DOCSLIB.ORG

Displacement in Cyprus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Displacement in Cyprus displacement 2012.qxd:Layout 1 4/26/12 9:43 AM Page 2 Displacement in Cyprus Consequences of Civil Life Stories: Greek Cypriot Community and Military Strife This report presents a selection of life stories from people displaced to the southern part Report 1 of Cyprus at various points during the conflict. This selection aims to reflect the variety of experiences of refugeehood. Drawing on these experiences, the report emphasizes the Life Stories: Greek Cypriot wide range of interpretations, feelings, discourses, expectations, and individual actions that they have informed over the years, in people’s attempts to reconstruct their lives after Community the progressive division of the island. In these terms, the aim of the report is not to factually support a particular perspective or course of action, but rather, to evidence the multiplicity Olga Demetriou of such perspectives and actions. In this sense, the report shows that an eventual settlement of the property issue must be attentive to the wide variety of experiences of loss, and integrate both material and affective senses of restitution. The report is divided into four parts, which centre around the presentations of life stories in the form of interview summaries, conducted with displaced individuals during the length of the project. It also includes interviews focused on litigation actions following the displacement. This part is considered a crucial section of the report because of the strong focus on litigation in current discussions of the property issue, on the levels of high politics, public discourse and everyday conversation. Overall, it is hoped that the report will enable a fuller appreciation of the complexity of the refugee and property issues, including CommunityReport Cypriot Stories: Greek 1 /2012 Life their linkages and divergences within conceptualizations of displacement. The report can be ordered from: PRIO Cyprus Centre P.O.Box 25157, 1307 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel: +357 22 456555/4 [email protected] This report can be downloaded from: www.prio-cyprus-displacement.net ISBN: 978-82-7288-414-6 The report was funded by the European Union as part of the project ‘Dialogue for Trust Building and Reconciliation’ implemented by PRIO. displacement 2012.qxd:Layout 1 4/26/12 9:43 AM Page 1 About the author Olga Demetriou is Senior Research Consultant at the Cyprus Centre of the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). She is a Social Anthropologist (PhD, 2002, University of London) with long-term experience of ethnographic research in Greece and Cyprus. She has held academic posts at Cambridge and Oxford Universities and has applied research experience with Amnesty International. Her work, published in major social scientific journals and in edited volumes, has focused on minority identification processes, the politics of human rights, Greco-Turkish relations, migration and exclusion, gender in war and peace, and heritage in conflict spaces. She has worked on issues concerning refugees in Cyprus for the last six years. The report can be ordered from: PRIO Cyprus Centre P.O.Box 25157, 1307 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel: +357 22 456555/4 [email protected] DISPLACEMENT IN CYPRUS CONSEQUENCES OF CIVIL AND MILITARY STRIFE Report 1 LIFE STORIES: GREEK CYPRIOT COMMUNITY Olga Demetriou Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Hausmanns gate 7 PO Box 9229 Oslo NO-0134 OSLO, Norway Tel. +47 22 54 77 00 Fax +47 22 54 77 01 Email: [email protected] Web: www.prio.no PRIO encourages its researchers and research affiliates to publish their work in peer reviewed journals and book series, as well as in PRIO’s own Report, Paper and Policy Brief series. In editing these series, we undertake a basic quality control, but PRIO does not as such have any view on political issues. We encourage our researchers actively to take part in public debates and give them full freedom of opinion. The responsibility and honour for the hypotheses, theories, findings and views expressed in our publications thus rests with the authors themselves. The texts compiled in this publication including the terminology used lay in the sole responsibility of the author(s) and/or the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)as one of the beneficiaries of the EU funded project ‘Dialogue for Trust-Building and Reconciliation: Cypriots Seeking New Approaches to the Property Issue‘. In no way can the content of this publication be attributed to the European Commission. The EU does not recognise the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" but only the Republic of Cyprus, its Member State. © Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). ISBN 978-82-7288-414-6 Painting on cover: Costas Economou Production and Cover design: Action Global Communications CONTENTS Acknowledgments.....................................................................................................................V PARt one: BAckgRoUnd..............................................................................................................1 IntRodUctIon........................................................................................................................................1 HIstoRIcAl AsPects ...............................................................................................................................4 legAl AsPects .......................................................................................................................................7 economIc AsPects ................................................................................................................................8 socIAl oRgAnIsAtIonAl AsPects.........................................................................................................10 temPoRAl AsPects ..............................................................................................................................11 PARt two: lIFe stoRIes..............................................................................................................15 mARo (F), 76, AkAntHoU – PAPHos..................................................................................................15 RoUlA (F), 61, nIcosIA - nIcosIA ......................................................................................................17 IRo (F), 47, moRPHoU - lImAssol .....................................................................................................18 AlexIA (F), 55, VARosHA – lImAssol .................................................................................................21 ARPIk (F), 60, nIcosIA – nIcosIA .......................................................................................................23 sonIA (F), 77, kyRenIA – nIcosIA ......................................................................................................25 mIcHel (m), 41, koRmAkItIs – nIcosIA .............................................................................................27 dImItRIs (m), 35, nIcosIA – nIcosIA .................................................................................................29 JeAnette (F), 78, VARosHA – lARnAcA ..............................................................................................31 nAdIA (F), 56, VARosHA – nIcosIA ....................................................................................................33 PARt tHRee: lItIgAtIon stoRIes..............................................................................................37 meletIs APostolIdes, 2004...............................................................................................................37 mIke tymVIos, 2005 ..........................................................................................................................40 tHomAs kAoUlAs, 2007 ....................................................................................................................44 elenI meleAgRoU, 2009....................................................................................................................47 conclUsIon...................................................................................................................................53 ReFeRences ....................................................................................................................................57 V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS n the preparation of this report a number of people were consulted. I thank first and foremost the interviewees portrayed here anonymously and with personal details altered, I as well as others who are not represented in this volume, who have shared their memories and life experiences, in their homes, their workplaces, and during visits back to their properties in the north. I also thank particularly the litigants whose stories are portrayed in part three who have shared not only their stories and thoughts, but who have also provided their consent for these summaries to be made public. For providing feedback on earlier versions of the report I thank Peter Loizos, Gregory Ioannou, Maria Hadjipavlou, Nicos Trimikliniotis, and Murat Erdal. An expanded version of the report is available from the author. Nicosia, October 2011 LOCATIONS View of Pendadakhtylos mountain range from the village of Akanthou in 2011 kyrenia harbor in 2003 the Pendadakhtylos
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Is the Turkish Cypriot Population Shrinking?
    CYPRUS CENTRE 2/2007 REPORT 2/2007 Is the Turkish Cypriot Population Shrinking? Shrinking? Cypriot Population Turkish Is the The demography of north Cyprus is one of the most contested issues related to the island’s division. In particular, the number of indigenous Turkish Cypriots and Turkish immigrants living in the north has long been a source of dispute, not only among the island’s diplomats and politicians but also among researchers and activists. Until recently, the political use of demog- raphy has hindered comprehensive study of the ethno-demographic make-up of the north, while at the same time making a thorough demographic study all the more imperative. The present report addresses this situation by providing an analysis of the results of the 2006 census of north Cyprus, comparing these fi gures with the results of the previous census. The report focuses mainly on identifying the percentage of the population of north Cyprus who are of Turkish-mainland origin and also possess Turkish Cypriot citizenship – an important factor given claims that such citizens play an signifi cant role in elections in the north. In addi- tion, the report examines the arrival dates of Turkish nationals in order to analyze patterns of migration. This, in turn, is indicative of the numbers of naturalized Turkish Cypriot citizens who have arrived in Cyprus as part of an offi cial policy. The report also presents estimates for Turkish Cypriot emigration to third countries, based on immigration and census fi gures from the two main host countries: the United Kingdom and Australia. Following analysis of these latter fi gures and the results of the 2006 census, it is argued that claims of massive emigration by Turkish Cypriots to third countries are largely misleading.
