People of Cyprus: The Report

 

Introducing the idea

We often talk about the 2 communities of Cyprus. Each of these 2 communities receives an education heavily oriented towards the so called “mother country”, often neglecting our common history  on this island. But in this way, not only is the history and background of the other community not taught, we also ignore a great number of other, much smaller but proud communities of the Cypriot society.  This ignorance can lead to a distorted view of the island,its inhabitants and influences.

Very few people amongst the youth are aware of who or what the Maronites, the Armenians or the Latins are. In addition to the aforementioned Cypriot communities in the recent past we have seen a rise in numbers of immigrants and refugees living amongst us, such as Syrians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, European Union nationals, Turks and many more.

Methodology

We created a series of four informational animations titled ‘The people of Cyprus’, targeted mainly towards the youth. The main body of the work was carried out by students across the island while the CyP team mainly acted as coordinators. We contacted universities across the island and called students to contact us if they are interested. We created two teams of students (the ‘data team’ and the ‘design team’). This process took a month to be completed and the selected students were notified by Mid May.

The data team had 4 team members, 2 T/Cs and 2 G/Cs, one of whom is a professional in the field and acted as a consultant for the data gathering. The design team consisted of 5 students and 1 professional animator who acted as a consultant for the visualization of the data gathered and the production of the animations. In both teams, members of the Cypriot Puzzle acted as coordinators and had little input in the actual production of the media content. Basically the teams had considerable freedom and the Cypriot Puzzle acted as a facilitator of the whole process.

A total of 26 individuals participated in the production of the four animated videos.A detailed list of names can be found in appendix B. The whole project was carried out at the Point Centre of Contemporary Art, a space which was kindly given to us rent-free from the owner. From September onwards the production of the animated videos was carried out by professional animators and sound designers upon our request while you can find more information on them, in appendix B.

Data Research Team

The data research started in mid-June and was completed by early July. There were two full time students researching the ‘people of Cyprus’, one part timer and a professional who assisted the students. The first part of the research was devoted wholly on gathering data from governmental sources and more specifically the Census surveys. Unfortunately, the last census was carried out in 2011, therefore the data are representative of that year and cannot accurately depict the reality today. Up to date ‘Number’ data, such as population figures, were difficult to find for 2015 and therefore all numbers in the videos should be viewed with caution and should only be used as approximations.

The second part of the research involved analysis of the data gathered from Census and other official sources, and this analysis included, but was not limited to, creation of population trends and graphs.

The last part of the research focused on an extensive list of secondary sources such as articles, books and academic opinions. The data research team produced short summaries of the secondary literature and compiled them in a single document resulting in a 50 page report, which was then given to the design team that used the most interesting extracts in order to produce the animation videos. Our data research team also visited academics from various institutions and had a chance to discuss and ask questions relevant to our research topic. Bibliography is provided at the end of this report, in appendix A, outlining the official and secondary sources we consulted for our research.

It is hard to identify specifically which sources are used in each video since the design team used as reference the processed and analyzed material of the data research team. The data research team carried out quantitative analysis of all official/governmental data and generally of all data in number form and then carried out qualitative analysis on secondary literature which concentrated primarily on historical and cultural aspects of the people of cyprus.  All of the videos include data from both sets, i.e. the quantitative and qualitative data and all of our sources are provided in Appendix A.

Design Team

The Design Team started work in early July and finished by early August. Firstly, the design team visited some museums such as the Severis foundation, in order to collect visual material that aided the team to visualize the data gathered. In the first week the two teams worked together in order to finalize the animation scripts. The data research team provided and explained the analysis and process carried out on the ‘raw’ data gathered. The rest of the time was spent in designing, creating illustrations and ultimately converting them into animated media material with the aid of a professional animator and members of the Cypriot Puzzle that facilitated the whole process. Most of the work of the design team took place in the Point Center of Contemporary Arts and we are very grateful for this gratuitous contribution from the owner.   

When the Design team completed its work, the end products were given to a professional animator who carried out some minor adjustments and corrections. This happened between September and December 2015. The sound design and voiceover was recorded in November and the audio and visual were merged into the final product by early January 2016.

End Products

We have created four animated videos, totaling 8 minutes, consisting of high-quality illustrations. Moreover, we have created a body of research material including analysis of quantitative data such as population figures and other demographic data. We have also produced summaries and abstracts of more than 50 secondary literature sources. We aim to make this research readily available to the general public, for reference or further research on the topic. We also translated the English script in Turkish and Greek and made it available as subtitles in the videos. 

