THERE are mixed emotions among shop keepers on the Greek Cypriot side of Nicosia, following rumours that the barricades cutting Ledra street in two could be removed to allow movement to and from the north.
Most shopkeepers welcome the idea, saying that the re-opening of the street would breathe life back into the war-stricken capital and boost businesses, but there are still some who have not yet managed to let go of the past.
“In my opinion, the chances of opening Ledra are very slim,” ice cream vendor Efraim Vrontis told the Sunday Mail.
“But if it opens it will no longer be a dead-end street, and especially if it’s combined with Ermou Street (by opening the road from Paphos Gate until Olympiacos), I think it will breathe life into the area, because we will stop feeling isolated,” he added.
“I prefer looking into the future than lingering in the past. I hope that by opening Ledra – because the road leads all the way into the Turkish Cypriot community – it will be a good thing for people and tourists, who will be able to see both sides of the area and business will shoot straight up.”
Restaurant owner, Pitsa Neocleous said business has always been bad and was hopeful that the opening of Ledra street would save hers and a lot of businesses from ruin.
“Of course it’s a good thing, and those who don’t realise that their business will get better are wrong,” she said.
“We are isolated here, we want people to have the chance to walk the whole length of Ledra Street without having to stop and turn back.”
But jeweller Andreas Pafitis was yesterday sceptical saying people shouldn’t get too excited.
“It’s got both its positive and negative sides,” he said.
“On the one hand we are happy because the opening of the checkpoints will help our Turkish Cypriot brothers in their shopping, because some of the stuff here is cheaper.
“But unless the thing opens, it’s too early to tell. I haven’t been across yet, and if it opens it will be nice to visit the areas I worked in as a child.”
Almost 30 years have passed since the invasion in 1974. Most shopkeepers that had their businesses in what is now the buffer zone had to start over in the south. For people like Theodoros Efstathiou, the fear of the past is still very real.
“I will not feel safe,” he said.
“I mean, what if there is no control, who will guarantee my safety? You get a lot of crime here and the police are unable to solve most of the cases. If they open up and somebody breaks into my store, who is going to catch him if he went back to the north?
“The government has to look into this seriously, I mean who will stop Grey Wolves from coming over if there is no checkpoint control?”
Andreas Pafitis also feels that the opening of Ledra Street is a bad idea.
“If they open Ledra up we will be ruined,” he said.
“Turkish Cypriots will be taking all the tourism and Turkish Cypriots who come here to shop don’t spend a lot of money.
“They should not open the checkpoints until they solve the Cyprus problem so that there will be free movement and people can trade anywhere on the island without any restrictions.
“I don’t think it will change anything, most of us here are happy with it.”
