“THE GREEK half of Famagusta is empty,” was the first line of a report sent out by a US news agency correspondent 34 years ago today.
The bulletin was transmitted just hours after the Turkish invasion army swept across the Messaroia plain and entered Famagusta. Within a day, the town was deserted.
As terrified locals fled the columns of approaching Turkish tanks, a band of foreign journalists moved into the town, setting up shop in a deserted swanky five-star hotel.
“We checked ourselves into the Markos, a multi-storey hotel with a well-stocked bar and a clear view of the city. The beds were neatly made; towels and soap were in the bathroom. But there wasn’t another soul in the hotel. The staff had fled, leaving the front door open,” one report stated.
Journalist Peter Arnett, who later gained fame with his CNN reports from Iraq, witnessed Turkish troops roll into Famagusta.
“The first half-dozen tanks reached the Greek Cypriot buildings suburbs before I drove through the deserted city to reach a telephone. As the tanks closed in on Famagusta the third air strike of the day crashed into the centre of the town, where Greek Cypriot troops were dug in,” he wrote.
Alexis Galanos, who is now the Mayor-in-exile of Famagusta, was working in the town providing foodstuffs and supplies to hospitals when the invasion started.
“We had been under bombardment for some time, so we knew what was happening, even though it did come as a great surprise to everyone,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
“The only thing I recall vividly is that as we moved out of the town we expected to return soon afterwards. There was a feeling that the Turkish troops were just moving in temporarily. We thought we would go back”
Despite the town being completely empty by early evening, journalists reported that electric and telephone circuits were still connected.
“At dusk, even the oldest Greeks were heading south toward the sanctuary of the British base at Dhekelia. Famagusta tonight is silent and dark. The only glow of light comes from a smouldering fire left over from the day’s fighting,” an AP report stated.
Most residents and reporters thought the events of the day were a simple short-term gain by the Turkish army. Many refugees camped near the town waiting for the green light to back home.
Three years later in 1977, journalist Jan-Olof Bengtsson coined the term “ghost town” when he visited the Swedish UN battalion based at Famagusta port and saw the sealed-off part of the Varosha from the observation post.
“The asphalt on the roads has cracked in the warm sun and along the sidewalks bushes are growing. Today, September 1977, the breakfast tables are still set, the laundry still hanging and the lamps still burning. Famagusta is a ghost-town,” he wrote in the Kvallsposten newspaper.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail from Stockholm yesterday, Jan-Olof Bengtsson said that even by 1977 there was a certain amount of hope that residents would return to Famagusta and displaced residents would pick up the pieces.
“When I was standing there in 1977 people thought there would be a solution. We are talking about 31 years ago since I was there, aren’t we? I never realised then that the situation would be the same three decades later.”
Bengtsson had no idea his ‘ghost town’ comment would quickly become a term universally associated with Famagusta.
“I can see now why it was used a lot, it was a very straightforward remark,” he said
Now, as it was in on this evening 34 years ago, most of the town is a deserted concrete jungle; hundreds of acres of abandoned hotels, holiday apartments, villas and houses have been left to the mercy of the elements.
Silence reigns in Famagusta. It is like Chernobyl, a town frozen in time.
The Famagusta skyline, which has not changed, is a constant reminder to those who fled to nearby Dheryneia and Paralimni of the life-changing events of that day.
Alexis Galanos holds out hope that its inhabitants will return.
“I don’t have the luxury of being pessimistic; in my view the upcoming peace process is the last chance; not just for us, but also for the Turkish Cypriots. There is no plan B,” he said.
“The problem of rebuilding Famagusta is enormous; most of the town would have to be rebuilt. This would be a combined effort between both communities, working together,” he said.
Famagusta Municipal Council will hold a public meeting on Saturday August 16, during which it will adopt a resolution calling for the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants.
