BRITISH journalist and author Colin Smith has been in and out of Cyprus on and off over the past 30 years and finally settled on the island 11 years ago.
He lives in Nicosia because he doesn’t have much time for expat communities like the ones springing up in Paphos. “I like the smallness of Nicosia and it has plenty of stuff going for it. Good restaurants, cinemas, theatre. Things work easily here.”
“I was based in Washington for the Observer and came over for the Sunday Times because I had good memories of it here,” he said. “I always remember it as a place where it felt like an oasis of calm when I would come back from Lebanon or Iran. It works here. It’s an efficient place. I would say it’s very efficient”.
That may sound surprising to many British residents (indeed to many Cypriots) but Smith said once you had experienced the way things worked in some other countries, Cyprus is very efficient indeed.
“It’s got one or two British practices like the trade unions, which are a throwback to 1950s British trade unions,” he said. “The other thing I suppose is its bureaucracy. It used to compare very favourably with Greece.”
Like most expats, Smith was also attracted by the weather and like most other expats his two biggest gripes are the cruelty to animals and Cypriot driving.
“When I first came back I used to say to others ‘what are you moaning about. Go to Israel or Lebanon or Egypt’. But after a while it does get to you,” he said.
Twice his wife was almost killed through no fault of her own “by very nice young Cypriots who always come out of the wreckage profusely apologising in English.
“The last time she was hit broadside on a crossroads by a young woman who said she was driving fast because she was in a strange area and wanted to get out of it,” he said.
“I walk a lot and I find you take your life in your hands when you do that.”
As for the Cypriot people he said basically they were just people like any others, although he did find some xenophobic tendencies.
“I have one good Cypriot friend I met in 1974. He was going to shoot me. He would be a good friend anywhere. I find Cypriots friendly and the service good as a whole. I don’t think they are any better or worse than any other people,” he said.
Smith said there were many expats who come to Cyprus expecting things to be like in the UK. “English is so widely spoken here that some people can get indignant if their plumber doesn’t speak English,” he said.
“I noticed there is another type of expat. They come here and everything is wonderful and marvelous and much better than at home. This honeymoon goes on for a couple of year perhaps, and then it all falls apart and they go back and these are the ones who say don’t criticise and if you do you should go home.”
Smith couldn’t think of any particular incident where a Cypriot was hostile to him just because he was British. He believes Cypriots are fairly tolerant of foreigners because the island is basically a tourist economy.
“It’s part of their income. But there is some xenophobia,” he added.
“I also think we are very bad about integrating, especially in places like Paphos. Sometimes I’m amazed by expats. They think Cypriots talk Cypriot and they are totally ignorant of the island’s history, which I find fascinating.”
Smith said he didn’t feel at all threatened by the current anti-British hysteria coming from the government and parts of the media, although he said if the press persisted with it like they did during the referendum, it could stir up trouble.
“Cypriots on both sides like conspiracies. They think the whole world is conspiring against them. It’s very flattering,” he said.
“I’ve never come across any anti-British feeling. In 1974 I did a couple of times when I was covering the invasion but this was understandable.”
He said he didn’t understand why the government was coming out with “populist policies” at the moment.
“It’s irresponsible coming out with this stuff. I suppose it’s always easier to find the enemy without, and they seem to fall back on it time and time again instead of sitting down and trying to solve their problems,” he said.
“This idea that the British government is obsessed with Cyprus… I don’t think that is really the case. It’s a bit like the special relationship Britain has with America. It means much more to us than it does to the Americans. And I think the Cypriots’ relationship means more to them than to Britain most of the time. For most Britons, Cyprus is a place to go on holidays.”
He said it was an historical accident that Britain got Cyprus in the first place. “It wasn’t a conquest,” he said. “It’s a shame we never taught them to play cricket. If they played cricket they could beat us and that always makes ex colonials feel better about us.”
Colin Smith’s Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II is due out in April
