Cyprus Braille

Welcome to the fifth issue of the Cyprus Braille Newsletter, which again contains a great variety of articles from different areas, such as Organization matters, political events, cultural news, reports and other documentations.

The publication of the Cyprus Braille Newsletter is only one aspect of the work and activities undertaken by the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind. Reference to our programs and services, such as the rehabilitation and vocational training services, the library services (Braille and talking books and magazines), the information services, the workshops, the leisure and sport services etc, was made in the previous issues of our Newsletter.

In the year 2002, our Organization was also very active. Reference can be made to the General Assembly of our Organization, which was fairly well attended. More than 200 out of the 800 members took part and discussed matters of general policy that are important for the blind of Cyprus. At this year’s Assembly, a new Board had to be elected. Out of the fourteen members of the Board, eight were re-elected and six received the necessary votes to become the new members of the elected Board. The Executive Committee of the Board remained almost unchanged with Mr. Florentzos its President. Christakis Nicolaides is the old and new Secretary General, George Prodromou retained the post of Acting Secretary General and the Treasurer of the Organization is Mr. Anthoulis Myrianthopoulos. The new member of the Executive Committee is Mr. Alexios Kitsios, a 23-year-old graduate in business studies.

Of significant importance to our members was also a seminar entitled "Latest Developments in the Field of Ophthalmology and Ocular Diseases and Current Therapeutic Methods", which was arranged by our Organization on 29 June, 2002 in the Amathus Beach Hotel in Limassol. More than 150 members of our Organization attended this seminar. Surgeon Ophthalmologist Dr. Theodoros Potamitis referred in his speech to surgical treatments for retinal disorders. Mrs. Maria Tsaloumas, Consultant Ophthalmologist in the Birmingham and Midland Eye Hospital (United Kingdom), referred in her presentation to medical problems of the retina and of the macula. Finally Dr. Sundeep Kheterpal, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Windsor Eye Hospital (United Kingdom), talked to the members of our Organization and answered questions on retinal detachments and eye damage.

The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind is a member of the European Blind Union (EBU). To celebrate the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003, the EBU has developed, with the support of the European Commission, a website aimed at promoting exchange between blind people and their organizations. Our Organization is a partner in this project. The site provides information about the European Year and European disability policy. It also provides a forum for people with sight loss to share their experiences and views and to discuss disability issues. For more information on this project please refer to section two of the current Newsletter.

During the recent years, the use of new technologies and multimedia has become an important part of the social, professional and educational life of people with visual problems. The use of new technologies offers blind people a lot of possibilities for getting in touch with individuals or groups who have similar interests and problems, as well as for overcoming the barriers of social exclusion.

Young people with visual problems have realized that there is a need for further information in the new technology, especially in support material and software for the visually impaired. Through an exchange program, which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, young people from Cyprus, Greece, Austria and Ireland explored several thematic areas as the internet, support material and software etc. for the blind and information material related to new technology. They transferred experience from the participant European countries, they exchanged ideas and questions about the themes they were interested in and covered their communication needs, outside the educational procedure. They additionally established the basis for cooperation between the participant countries in the promotion of intercultural knowledge and experience and they instigated new working methods with the help of the new technology. Finally, they created an electronic Newsletter (web-site) so that they could keep in touch after the end of the program. More details about the exchange program together with the appropriate links to the established website of the electronic Newsletter will be given in future issues of our Newsletter.

In section three, of this issue we submit an extensive report on the international activities and the representation of our Organization in different international bodies, which was requested by some of our readers and might be of interest to you.

Another important international activity is the participation of the Organization in the meeting of the Women’s Subcommittee of the Balkan Consultative Committee, which was held in Bulgaria from 29-30 March, 2003. We submit the report of the President of the Women’s Committee, Marina Apostolou, (who represented our Organization in this meeting) separately in section 4 of our Newsletter.

The following two articles published in the Cyprus Weekly contain information about the election of Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos as the new President of the Republic of Cyprus. Mr. Papadopoulos won the general presidential election held on 16 February, 2003. The information about Cyprus contained in these articles, might be of a special interest to our 50 new subscribers who joined us after the publication of the fourth issue of Cyprus Braille. Alex Efthyvoulou describes the career of the new President, who has had an active political life, since the year 1950 and which parallels the history of the island. “Everything to prove and much to lose” by Charlie Charalambous is the title of the second article.

The story of the slogan “his homeland is ours” is strictly connected with the history of the occupied area of Cyprus. Turgut Durduran reports how it began as the slogan of a radical, progressive movement. In 13 years it became the slogan of a whole community. He has deliberately “omitted the parts of the story where British and US interests played a decisive role in shaping Cyprus”. Turgut Durduran is now in the United States completing his PhD. He is from the generation immediately after the division of the island. He grew up in a community hostile to the "other side". In elementary school, he was forced to attend rallies supporting the "president" when he made his unilateral declaration of independence - illegal and unrecognized by all except Turkey. In high school, he woke up when bombs exploded in front of his family’s house. In college, he was on the internet stirring trouble. Now, he is proud to see people going to rallies to get what they want, ignoring the threats. He is, however, not proud that his island is still divided, his people still oppressed, still away from their homes, still not knowing the fate of their missing, still emigrating, still ... ... Turgut Durduran is active in several human rights and peace-building organizations. He is one of the co-founders of Peace-Cyprus.Org (a cyber organization aimed at informing people about ongoing peace building efforts in Cyprus).”

We cannot leave politics without making reference to the rapid developments, which took place in Cyprus last April, concerning the free movement of the citizens of the island from the occupied area of Cyprus to the south and vice versa. Is this the beginning of the end of the Turkish occupation or is free travel through some checkpoints a consolidation of the status quo? The debate has been going on among politicians as they watch -- somewhat puzzled and helpless -- the flood of people, excited and visibly moved, streaming across the “green line” that has divided our country for almost 30 years. Opinions differed. In article number seven entitled “People Power Rules” Charlie Charalambous focuses on some socio-political aspects and consequences of the decision taken by the regime of Rauf Denktash.

“Living in the dark” is the title of the eighth article in our current Newsletter, and was prepared by Nadia Coatsworth. It appeared five years ago in the “Cyprus Mail”, an English daily newspaper published in Cyprus. The author talks to a woman who inhabits a world “many of us have had nightmares about” and gives information about the problems and beliefs of blind people in Cyprus. We greatly appreciate the kindness of Mr. Steve Myles, Chief Editor of the Cyprus Mail and of course that of Mrs. Nadia Coatsworth for giving us the permission to publish her article in section 9 of our current Newsletter.

In section 10, we continue our story of the Kyrenia ship and the new replica launched last summer. It is an article by Philippos Stylianou published in the Cyprus Weekly. As you might remember, the first part of the story of this ancient ship appeared in issue number one of our Newsletter. Philipos Stylianou also gives information on the Archaeological places of the ancient town of Amathus and its port, from where the ship will begin its journey to the Olympic Games 2004 in Greece.

The next article has been taken from the publication Sunjet-Cyprus (Summer 2002). Chrissie Flint takes us to the famous village of Omodhos “the village of the wine makers”. This article is published following the suggestions of some readers of Cyprus Braille. (See section 11).

In section 12, you can read a short report about a youth exchange program, which took place in Nicosia in October 2001 and was internationally used as a good example of international cooperation.

“Nauseating sight of a monastery desecrated by greed” is the title of the next article in which Demetra Molyva takes us to the occupied area of Cyprus. We have the opportunity to visit the Byzantine orthodox Monastery of Antifonitis in the mountains of Pentadaktylos, which was looted by international art smugglers during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. You can read this article, which is taken from the Cyprus Weekly, in section 13 of our Newsletter.

The next article, also from the Cyprus Airways in-flight magazine Sunjet, transports us to the town of Larnaka. It is a description of a walking tour of the town and was written by Sean Chamberlain. We would like to thank Cyprus Airways for their kindness in allowing us to republish the two articles from their in-flight publication.

We also reprint, in section 15, a story written by Marina Parisinou concerning the arrival of halloumi, Cyprus' flagship cheese, in the United States of America. The title of this article is “fancy halloumi figures in major US food show”, and was published in the Cyprus Weekly last February.

Last but not least, you can read a short report by Lonias Efthyvoulou concerning the participation of a Cypriot mountaineer in a Himalayan expedition, as a guest member of the Athens Mountaineering Club. The title of that last article is “Cypriot tells of Himalayan ascent and was published in the Cyprus Weekly last month. (See section 16).

We hope that this extensive issue of Cyprus Braille will fill the eleven-month gap from the publication of our last issue.

Wishing you pleasant reading,

Many regards and greetings from Cyprus to all of you!

Ch. N.

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2. European Blind Union European Year Web Project

As part of the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 the EBU has been awarded funding by the European Commission to develop a website to promote interactive exchange within the EBU network. The aim of the site is to give out information about the Year and to help blind people to share their views and experiences. The EBU member organizations in 11 out of the 15 EU countries are taking part, as well as four of the candidate countries: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. The website will conform to the strictest accessibility criteria to make sure that all people, regardless of the nature and level of their sight loss, can participate.

The website will provide a forum for blind people across Europe to express and exchange views. The contributions made throughout the year will be collated and presented to the Commission, the press and other interest groups, as well as posted on the site itself. There are three spaces on the site for blind people to make their voices heard:

VISION

This is the space to share ideas and dreams. What would improve your quality of life? How can we make the world a better place for blind people?

INDIGO

This is the space to tell us about ways in which you have experienced discrimination as a blind or partially sighted person. Do you feel that you have equal rights? Have you been treated differently from sighted people?

FORUM

This is the space to share views on disability issues.

The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind is a partner in this project and will make use of the information collated through the site.

Visit the site at: www.ebuindigo.org.

For more information on the European Year click on to http://www.eypd2003.org to get to the official website.

List of National Linkpeople

Country Name Email Phone

Austria Marcus Wolf Oebsv.zentrale@aon.at +43 01 982 7584 12

Czech Republic Vaclav Polasek internationaldep@sons.cz +420 2 21462246

Cyprus Christakis Nicolaides pot@logos.cy.net +35 7 22 403310+35 7 22 60 1559

Denmark Monica Juul Loland mla@dkblind.dk +45 38 14 88 22

Finland Ms. Kaisu Miettinen Kaisu.miettinen@nkl.fi +358 9396 04 209

France Thierry Chaignet Tc_lucky@hotmail.com

Netherlands Mildred Theunisz mtz@sb-belang.nl +31 30 299 28 78

Poland Jacek Zadrozny info@pzn.org.pl +48 22 6355793

UK Nolan Quigley Nolan.quigley@rnib.org.uk +44 207 739 2087

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3. International activities of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind

By Christakis Nicolaides

The international activity of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind during the last two years included the participation of our Organization in many different bodies, commissions of the World Blind Union (WBU) and the European Blind Union (EBU), conferences, seminars and meetings organized by these Unions, in addition to the organization of such events by our Organization in Cyprus. We have also participated in many different meetings and international events (seminars, conferences, championships, tournaments and open games) organized by the International Blind Sport Association (IBSA) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in different countries.

