The pain of the violent uprooting, the anxiety of finding temporary accommodation until they return to their homes, the difficulties they faced during the first days as refugees, that became months, years, the sadness, but also the joys in refugee camps, such as births and weddings, remain deeply engraved in the memories of the Cypriot refugees.
Housing the thousands of refugees who were expelled from their properties during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was a great challenge for the Government which was called upon to manage the economic and social consequences, among other things, of the Turkish invasion.
The refugees were forced to seek temporary shelter where they could, such as staying with relatives, but also in temporary accommodation facilities granted to them by the Government.
Many stayed for years in tents in refugee camps, where they faced countless difficulties due to lack of infrastructure, especially when it rained, as reported daily in the press of the time. Tents blown away by strong winds, settlements flooded by the rain, requests, among other things, for the improvement of housing conditions, for expediting works for the installation of electricity, running water and the construction of toilets in the camps, but also for a rent allowance so that they could find more suitable accommodation.
The construction of residential units, apartment buildings and houses, in the government estates of displaced persons began in 1975 and continued until the mid-1990s, according to data from the Department of Town Planning and Housing of the Ministry of the Interior, while some residential units were also erected or reconstructed in the period between 2006-2011.
Many refugees remained for years in camps until they were given a house in a settlement or finished building their house in a self-housing area.
Michalis Michail from Famagusta, who was 11 when he fled the coastal town, narrates to the CNA, the conditions in which he and his family lived in the refugee camp in Dasaki tis Achnas for about six years, from August 1974 until 1980 when they moved to a house they built in Dromolaxia through the Government self-build housing project.
Michail told CNA that they initially, after fleeing Famagusta, as the Turkish troops were advancing, they slept for two days in a lemon tree orchard outside the town, while two days later, British soldiers came and put them in buses that transferred them to a forest area outside Achna village, which now is known as Dasaki tis Achnas.
'When we arrived, there were already about 30,000-40,000 refugees', he said. Michail said that during the first few days they slept under the pine trees, and they were later given a family tent while a year later, camp beds.
'Our tent used to flood in the winter, our parents were afraid that we would get sick. We cooked on wood, in a cauldron. We children used to carry the wood for the fire', he said.
'Two or three years later they built shanty homes for us and we stayed there until 1980. My sister got married in Dasaki tis Achnas, in those homes.
Michail also said there was no running water, and that it was brought in by tankers, while there was a wooden construction, covered with canvas bags used as the toilet area. There was also an area for bathing and people used to bring a bucket of water with them to use it to wash.
Michail and his family left the camp in 1980 when the house that his father was building by himself in Dromolaxia, in the Larnaca district, on a plot of land granted to them by the Government as part of the self-housing scheme, was completed. Along with the plot, the Government was also giving a sum of money to refugees to build their house.
According to data from the Department of Town Planning and Housing, the carving of plots for self-housing began in 1976, while such areas were created in all districts. In total, 14,063 plots of land throughout Cyprus have been granted for this purpose, 2,843 plots were given in Nicosia, 2,314 in Famagusta, 4,421 in Limassol, 3,994 in Larnaca and 491 in Paphos.
Waiting for 10 years for a refugee home
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Sokratis Ioannou, who was living with his wife and their just 6-month-old son in Xeros village when the invasion took place, told CNA that initially, after fleeing the village, they stayed with relatives, and later in a house with is his wife and child, his in-laws and his wife's two sisters.
In 1978, the family of three moved to a temporary dwelling area with shanty homes, in Strovolos, near the Kykkos B' Lyceum, on land owned by the Kykkos Bishopric.
He said the Bishopric had given permission to refugees to build temporary accommodation there and that he, since he had found employment by then, paid 500 Cyprus pounds to have a room, a kitchen and a toilet built. They stayed there for about six years, waiting to be given a refugee home. At the beginning of 1979, his daughter was born.
The family of four moved out of there in 1984 when they were given a house in a government refugee estate in Lakatamia, in the Nicosia district, as were many of the people living in that temporary settlement.
The temporary accommodation that still houses generations of refugees
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Of the 13,635 housing units in the 66 government refugee estates, more than 95% belong to 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation refugees, according to the same data from the Department of Town Planning and Housing, while a small percentage are people who bought the apartments later, non-displaced Cypriots and/or nationals of foreign countries, who bought the apartments from the original beneficiaries or their heirs after the title deeds were given to them.
The majority of refugee estates, 22, with 6,952 residential units, are located in the Nicosia district, 14 in Limassol (2,947 residential units), 13 in Larnaca province with 3,320 units, 10 in Paphos with 284 units and seven in the Famagusta district with 132 units.
But over the years, the houses, and especially apartment buildings presented many problems with the residents asking for solutions.
Currently, the 'Ktizo' scheme is underway, which, according to the press officer of the Ministry of the Interior, Margarita Kyriakou, 'constitutes the most drastic intervention of the State in the housing sector in the last 50 years, since it was called upon to address the need of the displaced for mass housing after the invasion'.
She noted that the scheme, introduced last April by the current Government, aims to solve, once and for all, the problems faced in the 358 apartment buildings in the refugee estates throughout Cyprus.
The Interior Ministry's and the Government's vision 'is to ensure decent and safe living conditions for hundreds of our fellow citizens', she said. The scheme, she added, was 'a priority of the Government' as part of its housing strategy, which is under configuration, and which aspires to modernise policies and programmes centered around the establishment of a unified housing agency.
According to Kyriakou within the framework of the 'Ktizo' scheme, 245 apartment buildings have been judged to be in a satisfactory condition, 70 apartment buildings present problems and need maintenance, while 43 apartment buildings face static issues and their repair was deemed unsustainable.
She said that the implementation of the scheme has begun with the evacuation and demolition of 20 apartment buildings that have been found by the experts to be dangerous and unsuitable, as priority. The residents of the 183 apartments in these buildings have already been informed about the provisions of the scheme and have started vacating their apartments and submitting their declarations of interest to participate in the scheme.
It is estimated that before the end of 2023, the construction of the first apartment buildings will begin, with a two-year horizon as regards completion of their reconstruction, Kyriakou said.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency