Ignoring the real issues

Sir,

I am writing in response to your article ‘It’s all very convenient’ (February 19) about foreigners marrying Cypriots, and especially about ‘The sociologist’s view’ of Mr Antonis Raftis, who says: “…women from the eastern block such as Poland and Hungary arrive as cabaret artistes and then marry older men… in order for them to be able to stay on the island. These women come from poor countries and are attracted by the relatively strong state of our economy.”

My question is, does Mr Raftis know that Poland and Hungary joined the EU the same time as Cyprus, which means they are actually legally able to stay here?

And then there is the legalised term of “artistes”. In that case, Cyprus should have the biggest world collection of art… but I suppose then we should be proud of one thing that’s for sure: there are more cabarets in Cyprus than schools, theatres, cinemas, cultural centres all together…

Perhaps people should analyse first those phenomena happening in Cyprus, the huge number of ‘art centres’ , or for example why it is that every time I try to put a question in any of the governmental offices here I am told to go back to my own country if I don’t like the rules here.

And just to avoid any confusion, I am not Hungarian nor Polish, I am simply somebody coming from some other Europe, somebody who was hoping that the same civil rights apply everywhere, well, at least in EU…

By the way, did I mention that my profession is oil and acrylic painting and drawing? But to avoid any confusion again, please do not call me an artist…

Marie M. Paphos

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.