It is not possible to refer to all these activities, but I have chosen a sample, which might give an interesting overview of the work being done by our Organization in this area.

Balkan Consultative Committee of the European Blind Union

Our Organization is an active member of the Balkan Consultative Committee of the European Blind Union. During the tenth meeting of the Committee, which was held in Sinaia, Romania, from the fifth to the seventh of July 2002, the delegations from the nine countries that participated in this meeting elected. Michael Florentzos from Cyprus as the new President and Mr. Sinan Tafai from Albania, as the new Vice-President of the Committee.

The eleventh meeting of the Balkan Consultative Committee was held in Nicosia – Cyprus from 16-17 May, 2003. Mr. Alexandre Neumyvakin, President of All-Russia Association of the Blind, (VOS) attended this meeting in his capacity as Vice–President of the Board of the European Blind Union. The Presidents of the Union of the Blind in Albania, the Union of the Blind in Bulgaria, the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind, the Panhellenic Association of the Blind, the Association of the Blind in Romania, the Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted of Yugoslavia and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Blind Union reported on the situation of the blind in their respective countries. They also discussed matters concerning the services, means, rights and benefits afforded to the blind people in the Balkans. They also referred to the development of legislation and other measures in favor of the blind.

The President, Mr. Florentzos, opened the meeting and welcomed, on behalf of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind, all the participants to Cyprus.

Mr. Florentzos briefly informed the delegates about the foundation of the Organization of the Blind in Cyprus and its main activities. He made reference to how the existing activities of the Organization contributed to the enactment and development of legislation and administrative measures and allowances concerning the blind people of Cyprus. Moreover, he explained the social difficulties faced by the people of Cyprus and especially the blind due to the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the occupation to this day of 40% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. In brief, the Organization has managed to a great degree to remove the burden for the care and support of blind people from the shoulders of the private sector to those of the State.

In order to refer to certain allowances, rights and privileges achieved during the previous years, Mr. Florenzos mentioned (a) the mobility allowance granted to employed blind persons for their travel expenses to and from their place of work, (b) the financial assistance by the State enabling the blind to buy a car, (c) the concession of a 50% discount by Cyprus Airways to the blind and their guide when they travel abroad, (d) the granting by the State of a secretary/assistant to professionally qualified blind people employed in the public sector. He also referred to a new monthly State grant of the sum of 150 Cyprus pounds (approximately 300 US dollars) to every blind person and to partial exemptions in favor of blind people regarding telephone charges. Furthermore, by law, blind people who are in need are entitled to receive from the State an additional allowance of 350 pounds (approximately 700 US dollars) per month.

We are optimistic that certain gaps currently existing in the legislation and the required support and care of the blind, will be fulfilled in the near future. At present, the Organization offers blind people, within its financial possibilities, various services and means not yet provided by the State, which are necessary for their quality of life, social integration and emancipation.

Mr. Florentzos, as the Chairman of the Balkan Consultative Committee for a period of three years, proposed the formation of four subcommittees, which will be responsible for organizing various activities in the Balkan states. The following Subcommittees were decided upon: (a) Cultural – Educational – Access to Information Subcommittee under the chairmanship of Mr. Sergio Radu Ruba from Romania, (b) a Sports Subcommittee under the chairmanship of Mr. Yiannis Leotsakos from Greece, (c) a Legislation - Social Rights Subcommittee, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sinan Tafai from Albania and (d) a Women’s Issues Subcommittee under the chairmanship of Mrs. Jivka Pavlova from Bulgaria.

According to the approved plan of action of the subcommittees, Greece will organize athletics before the General Assembly of the European Blind Union next November, Romania will organize a goalball tournament in October, 2003, Bulgaria hosted the Women’s Issues Subcommittee at the end of March this year and the Republic of Macedonia will organize the second meeting of that subcommittee next September in Ohrida, Macedonia. Yugoslavia undertaken the organization of a chess tournament in October, 2003, Albania will organize folklore music contest in the spring of 2004 and the Republic of Macedonia will organize individual chess tournaments at the beginning of December every year in addition to poetry reading nights in August, 2003.

Of significant importance is that one of the special guests at the meeting was Mrs. Sezcan Iksitash, a representative of an organization of the blind in the occupied area of Cyprus.

Some of the country and Subcommitees’ reports presented at the Committee meeting held in Nicosia, Cyprus from the 16th to the 17th of May 2003 will be published in future issues of Cyprus Braille.

European Blind Union - Constitution Committee

President Florentzos is also one of the permanent members of the Constitution Committee of the European Blind Union. This Committee had its last meeting in Wachtberg-Niederbachem, Germany on Saturday, 14 December 2002. The meeting of the Constitution Committee was attended by Sir John Wall, President of the European Blind Union (United Kingdom), Julien Aimi, Treasurer of the European Blind Union (France), Norbert Muller, Secretary General of the European Blind Union (Germany), Mokrane Boussaid, Director of the EBU office (France), Michael Florentzos (Cyprus) and Theo Walraven from the Netherlands.

The committee considered several important issues such as a paper submitted by the EBU Commission on the activities of partially sighted people. This clearly indicates that the EBU represents partially sighted as well as blind people. It was agreed to recommend to the Board that an amendment should be put to the general assembly, which deletes the "definition" of blindness and uses the definition "blind and partially sighted." The Committee took into consideration the fact that the Commission's paper did not suggest an immediate amendment and accepted the offer of Mr. Norbert Mueller to write an article for the European Blind Union Newsletter, looking at the issue, before its discussion at the next general assembly in November in Athens, Greece.

The other issued discussed were the status of external membership, problems arising from non-payment of contributions by a few member countries, that would lead to the deprivation of voting rights at the general assembly, the procedure for the registration of the delegates from each country to the General Assembly and the participation in the different committees of the Union. The Committee also reviewed the responsibilities of the nominations committee of the Union, which has always recommended a slate of officers and Board members to the general assembly.

During the above meeting reference was also made to the work of the Liaison Commission, taking into consideration that as from May 2004 ten additional countries will join the European Union. These countries are Cyprus, the Czech republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. This means that the commission will have twenty-five members.

Cyprus Confederation of the Organizations of the Disabled

Mr. Florentzos is also President of the Cyprus Confederation of Organizations of the Disabled. Members of the Central Council of this Confederation also include two other representatives of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind, Mr. Andreas Chapoupis, Director of the School for the Blind in Nicosia, who is acting as the Secretary General of that Confederation for the current legislative period and Mr. Christakis Nicolaides, Secretary General of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind.

The Confederation submitted an application to the European Disability Forum (EDF) in order to participate as an Observer in that Forum, as a European Union accession country. Mr. Yiannis Vardakastanis, President of the Forum announced that the EDF Board of Directors, which met in Copenhagen on the 3rd of November 2002, approved the application of the Confederation. According to the Constitution of the EDF, when Cyprus officially joins the EU in May, 2004, the Cyprus Confederation of Organizations of the Disabled will have the possibility, to officially apply for full membership status within the European Disability Forum.

Last year the Confederation invited the President of the EDF to Cyprus. A special meeting of the Parliamentary Commission of Labour was organized. Furthermore, meetings between the President of the EDF and the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance as well as with various Services, Authorities and political parties were arranged. Mr. Vardakastanis was also one of the main speakers at a seminar entitled “Equal Opportunities”, which was organized in Nicosia by the Social Democratic Movement of Cyprus on the 11th of January, 2003 and participated in a another Seminar for mentally retarded people, also held in Nicosia on the 28th of March, 2003.

In the field of its international activity, members of the Central Board of the Confederation participated in most of the seminars and activities organized by the European Disability Forum and/or the European Union in the years 2002 and the first six months of 2003.

Unfortunately, the Confederation lacks the required substructure and the necessary staff to become the sole representative of the disabled at all levels and decision-making bodies of our State and internationally. Nevertheless, the confederation has the full support of the Board of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind and of course the support of the staff of our Organization.

Its President Mr. Florentzos at its last General Assembly presented the main points of the recent activities of the Confederation in September, 2002. The participants exchanged opinions and views, in order to enable the Assembly to take decisions of general policy. The Confederation has already commenced the procedure to amend article 5 of its Constitution concerning the membership of Organizations. According to the proposed amendment, the Confederation may accept as members Organizations in which the majority of their members and of the members of their governing bodies consist of persons with disabilities. By this amendment, parents’ Organizations, which represent people who are unable to represent themselves, may be accepted as members of the Confederation.

On the virtue of the Confederations Constitution, every Organization participates directly in the Central Administrative Board with three representatives. Each Organization, without losing its autonomy and independence, may make use of the collective power of the Confederation in the course of seeking its aims.

It has been proved, especially recently, that this direct participation of the Organizations of the disabled of Cyprus, in the General Assembly and the Central Board, renders our Confederation a legal body which puts into effect and promotes the will of the disabled for their social emancipation, as individuals and as an organized body.

The Confederation propounded the demand of the deaf people of Cyprus for news bulletins in sign language on all television channels. Certain TV channels have already accepted and put this demand into effect.

The Confederation has already undertaken the role to coordinate and fully represent the people with disabilities. In so doing, we have submitted proposals, suggestions and memorandums. We have for example submitted an extensive memorandum to the Parliamentary Commission of Labour during the discussion of the Persons with Disabilities Law. Those of our suggestions, which were accepted, have already proved to be effective.

Finally, the Confederation is very active in coordinating and organizing different events for the celebration of the European Year of People with Disabilities in Cyprus, as it did in 1981 for the International Year for the Disabled of the United Nations.

International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA)

In addition to the Seminar held by our Organization entitled "Sports for the Blind, Necessity, furtherance and prospects" and the Panhellenic Conference on Issues Concerning the Blind, which took place in October 2001, our Organization was involved in many other sports activities.

We would like to thank very much the Telecommunications Authority of Cyprus and the Electricity Authority for sponsoring our sports activities during the current year.

The sports team of our Organization represented Cyprus in the Balkan Athletic Games in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, last year, and in the Panhellenic Athletics Championship, which take place in Athens, Greece, every spring. Members of our sports team also participated in the IPC World Athletics Championships in Lille/Villeneuve d'Asq, FRANCE, from 20-28 July 2002, the 2nd European Athletics Championship in Porto, Portugal and the Commonwealth sports games in Birmingham last July.

