October 13, 2006

The Greengos and The Brain Stain

It's been a long time coming. It all started in 1963 when that infamous green pencil came out and divided Lefkosia between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. Which part was safe and for whom depended on your ethnic background. It slowly started to dawn upon the entire population of Stravaraland that this line was for real.

More alarming, however, was that the line started growing inside our heads, becoming a second soul, and taking on a life of its own. Take any Cypriot born after 1963, do a brain scan and I am sure scientists will find the first green line going through a brain, dividing the 'good' part from the 'bad'. Moreover, for two otherwise identical species, the good part will be found on the north side of the brain, while for the second one the opposite would hold, namely a good part in the southern sector of the brain.

1964, 1967, 1974, 1996 brought about major brain shocks that firmly established the green line in both our heads and our collective conscience. The first two for the Turkish Cypriots, and the latter two for the Greek Cypriots.

Now, though, the Greek Cypriots have joined that club of higher nobility known as the EU. Now, human rights on both sides can be sorted out in courts. A complete and final settlement of the property issue by suing each other until Kingdom comes. Or disappears. You be the judge, depending on the size of your own Green Stain .

Allow me a metaphor. It is a bit like introducing seat belts. Without the seat belt you drive safely and a few people get killed for not wearing them. Introduce the seat belt and you feel that there is no need to be careful because the belt is there. End result? Same number of fatalities. If it so happens that you also have a green line running through your head, then fatalities will increase. If the green line, God or Allah forbid begins to wane, then what you need is just a major shock to revive it, making sure never to erase it from the brain.

Why do I suddenly say all this? Imagine the impact of all these law suits in the name of human rights that both communities are unleashing at each other. For sure this will solve the property issue one way or another. It might solve it by ending the uncertainty about property rights in the northern stravarapart but what the hell, they have some catching up to do so that TeePee can welcome them back to the Republixx. This may also help dispel the myth of the long overdue vindication in that elusive guise of a European solution.

But will it ever help remove the green line running through our heads? And if, in fact, it actually works towards making green line thicker, EU laws and safeguards not withstanding, will that not make for a dangerous new world for the future inhabitants of what we now [still] call Stravaraland?

originally posted by Apodimos Kypreos

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Emm, I doubt whether racially we are any different that T/Cs - maybe ethnically?

In any case, you can't solve a political problem in court... this is all BS - suing, left and right will not do anything to solve the problem. It will, however, provide some financial compensation for people that have lost their property and have realised that this problem will not be solved in the near future.

14 October, 2006 13:32  
Blogger Noullis said...

Dear m,

I don't think Apodimos in any way claims that there is a racial distinction between the two 'ethnic' communities. I believe he simply states facts concerning dates in post independence history that have had a lasting impact.

14 October, 2006 23:41  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am referring to this sentence in paragraph one: "Which part was safe and for whom depended on your race."

I know I am being anal, but the devil lies in the details.

15 October, 2006 13:31  
Blogger Noullis said...

You are right, ethnic is correct, devil in the details indeed

15 October, 2006 20:14  
Blogger Noullis said...

Fixed, thanks to apodimos & m. I believe the referenece to race was made by Koulias. All passwords have been changed to ensure that this sort of thing never happens again.

15 October, 2006 23:48  
Blogger Sraosha said...

The green line was drawn across (a map of) Nicosia in 1957, I think, during the first intercommunal riots.

16 October, 2006 13:39  
Blogger Noullis said...

This is from wikipedia, I believe it is historically accurate:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term Green Line is often used to refer to the line of demarcation that divides the Cypriot capital of Nicosia into the southern Greek Cypriot region, the controlled area by Republic of Cyprus and the northern Turkish Cypriot region, which is occupied by Turkey. It was first established in 1964 when Turkish Cypriots decided they needed their own enclaves for protection

16 October, 2006 15:44  

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