    [Show full text]
  • Orams Case Factsheet
    Facts about the orams case Contents A. Background to the Orams Legal Dispute B. Protocol 10, Cyprus’ EU Accession Treaty 2003 C. Facts relating to the European Court of Justice’s Ruling on the Orams case D. Putting the Orams Case into Context A. BACkgrounD to the orAms LegAL Dispute 1. Linda and David orams (defendants) are engaged in a long-running legal battle with Meletis Apostolides (plaintiff), a Greek Cypriot who claims the land their villa stands on. 2. The orams’, a retired British couple, paid an estimated £160,000 in 2003 for tRnC (turkish Republic of north Cyprus), deeds to their detached villa in Lapta, just outside Kyrenia. 3. On 27 october 2004, Mr Apostolides had papers served on Mrs orams at her Lapta villa while her husband was away in the United Kingdom (UK). the documents were written in Greek and Mrs orams refused to sign for them. 4. Mrs orams eventually found someone who could translate the papers and she discovered that she had received a court summons from the Greek court of south nicosia. By this time, the deadline for making a response to the court had passed and just 12 days after the writ had been issued, the Greek Cypriot court passed judgment in favour of the complainant, Mr Apostolides, ordering Mr & Mrs orams to demolish their house in Lapta, return the land to the complainant and pay him compensation. 5. The time provided by the Greek Cypriot court was clearly insufficient for the defendant to organise a defence in Greek in a foreign territory, and Mrs orams has since lodged a claim that she did not receive a fair trial and her human rights have been breached.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crux of the Cyprus Problem
    PERCEPTIONS JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS September - November 1999 Volume IV - Number 3 THE CRUX OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM RAUF R. DENKTAŞ His Excellency Rauf R. Denktaş is President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Anthony Nutting, who was the British Minister of State at the Foreign Office during the period 1954-56, wrote in his book I Saw for Myself his impression following talks with the leaders of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots: “There is nothing Cypriot about Cyprus except its name. In this beautiful beleaguered island you are either a Greek or a Turk. From the leaders of the two communities downwards the chasm of suspicion and hatred which separates them is frighteningly wide.”1 EOKA terrorism, which aimed to unite the island with Greece (enosis), was at its height and the Turkish Cypriots, who looked upon enosis as changing colonial masters for the worst, resisted it with every means at their disposal. Hence, the message passed on to all young Greek Cypriots was, “the struggle against the real enemy of our nation and religion, the remnants of the occupying power in Cyprus, will commence as soon as the fight for enosis comes to a successful conclusion”! Any Greek Cypriot who saw the futility and the danger of the drive for enosis, and thus supported independence as a more suitable solution, was regarded as a traitor to the national cause and murdered by EOKA (the Greek Cypriot terrorist organisation). In fact, everyone who opposed enosis was declared an enemy and lived under a constant threat. All Turkish Cypriots were against enosis! By 1957, inter-communal clashes assumed the character of a civil war.
    [Show full text]
  • Cyprus and the EU: Appraisal and Challenges
    Cyprus and the EU: Appraisal and Challenges Jean-François DREVET and Andreas THEOPHANOUS Foreword by Andreas Theophanous Postword by Aziliz Gouez Policy 58 Paper Policy Cyprus and the EU: 58 Appraisal and Challenges Paper The European Union and the Cyprus Issue Jean-François Drevet The Republic of Cyprus in perspective: the record and future challenges Andreas Theophanous Foreword by Andreas Theophanous Postword by Aziliz Gouez Jean-François DREVET Andreas THEOPHANOUS Jean-François Drevet is a graduate of Andreas Theophanous received the French École Normale Supérieure his BA degree in Economics and and holds a degree in geography. Political Science (baccalaureate) He was a senior European official from Susquehanna University in 1983 (Regional policy, Enlargement) and his MA and PhD degrees from between 1989 and 2005, after the Pennsylvania State University having served as an advisor at the in Economics in 1985 and 1988 cabinet of the French minister for respectively. He served as Economic land use planning and restructuring Advisor to the President of the (1988-1989), an officer at the French Republic of Cyprus from 1990 to 1993. Delegation for land use planning He is Professor of Political Economy (DATAR; 1985-1988) and an expert and Head of the Department of of the French technical cooperation European Studies and International (1971-1984). Relations at the University of Nicosia He is the author of Chypre entre and the President of the Cyprus Center l’Europe et la Turquie, Éditions for European and International Affairs. Karthala, Paris, 2011, 252 pp. He visited several European, American and other universities and think-tanks as a Visiting Professor, Senior Fellow and/or Guest Speaker.
