A BOOK highlighting prominent Cypriots around the world is seeking to raise the community’s profile of achievements.
Greek Cypriots Worldwide: A Directory of Who’s Who, follows on from the success of Greek Cypriots in the UK: A Directory of Who’s Who, which was published a year ago.
The author is Michael Yiakoumi, a former Lloyd’s underwriter and contributor to Parikiaki, the newspaper for the Cypriot community in London. He told the Sunday Mail that, “there are an estimated 600,000 people in the Greek Cypriot diaspora – almost as many as in Cyprus itself – with the majority in the UK, US and Australia.”
The new 300-page book will contain over 2,000 profiles, outlining what towns and villages they originate from in Cyprus, and will be accompanied by a passport-sized photograph. There will be 3,000 copies printed and distributed internationally through respected bookshops and online publishers early next year.
The criteria? Greek Cypriots who have contributed both socially and professionally to the community and further afield. Entries will be received via public nomination and can also be submitted online at www.greekcypriotsworldwide.com.
Entries are encouraged from individuals involved in politics, media, business, sports, theatre, music and the arts.
“I am classifying people as Cypriot even if their origins go back several generations,” the 51-year-old said.
The UK book featured names such as George Michael, Peter Andre, Stelios Hadji-Ioannou and Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain.
“It took four years to research and write, but was such a huge success that a worldwide follow-up is a natural succession,” Yiakoumi said.
“Research for the new book, which has been ongoing for two years now, involves visiting several different countries and attending Hellenic events there, as well as internet searches and word of mouth.”
In March, he travelled to Australia, where there is an estimated population of 80,000 Cypriots.
“I discovered there are many prominent Cypriots Down Under and I was fortunate enough to meet many of them: Theo Theophanous, Minister for Industry and State Development, MPs such as Michael Costa and Nick Xenophon, Andrew Demetriou, the Chief Executive of Australian Football League and beautiful actress Ada Nicodemou from Home & Away and The Matrix.”
He will soon be continuing his research when he travels to the United States, where he hopes to meet with Charlie Crist, the Florida Governor.
“I am very interested in finding out what Greek Cypriots have achieved around the world and I hope that they will be better able to network amongst themselves, using the book.”
He added he was also keen to hear from Cypriots who conduct social and charitable work, and people working to overcome their disabilities. “Achievers in any of these fields are welcome,” Yiakoumi said.
“Many people included in the book are virtually unknown among our community. But I believe they are people we should be proud of and that the least we can do is to acknowledge and recognise them.”
He added that the book, “is a celebration of what our community has achieved – a kind of social snapshot of where it is today – and one which looks forward to tremendous potential for the future. I hope you will find it a useful resource.”
The Concept
KYRIACOS Tsioupras is the book’s editor and Yiakoumi’s uncle and he said that he was sceptical in the beginning. “I do not like the idea of classifying people according to their success without reference to their background, notably if they had enjoyed a privileged position or were deprived of any advantage,” he said. “If one judges achievement by result, one runs the risk of missing the main point which is related to the amount of effort made. One may try very hard, but for one reason or another which may be beyond an individual’s control, one may fail to reach a successful goal.”
But after further consideration of the suggestion for a book of achievement, he agreed, explaining that three main considerations influenced his decision:
– The tremendous attachment Greek Cypriot parents feel towards their children. “Any Greek Cypriot parent who settled abroad as an immigrant would tell you his decision to emigrate was taken for the sake of his children’s future.”
– The considerable effort made by the second and third Greek Cypriot generations to overcome disadvantages at school and in life.
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“Greek Cypriot children born abroad do indeed find themselves facing a number of disadvantages. They are brought up in a family environment different from local customs and usages, the language which they hear constantly at home is so different from the one that they hear at school, not to mention the different traditions with which they have to get familiarised. When at the age of five at nursery or school, they find themselves in a different atmosphere alien to what they got used to at home, they do feel isolated and strangers especially when they are separated from other children in order to attend special language classes.”
– “The high rate of achievement in so many walks of life, as one will notice going through this book, is in itself a living proof of the right balance they have struck between their national identity and their contribution as citizens abroad in everyday life. The second and third generation Cypriot has one part of himself with his parental family and the other part with the wider world of his country of birth.
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“If one can find these concepts reflected in this book, the project will be worthy of the effort. It is for you, the reader, to judge.”
