Commemorating 50 years of Turkish occupation, hardship and struggle in Cyprus

The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens marked the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus on Tuesday with a photo exhibition aiming to visually recount the devastation of 1974.

“This year marks a tragic anniversary for Cyprus. Fifty years ago, in July 1974, Turkey illegally invaded [the northern portion of] Cyprus in violation of the UN Charter and international law,” Cypriot Ambassador Stavros Avgoustides said in his opening address to an audience of mainly Cypriots, foreign ambassadors, and Greeks.

The 1974 Turkish invasion resulted in 36% of Cypriot territory falling under de facto Turkish control. Some 200,000 Greek Cypriots were forced to flee south, abandoning their homes. Wounds still run deep.

The emotional weight of this 50-year anniversary was palpable at Tuesday’s event. The Cypriot ambassador and the director of the Cyprus Press and Information Office Aliki Stylianou, made impassioned statements condemning the Turkish occupation and describing the trauma experienced in 1974 and its aftermath. They expressed hope that the event’s photographic exhibition and accompanying film would convey the severity of the “Cyprus problem” more effectively than words alone.

Petros Charalambous’ short film “Operation Museum” offered viewers insight into the little-known but historically significant efforts of Vassos Karageorghis, who back then was director of the Department of Antiquities, to protect historical artifacts.

Amid heavy Turkish bombardment, Karageorghis and his department’s staff successfully moved almost all artifacts housed in the Cyprus Archaeological Museum, protecting Cyprus’ 7,000-year cultural heritage from potential destruction. Screenwriter Costas Mannouris explained that the “exhibits of the museum are the body of the memory of our country,” and thus Karageorghis’ actions were heroic during a time of great adversity.

The exhibition, for its part, featured a collection of exclusive photographs owned by the Press and Information Office, depicting war-torn Cyprus in 1974. Viewers were transported to the dire conditions faced by the Greek-Cypriot refugees. The images showed children in refugee camps, families struggling to care for their young ones, and elderly women exhausted from their arduous journeys.

Photographs also highlighted the outrage over missing persons. Mothers holding signs reading “2,500 Greek Cypriots are missing. Cyprus is still bleeding,” children displaying pictures of their missing parents, and images of Greek-Cypriot soldiers and civilians taken hostage by Turkish troops underscored the people’s anguish.

The exhibition also addressed the cultural devastation caused by the Turkish invasion. One photograph showed a civilian attempting to salvage icons from a Greek Orthodox church, and another the desecration of the Agia Marina Church in Yialousa and the looted graves in the cemetery of Gypsou village.

“These photographs form an invaluable archive of wartime art. They are essential in the preservation of memory, especially for younger people who did not experience those life-changing events,” Stylianou noted.

“In order to remember and never forget, we must constantly relive these past events and tell the raw reality of the tragedy that unfolded and continues to unfold in Cyprus,” Avgoustides told Kathimerini English Edition.

“In this way, our country’s youth can find the strength to reacquire our lost lands, our lost homes and the lost areas of our island, but also to vindicate the struggle and sacrifice of all those who lost their lives.”

Achilles Frangos is a summer intern at Kathimerini English Edition, and a third-year college student at Columbia University.