    [Show full text]
  • Food Safety and Public Health Situation in Cyprus
    DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT A: ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC POLICY FOOD SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION IN CYPRUS ENVI delegation to Cyprus 1-4 May 2012 BRIEFING NOTE Abstract This briefing note provides in two separate documents an overview of the Cyprus' situation respectively in the fields of Food Safety and Public Health. IP/A/ENVI/NT/2012-02&3 April 2012 PE 475.109 EN This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). AUTHORS Food Safety situation in Cyprus Mrs S Keenan, Mr J Hammond, Campden BRI Public Health situation in Cyprus Mr Gerard Foley, Dr Catherine Ganzleben, Ms Styliani Kaltsouni, Mr Tony Zamparutti Milieu Ltd. RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATORS Mr Lorenzo VICARIO Ms Purificacion TEJEDOR DEL REAL Policy Department Economic and Scientific Policy European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in April 2012. Brussels, © European Union, 2012. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. Briefing Note on Food Safety and Public Health Situation in Cyprus ____________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS FOOD SAFETY SITUATION IN CYPRUS 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 6 LIST OF TABLES 8 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Accommodation in Cyprus and the Annan Plan Moore, Gavin
    www.ssoar.info Federalism and the 'one-person one-vote principle': political accommodation in Cyprus and the Annan Plan Moore, Gavin Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Moore, G. (2011). Federalism and the 'one-person one-vote principle': political accommodation in Cyprus and the Annan Plan. Federal Governance, 8(2), 29-41. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-341437 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Basic Digital Peer Publishing-Lizenz This document is made available under a Basic Digital Peer zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den DiPP-Lizenzen Publishing Licence. For more Information see: finden Sie hier: http://www.dipp.nrw.de/lizenzen/dppl/service/dppl/ http://www.dipp.nrw.de/lizenzen/dppl/service/dppl/ Special Issue on Federalism and Conflict Management edited by Neophytos Loizides, Iosif Kovras and Kathleen Ireton. FEDERALISM AND THE ‘ONE-PERSON ONE-VOTE PRINCIPLE’: POLITICAL ACCOMMODATION IN CYPRUS AND THE ANNAN PLAN by Gavin Moore Department of Political Science, Queens University Belfast, Ireland Email: [email protected] Abstract: The ‘one-person one-vote principle’ (OPOV) seems to be an intuitively appealing principle, one that is procedurally fair by ensuring equality in votes for all and contributes to the proper functioning of democratic states. Although commonly cited as a cornerstone of democracy, this article argues that OPOV can be a dangerous principle in societies divided by group conflict. Minorities face permanent exclusion, and thus cannot protect their own interests, leading to resentment and destabilization. Moreover, deviation from OPOV is not uncommon in political accommodation, especially in federal arrangements.
