Cyprus sets aside €100,000 to record testimonies from before ‘74

Deputy Culture Minister Clea Hadjistefanou-Papaellina announced on Friday a €100,000 sponsorship scheme to collect the testimonies and archives of the those who lived before the Turkish invasion. The scheme, called ‘Nostos’ (homecoming in ancient Greek), funds the recording of personal accounts and the preservation of historical archives. The deputy ministry also backs a separate plan to strengthen periodical publications of occupied municipalities, which keep displaced residents in touch with their hometowns and villages. The exhibition was jointly organised with the Union of Occupied Municipalities, and coincides with events protesting the Turkish Cypriot unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) of 1983. “We want our children to know Kyrenia, Famagusta, Morphou and all our occupied lands,” Hadjistefanou Papaellina said. Speaking of her own refugee background, she said that 52 years after the invasion “the occupation remained an open wound”. “The passage of time does not negate the historical truth,” she said. She said the state had a duty to keep working to “end the occupation and restore the rights of the displaced”.