On Tuesday, April 4, the Cyprus community in Stanmore welcomed an audience of nearly 300 people for the screening of two documentary films by Australian Cypriot filmmaker and director, Kay Pavlou.
The films recalled the 1974 Turkish occupation of Cyprus and its ongoing impact on the people of Cyprus.
The evening was made possible with the support of the Greek Festival of Sydney.
Present on the night were the Deputy Commissioner of the High Commission of Cyprus in Australia, Stavros Nicolaou; the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis; the Chair of the Greek Festival of Sydney, Nia Karteris; and the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW (GOCNSW), Harry Danalis; amongst many others from SEKA and the Federation of Cypriot Communities.
The event attracted Cypriots, Greeks and many others from the wider community who wanted to learn more about the history of the modern day tragedy of a divided Cyprus.
The President of the Cyprus Community of NSW, Andrew Costa, said after the event: “The Cyprus Community Club in Stanmore is establishing itself as a venue for community events that are attracting wider member and community participation and this is a very positive development because we are tapping into the needs of our members and the wider community.”
“Tonight, Kay’s films not only informed many of the history of the occupation and ongoing division of Cyprus, they raised emotions and strengthened all our resolve to end the almost 50 years of illegal occupation,” Mr Costa added.
Those present were able to see rare footage of the initial impact of the Turkish invasion on the Greek and Turkish communities, which were separated by a dividing line between north and south.
Kay highlighted the plight of one particular Greek Cypriot village, which was stranded in the far northern tip of the Cyprus Peninsula – Rizokarpaso. Her ancestral home remains in the Turkish occupied zone.
The films reminded everyone present about the emotional personal and economic impact of the Turkish invasion, which continues to this day.
Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, remains the only divided city in the world. Turkey continues to ignore United Nations Resolutions on Cyprus and international pressure to withdraw its military occupation of the occupied areas north of the Green Line.
The film night also highlighted the once popular city of Famagusta. Previously home to 40,000 Cypriot inhabitants and a thriving seaside destination known as the Paris of the Mediterranean, remains to this day uninhabited, a ghost town, as a terrible memorial to the events of 1974.
