Hande Toycan, who’s Turkish-Cypriot, and Flora Hadjigeorgiou, a Greek-Cypriot, are among the many many ladies who associate with the UN on the Mediterranean island to strengthen engagement, equality and stability.
A shared bond
Ms. Toycan was born and raised within the northern metropolis of Famagusta, and nonetheless lives there. She is a member of the Famagusta Cultural Affiliation and studied Greek language and literature in Ankara, the cultural capital of Turkey.
Ms. Hadjigeorgiou, a retired instructor who fills her time with hobbies and different actions, is a part of the Klotho Girls’s Initiative.
Although coming from completely different communities, each ladies have a ardour for weaving. Nevertheless, neither was conscious of their shared bond.
“At first, our pals Mustafa and Maria who work at UNFICYP instructed us in regards to the challenge, funded by the Dutch Embassy, and instructed us to use,” mentioned Ms. Toycan.
Bringing communities nearer
UNFICYP, formally the UN Peacekeeping Drive in Cyprus, has been within the nation since 1964.
The mission’s “blue helmets” police and monitor a buffer zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Take heed to our interview with UN Particular Consultant Elizabeth Spehar, who heads UNFICYP:
UNFICYP additionally facilitates tasks to carry the 2 sides nearer collectively.
“They put us in touch with the women from Famagusta, and so a bi-communal challenge started,” Ms. Hadjigeorgiou recalled.
By means of a centuries-old custom, the ladies started to weave a brand new relationship.
“Weaving is a part of our previous,” Ms. Hoycan defined. “This connection and collaboration between the 2 associations…is a really constructive instance of the intercommunal cooperation between the 2 communities, as a result of it isn’t at all times straightforward for many individuals to get collectively and do issues.”
A brand new expertise
By means of collaborating on completely different weaving tasks, the ladies exchanged information, opinions and concepts. The expertise marked a primary for Ms. Hadjigeorgiou.
“Till this, I had no contact with the Turkish-Cypriots in any respect. The primary time I got here into contact with a Turkish-Cypriot, was with the Klotho challenge,” she mentioned.
“It helped so much in reconciliation as a result of on this facet, we had no contact with Turkish Cypriots.”
Weaving additionally supplied grounds for friendship, and Ms. Toycan’s information of Greek proved particularly useful.
“For the final three years, I’m working as a Greek instructor. I help them particularly within the communication half, the communication in Turkish and Greek,” she mentioned.
Pressured to separate
Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised new challenges. The ladies had been compelled to be aside, simply as they had been starting to really feel snug with one another.
“Our connection within the Klotho Girls’s Initiative was at all times face-to-face conferences, however our communication didn’t cease utterly,” mentioned Ms. Toycan. “We ask about one another and what we’re doing. Our work continues, however after all not like up to now.”
Nothing divides us
Though all the pieces stopped because of the pandemic, each ladies plan to proceed weaving throughout the divided island.
“This can be a excellent instance of collaboration,” mentioned Ms. Hadjigeorgiou. “It proves that the 2 sides can co-exist. We’ve got so many widespread pursuits. There’s nothing to divide the women from Famagusta and us.”
Though they initially felt like strangers, “by means of this bi-communal collaboration we bought to know that we’re the identical,” mentioned Ms, Toycan, including “it’s good to know this.”