The National Football Team of the Blind (Cat. B1) represented Cyprus in different international five-a-side tournaments in Greece and Italy. The football team of partially sighted (Cat. B2/3) participated in the Five-a-Side Football B2/B3 World Championship, which took place in North Italy from 19-29 September 2002. A B2 International Tournament for partially sighted participants was also organized by our Organization last November in Nicosia. In this tournament the national teams of Byelorussia, which holds the World Championship, and that of Russia in second place offered exciting matches. Our team was also in St. Petersburg, Russia, for a week last May, for another international five-a-side football tournament organized by the Russian Paralympic Centre of Moscow, within the celebration festivities of 300 years of the founding of the town of St. Petersburg.

The most important participation of our Organization was, though, the IPC World Swimming Championships, which took place in Mar del Plata, ARGENTINA. In this championship Carolina Pelentritou, a 17-year-old visually impaired girl, won the Silver medal in the 50 meters free style. She also won the gold medal in the Panhellenic Swimming Championship, which took place in Athens last June. Her participation as a member of the national team of Cyprus in the Commonwealth Swimming Games, which took place in Birmingham in July-August 2002 was also very significant.

The next big event, where the athletic team of our Organization, including our two young champion swimmers, Carolina Pelentritou and Michaela Spandiou, will take part is the II IBSA World Championships and Games, which will take place in Quebec from the 2nd to the 10th of August, 2003. This event is organized by IBSA for categories B1, B2 and B3. As you probably know, the first IBSA World Championships was held in the city of Madrid in 1998. Competitions will take place in Athletics, Goalball, Judo, Powerlifting, Swimming and Tandem Cycling.

Finally, the International Blind Sport Association accepted a proposal submitted by our Organization to organize an international sports seminar coming autumn in Nicosia, Cyprus, under the auspices of the Association. The participants will deal with matters such as the management and coordination of activities of Sport Organizations of the Blind and guidance/support to sports teams consisting of blind and partially sighted individuals.

Our intention is to inform and discuss with members of the staff, coaches, other experts and athletes of the European IBSA member countries subjects concerning the following areas:

(a) Structure of the European Members Organizations of IBSA (Blind specific or pan-disability? Structured by sports, by clubs, by regions, by disability, etc?: advantages and disadvantages),

(b) Organization of sport activities in Europe in collaboration with IBSA (processes, priorities and conditions of participation),

(d) Arranging of local championships and sport events,

(e) The IBSA classification system (Cat. B1, B2, B3) in comparison with other classification models,

(f) The philosophy behind the IBSA rules and regulations and their application,

(g) Recruiting procedures of blind and partially sighted athletes,

(h) Appointment of guides for sports teams consisting of blind and partially sighted athletes, and

(i) Incentives and awards for blind and partially sighted athletes.

We already have the confirmation of the participation to the International Seminar of IBSA Officials and we expect that many sports associations will participate.

Taking into consideration that many other sports events have already been planned we would like to wish to “good luck” to all blind and partially sighted athletes.

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4. The situation of blind women in Cyprus

Presentation given at the Balkan Women’s Subcommittee in Bulgaria

Sofia 29 and 30 March 2003.

By Marina Apostolou

President

Women’s Committee

Pancyprian Organization of the Blind

1. Introduction

It cannot be said that there is any obvious or express discrimination against blind women in the law in Cyprus. On the contrary, according to express provisions of the Constitution and the relevant legislation no discrimination is permitted due to gender before the administration, the law or before the courts. In addition, Cyprus law includes concrete equal treatment legislation. The non-discrimination principle on the grounds of disability in general, was enacted for both genders in the year 2000 in the Law for People with Disabilities. The law also ensures that equal reward is provided for equal quantity of work.

The state of Cyprus adopted an individual rights-based approach to gender equality. But, although men and women with visual disabilities have the same rights towards the State and receive the same allowances and assistance, the everyday life and the perspectives of blind women in the society of Cyprus are different, especially regarding their rights and the possibility to live a normal social and family life.

Our Organization has strengthen its efforts to turn attention away from the individual and their rights or special needs and is now concentrating on ensuring that systems and structures are equally open to all, women and men, in all their diversity. In order to achieve this goal, our Organization intends to realize the compilation of positive action measures in order to tackle the consequences of group disadvantage experienced by blind women in many different areas. Unfortunately, such positive action measures have not yet been included in the existing legislation of Cyprus.

2. Facts and figures

In discussions held during different meetings and seminars organized by the Board and the standing Committees of our Organization, a number of gender inequality issues facing the blind women of Cyprus were identified. The most significant equality issues discussed referred to the following subjects:

(a) Family life (marital status)

Unfortunately, there hasn't been any special research study to show the relation between blind women and men who got married and created a family and those who were not able to achieve it. Nevertheless, the development of simple gender disaggregated statistics about the marital status of congenitally blind women and men versus adventitiously blind women and men might be a very useful management information tool for our Organization in its efforts to achieve mainstream gender equality.

According to the following statistics, which have been extracted from the records kept by our Organization, it is estimated that there are about 1,300 people with sight problems living in Cyprus. The number of women with sight problems in our country is approximately 575, of whom 110 are congenitally blind. The related numbers for blind men are 120 congenitally and 605 adventitiously. According to the following disposable gender disaggregated statistics and comparative indicators only 56.4% of the blind women are married, in contrast to 74% of the blind men. The related percentage of the congenitally blind women is 35.6%, as compared to that of the blind men who were married, which is considerably higher at 56.8%. It is obvious that the number of blind women who get married and live an active family life is much smaller in relation to the blind married men. According to the same records kept in our archives, there are only 6 couples of blind partners in Cyprus (blind women married to blind men), which might be proportionally the lowest number of such peers in Europe. Finally, there are definite indications that blind men by far, more easily get married not only to women with visual disabilities but also to other women.

It is also widespread in the society of Cyprus and generally accepted among blind people, that blind men develop social relations more easily than blind women and are very rarely forced into any kind of isolation.

(b) Gender segregation in the labour market (work/life balance)

The above limited social potentialities of blind women have a negative impact on their ability to find and keep a suitable job. According to the relevant records from the membership of our Organization, blind women face more difficulties than the male members in their attempt to become vocationally rehabilitated. Only 25% of the blind women between the ages of 18 and 63 are employed and 18.6% of them receive pensions from various public funds. A remarkable percentage of 30.4 of them are housewives. The associated percentages for the blind men between the same ages are much higher and rise to 38.2 and 42.8%, respectively.

The same situation applies regarding their education and training. Only 5% of blind women have university degrees and only 32.3% have finished secondary school, compared to 10.4% and 62.2% regarding the same figures for blind men. Our Organization has no information about the educational level of 17.4% of the blind men and more than 30% of its female members. It is also a very interesting fact that of the 77 graduates from the School for the Blind in Nicosia, 50 of them are men (12% of the population of blind men) and only 27 are women (8.3% of the population of blind women).

(d) Gender balance in decision-making (under representation of women in decision-making)

Although blind women comprise just over 44% of the membership of our Organization, the relevant data show a very low representation of blind women in its decision-making bodies. Only three of the fourteen members of the Board are women and only two of the fourteen standing Committees have a chairwoman. The great majority of the committees’ members are men, and at least in five of them, there are no female members at all.

3. The Women’s Committee of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind

One of the standing Committees, which has been set up within our Organization, consists of 10 blind and partially sighted women. The aims of the Women’s Committee are primarily the promotion of the interests of visually handicapped women, the alleviation and if possible the solution to their problems as well as the promotion of their capabilities and qualifications. An important function of our Committee is not only to put gender equality at the heart of our organization's policy-making but also to improve the process of the delivery of services.

Nevertheless, the main activity of the women’s Committee is still, unfortunately, to involve blind women in its activities and to induce as many women with visual disability as possible to show interest in the above-mentioned objectives.

Of great significance is the fact that the Committee also acts as an information link between the female members of our Organization and the organized groups of women in Cyprus and abroad, in its efforts to exchange with them useful ideas and information and gain from their experiences in the field of gender equality and related social policy matters.

4. Discussion of the possible reasons for the inequalities

During our discussions we identified some of the possible reasons for the above inequalities, which could be summarized in brief as follows:

(a) Traditional and cultural attitudes

It is well known that the men, in all aspects of life, have dominated the society of Cyprus for thousands of years. Even though the situation seems to have changed slightly, there are still families, which primarily support their male members, offering them the necessary education and other essential support, and thus enabling them to qualify as the main social and economic power in their own families in the future. There are also families, especially in the rural areas of the island, where women are brought up to become good housewives and housekeepers and take the full responsibility for the care of their children. Blind women, however, face more difficulties due to deep-rooted prejudice against them. It is believed that they are not even able to accomplish their “female” tasks and responsibilities. Consequently, the men do not accept them as equal partners.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of blind women members of our Organization, who, though they are well-educated and may even have a good job, face more prejudice than visually handicapped men and are forced into a kind of social isolation in the sense that they do not have an active social life.

(b) Low skills among women

The other important factor for the gender differences within our Organization might be that the families of blind women do not give them enough support towards the acquisition of skills necessary for their social and vocational integration. The families usually discourage blind women and consequently they get disappointed and give up more easily than do blind men.

The presentation of blind women in the media is mostly very negative. Blind women are depicted as inactive and unable to cope with the difficulties of life. Following a policy of sensationalism, radio and television channels primarily broadcast unusual, tragic and/or unrealistic situations involving blind women. Rarely do they show their achievements.

5. Conclusion

This is, I think, the real picture of the situation of visually handicapped women in the society of Cyprus. We believe that the issue has not been dealt with in depth. A special research should be carried out, which could reveal facts and incidents, on the basis of which more useful conclusions could be drawn.

Except for gender-disaggregated statistics and equality indicators available to our Organization, some other tools to implement a gender mainstreaming approach in our action program should be used.

Our Organization will also continue its efforts towards closer consultations with its female members, in order to gain insight into their aspirations.

Our Organization must also look for possible ways for a gender balance in decision-making. Emphasis should be placed on improving the representation of women in decision-making bodies, so as to widen the perspectives of achieving a gender equality policy.

It is also important to envision a plan to identify and correct customs and practices that are gender-biased and which consequently produce inequalities between blind women and men.

The next step would be the practical application of a gender mainstreaming approach throughout our Organization, keeping in mind the following:

(a) the raising of awareness of the equality aspects by running an information campaign within the Organization and in the society in general.

(b) the preparation and the proposal of concrete legal reforms concerning positive action measures for visually handicapped women.

(c) the issue of the life/work balance for all, including the provision of more affordable, good quality childcare and care for the elderly.

(d) the strengthening of our efforts for the development of our Organization, in order to be able to assist in the process of enabling individuals and especially the visually handicapped women to maximize their potential.

