIED IN THE RUBBLE (OF REUNIFICATION)
