Nicosia, April 23 (PTI): Once a thriving commercial hub in Cyprus, Famagusta is now a ghost city frozen in time and its decaying hotel buildings, apartments and restaurants tell the story of a bitter division of the small island.
The city, which is located in the east of Cyprus, was sealed off and closed by Turkish forces after the second phase of an invasion on August 14, 1974, during which they occupied about 37 per cent area of the country.
The Varosha shoreline of the city was the key sector of the economy and and the prime property site before the invasion.
It boasted of over 50 per cent of the total hotel accommodation of Cyprus. There were about 100 hotels and 5,000 houses, businesses and other buildings in the city.
It was the main port in terms of people and goods mobility. Export from the port of Famagusta represented more than 42 per cent of the country’s total export.
The people who had to flee from the occupied area during the invasion still recall the good old times when the two communities of the country — Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots used to live in harmony.
“When the Turkish occupation forces invaded, more than 100,000 people, mostly Greek Cypriots who were living in the city, had to flee and live in refugee camps,” Christina, who was born in Famagusta, said.
“There were big hotels and apartments in the city at that time…That was the most developed area of the country. It was a bustling city with a lot tourists. It was the main port in terms of people and goods mobility. Export from the port of Famagusta represented more than 42 per cent of the country’s total export.
“All the buildings are deserted now with no access to the shoreline. The area has been fenced off by Turkish occupied forces and only residents of the area are mice, snakes and other animals,” Christina, her voice choking, said while telling her story.
The two sides though opened some entry points in 2003 to facilitate the people-to-people contact, Famagusta is still a prohibited area.
Fences obstruct the people from gaining access to the shoreline. Barbed wires, concrete barricades and warning sign boards erected by Turkish army keeps people out off the area.
Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is too divided into two parts with a line called the ‘green line’ separating the two parts.
Though there has not been a single incident of firing on the ceasefire line for twenty years, the unease among the people is quite evident.
“I still remember the time when we were together and I hope the two communities can reach a agreement and we can get united,” a resident of the old town of Nicosia, who owns a shop near the green zone, said.
The country’s main airport in Nicosia also falls in the buffer zone that has been deserted for more than 43 years now.
Aleem Siddiqui, Spokesperson for UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, which maintains the status quo along the 183 kilometre-long ceasefire line, feels that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the Turkish occupied area Mustafa Akinci represent the last generation who could remember living together so it was important for them to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem.
“If there is any success in the talks, it would be their success and if it is not it would be their failure,” Siddiqui, who is of Indian-origin, said as he mentioned the contributions of Indian police force in the Cyprus peacekeeping mission.
President Anastasiades feels that it was the interference of external forces which was keeping them away from a solution.
“If me and Mustafa were to take take a decision, we would have reached the solution to the Cyprus problem in three months,” the President said, indirectly referring to the influence of Turkey over the decision-making process in the occupied areas of Cyprus which is economically dependent on Ankara as it is the only country in the world to recognise the area.
He said issues between the two sides remain, but he is still hopeful of a solution.
The talks between the two sides to reunify the island stumbled over the years over the issue of territory and security.
Turkish speaking community wants a significant say in the decision-making process and want Turkish forces on the ground even after the reunification which are the main sticking points in the talks.
Authorities feel that the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants could inspire the people of two communities to believe again in the possibility of a solution to the Cyprus problem and restore lost glory of the seaside city.
