In the summer of 1974, I was just relaxing after my first year of secondary school and looking forward to going back for the second year.
However, the world was to turn upside down within a few weeks.
On the morning of the 15th July we woke up to military music on the radio (we had only one radio station available to us in Cyprus). The announcements spoke of a take over by the army and that President Makarios was dead.
The following day we heard a recording from a local radio station in Pafos on an emergency broadcast. It was Makarios speaking saying he was alive and that we should all resist the Coup that took place…
On the morning of the 20th July we woke up to the news that Turkish troops invaded Cyprus at Kyrenia.
August 15th:
It’s a big religious holiday and the few people left in the village went for prayers to the church. We went to the tiny little “Panayia” church at the end of our road. It would be the last time ever that church would have a service, ever.
In the evening of the same day we packed into our Austin Morris and with the lights off we drove the few miles to the other side of Astromeritis to the village of Visakia. There we slept on the patio of relatives house, on the floor.
16th August.
There was bombing along our villages during the day.
17th August:
My mum and dad decided to drive back to the village to bring some of our belongings up to the village where we were staying.
The hours went by and they hadn’t returned. It was getting dark.
Eventually they came back in a neighbours car and told us what actually happened to them for the whole day…
6th September
Roula and Myroula are off to Athens. They stayed one night there and then took a flight to London where they stayed at my uncle Pambos’ house In Potters Bar.
Monday 7th October
My parents decided to send me to Greece with a group of other children from large refugee families.
I boarded a boat in Limassol heading to Pireaus.
They split us into groups of 4 and into the windowless cabins. We were very excited about our first trip away from our divided island. In my group of four there was a boy from my village, Christos, a distant relative I believe,
On the first night I slept on the floor, the noise of the engine beneath eventually sending me to sleep.
The next day we went very close to the Turkish boarders with military planes patrolling overhead. On our left we could see Rhodes.
On the second night I slept on one of the beds and the following morning we arrived in Piraeus.
It was hot and hectic at the port and we could see massive coaches there waiting.. But there was quite animated discussions between our chaperones and the people from the coaches.. The coaches left without us.
