Thursday, 1 August 2024

Cyprus settlement

Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (11:00): July marked a very sad milestone, one that is felt deeply by the Hellenic community. It has been 50 years since the invasion of Cyprus and the continuing division on the island. I acknowledge the 175,000 people who lost their homes and all of their possessions. I acknowledge the families of the 9000 people who lost their lives, and I acknowledge the families of the 1000 people who remain unaccounted for 50 years later. I have grown up knowing people with harrowing stories of the events of July 1974. I know people whose loved ones remain missing presumed dead. I know people who picked up their families and ran, leaving everything behind thinking they would return home but were never able to. I know someone who was just an infant when he arrived in Australia from Cyprus as a refugee. He does not have his original birth certificate; it was left in a drawer at his home along with family photographs and other precious possessions. He and his family fled, and never saw their home or their possessions ever again. The story is repeated thousands and thousands of times over. I have also heard of remarkable stories of goodwill between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. I have heard from people who have since visited homes that they lost in 1974 and been warmly embraced by the current residents of their homes. Many of them even held onto their possessions in anticipation of such a meeting. No hate between them, just humanity. My hope on this 50th anniversary is that every ounce of humanity, every ounce of goodwill is harnessed to finally, once and for all, resolve this issue.