START HERE greekness: a love letter to the deafening silence.

 

I do not claim to know the history of this island but i strive for it. I do know and love the fact that I will never achieve a whole and static conception of history. Yet, here i am trying to present a static somehow progression of events from yesterday, today, in an effort to expose the social traits, scars, obsessions we still haven't dealt with.

Bluntly, for the most part of its recent history (around the 20th century), a large portion of the island screamed for the unification with Greece. The uprooting, the terror, the killings were naively driven by the constant screaming of the greek community for enosis. Like a helpless baby screaming unceasingly for no obvious reason, until someone looks after it and ease the baby's pain, the greek community, ignored all efforts to develop a modern state blessed by the developed nations unless they got what they wanted - enosis. 

To clarify, anyone can identify however they want to.We are not against the greek community as we are not against any other group of people that strives to be self-determined. I do not believe i am a greek cypriot and if i have to identify as something it would be cypriot. A human that happened to be born on this geographic area. Even more, if its name wasn't republic of cyprus i could not care less. Hence, all people that were born here are its unmistakable citizens and my fellow co-patriots. Ideally, anyone who wanted to assume this identity should be encouraged to do so. 

The greek element of our upbringing is circumstantial [περιστασιακό]. With enough knowledge of any medium of knowledge and in our efforts to express our feelings, we later relate to  universal principles.  Love and care among others, are words we identify with and through our actions we bring them into being. Then, our language becomes only a means of communication. Culture is alive and we shouldn't deny its playful nature from humans.  

The fetishism of ethnic histories or the legal declarations of identities, does not solve anything: what if a nation-state declares that every human being on this world is its rightful citizen? However, it is of highly importance to encourage the perseverance of all social groups and individuals and intervene whenever the lives and wellbeing of other social groups and individuals, are under threat. To learn to appreciate other cultures and subcultures is a trait I would like to develop. 

On the other hand, the fact I was born and raised on this island - the nation-state, makes me its rightful citizen - unless the government excludes other identities that I identify with, i can proudly declare that i am a cypriot. Now, as a barely active citizen looking after the commons and imagining ways to improve the wellbeing of our lives, cannot but continuously stumble upon the open wound of the past, bleeding slowly but surely numbing the injured humans. 

There is no way to improve the future without a reconciliation with the past.

At present, I am astonished with the suppression of the glorious god-loving feelings towards the  unification of the island with greece. Judging from the extend these feelings affected the island's recent history, there is no vocal demand for enosis at present. And for good reason. The turn of the right to moderation serves only it's political goals: not communism, and shows that it has been all along a political game. Don't get me wrong, the left did it too. Men create power and then they die demanding it. It has all been a change of clothes: from the brownish outfit and the green beret of EOKA to the airy black suits and blue ties. 

Though, there's more to that. We support all efforts by the colonized peoples to liberate themselves from imperial powers. However, the revolt may be driven by different motives and ideals. That seems to explain the negative attitude AKEL maintained throughout(?) the revolt. However, as Democretos points out, this approach clearly violates fundamental principles of the revolution as examined and practiced by the Bolsheviks and V.I Lenin. Even a revolt from the middle classes is an opportunity for the proletariat to seize power.  AKEL failed to fulfil its historical and ethical obligation when the opportunity arose. The motives of the revolt, solely determined and driven by the Right and the church, rejected the Left from participating in their fight for *self-determination*. Apparently, AKEL should have ignored their authority and actively join the fight. 

Another question shines on the horizon: was it a victory for anyone? The martyrdom of the young greek cypriots, clearly presents a victory somehow to some...

...

Someone wrote that cyprus joining the European Union was a different victory for the enotikous (pro-enosis).  A reading of this statement can be through the lens of social psychology(?). In our search for validation, europe can substitute greece. Could it be the unfulfilled feeling for enosis that later shifted to europeanism in an effort to enforce and legitimize westernized morals and identities among locals? (A further expansion of the relationship between hellenism and europe might be necessary)

Could it also be a victory because of the widening of the gap between the two communities? Ironically, thinking about the genocidal europeans exploring the new world we cannot but find similarities from our recent past with the turkish-cypriots. It's as if we were conscious of their {the europeans} horrific domination of anything foreign they encountered. In other words, we [the greek cypriots] became europeans the moment we purged our copatriots. In contrast to the beloved declarations of human rights, europe was build on the lives of the colonized peoples. Thus, to exhibit and declare to the world of our shared european values, others had to be sacrificed. Also, the courage to do so, derives from anachronistic tendencies to avenge past horrors done by fallen empires.

P.S. enosis was becoming unattainable long before the non-forgotten invasion of 74. That intervention was long overdue as the very existence of the minority was under attack long before it. At present, in a similar manner, enosis with the other half of the island is increasingly becoming unfeasible...

the climax of nationalism - scene

 Under the scorching sun, humans going to and fro uncannily uninterested in the dangerous consequences of excessive exposure to sunlight, cannot but beg the question of why do they still do it. And the answer shines even brighter than the sun-rays, shining through the long history of the human civilization still burning us up here and now. 

Work cannot be normalized even further. One cannot even conceive a world in which people do not work (wage-labour) and when it spontaneously does occur at a moment of weakness, it is surely dismissed as a utopian fantasy.

In any case we are still under the suffocating sun consuming our lives away while finding solace in artificial environments. Suddenly, a familiar man runs through the busy crowd and his presence disturbs the processes of consumption that people happily partake. His swollen belly and the old stretched knitwear shows of a time where this outfit might have looked good on him. Now, it just hinders his strong will to reach somewhere further up. However, he stops to breathe and as if he is giving up on his quest, he starts shouting with all the energy he is left with, probably to transmit his message through different means. Indeed, he was a smart man.

"Cyprus has become part of Greece!" "The eternal will has finally been fulfilled!" "Ζήτω η Ένωσις!"

Naturally, all eyes were on him. Unsurprisingly, not for the best reasons. There was a unnerving silence for a long time. People that heard the god-loving words, did not know how to react. Everyone was expecting someone else's actions after the information has been initially perceived. 

"Should i jump into this public bench in ecstasy in a victorious posture now that my relatives wish has finally been fulfilled and then stop to cry at the fact that they cannot experience this moment of glory due to death?" or

"the fascists are still everywhere watering the seeds of hate and division with delusional anachronic statements. Even if true, nothing justifies his actions to disturb the lives of the consumers, at their time off work and even more,  the workers unwillingly involved. Another example of Hollywood-like love to a nation. Another script to be written showing the horrors and pain of the greek-cypriots in the struggle for Enosis. Another oscar to be won for whitewashing the bloodshed."

The few that understand his language, after a moment of a brief recollection of their scattered knowledge on a topic which is nowadays forgotten, gave in to the thoughts of their sustenance. The holy struggle lost to hunger. Turning their heads to the colourful and vivid signs of the familiar chain-restaurants, carried on with their performance of consumption...