Finally, due to the lack of any legal obstacles or prohibitions or any legal discrimination against women, I would like to express my optimism that our Organization, and especially the women’s Committee and its members, will succeed in their efforts to establish an equal treatment policy system and to ensure real equal opportunities for blind and partially-sighted women in Cyprus.

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5. Youngest minister elected President of Cyprus 44 years later

By Alex Efthyvoulou

(From the Cyprus Weekly, March 2003, with the kind permission of the publishers).

Tassos Papadopoulos, a little-known lawyer of 25, was the shock appointment as the youngest minister in Cyprus' first independence government at the end of British colonial rule in 1959. Forty-four years and a lifetime of politics later, he is the fifth President of Cyprus.

Archbishop Makarios, the island's first President, picked the London-trained lawyer for the first independence Cabinet because of Papadopoulos' involvement - until then kept secret - as a political leader of the Greek Cypriot EOKA underground that fought Britain for independence.

Papadopoulos, together with Dr. Vassos Lyssarides, represented EOKA at the February 19 London conference, where they opposed the acceptance by Makarios of the London and Zurich agreements granting Cyprus its conditional independence. Following the acceptance of the agreements he became part of the legal team, with Glafcos Clerides that drafted the island's independence Constitution.

Following his victory over incumbent 83-years old veteran politician Glafcos Clerides on Sunday, February 16 2003, Papadopoulos, now 69, represents the Greek Cypriot side in the pivotal UN -sponsored reunification negotiations with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

He played a similar role for two years from 1976-78, when he took over as interlocutor with Denktash following Clerides' enforced resignation for exceeding Makarios instructions.

From 1959 to 1970, Papadopoulos held various Cabinet posts. As Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, he introduced the island's smooth-running social insurance scheme, something that gained him the lasting gratitude of trade unions.

He left the government in 1970 and was elected to parliament, where he has been one of the leading members ever since and chairman of several important committees including the one on European Affairs.

At the same time he formed his own right-of-centre Centre Union Party while building up his law office into one of the island's most successful.

His party later merged with the centrist Democratic Party of Spyros Kyprianou, who was the second President of Cyprus. Papadopoulos became leader of the party, the island's third largest, when Kyprianou resigned because of ill health in 2000.

Officially, Papadopoulos won 51.51% of the vote, with Clerides scored 38.80%, his ally and Attorney General Alecos Markides garnered only 6.62%, and 2.12% of the vote went to Nicos Koutsou, of the nationalist New Horizons party.

Papadopoulos' victory over Clerides, resulted from an alliance he formed with the largest Greek Cypriot political party, the communist Akel (35%), and other smaller leftists parties, repeating a tactic that had assured Kyprianou's presidential victories in the 1970s and '80s. The Democratic Party chief easily clinched the more than 50% needed to avoid a run-off.

Clerides had been pinning his hopes on a run-off in which he would win the support of Markides voters. Although Clerides came out top in most opinion polls as the best person to handle the Cyprus problem, the will for political change by the opposition parties proved too strong.

Some 476,000 people were eligible to vote and the authorities reported a 90.55% turnout.

As the results came in, the chants of victory were heard loud and clear from the Papadopoulos campaign office in central Nicosia where his supporters raced through the streets with horns blowing and waving the party flags, as the opposition celebrated victory. "The election of Tassos Papadopoulos is a resurrection for the people of Cyprus. At last there will be an end to favoritism," said supporter Margarita Antoniou.

Papadopoulos won this election despite heavy mudslinging by Clerides' ruling Democratic Rally party. He was accused of being an anti-Turkish hard-liner, of being involved in shady deals during the boom days of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and with involvement, through his law office, in breaking UN sanctions on Yugoslavia during the rule of President Slobodan Milosevic.

Papadopoulos denied the accusations and the Attorney General's office issued statements clearing him of any involvement in any of the allegations against him.

His supporters claim the mudslinging may have boomeranged and helped Papadopoulos to his election victory.

Papadopoulos angrily rejects accusations he is a staunch opponent of Turkish Cypriots. In his first remarks after his election, he assured Turkish Cypriots their rights will not be affected by changes he wants in the reunification plan presented by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He said these changes will benefit both communities as they deal with rights of all refugees, Greek and Turkish Cypriot, to return and repossess property, something the Annan plan restricts.

"I want to assure my Turkish Cypriot compatriots that these are baseless charges made against me by my political opponents," Papadopoulos said.

As a member of parliament, Papadopoulos long has chaired the European Union Affairs Committee, building close relations with the EU Parliament. There, he has been a strong advocate of a Cyprus settlement based on full respect for the European Convention of Human Rights and the EU acquis, or basic law.

Papadopoulos is married to Fotini, a daughter of one of the founders of the multimillion Leventis conglomerate. They have two children, Nicholas and Anastasia.

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6. Everything to prove and much to lose

By Charlie Charalambous

(From the Cyprus Weekly with the kind permission of the publishers).

Tassos Papadopoulos, the new elected president of Cyprus, has been painted as a hardliner on the Cyprus problem. But the high-profile lawyer fought a campaign insisting he will deliver a better Settlement with the Turkish Cypriots based on the UN reunification plan than the veteran Clerides.

Papadopoulos has constantly dismissed charges he is a "rejectionist", but says the UN reunification plan needs improvement.

He has little affection for Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and in turn, Denktash views Papadopoulos as someone who wants to take everything away from the Turkish Cypriots. The chemistry between them is in stark contrast to the decades-long rapport Denktash and Clerides have enjoyed even though playing for high stakes. Moreover, Denktash had made clear that he wanted Clerides to win the election.

A high-profile lawyer and constitutional expert, Papadopoulos campaigned on a platform of delivering a better peace settlement for Greek Cypriots than the veteran Clerides. The key issues that a Cyprus settlement hinges on are power- haring arrangements, territorial adjustments, the numbers of Greek refugees allowed to return to their former homes and the Turkish mainland settlers allowed to stay after a settlement.

The core issues are the same for both sides and although there will be no dramatic difference between Papadopoulos and Clerides, Papadopoulos have had a different focus on what he thinks is important. But he will find it difficult to win changes from a Turkish Cypriot leadership, which already has many misgivings of its own about the UN blueprint and is no mood to compromise.

The day after defeating Glafcos Clerides at the polls, President-elect Tassos Papadopoulos plunged straight into the Cyprus problem deep end in order to provide continuity to the UN peace talks.

Unsurprisingly, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said the challenger's victory could doom to failure last-ditch talks aimed at securing agreement on a UN reunification blueprint by the end of February.

The President-elect had been at pains to dispel his hardline image throughout the campaign and returned to the theme in his victory speech.

Denktash rejected the opposition leader's overture, saying his victory was a clear Rebuff for UN proposals submitted in November to end more than 28 years of division on the island. "It is the intransigent stance of the Greek Cypriot people which won," said Denktash.

But "the election was not a referendum on the Cyprus issue because Papadopoulos had converged with Clerides's view on the national issue," said analyst Pambos Papageorgiou.

As Papadopoulos was quick to note in his first television interview, the Turkish Cypriot leader himself has deep reservations about the UN plan. "Mr. Denktash just wants to divert responsibility for his own intransigence," the President-elect retorted.

Against the clock for a united Cyprus in EU

Tassos Papadopoulos worked against the clock in efforts to reunify the island in time to join the EU in 2004.

"Papadopoulos worked on a tight deadline but while Turkey's position remains unclear we didn't expect anything drastic,' said Papageorgiou. He said the election win had given Papadopoulos a mandate to negotiate a peace deal in good faith.

"Any new leader is more at risk of running out of time, because even the most conciliatory person in the world after February 28 or April 16th will not get a deal," a diplomatic source told, the Cyprus Weekly.

UN chief Kofi Annan visited Cyprus on February and push for agreement by end of March between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on the UN plan to reunify the island ahead of EU accession in May 2004. As time runs out, the United Nations introduced a second revised plan to clinch a deal before the month is out. The UN have made clear that the plan can only withstand minor adjustments to make a settlement possible. The UN schedule aims at holding referenda on either side of the division on March 30 to endorse a peace deal, enabling a united Cyprus to sign the EU accession treaty in April. President Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash hat at the end of March their last chance in The Hague. Denktash’s intransigence led to the collapse of the whole procedure, which means that his people will not share the benefits of EU membership.

Rauf Denktash came under heavy criticism from Turkish Cypriot newspapers and opposition leaders, who blamed him for rejecting the Annan plan and the collapse of the UN reunification effort. Turkish Cypriots declared a “relentless struggle” against him, after he dashed their hopes for an early solution to the Cyprus problem by rejecting the Annan plan at The Hague.

Failure to reach a Cyprus settlement at The Hague is though mainly due to the unwillingness of Ankara’s hardline establishment to cut a deal that would in any way loosen their grip on power, according to Mustafa Akinci, a prominent Turkish Cypriot politician.

Greece’s Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, warned Turkey that the above collapse of the Cyprus peace effort at The Hague would additionally have serious consequences for its European aspirations. The European press almost in its entirety saw developments at The Hague from the angle of Turkey’s bid for the European Union being compromised because of Denktash’ rejection of the Kofi Annan’s plan.

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7. Turkish Cypriot Uprising of 2002-3

By Turgut Durduran

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing - Albert Einstein

"This homeland is ours"; I heard this slogan from New Cyprus Party [1] campaigns back in 1989, I was 13 back then. New Cyprus Party was rallying around the idea that Turkish Cypriots should break off from the rule of Turkey and refuse to be ruled by orders from Turkey. Its candidates were announcing, "this homeland is ours", therefore, "we refuse being a province of Turkey". For them, EU membership was inescapable and it was desirable. They said that it did not make sense to prolong the status quo in Cyprus any longer. That we should all look forward to getting a "bordeaux coloured passport"[1] and being EU citizens. That we can sign what is on the table ("Ghali Set of Ideas" from Butros Ghali) and live happily in a federated Cyprus[2]. They were welcomed (!) by the so-called "deep state" and its pawns in Cyprus. Threatening letters arrived, then Bombs exploded, then machine guns were fired[3]. How could they reject Turkey's iron first rule in north Cyprus and ask for reunification with Greek Cypriots? In response, they went about releasing declaration after declaration with Greek Cypriot parties. Asking for permissions to cross the border and meet their compatriots. They were also welcomed (!) by the other left leaning parties who announced that this tiny movement consisted of marginal, lunatics, it was putting Turkish Cypriots and "motherland" Turkey in opposition. When those parties joined forces along with the "party of settlers"[4] claiming to be protesting the new election law, New Cyprus Party stayed out. They kept talking about "EU membership and Solution". They received around 1% of the vote.