    [Show full text]
  • Cyprus: Time for a Negotiated Partition? (WP)
    Cyprus: Time for a Negotiated Partition? (WP) William Chislett Area: Europe Working Paper 21/2010 5/7/2010 Elcano Royal Institute Madrid – Spain http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng 1 Cyprus: Time for a Negotiated Partition? (WP) William Chislett * Contents (1) Summary (2) Background and Current Situation (3) Property: No Headway (4) Direct Trade Directive: A Ray of Hope (5) Turkey’s Position (6) Missing People: Public Broadcasting Breaks a Taboo (7) Spain’s Efforts to Resolve the Cyprus Problem during its EU Presidency (8) Conclusion Appendices (a) Timelines (b) Letters by Demetris Christofias, President of the Republic of Cyprus, and Derviş Eroğlu, President of the TRNC, to Ban Ki‐Moon, the UN Secretary General, in April 2010 (c) Basic Statistics of the Republic of Cyprus and of the TRNC (d) Representative Offices Abroad of the TRNC Selected Bibliography (1) Summary The Greek‐ and Turkish‐Cypriot leaders renewed negotiations in May for reunifying Cyprus, the only divided country in the EU. Little progress of substance was made during 19 months of talks between Demetris Christofias, the Greek‐Cypriot President, and Mehmet Ali Talat, the former President of the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), who was defeated in April by the more hard‐line Derviş Eroğlu. The international community is becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress on a settlement and the idea of a negotiated partition is gaining credence. * Journalist and writer, author of one Working Paper on Cyprus
    [Show full text]
  • Competing Land Rights, Legal Redress, and Political Settlement in Cyprus
    Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality Volume 31 Issue 1 Article 6 June 2013 Competing Land Rights, Legal Redress, and Political Settlement in Cyprus Laura Matson Follow this and additional works at: https://lawandinequality.org/ Recommended Citation Laura Matson, Competing Land Rights, Legal Redress, and Political Settlement in Cyprus, 31(1) LAW & INEQ. 199 (2013). Available at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineq/vol31/iss1/6 Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. 199 Competing Land Rights, Legal Redress, and Political Settlement in Cyprus Laura Matsont Introduction "Today, the keys do not need us anymore. They will stay as a memento to remind us that we once had a house in the village which became a ruin. ... In the foundations they buried our whole life, our culture, our history, spiritual treasures, dreams and traditions."' After many decades of conflict between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents of Cyprus, the Turkish army invaded the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) on July 20, 1974. This military endeavor displaced approximately 200,000 Greek Cypriots and 65,000 Turkish Cypriots; the Greek Cypriots migrated to the southern portion of the island, while the Turkish Cypriots sought refuge in the Turkish-controlled North.' When the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared its autonomy in 1975,' the already inequitable distribution of land resources t. B.A. Sarah Lawrence College, 2006; MSc University of London, 2009; J.D. Candidate University of Minnesota Law School, 2013. This article benefited from the guidance of Professor Hari Osofsky, Professor Fionnuala Ni Aoldin, Dean David Wippman, and the editorial staff of Law and Inequality at the University of Minnesota Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • Another Door Closed: Report to the European Court of Human Rights for Relief from the Turkish Invasion of 1974 May No Longer Be Possible for Greek Cypriots
    NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Volume 36 Number 3 Article 7 Spring 2011 Another Door Closed: Report to the European Court of Human Rights for Relief from the Turkish Invasion of 1974 May No Longer Be Possible for Greek Cypriots Jenna C. Borders Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncilj Recommended Citation Jenna C. Borders, Another Door Closed: Report to the European Court of Human Rights for Relief from the Turkish Invasion of 1974 May No Longer Be Possible for Greek Cypriots, 36 N.C. J. INT'L L. 689 (2010). Available at: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncilj/vol36/iss3/7 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Journal of International Law by an authorized editor of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Another Door Closed: Report to the European Court of Human Rights for Relief from the Turkish Invasion of 1974 May No Longer Be Possible for Greek Cypriots Cover Page Footnote International Law; Commercial Law; Law This comments is available in North Carolina Journal of International Law: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncilj/ vol36/iss3/7 Another Door Closed: Resort to the European Court of Human Rights for Relief from the Turkish Invasion of 1974 May No Longer Be Possible for Greek Cypriots Jenna C. Borderst I. Introduction ........................... ..... 690 II. A Brief History of the Cyprus Problem ...... ........ 692 A. Early History: 330 A.D. through 1878..... ..... 692 B.
