Separation as a Lived Reality, as a Promise and as a Taboo 1975–2003

Abstract

During the 1975–2003 period, any contact between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots was virtually non-existent. Barring a few thousand Greek Cypriots who decided to remain in their villages in Karpasia and were henceforth called ‘stranded’ (in Greek eγκλωβισμένοι or egklovismenoi, literally meaning ‘trapped’), a few hundred Turkish Cypriots who remained in areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, and the singular situation of the border villages Potamia and Pyla, the geographical separation on the basis of ethnic origin was absolute. The relocation from one part of Cyprus to another was prohibited, with the sole exception of the Maronite population who reserved the right to sporadically visit their villages in northern Cyprus and any relatives of theirs residing in Kormakitis. An entire generation of Cypriots grew up in a divided Cyprus, having no contact whatsoever with the other community and the other half of the country.