Of course we can live together

Sir,
I do not share Mr Panayi’s pessimism (‘Let’s just be frank, Sunday Mail, May 29). I am a Greek Cypriot, my family are refugees from Klepini, I too know many people from my community and from the Turkish-speaking community and quite frankly we get along really well. Our children play together and are the best of friends, my cousins are married to Turkish Cypriots, so I am compelled to ask why we cannot live together?
The facts are, Mr Panayi, that we had been living together before 1974 for 500 years under more difficult conditions than today; with malaria, poverty, and high infant morality rates.

Do not forget, in the past, Turkish Cypriots have been members of AKEL, they played a pivotal role in the trade union movement in Cyprus in the 1920s and they joined with us Greek Cypriots on several occasions in unsuccessful rebellions against Ottoman rule. Today, Turkish Cypriots from all sections of society are all pressing for reunification in the face of terror used against them by Turkey.

Unlike them we are not living under occupation everyday of our lives. I do not live in a fairyland; I live in reality. The reality is, Mr Panayi, that we can all live together and have a very prosperous future as Cypriots.
Vera Stylianou

Manchester

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.