Today I awoke to the distant sound of sirens. After a moment I recalled an interaction with a local who informed me that in recognition of the anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus some 49 years ago, the alarms would sound around 5 am. The droning noise faded and then slowly grew louder than it had before, and despite knowing why and that nothing was wrong, my heart still beat faster, and a wave of fear swept over me. It was in 1974 that the island would awake to a day that would change it forever more. In the first phase of the invasion 40,000 Turkish troops landed on Norther Cyprus following years of building conflict between the desires of Turkish and Greek Cypriots. The Turkish troops acted in response to a Greek sponsored coup d’état which removed the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, and replaced him with a pro-Enosis nationalist named Niko Sampson. After taking control of a small portion of the island a ceasefire was called, but failing peace talks eventually led to Turkish forces increasing their numbers in August, resulting in the capture of roughly 36% of the island. A ceasefire was again called and the line that was held by Turkish forces at this time became and remains the UN Buffer Zone across the island. Some 150,000 people were forced to leave the Northern half of the island and 60,000 Turkish Cypriots were forced to move from the South to the Northern portion of the island in the proceeding months. The so-called Green Line which still divides the island is why the capitol city of Nicosia looks the way it does today- divided in two. In 1983 Turkey recognized the portion of the island north of the Green Line as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) although they are the only country internationally to do so. Upon entry of Cyprus into the European Union the TRNC is viewed as an illegally occupied territory under international law. The division of the island affected all Cypriots and remains a touchy subject. Before writing this post, I noticed that the Serano brand peanuts I have been snacking on throughout my time here was a company founded in 1974. Curiosity took over and lead my right back to the topic at hand. While being founded in 1970 the original Serano team, husband and wife Evangelos and Olga Neophytou, were forced to leave their house, becoming refugees as a result of the war. Working with what knowledge they had built in the years leading up to the invasion, they did what they could and started Serano. They now continue to run and build their business, reaching international markets with the help of their children. There are thousands of stories like these across the island, but the roots of why they are where they are now are not forgotten, and I imagine many Cypriots felt the same jolt I experienced waking this morning to the sound of sirens.  

-Grace Simonsen