HALF the Cypriots who repatriated in the last 15 years have gone back where they came from because they didn’t have the support they expected from the state, Kikis Christofides, the chairman of the Association of Expats and Repatriates told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.
Over 30,000 overseas Cypriots repatriated to the island in the last 15 years, but half of them have returned to where they used to live before, according to statistics.
Earlier this week, the Association complained of “unfair treatment” by Presidential Commissioner for Repatriates, Manolis Christofides.
“Christofides’ job as a Commissioner is to co-ordinate efforts to address the problems faced by repatriates. But he only co-operates with organisations and associations that share his political views. He omitted to invite us to the Annual Expats Conference which took place in Nicosia last September,” Christofides complained.
The House yesterday promised to look into the Association’s claims.
“President Glafcos Clerides and former Presidents as well as party leaders have met us and made many promises to address our problems. But they did nothing. That’s why many of us are forced to leave,” the Association’s chairman explained.
The biggest problem for repatriates was their children’s education.
“Parents have to spend thousands of pounds for their children to attend English-speaking schools. We have asked the state to give children the option of free schooling, meaning to attend state schools offering language support to bi-lingual kids. Years ago they promised to give us this opportunity but again they did nothing.
“Families who are repatriated when their children are of secondary school age, receive £450 a year for their kids’ education. But most families are repatriated when the children are younger than 12 so they don’t get any benefit.”
He said repatriates asked from society and the state to understand and support them during the difficult period of adjustment that they went through.
“Married men have to serve in the army for 3 months before they get a job if they haven’t done military service. A 40-year old might be placed at a unit in Paphos when his family lives in Nicosia. We only ask that married men be placed at units in the towns they live,” Christofides said.
“Expats think that when they return to Cyprus everyone will welcome them with open arms. But it’s not like that, at least in the work field. It is quite difficult for an expat in his forties or fifties to come here and get a job because most employers prefer to hire young and inexperienced people so they don’t have to pay them well. It’s just a fact that expats need to be aware of before they make a decision to be repatriated,” Christofides advised.
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.