The Aim

The aim of the project would be to present the different communities currently living in Cyprus, their population, language, religion, time of arrival to the island, culture etc. Furthermore, we wanted to start a discussion on who are ‘the people of Cyprus’ which we initially defined as anyone living in Cyprus for more than 2 years, and what is each group’s respective role and stake in the Cyprus conflict.  

The way we went about creating these videos was not simply a means to an end. The process itself engaged youth from different communities collaborating with one another, while at the same time giving them a chance to work on real life projects, improve their portfolio and learn about the Cyprus Problem by actually working on something relevant to it.

This project was undertaken by the Cypriot Puzzle (CYP), an informal youth group committed to informing and engaging the Cypriot public (mainly the youth) in constructive debate on the Cyprus problem in its various manifestations. By looking at the island’s political problem as a puzzle of which each of us is a piece, CYP helps bring to the foreground the multitude of opinions that define it, by using online tools and multimedia.

All in all, this project and the way we approached it exhibits and enhances the mission of the Cypriot Puzzle. It makes information accessible and easy to grasp through the videos with a view to engaging the public and those involved in a consideration of who are the people of Cyprus,with all the implications of this question in the political sphere. At the same time, we served the aims and goals of our funding partners, Youthopia, since our videos raise significant issues regarding human rights and rights of minorities on the island.

 

APPENDIX A

Sources:

CENSUSES

Cyprus Population Census, 2011 Nicosia: Statistics and Research Department of the Ministry of Finance, 2011

Cyprus Population Census, 2001 Nicosia: Statistics and Research Department of the Ministry of Finance, 2001

Cyprus Population Census, 1976 Nicosia: Statistics and Research Department of the Ministry of Finance, 1976

Cyprus Census of 1946, Nicosia, 1947, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1931, Nicosia, 1932, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1921, Nicosia, 1922, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1911, Nicosia, 1912, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1901, Nicosia, 1902, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1891, Nicosia, 1892, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

Cyprus Census of 1881, Nicosia, 1882, Republic of Cyprus National Archive

 

TRNC Prime Ministry State Planning Organisation Statistics and Research Department, Census of Population Social and Economic Characteristics of Population December 15, 1996, pp. 7-19.

Papadopoullos, T., 1965, Social and Historical Data on Population (1570-1881), pp. 16-36.

TRNC State Planning Organisation, 2007, 2006 Population and Housing Unit Census; Additional Tables¸ Retrieved on 14th June 2015, Available from; http://nufussayimi.devplan.org/Additional%20Tables.pdf.

KKTC Devlet Planlama Örgütü, İlçe, Bucak, Belediye, Mahalle ve Cinsiyete göre sürekli ikamet eden nüfus, 2011, Retrieved on 28th June 2015, Available from; http://devplan.org/Frame-tr.html.

KKTC Devlet Planlama Örgütü, Tablo 4. Yaş, Yaş Grubu, İlçe ve Cinsiyete göre sürekli ikamet eden nüfus, 2011, Retrieved on 14th June 2015, Available from; http://devplan.org/Frame-tr.html.

KKTC Devlet Planlama Örgütü, Tablo 5. İlçe, Cinsiyet ve Tabiiyete göre göre sürekli ikamet eden nüfus, 2011, Retrieved on 14th June 2015, Available from; http://devplan.org/Frame-tr.html.

KKTC Devlet Planlama Örgütü, Tablo 9. Yaş Grubu, Tabiiyet ve Cinsiyete göre sürekli ikamet eden nüfus, 2011, Retrieved on 14th June 2015, Available from; http://devplan.org/Frame-tr.html.

 

Secondary Literature

ARTICLES

Sermon, A., 1886, Our Church in Cyprus, London, Parker and Co.

Iacovidou, K., 1989, The case of the Roma of Cyprus.

Marsh, A., Strand, E., 2003, The Gypsies of Cyprus.

Williams, G., A., n.d., The Gypsies of Cyprus; A DRC Update, in Kuri Dom Research Journal, 2000, Vol. 1, No.2.

An, A., n.d., Kıbrıslı Ermeniler ile Kıbrıslı Türkler arasındaki sosyal ve kültürel ilişkiler.

An, A., n.d., The Socio-cultural Relationship of the Armenian and Turkish Cypriots.

Social Life in Cyprus and Turko-Armenian Relations, 2007, Retrieved on 20/06/2015, Available from Armenian Genocide Resource Center.

