That’s why I am not comfortable with your stance toward the Cyprus problem. Even though a Zulu states with pride his relation and connection to the Greek civilisation, you are hiding with guilt and other complexes your Greek history and tradition, the fact that Cyprus was always a part of the Greek civilisation. Even when he, the Zulu we are talking about, considers that the Hellenic spirit has embraced the whole planet, you are in danger of losing your own homeland, a very ancient source of Hellenism. Don’t you realise that the continuous projection of history, the Greek identity of Cyprus, is a ‘weapon’ for your struggle? To conclude the chapter of my love toward Greek mythology: When, for the first time, I was going to leave my country I saluted my mother and my other relatives with the phrase ‘Ο αργοναύτης ξεκινά’ (The Argonaut is going).
Nevertheless, the third destination of my Argonautic campaign, after Greece and England, which is Cyprus (I have come to its university), has filled me with negative feelings. Because having a direct experience with the South African struggle for freedom and equality, I never believed that I would have noticed so many mistakes, criminal mistakes, omissions and careless mistakes by you.
I give two examples: In our country white people tried to create a partitioned country, separated into whites and blacks, separated into two election bodies and separated into two areas, one with a white majority and one with a black majority. All this would be joined in a so called ‘single’ state with different federal forms. The Zulus of South Africa understood the trap, that we would have further strengthening of the racist regime, that there would just be a change in name not in essence. They opposed this strongly. They proudly, continuously and loudly declared: South Africa will be a single united country, where all its citizens able to move and live freely in any part of it they want, there will be a single election body and every human will be equal to one vote.
I cannot understand you Greeks. You are deliberately accepting racist discrimination, separate areas and that every Greek-Cypriot will equal to half a vote and every Turkish-Cypriot to four. Unbelievable, you even accept rotating presidency. How is this ever possible!
Another example: For us, our ideological framework was clear. Our beliefs and values were not ‘laces’ for the carnival dance. If somebody was considered to be willing to talk about separate areas or other opinions of the white colonialism and the racist regime, he was immediately isolated. They pointed at him with disgust and regarded him as a coward and a traitor. He expressed the worst conservatism, racism and oppression. Our women would not talk to him; our men would turn their backs at him with disrespect. And that’s why we won, because Zulus stood with pride. I view a big reverse of action in you. They come and tell you the same we were told by the supporters of the apartheid, but yours have a look on their face as if they are saying great, progressive and modern things! This is not possible, ‘Lord, set a guard upon my lips’. You listen to them, you don’t speak of treason and you don’t ostracize them.
I believe that they dare say these unhistorical things and dare declare these racist views because society has no control over them and doesn’t reject them. A society which has lost its self-confidence and its pride will lose the battle at some point. So, I believe that the Greeks of Cyprus need to ‘take’ some pride from the Zulus.
Saka Digane, Student of Politics and Sociology in the University of Cyprus