Years went by fast. One after the other, the two other parties mentioned above joined governing conservative, nationalist parties in coalitions. The coalitions broke apart. It was obvious that they were in the government but they had no power. Power was in hands of Turkish military-civilian bureaucracy. They were finally admitting this themselves. In the mean time, banks were collapsing one after another. Turkish Cypriots who had already been emigrating in mass numbers, who were becoming a minority even in their ethnically cleansed part of their homeland were facing extra economic hardships. Thousands lost their money. North Cyprus continued to be a paradise for money launderers, casinos and drug trade.

A newspaper called Avrupa appeared [5]. They voiced a very harsh criticism against the regime in north Cyprus. They announced that it was under Turkish occupation. Many people used to silently acknowledge that. Some brave organizations had voiced it in the past. This time a daily paper began using that on its front-page. Again, threats came about, bombs exploded, many court cases followed. At some point the editor and some columnists were arrested with phoney spying charges --just to be released soon after. Later the editor and a columnist were arrested for an article the columnist wrote, again to be released soon after.

Enough said Turkish Cypriots. After it was very clear they were losing their money and some big bosses and mafia was pocketing it, they rioted and raided the parliament. Enough said Turkish Cypriots again. The spying charges were too phoney. Thousands filled the streets one day and shouted "This Homeland is ours". Suddenly, thousands uttered that old slogan [6]. It then became the name of a new platform formed by political parties, trade unions, foundations and other NGOs. It was also known as the "41 Organizations". They did a petition announcing "This Homeland is Ours", asked for self-rule and a civilian government. When it was over, it had nearly 18,000 signatures. A general strike followed, 15,000 people attended the rally, 38,000 striked that day. By year 2000, something was clearly brewing. Eleven years later Turkish Cypriots were shouting, "This Homeland is Ours" loudly. By the end of 2002, "Annan Plan" (from Kofi Annan) was presented to two leaders of Cypriot communities, Turkey and Greece. Greek Cypriots and Greece were ready to accept the plan as a basis for negotiations. That was not a surprise. Of the two stubborn goats, Turkey, had just had a rapid change of political leadership and a slim hope of being invited to EU. The signals came in both directions. Denktash, Turkish Cypriot leader, was sick but defiant. Time was ticking. The expected date, 12th December, 2002 was approaching. EU leaders were to meet in Copenhagen and invite Cyprus to join EU. Everyone was looking forward to that date. A solution must be signed by that date. Many were optimistic – at least in appearance. The so-called hawks were against it, of course! Some others were sane enough to be pessimistic. This time 15,000 people shouted, "This Homeland is Ours". Hundreds of signs saying "Eu membership and Solution" appeared. It was few decades late but the will was there. Turkish Cypriots wanted a solution immediately. It was November 2002. Then 12th December came. A diplomacy marathon was going on during days of 12-13th December. Turkish Cypriot leadership was betraying its public. It was not listening to their will. New government in Turkey did not have enough power against the "hawks" and the military. Cyprus was officially invited to EU. Greek Cypriots were celebrating.

Turkish Cypriots felt left out, betrayed. Turkey was also left waiting at steps of EU without fulfilling the accession criteria. It was clear, the occupier and its collaborators did not want to let it go. Turkish Cypriots wanted to be free. In one week a massive dissatisfaction surfaced. Between December 13th and December 26th, there were protests everyday. All large cities saw protests with thousands of people. Turkish Cypriot youth was very active in the front lines. They said "This Homeland is Ours" and we do not want to leave it and formed an initiative called "Operation Saving Our Future". The momentum was picking up.

Finally, on December 26th, more than 30,000 people showed up to a rally in Nicosia. They said "This Homeland is Ours", "Denktash resign" and "EU Membership and Solution". It was the largest rally by Turkish Cypriots ever. This time a new deadline was set, February 28th, 2003. With a little optimism left, Turkish

Cypriots set that date for a solution. Turkish Cypriot public was busy protesting. Different forms of protests led by a wide spectrum of organizations continued. It has spilled to outside Cyprus and protests begun taking place in countries were Cypriots were living, working and studying. The leadership did not acknowledge this strong momentum. Another stronger rally took place on January 14th, 2003. This time more than 50,000 people showed up, some sources giving figures as high as 70,000 people.

A quarter to a third of the population of north Cyprus actively showed their dissatisfaction with the leadership and its policies. Now, hawks in Turkey and in Cyprus have to deal with the public directly. They have not given up, just yet, on January 3rd, 2003, Turkish president Sezer summarized their stance; "The expectations of the Turkish Cypriot people are very important.

Naturally, these expectations will shape the negotiations," but "just as important as the expectations of the Turkish Cypriot people, are Turkey's historical and legal rights in its capacity as both a guarantor power and a motherland. This should not be forgotten either." I do not think I need to comment on this remark. On January 7th, they have announced a policy change taking a positive stance of the UN initiative. However, later on more “hawkish” bureaucrats retracted these following statements. February 28th is rapidly approaching. Protests are still continuing with no success in the horizon. "This homeland is ours" but we do not have the power to rule it. We need to grab it!

Turkish Cypriots cannot handle the "hawks" on their own. We need all progressives around the world to raise their voice with us. Listen to our demands and force your governments to take action. It is not only the right thing to do but it is also critically important for increasing the stability of an instable region --- the Eastern Mediterranean. So show your solidarity and join our struggle [7].

[1] Yeni Kibris Partisi in Turkish. The phrase "Bordeaux passport" alluding to the colour of EU passports has become a 'trade mark' of the party which later united with another group and changed its name to Patriotic Unity Movement (Yurtsever Birlik Hareketi).

[2] The Mediterranean island "Cyprus" has been split into a Greek Cypriot (G/C) south and Turkish-occupied north since Turkey's invasion in 1974 following an abortive coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the breakaway Turkish Cypriot (T/C) state, keeping 40,000 troops on the island. Around 100,000 Turkish settlers moved to the island from Turkey since 1974. Peace negotiations have been unsuccessful to reunite the island for the last 28 years. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan presented a plan on November 2002 to reunify the island before Greek side joins the European Union. The EU has given the T/Cs and G/Cs until February 28 to reach a settlement. As the deadline is approaching, massive demonstrations are being held in Cyprus in favour of reunification of the island. However Mr. Denktash, the so-called representative of T/Cs insists on not signing the U.N. plan. Although T/Cs are no longer behind him, the unelected Army generals and senior bureaucrats support him in Turkey who sees Cyprus as a vital Turkish interest.

[3] For a comprehensive report, please see "Overall View of Political Oppression in north Cyprus" available at tp://www.cyprusaction.org/humanrights/terrorism/longintro.html

[4] "Settlers" is term used to refer to people brought in from Turkey and settled in mass numbers in north Cyprus to alter its demographics. They are estimated to be more populous than Turkish Cypriots residing on the island. One of the demands of Turkish Cypriot protesters is to have a comprehensive census with international observers to establish the accurate origins of its current residents. Settlers have dominated Turkish Cypriot elections for over 25 years, drawing the Turkish Cypriot will. It is commonly accepted that governing parties handed out thousands of citizenships to settlers and non-settlers from Turkey allowing them to vote in elections.

[5] Avrupa later became Africa after faced bankruptcy due to libel cases brought up by Denktash. New name was picked to protest the "jungle law" in north Cyprus.

[6] At this point, to put the numbers in rallies in context, we should note that the population of north Cyprus is barely 200,000. Of that, it is expected that less than half is of Turkish Cypriot origin. The rest are "settlers". There are some 20-40,000 Turkish soldiers (depending on who is estimating the number) "protecting" the Turkish Cypriot population.

[7] There are many initiatives forming around the globe. For more information on these formations see http://www.cyprusaction.org/protests/.

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8. People power rules

By Charlie Charalambous

(From the Cyprus Weekly, April 2003, with the kind permission of the publishers).

Thousands more Cypriots yesterday chipped away at the wall of occupation as they crossed the divide in an emotional show of unprecedented people-power leaving the grid locked politics of the Cyprus problem on the sidelines. Free buses were made available yesterday to ferry Turkish Cypriots to southern destinations in response to the tide of people crossing the ceasefire line while Greek Cypriots were snared in long traffic jams in a rush to see the "other side". Thousands more Greek Cypriots have seized the opportunity to cross the divide while the offer is still open and greater numbers of them are expected to flood north during the Easter holidays. Several hours before the midnight deadline, the 5,000 Cypriots - 3,000 of them Turkish Cypriots - who crossed during the first historic day had already been matched by dusk and sheer people-power forced the government into action. Wednesday's ratio was reversed yesterday as Greek Cypriots felt more confident about travelling to places they had only seen in photographs or prevented from returning to in three decades. "Arrangements have been made for free bus travel to Limassol, Paphos and Larnaca for Turkish Cypriots," government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told reporters. Not wanting to be caught unawares for a second day running, buses were made available at the south end of the Ledra Palace checkpoint to take Turkish Cypriots on a free ride to the coastal resorts. "This will happen every day on the hour every hour between 9am and 3pm," said the spokesman. Although Greek Cypriots had the option of driving across, Turkish Cypriots had to travel on foot, hire taxis or rent cars on the other side due to the government not recognising "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC) number plates. There are no plans to change this policy, which is why buses were made available. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots freely moved across Europe's only divided capital in both directions, the first event of its kind since Cyprus was invaded by Turkey in 1974. Traffic jams the desire to break free of war-imposed restraints resulted in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams in Nicosia on all roads converging on the Ledra Palace checkpoint. There was a similar story at the Famagusta district

Pergamos entry point on the edge of the British bases, where Greek Cypriots venturing into the occupied north had to wait for up to eight hours at the sharp end of the gridlock. Again, there were hundreds more Greek Cypriots seeking to cross compared to Turkish Cypriots. Chrysostomides complained that while the government was trying to ease the queues of Turkish Cypriots, bureaucratic delays were caused by the other side. "Formalities of Turkish Cypriots crossing over are kept to a minimum and we are doing everything we can but there are delays of Greek Cypriots going over," said Chrysostomides. "Anything that improves the situation and erodes division is certainly a welcome step," he added, saying the state "resented" Greek Cypriots having to show passports before crossing north. "Demands to show them is illegal because this is one single country," argued the spokesman. He said Turkish Cypriots crossing need not carry ID if they could "convince" police officers of their origin. Visibly uncomfortable with the showing of passports at the Turkish Cypriot end, the government says it is up to the individual whether they crossed or not, and under what circumstances. "The government cannot vouch for safe and secure travel in the occupied areas but we will not prevent anybody from doing so," said Chrysostomides. Although Cypriots are enjoying unprecedented freedom of movement it seems that restrictions on tourists wanting to do the same remains in place. While Cypriots take advantage of a midnight deadline, foreign tourists must be back behind the lines by 5:30pm. "Restrictions on tourists have not yet changed but some relaxation on our part is available," said the spokesman unsure about what the new policy should be. No incidents have been reported by police of trouble between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Scores of Turkish Cypriots are said to be using their new-found freedom to apply for birth certificates, Cyprus passports and ID cards from the authorities who were caught out by not having forms available in Turkish, an official language of Cyprus. The spokesman argued that Denktash lifted the restrictions only after coming under pressure from his own community after the government signed the EU accession treaty on April 16 and the UN blamed him for the collapse of peace talks in March. "Denktash came under pressure...and became increasingly isolated since the failure of the talks," said Chrysostomides.