Pattie, S., P., n.d., Cultural Change and Religious Belief: The Armenians of Cyprus, in E., R., Wolf (eds), Religious Regimes and State-Formation; Perspectives from European Ethnology, pp 153-161.

Sahin, I., 2012, Ermeni Olayları Sırasında Kıbrıs Adası’nın Rolü (1878-1900), in Uluslarasasi Hukuk ve Politika, Vol. 8, No. 31, pp 57-81.

Kasbarian, S., n.d., Including ‘Other’ Citizens in divided States and Societies – the case of the Armenians in Cyprus.

Mavratsas, C., 2000, Armenian Identity and Greek Nationalism in Cyprus, in Chypre et la Méditerranée orientale, Formations identitaires : perspectives historiques et enjeux contemporains, Actes du colloque tenu à Lyon, 1997, Université Lumière-Lyon 2, Université de Chypre, Lyon : Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, pp. 197-205.

Mavratsas, C., 2003, The Armenians and the Maronites of Cyprus; Comparative Considerations concerning ethnic assimilation.

Hadjilyra, A., M., n.d., The Armenians of Cyprus.

Keshishian, R., 2002, The Armenian Community.

Mamigonian, M, 2013, Scholarship, Manufacturing Doubt and Genocide Denial, in The Armenian Weekly (eds), Heritage Memory Justice.

McCarthy, J., n.d., The population of the Ottoman Armenians.

Panteli, S., n.d., A History of the Jews in Cyprus, in The Cyprus Review; A Journal of Social, Economic and Political Issues (eds), Intercollege, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 157-159.

Scheib, A., n.d., Jews in Cyprus, Retrieved on 18/03.2014, Available from; http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/cyprus.html.

Drucker, S., Gumbert, G., n.d., The British, the Jewish Detention Camps and the Cyprus Story, Retrieved on 18/03/2014, Available from; http://news.pseka.net/index.php?module=article&id=8199.

Atun, A., n.d., Initiatives to colonise Cyprus with Jews in the 20th Century.

Keser, U., n.d., Turkish assistance activities for the Jewish Immigrations and Jewish Immigrant Camps in Cyprus during Second World War, in Ege Academic Review, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 735-758.

Roman, Y., n.d., The Forgetten Jews of Cyprus.

Keser, U., n.d., Jewish Survivors and Detention Camps in Cyprus after the Second World War, in Journal of Modern Turkish History Studies, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 26, pp. 105-138.

Beraud, S., n.d., History of the Latin Community of Cyprus, Retrieved on 18/03/2014, Available from http://www.latincatholicsofcyprus.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=5&-V=history.

Hadjilyra, A., M., n.d., The Latins of Cyprus.

Varnava, A., n.d., The Maronite Community of Cyprus: Past, Present and Future.

Hadjilyra, A., M., n.d., The Maronites of Cyprus.

Kazarian, N., n.d., Cyprus, European crossroads of Minorities.

Demosthenous, A., n.d., The Maronites of Cyprus: From Ethnicism to Transnationalism, in Gamer, 2012, vol.1, no.1, pp 61-72.

Hourani, G., G., n.d., A Reading in the History of the Maronites of Cyprus From the Eight Century to the Beginning of British Rule.

Hourani, G., G., 2007, An Abridgment of the History of the Cypriot Maronite Community.

Iacovou, C., 1994, The Evolution of the Maronites of Cyprus as a Religious Entity.

Frangeskou, M., Hadjilyra, A., M., n.d., The Maronites of Cyprus.

Bielenberg, B., Constantinou, C., M., 2010, Empowerment through Language Revival: Current Efforts and Recommendations for Cypriot Maronite Arabic.

Melamid, A., n.d., The Geographical Distribution of Communities in Cyprus.

Varnava, A., n.d., The State of Cypriot Minorities: Cultural Diversity, Internal-Exclusion and the Cyprus “Problem”, in The Cyprus Review, 2010, Vol. 22, No.2, pp. 205-218.

Weyl Carr, A., n.d., Byzantines and Italians on Cyprus: Images from Art, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 49, Symposium on Byzantium and the Italians, 13th-15th Centuries, 1995, pp. 339-357.

Constantinou, C., M., n.d., Cyprus, Minority Politics and Surplus Ethnicity, Forthcoming in A. Varnava, N. Koureas and M. Elia (eds), The Minorities of Cyprus (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009)

Kyle, K., n.d., Cyprus: In Search of Peace.

Kaya, N., Kyriakou, N., n.d., Minority rights: Solutions to the Cyprus conflict.

Akcali, E., n.d., The “Other” Cypriots and their Cyprus Questions, in The Cyprus Review: A Journal of Social, Economic and Political Issues, 2007, Vol. 19, No. 2, Intercollege/University of Nicosia, pp. 57-82.

Taeuber, I., B., n.d., Cyprus: The Demography of a Strategic Island, Population Index, 1995, Vol. 21, No.1, pp. 4-20.

Bakshi, A., 2012, The legacy of Ottoman building in Nicosia: hans as spaces of coexistence in pre-conflict Cyprus,

International Journal of Islamic Architecture Vol.1, No.1, pp. 109–130

Markides, D., 1998, The Issue of Separate Municipalities in Cyprus 1957-1963: An Overview.

Baubock, R., Perchinig, B., Sievers, W., n.d., Citizenship Policies in the New Europe: Expanded and Updated Edition.

Brambilla, E., n.d., Convivencia under Muslim rule: the Island of Cyprus after the Ottoman Conquest (1571-1640).

Hadjiyiannis, D., n.d., Third Country Immigration to Europe: Exploring the Case of the Republic of Cyprus.

Solsten, E., 1991, Cyprus: A Country Study, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.

Hatay, M., 2007, Is the Turkish Cypriot Population Shrinking?,

Coureas, N., Elia, M., Varnava, A., 2009, The Minorities of Cyprus: Development Patterns and the Identity of the Internal-Exclusion

Online Resources

http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/07/03/turkish-troop-numbers-upped-in-north/

http://www.unficyp.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1

http://www.parikiaki.com/2014/07/the-military-balance-in-cyprus-according-to-the-annual-report-of-cyprus-center-for-strategic-studies/

http://www.sbaadministration.org/index.php/background

http://dausam.emu.edu.tr/publication/publication.htm

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e48dba6.html

http://devplan.org/Nufus-2011/nufus%20ikinci_.pdf

http://www.northcyprusinternational.com/north-cyprus-universities/

http://www.mastersportal.eu/articles/508/good-reasons-to-study-in-northern-cyprus.html

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130411120607173

http://rask.emu.edu.tr/DAU%20ile%20ilgili%20gorusler-Abdullah%20Oztoprak.pdf

http://library.neu.edu.tr/Neutez/6257297693.pdf

http://ww1.emu.edu.tr/emu_v1/media/assets/files/gundem-gazetesi/gundem-gazetesi-sayi-29.pdf

http://www.maronitesofcyprus.com/index.php?lang=en

http://www.epasi.eu/CountryReportCY.pdf

 

APPENDIX B

 

	Name	Occupation	Role in the project
1	Alexis Antoniou	PHD researcher	Data research team consultant
2	Kyriakos Michael	University Student	Data research team member
3	Daghan Ozbilenler	University Student	Data research team member
4	Melike Kalkan	NGO employee	Data research team member
5	Nicos Stephou	University Student	Design team member
6	Clio Hadjigeorgiou	University Student	Design team member
7	Konstantinos Georgiou	University Student	Design team member
8	Ntinos Sophocleous	University Student	Design team member
9	Alexander Tellalis	University Student	Design team member
10	Pavlos Papadopoulos	Animator	Design team consultant
11	Athos Proestos	Animator	Animation
12	Manolis Manoli	Sound engineer	Video Sound Design
13	Phanos Anastasiou	University Student	Volunteer
14	Andy Georgiou	Lawyer	Management
15	Kleanthis Roussos	University Student	Management
16	Andromachi Sophocleous	Political Theory	Communications and Data Research
17	Yiannis Pahitas	Software Engineer	Management
18	Demetra Hadjiyannis	NGO employee	Voice over artist
19	Michalis Pavlides	Architect	Voice over artist
20	Argyro Nicolaou	PHD researcher	Script
21	Christos Christopoulos	PHD researcher	Script
22	Nicos Moudouros	University Professor	Data Research Advice
23	Sila Ulucay	University Student	Consultant
24	Halide Bey	University Student	Consultant
25	Andre Zivanaris	Entrepreneur	Working Space provider
26	Ioannis Bekiaris	Web Developer	Technical Assistance

 

This action was made possible through the Youthopia Small Grants Scheme, implemented by MAGEM and YOUTH POWER and funded by the European Union.

This action was only possible thanks to the voluntary work of the Cypriot Puzzle team.