    [Show full text]
  • Protracted Occupation That Leads to De Facto State Creation: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an International Legal Evaluation
    Global Journal of Politics and Law Research Vol.8, No.2, pp.30-64, March 2020 Published by ECRTD-UK ISSN: ISSN 2053-6321(Print), ISSN: ISSN 2053-6593(Online) PROTRACTED OCCUPATION THAT LEADS TO DE FACTO STATE CREATION: THE TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS, AN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL EVALUATION Sanford R. Silverburg, Ph.D Professor Emeritus Department of History and Politics Catawba College Salisbury, NC [email protected] ABSTRACT: The history of Cyprus is replete with foreign invasions and occupation. Modern history has Great Britain in control over the island, betwixt a long-term period of antagonism and hostility over the island’s control between Greece and Turkey. Greek Cypriots have for many years sought enosis, or union with Greece, while the minority Turkish community’s ethnic community goal has been taksim (partition) between the two ethnic groups. A crucial temporal dividing point came in 1974 when following a coup d’etat against the Greek Cypriot leadership leading to some instability which was then followed by a Turkish military invasion in order to protect the island’s Turkish population. Once order was restored and with Ankara’s backing, the Turkish Cypriots created the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Because of the manner in which the political action occurred, only Turkey provided diplomatic recognition, thus bringing up the legal issue of non-recognition and a discussion of the use of force to achieve a political objective. KEY WORDS: Cyprus, Turkish republic, northern Cyprus, Turkish foreign policy, Greek foreign policy, occupation, international law, de facto state INTRODUCTION Occupation in its varied forms1 has taken on increased interest in the post-World War II era, at multiple legal2 and political levels.
    [Show full text]
  • The Prospects for Peace Education in Cyprus: Exploring the Potential for Future Unified Education Through the Examination of a Bi-Communal School
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository THE PROSPECTS FOR PEACE EDUCATION IN CYPRUS: EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE UNIFIED EDUCATION THROUGH THE EXAMINATION OF A BI-COMMUNAL SCHOOL Marios Antoniou A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Education in the School of Education. Chapel Hill 2015 Approved by: Lynda Stone Rebecca Bryant Madeleine Grumet George Noblit James Peacock ABSTRACT Marios Antoniou: The Prospects for Peace Education in Cyprus: Exploring the Potential for Future Unified Education through the Examination of a Bi-Communal School. (Under the direction of Dr. Lynda Stone) This dissertation is the product of the investigation of an educational institution in Cyprus, where supposed enemies share a classroom and a unifying school identity. In 2003, following the opening of a few checkpoints along the dividing line of the island that keeps apart Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north since 1974, “The English School”, a prestigious public-private school in the south welcomed the enrollment of Turkish Cypriot students, thus becoming the island’s first and only bi-communal public-private secondary school. Schooling has historically been utilized as a tool for constructing unifying national identities. The British colonial exit strategy left Cyprus in confusion between the ethnos and the nation. Cypriots are trapped in an intractable conflict that is rooted in nationalism and education systems contribute to the perpetuation of the conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • The Discourse of Refugee Trauma: Epistemologies of the Displaced, the State, and Mental Health Practitioners
    The Discourse of Refugee Trauma: Epistemologies of the Displaced, the State, and Mental Health Practitioners ANNA M. AGATHANGELOU AND KYLE D. KILLIAN Abstract This paper explores the discourse of refugee trauma, analysing ways the displaced, the state, and mental health practitioners think about displacement and other war traumas. Narratives were obtained via in-depth qualitative interviews with displaced Greek Cypriots, newspaper accounts and press releases by elected officials, and through an examination of assumptions and practices of the traditional, medical model. Following a discussion of a range of epistemologies regarding the meaning of displacement, the authors offer a systemic epistemology for practitioners and activists interested in an alternative to the current ontology of fear and insecurity dominating our everyday institutions and social relations. In deconstructing the narratives of traumatisation, the authors suggest that dichotomous, essentialised, and atomistic understandings of self and other, displacement, nation, and health sustain in place “unhealthy” conditions that precipitate further traumatisation. Instead of pills and ethno-nationalist interpretations, the therapeutic witnessing of family dialogues around trauma is suggested for the facilitation of a process that relinquishes the desire to set it “right” and makes room for listening to our restless dead about another mode of living, a current struggle for peace, truth and justice. Keywords: epistemologies, refugee, trauma, discourse, displacement, affect, systemic, mental health Introduction 20 July 2008. From a Nicosian veranda, the Turkish flag can be seen burning brightly on the Pentadactylos Mountains commemorating what many in northern Cyprus view as the Turkish “peace operation” on the island thirty-four years ago. While the north-south buffer zone has opened, allowing Greek and Turkish Cypriots to move back and forth, barbed wire and UN troops remain on this segregated island.
    [Show full text]