Turkish Cypriots go window-shopping

Window-shopping with ice cream cone in hand may be a familiarly mundane sight on the streets of Nicosia on a balmy spring morning. But three generations of Turkish Cypriots strolling through the Greek Cypriot side of the world's last divided capital, for the first time in decades, may carry the seeds of the island's very own "velvet revolution". The Salik family were allowed to be day-trippers in their own city Wedne the UN-manned ceasefire line after Turkish Cypriot authorities lifted restrictions going back 29 years. They were among the first of hundreds of Turkish Cypriots who tested the new regime of encouraged rapprochement and set foot on the other side o Nicosia with its gleaming tower blocks and avenues choc-a-block with plush designer shops and department stores. Leading the group of eight was Cemal Salik, 45, wife Meriam, 35, their son Emre, 9, and daughter Ismet, 15. "We just wanted to see Nicosia for the first time," Cemal, originally from Paphos, told The Cyprus Weekly. Every time they passed a shoe shop, the women would immediately stop to check the designs and compare prices. There was much to do on borrowed time. "I didn't believe they (Turkish Cypriot authorities) would let us through," said Peri Salik, 35, the daughter of Cemal's 58-year-old sister Henie. Peri had only ever met Greek Cypriots in London rather than her own homeland divided by barbed wire since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third after a short-lived coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece. Movement between both sides has been virtually non-existent since the invasion apart from UN-sponsored initiatives like bicommunal pilgrimages. "There is nothing different about Greek and Turkish Cypriots, only language separates us," said Peri.

Fresh start

Her friend and neighbour accompanying the family, Isin Asik, 43, a bank manager, believed that Wednesday was a fresh start to improving things on the ground for ordinary Cypriots divided by mistrust and fear since intercommunal fighting in the 60s. "This is the beginning of a change to Cyprus' future, but it won't happen overnight, it will happen step by step," said Asik cautiously. The family were impressed by the modernity of south Nicosia and noticed how many more foreign tourists there were on the streets compared to north Nicosia. "We don't have these kinds of shops on the other side, it's more cosmopolitan, it feels more European...it's very beautiful," said Peri, sounding like a Cyprus tour guide. Years of international isolation have hit the Turkish Cypriot economy very hard, an economy that is heavily bankrolled by Ankara.

During the same period the government-controlled areas underwent an "economic miracle". Even a few hours in Nicosia, spending the few Cyprus pounds they had, the Saliks could not but miss the stark contrast of lifestyle between the two communities. "Nicosia has changed a lot since I was a child," Cemal reminisced. "Over there, there is no money, there are no tall buildings like over here...it shows in the buildings," he added, while taking a brea from the whirl of consumerism-on-offer.

Kebabs

Serdar Denktash, son of Rauf Denktash, said Monday crossing restrictions would be lifted in both directions, though Turkish Cypriots would have to return by midnight each day. Occupied-north Cyprus is being left behind in EU membership, following a breakdown in UN-sponsored peace talks last month blamed on intransigence by Denktash. "Denktash keeps telling u that the Greek Cypriots will attack us and harm us and degrade us, I don't see that happening here," said Cemal while shopping for Cypriot "31" brandy and Edam-type cheese in downtown Woolworth's department store. The only culture clash among the members of the family was with the youngsters - after checking out music CDs and designer glasses, they wanted to eat a McDonald's, while the adults wanted kebabs. Although enjoying a symbol of popular Cypriot cuisine had to be postponed, the Greek kebab house near Eleftheria Square only sold pork. A small price to pay on the unchartered road map to peace.

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9. Living in the dark

By Nadia Coatsworth

(From Cyprus Mail with the kind permission of the author and the publishers).

Have you ever been blindfolded, maybe in a party game?

Do you remember what it felt like to have your sight taken away?

Did you stretch your hands out, trying to touch something familiar in order to find your position in the room?

It’s a very unnerving and harrowing experience. You shuffle your feet, fearful of falling or knocking something over. And the relief is overwhelming when the blindfold is removed. Just imagine what it would feel like if you could never take that blindfold off, or if two tiny holes were made in the cloth in front of your eyes and all could see was a small area of blurry light.

Maroulla Frantzeskou, 61, was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disorder whereby the light-sensitive cells of the retina gradually deteriorate. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can manifest itself in many ways since it is not one disorder, but many with similar symptoms. For some sufferers, the loss of sight is slow, with the first common symptom being difficulty seeing in poor light. Maroulla remembers bumping into things as a child just like siblings, who were also born with the disorder.

NIGHT BLINDNESS

“I wanted to play ball games with other children, but I couldn’t properly. I was very sad, “ she says.

First the outer fingers of her vision were affected, causing tunnel vision, but with glasses she could just see the blackboard at school. She was a good pupil, but as her sight worsened mathematics in particular became almost impossible. But she stayed at school and with much determination managed to pass some exams, and also learnt English.

Maroulla was never able to see at night, a common symptom of RP sufferers and generally termed “night blindness”.

“I have never seen the stars in the sky,” she says sadly.

When she finished school, she went to work in a family-run laundry and dry-cleaning business, where she remained until she married in 1967. Her first child, Andri, was born in 1968, followed by George in 1971. After the war in 1974, the family moved to England.

George, now 29, thinks that the first time it dawned on him that his mother could not see properly was on his first day at school there.

“I hung on to her leg, telling her to be careful of the road,” he says.

The family returned to Cyprus in 1977, and it was from about this time that Maroulla realized her sight was deteriorating badly. She was also diagnosed with diabetes and more recently discovered, through a serious illness, that she has only one kidney. Today, she is almost completely blind.

We are sitting at her kitchen table. I am directly in front of her, wearing a bright red jacket. I ask her if she can see me.

“I can see something white (my face) – that is all,” she says. Nevertheless, she moves with apparent ease around her large kitchen, fetching some pastries she has made.

“I cook lunch every day for eleven people,” she says. “I know where is in my fridge, and I have no trouble finding what I want.”

Astonishingly, she has even helped to raise her five grandchildren, whom she has minded since they were born. She says that they have adapted to her condition, and the eldest keeps saying that when he is older he is going to find her a “special doctor” who can restore her sight. But there is no cure for RP, and nothing can be done to arrest its progress.

Maroulla is well aware of this, and graciously accepts her condition. She says she never sits around moping or getting depressed, she is just too busy and loves taking care of her family.

In fact, Maroulla would like to get out and about more. “I love to around people,” she says. She is very sociable and gregarious, but now finds herself housebound.

“I don’t like using a cane to go out because it makes me feel stigmatized,” she says.

The prejudice she encounters because of her disability is not unusual, according to Christakis Nicolaides, Secretary General of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind.

“Blind people really struggle in Cyprus,” says Nicolaides, 37, who also has RP.

“People are still prejudiced against the blind. This influences their employability and integration into society.”

The organization has more than 750 members, but Nicolaides estimates that there are over 1,300 blind people on the island. RP, glaucoma, cataracts and accidents account for much of the blindness, but there are other genetically influenced disorders like albinism and Norrie’s syndrome. The latter is peculiar to the Episkopi area, and is sometimes known as the Episkopi syndrome, where there are some 20 members of a related family affected. This rare inherited developmental disorder is characterized by small eyes or, in some cases, no eyes at all.

The organization is currently fighting for blind people to be properly recognized as disabled. Nicolaides says blind people only receive a government allowance of CYP 400 per annum, whereas paraplegics and other wheelchair victims are given CYP 125 per month. He says that in many ways, in the visual-orientated society of today, blind people are even more disadvantaged, but he also recognizes that given the right set of circumstances, they have the potential to be high achievers.

“Blind people should have equal opportunities to everyone else. If they were given the right chances, then they could do more,” says Nicolaides, who himself studied psychology and Mathematics in Germany. In other countries, he says, blind people have successfully become teachers, lawyers, and even members of parliament. Referring to the British Minister of Education, David Blunkett, who is blind and takes his guide dog into the House of Commons, Nicolaides says he could never imagine the day when the same could happen in Cyprus. Unlike in most western countries, the blind of Cyprus are not provided with guide dogs.

“There used to be a blind man in Limassol who had a guide dog, which was poisoned because he was barking” says Nicolaides. He says that neither the general attitude here nor the environment is conducive for blind people to have guide dogs.

“The first word a guide dog learns is “pavement” and there aren’t many of those in Cyprus,” he says cynically. Coupled with a general dislike of dogs in public places and local driving standards, having a guide dog would be almost impossible.

What saddens Nicolaides the most is that there is no rehabilitation centre for the blind in our country. “If Cyprus wants to go into the European Union, it must go in with the blind,” he says.

Nicolaides would like to see blind people less marginalized in society, and given more opportunities to become independent and self-sufficient.

Maroulla also yearns for more freedom, but stoically accepts her disability. “There are many disabilities worse than blindness. At least my mind is good. I can still speak and I can smile.”

WHAT IS R.P.?

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the name given to a group of hereditary eye disorders affecting the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye, in which the first stages of seeing take place. In RP sight loss is gradual but progressive. According to one of the island’s leading ophthalmologists, Dr. Andreas Vorkas, Cyprus has a very high incidence of RP. This is particularly so in villages where there has been a lot of intermarriage. “The worst affected village is Paralimni, which has an unusually high incidence of the disorder,” he says. There are three ways in which RP can be inherited:

AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT INHERITANCE. This is the pattern of inheritance where RP is known to exist in a family, affecting both males and females. The probability of RP being passed from an affected parent to a child is 50 per cent.

AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE INHERITANCE. There will usually be known history of RP in the family, but if two carriers who show no obvious symptoms have a child, there is a 25 per cent chance that he or she will have RP.

X-LINKED INHERITANCE. This is a pattern of inheritance where only males develop the disease, but female members of a family are carriers. Some carriers can develop a mild form of RP. For example, if a man has X-linked RP, his sons will not develop RP, but all of his daughters will become carriers. These daughters will each have and a 50 per cent chance of producing an affected son and a 50 per cent chance of any daughters being carriers. This inheritance pattern is sometimes difficult to identify in a family where there have been no sons for several generations, as the faulty gene could have passed down a line of female carriers and then suddenly affect a male child.

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10. Copy of Kyrenia ship will have ancient port to sail from

By Philippos Stylianou

(From the Cyprus Weekly with the kind permission of the publishers).

Last week saw the successful launch of Kyrenia-Elefhteria, a faithful reproduction of the famous 2,300-year old wreck found off the Kyrenia coast in 1965 and now under Unesco supervision in the occupied town’s castle.

The main purpose of rebuilding this ancient boat is to have it carry Cypriot copper to Greece, to be used in making the bronze medals for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

This is going to be a symbolic gesture of Cyprus’ contribution to the 24th Olympiad, along with a very practical one of 12,000 volunteers it has so far pledged to help run the Games. The copper, for which Cyprus was renowned in antiquity, is being donated by the Hellenic Mining Company in 20 talent pieces, the standard ancient measure. All that is needed now for the Kyrenia-Eleftheria to embark on its thrilling voyage is an appropriate port to sail from.

Ordinarily, it couldn’t have been other than Kyrenia, the port of its call so many centuries ago that has retained much of its historical character but the Turkish occupation makes this impossible.

The next best place is the ancient harbour of Amathus, on the south coast close to Limassol. The fact that the harbour has for ages been lying under the sea poses no serious problem.

Rebuilt

Like the ship, it will simply have to be rebuilt. It so happens that the restoration of Amathus port was considered long before Athens won the 2004 Olympics. A French archaeological team had been exploring and marking it in the 1980s and, thanks to the keen interest shown by the Antiquities Department and later fervently embraced by the local authorities of Ayios Tychonas, the idea grew of reconstructing it.

It now comes in handy for the Olympics and it also becomes a priority, whereas, as is usually the case with grand ideas, it might have had to wait goodness knows until when in order to materialize.

In reality, however, the ancient port will not be restored to its former glory and importance when it buzzed with commercial life and its fleet of 30 warships lined up in their shelters, ready to sprint out and chase any enemy sail that appeared in the horizon.

This was the original idea, but it gave way to a much more modest one, both for reasons of archaeological correctness and expediency.

Instead of rebuilding the harbour, a wooden pier will be constructed all along its outline, similar to the wooden pathway that already runs along the coastline.

Local council chairman Pambos Ioannou accompanied The Cyprus Weekly on a visit to the submerged port and talked about the project. He said that everything was being speeded up with a deadline for June-July 2003. A thick file of draft technical designs he showed us in his office earlier attested to this.

The pier will extend 200 metres into the sea on the west side and 180 metres on the east side, with another 200 metres in between. There will be an opening of about 20 metres to the east, allowing its use by small boats.

Using the proper illumination technique, visitors will be able to view the ancient remnants of the port at a depth of a few feet down to 5-6 metres. One of the outer corners of the pier will be extended to a circular structure on two levels, with a refectory sitting about 80 persons under a special tent, similar to that used for the Kalavassos archaeological site.

The Ministry of Communications and Works has assigned the designs for the pier to the Metsovio Polytechnic of Athens and as soon as they are ready, tenders will be invited for its construction.

Pumps

In order, however, to offer a worthwhile view of what lies under the water, the seabed will have to be cleared of mud and sand. This part of the project will begin when the pier is finished and will be undertaken by the Ministry of Works under the supervision of the Department of Antiquities, so that a thorough archaeological search of the submerged site can be carried out.

Two special pumps will suck out the mixture of sediment and dispose of it through a pipe running under the main road through to the empty space of the Amathus archaeological site on the other side.

Archaeologists on the pier will direct and monitor the work of the pumps on a TV screen to make sure that any archaeological finds are salvaged. Similar work will be done at the receiving end of the pumps. After the separation of the water form the sand, archaeologists will sift the sand carefully for anything worth preserving.

Ioannou said that it is estimated about 55,000 tons of sand and mud would be removed from the harbour basin in this way. With the pumps’ capacity at 500 tons an hour and the sifting of the material, the whole enterprise will take about three months to complete. This includes a deepening of the harbour, where necessary. The total cost of £1m will be borne by the government.

The harbour project will greatly enhance the cultural importance of the whole archaeological area of Amathus, which covers the seafront and the hills overlooking the sea.

The use of Amathus port to demonstrate the solidarity of Cyprus with Greece for the Athens Olympics does not escape historical irony, since this ancient city, dating as far back as the 6th century BC, was one of the strongest opponents to Greek influence on the island in antiquity.

During the fierce struggle for the control of the Eastern Mediterranean between Athens and Persia, Amathus sided with the latter and, in 499-97BC it helped quell the Ionian revolt in Cyprus, led by Onesillos, King of Salamis.

The Amathusians were so fanatical that they cut off Onesillos’ head and hung it at their city gates. When a swarm of bees, however, chose the skull to build its hive, they considered it a divine omen and consulted an oracle, which advised them to bury it with due honours, which they did.

Amathus, a place of worship for Aphrodite and Hercules among other deities, was also closely associated with Greek mythology. According to the Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch (c.50-125 AD), Ariadne, the daughter of king Minos who helped Theseus kill the Minotaur, died and was buried here.

Pregnant

She was pregnant with Theseus’ child when they were caught in a storm sailing off the coast of Amathus.

Afraid for her safety, Theseus put into port and got her off, promising to come back for her. When he finally managed to do so it was too late.

Ariadne had died in labour without giving birth and the distressed hero commissioned two busts for her and left money to the women of Amathus to honour her. The city is also connected to another famous incident of Greek mythology, the ill-fated attack of the Seven against Thebes, celebrated in Aeschylos' tragedy.

Erophile, the wife of Amfiaraos, was bribed by Polynikis with an expensive necklace to convince her husband to join the expedition against his brother Eteocles, king of Thebes.

Amfiaraos was killed, together with Polynikis and the five other allies, and Eriphile met her death at the hands of her avenging son Alcmeon. Theopompos, another ancient writer, wrote that the tempting necklace was dedicated to Aphrodite’s temple in Amathus.

Pambos Ioannou said that a gold necklace had been found under water in the earlier archaeological search of Amathus harbour and is now exhibited in the museum of Limassol. Could it be the one? No one can really tell but one thing is for sure: the old port will have many a story to tell when the time comes ….

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11. Omodhos - The village of the wine makers

By Chrissie Flint

(From Sunjet-Cyprus Airways in-flight magazine, Summer 2002 with the kind permission of the publishers).

The main road from Limassol to the village of Omodhos on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains is perfect for a leisurely drive. As you pass the rolling countryside that leads past countless vineyards to the village the air grows increasingly cooler and clearer - particularly in the summer months - and is a pleasant contrast to the heat of the coastal resorts. It is fun to linger awhile en route and admire the luscious bunches of grapes maturing in the sunshine. They are evidence of the fact that Omodhos is the largest of the six 'krassohoria' (wine villages) and the regional wine centre. On the outskirts of the village there are three different wineries and all welcome visitors to see their wine production and to enjoy samples of their excellent produce whilst admiring the wonderful views across the valley!

After one further bend in the road the waiting is over! Suddenly Omodhos appears on a slope of the valley. Nestling amongst the vineyards the terracotta red of its pitched roofs contrast sharply with the dark green of the vine leaves and the clear azure skies above. As a magnificent backdrop, the smudged grey of the summit of Mount Olympus stands behind. Before descending into the village it is clear to see how Omodhos has been built up around its monastery. Parking is easy, and as a good stroll through the villages reveals something of interest at every turn, comfortable shoes are a must!

The main street of Omodhos is as delightful as it is broad and still retains its original cobblestones. On either side coffee shops and tavernas are interspersed with handicraft shops that jostle for custom, and little stalls, shaded by gaily-coloured umbrellas, offering a wide range of local produce. Amongst the main items for sale are 'loukoumia' (Cyprus Delights), Teratsomelo (carob syrup), jars of preserved fruits, local raisins and the dried rings of bread, that along with village wine are two of the things that Omodhos is best known for. Of course, they go perfectly with each other! As, without doubt, you will enjoy wandering in the pretty narrow alleys, it is best to leave souvenir shopping until later!

The perfect place to begin exploring Omodhos is Stavros Monastery - the Monastery of the Holy Cross - at the end of the main street. This is one of the oldest monasteries in Cyprus. Local legend tells how, in AD 150, the villagers in a neighboring area saw a huge fire burning at night where the monastery stands today. They went to investigate and the flames led them to a cave containing a small stone cross. Believing this to be a Divine message, they built a small chapel on the same spot. Eventually, the monastery was built to accommodate the many pilgrims who visited seeking help from the Holy Cross. In AD 327 when St. Helena stopped in Cyprus on her way back from the Holy Land, she visited the monastery.

Inside, the monastery church is breathtakingly beautiful. Offering candles flicker in the breeze, the sweet smell of incense hangs in the air and the whole church is bathed m golden light from a dozen twinkling chandeliers. The iconostasis is particularly grand as it is intricately carved and opulently covered in gold leaf. Amongst the church treasures is a casket containing the skull of Saint Philip, and several of the church's beautiful icons depict the saint. There are two large silver crosses - one is said to contain a fragment of the Holy Cross, and the other, a small piece of hemp rope that was used to bind the hands of Christ. Both are believed to have been given to the monastery by St. Helena.

Stories about the miracle linked to the monastery abound. It is said that one day there was a blaze in the fields that would not have been detected had the church bell not started to peel on its own. The villagers rushed to the scene and tried to stop the fire but there was not enough water and the flames soon threatened the monastery. The Abbot was so desperate that he fell to his knees in prayer, clutching the original tiny cross that had been found at the spot. Miraculously, a storm cloud formed over the mountains and very soon there was torrential rain over Omodhos and the fire was extinguished! The next day the villagers could see no sign of the fire at all.

The present three-aisled monastery church was originally built in 1150, and extended in the 19th century. The villagers bought the monastery from the Bishopric of Paphos in 1917 for £3,000 and in recent years it has been totally renovated. It is reported to have the largest key in Cyprus! Inside, the monastery church has several contemporary-style stained glass windows, designed by a local crafts-woman, Alexia, who was commissioned to make new windows covering an area of 55 metres. They took Alexia and her helpers three years to complete. In her designs are many of the classic symbols of the Orthodox religion and some more contemporary designs such as her 'window of the lilies' depicting the beautiful creamy lilies used to decorate the Epitaphios at Easter.

There are four smaller churches in Omodhos, the oldest being the little chapel dedicated to Saint Philip that stands in the shadow of a large old laurel tree that local folklore says marks the spot where, in ancient times, there was a temple to Apollo.

Out in the glorious sunshine once again, the maze of little side streets beckon; all the houses are neatly white-washed, or have the mellow hues of their original stone and there are contrasting styles of different architecture to admire. The sides of the twisting, turning alleyways are lined with tubs of flowers, and the countless balconies and staircases are decorated with the vibrant colours of geranium, azaleas and bougainvillea. Several terraces, shaded by leafy canopies of vine leaves, are perfect places to rest over a welcome drink or tasty snack. Two of the traditional houses, belonging to Nicos and Socrates, are open to the public and are amongst the oldest buildings in the village. Both offer visitors a fascinating insight into the lifestyle of years gone by. As well as traditional pieces of furniture including four-poster beds with hand-embroidered linen drapes, copper cooking pots, village-style chairs and the all-important dowry chest, the houses have their original cobblestone floors and a variety of wall decorations including tsestos (the flat, brightly-coloured woven baskets) and interesting old photographs. There is old wine-making equipment including small hand-operated presses that were used to press the grapes, although many villagers will laugh as they admit that more often than not, clean bare feet were used!

At every corner there is certainly something to catch the eye; canopies of vines with huge bunches of glistening grapes, a lazy cat or two languishing in the dappled shadows, and donkeys craning their necks through open doorways - all eager to watch the visitors' progress! Here and there, small groups of women sit in their doorways or courtyards filigree lace with the finest of needles. Beside them, on dark velvet cushions, they proudly display their handiwork. This is known locally as 'pipilla' and includes intricately patterned lace mats in all sizes and the finest filigree lace collars - all keenly priced for perfect souvenirs.

Down one narrow alleyway there are two completely different places of interest. The first is the gallery of the glass craftsman, Demetris Psilogenis. Stepping inside his wonderfully cool studio reveals a wealth of hand-blown glass all made to the island's traditional designs. Demetris is the only glass-blower in Cyprus and uses conventional soda lime glass - and he is proud to explain how he recycles up to 50% of the glass he uses. He shapes the glass into a myriad of classical designs in muted shades of blues and greens reminiscent of the waters of the Mediterranean. Demetris explains that this type of glass can only be coloured using metal oxides, rather than chemicals, so he uses iron, silver, copper and iron to make the different shades. Unfortunately, visitors cannot watch him blow the glass as his workshop is in the village of Souni, but on the walls of the studio are a number of photographs demonstrating his craft and he is very happy to explain any aspect of his work. In contrast he also creates different types of silver jewellery, both in traditional and contemporary designs.

Walking down the alley from the glass studio, take a left at the junction and you will discover a beautifully restored wine press. This press dates from the 15th century and is one of the oldest in Cyprus. It is housed in a traditional rectangular building with a flat roof that has a storage loft at one end. This traditional style of wine press works on a lever system and display boards in Greek and English explain how it worked.

The building and the press were restored during the period 1980-1984 and the mechanism of the wine press was reconstructed with donations from the George & Thelma Paraskevaides Foundation and the Cyprus Government. Today it is classed as an ancient monument and is protected by the Department of Antiquities. Lining the walls of the building are numerous pitharia the huge red clay storage jars used for fermenting the grapes. Close examination of the pitharia show how their makers decorated each in a slightly different way and how they etched their name and the date in the soft clay before it hardened. Several pitharia have the traditional circular stone lids and a number of them are still used by the villagers and in several of the local wineries to store and mature the wine.

Photo: SMALL GROUPS OF WOMEN SIT IN THEIR DOORWAYS OR COURTYARDS PATIENTLY STITCHING THEIR PIECES OF FOLIGREE LACE WITH THE FINEST OF NEEDLES

Walking back towards the main street again, it’s good to linger and watch one of the lace makers at work, or to browse in the little craft shops where wind chimes dance in the breeze. There are several linen shops that have a diverse range of stock including Lefkaritika - the world famous intricately embroidered linen made by the villagers of Lefkara. The Mallia Herb Shop sells fragrant herbal soaps and teas grown in the nearby village of Mallia - very unusual gifts to take home. A little further along the same alley another very distinctive smell fills the air. It can be traced to the little workshop of Panayiotis Papadakis, who is the village leather craftsman. He is happy for visitors to watch as he works, making purses, wallets and handbags in a spectrum of different colours and he will gladly pause to tell visitors about his work and the island's once thriving leather industry.

After all the exploring is done it is great to relax over a traditional meal in one of the village's numerous tavernas, or at least over a long cool drink under a leafy canopy of vines. As you do so, you can just sit back and relish being in Omodhos. Because, without doubt, it is one of the prettiest villages in Cyprus and the pride of its villagers is every bit as evident as the warmth of their welcome.

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12. A European youth exchange project

By Christakis Nicolaides

1. Introduction

The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind undertook a European youth exchange project in October 2001. In this project, which took place in Nicosia, two youth groups from Thessaloniki, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus, participated.

The main themes of the exchange program were “sports for young blind people” and “equal opportunities”, in accordance with the themes that were included in the list of the European Programs for Youth.

2. Content of the project

The seven - day - exchange program, consisted of five main topics as follows:

(a) Presentation of the activities and the working areas of the two groups.

The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind presented films and recorded material on the activities of the Organization, the programs and services offered by the Organization to young blind people and the visually handicapped in general. The leader of the group from Thessaloniki reported on the activities and the programs of his Organization. Both groups distributed material in print and in Braille, which included information about the two organizations, their structure, their services, their programs and activities.

(b) An informative session about the European Youth Project of the European Union.

At a meeting with representatives of the National Agency for Young people of Cyprus, specific information was submitted about the European Youth Program of the European Union. During the session, discussions of the European perspectives of the groups and the organizations they belong to were also discussed.

The president of the European Disability Forum, who had been invited to Cyprus especially for this event, spoke to the participants about the structure of the European Union, the interest of the Union, the efforts made to meet the needs of its disabled citizens and answer their questions.

Though the participants were from two different European countries, they face similar difficulties in their everyday life and this program enabled them to exchange information and ideas on common problems.

Our goals to give them a perception of the EU as an integral part of their historical/ social/ cultural/ political environment, to encourage a better understanding of the diversity of European society, and give them an awareness of the importance of democracy in the social order, have been achieved.

Mr. Clive Spenser, a physical education teacher for the blind in England, traveled to Cyprus and took part in a one-day seminar with demonstrations. He stressed the importance of team sports for young blind people and gave a lecture explaining the rules of Goalball, a team sports game for the blind. Other teachers and experts of sports from Greece and Cyprus gave lectures and detailed information about athletics, swimming, football, etc. The two participating groups in the project also presented their sports programs.

(d) Lectures and discussions about the social, educational and professional integration of young blind people and their employment opportunities in general.

This part of the program may be considered as the most important of the whole project. It lasted for more than three days and many different subjects were covered.

A major aim of this seminar was to promote awareness of the importance of equal opportunities for the education of blind children and students at all educational levels.

For this purpose, the Organizers invited the Presidents and many members of the Councils of the national organizations of Greece and Cyprus, to speak about and discussed the situation in Greece and Cyprus, concerning the education and employment of young blind people in these countries. Many aspects of the available services were gathered, according to the experience and the socio-political position of each expert.

The directors of the schools for the blind of Athens, Thessaloniki and Nicosia, took part in a seminar about the education of the blind and partially sighted people. They referred to the educational perspectives of blind children and compared the existing educational systems. The main speaker at this seminar was a lecturer at the university of Athens, Greece, who introduced us to the policy in Greece and Cyprus concerning the educational integration of young people and the support services for those students. Teachers of the blind made reference to general models and schemes and to concrete policies concerning the assistant/support teachers of blind children and students. Furthermore, they exchanged information about the services provided in their schools.

The two groups had the opportunity to discuss with officers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance the different schemes and services offered to the disabled, in order to enhance their employment perspectives and promote their integration into the community.

Another aim of this program was to strengthen young blind people to play an active role in the society, by encouraging them to be independent/creative and enterprising within a community context, particularly in the socio-cultural and environmental spheres.

The project was also enriched by contacts with other governmental officials, educators and other specialists. Visits to different institutions and organizations took place, where the discussions on common problems, ways of thinking and constructive ideas were very enlightening.

(e) Entertainment.

Many visits to archaeological places, monasteries and traditional villages also took place. During these visits, the young people had the opportunity to hear many details about the history and importance of those monuments for the culture of the island from their guides.

During the program, the two groups also had discussed matters relating to leisure activities (especially music) for young blind people. Blind young musicians from both countries showed their talent by playing traditional instruments and singing during specially prepared meetings of the groups.

3. Conclusions

We hope that with this program we have contributed to the reinforcement of relations between the participants and to the exchange of experiences, opinions, information and beliefs within the common meetings and workshops.

The program allowed all participants to experience and share in the diversity of other cultures, providing a valuable lesson in free expression that encourages international exchange and builds the confidence of all involved.

We also believe that the young participants acquired skills such as the ability to negotiate, the ability to become independent, the ability to manage conflicts and the acceptance of responsibility.

They should have also benefited from the exchange program by:

(a) Discovering other social and cultural realities,

(b) sharing experiences with participants from a varying range of backgrounds,

(d) obtaining information on the status of young individuals in other countries,

(e) discovering new methods/ information techniques/ activities in their fields of interests,

(f) establishing new partnerships/ cooperative ties, and

(g) acquiring skills for integration into the work force.

The whole project was very successful and I think that the participants will remember it for many years. Unfortunately, due to lack of time between the different sessions, events, meetings and workshops, the participants were not able to get to know each other very well and establish long-term relations. My opinion is that during such programs appropriate time to intermingle should be given in order to acquired increased socio-communicative skills.

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13. Nauseating sight of a monastery desecrated by greed

By Demetra Molyva

(From Cyprus Weekly with the kind permission of the publishers).

The evergreen pine, cypress trees and thick rushes along each side of the narrow dirt road at the base of the Pentadaktylos range appeared to grow gigantic and out of proportion as I neared, on foot, the serene monastery of Antimonite, in the occupied Kyrenia mountain district.

I knew I was going to encounter a Byzantine Orthodox monastery that had been brutally looted by an international art smuggling ring, during the Turkish invasion in 1974. My stomach churned at the prospect of what I might see.

For me, going to Antifonitis was a duty, following the easing of movement restrictions across the divide.

I had reported the entire operation of the arrest of Turkish art smuggler Aydin Dikmen, in Munich, in 1997, and was aware that most of the 350 priceless treasures, mainly frescoes looted in pieces, were still stored in the warehouses of the Bavarian police, when they should have been returned to their rightful owner, the Church of Cyprus.

Dome

The 1997 operation was a joint effort by the Bavarian and Cyprus Police, Dutch art smuggler Michel Van Riin, and Cyprus’s honorary consul to The Hague Tassoulla Hadjitofi with the full backing of Archbishop Chrysostomos. It led to the return of 32 fragments of fresco, which had been stolen from Antifonitis, in 1974. They are now showcased at the Archbishop Makarios Byzantine Museum, at the hopric in Nicosia.

Photographer Takis

Cyprus Braille

Issue Number 5 August 2003

Published by the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind

Nicosia - Cyprus

Issue Number 5
August 2003