When I was told to pick out my favourite story of 2008 I knew I was faced with an extremely difficult task. Making choices is not my forte on a good day, but when you write a whole range of stories, selecting one that stands out is next to impossible.
This is especially true when I’ve been blessed to have met so many wonderful people: ordinary people I’d never have met had it not been for this job; individuals who would have passed by me unnoticed. How grateful I am that I was able to pause for a minute to take time to share in their joys, pain, and thoughts.
I met Valentina Agathagelou. A young woman who refused to stop living and believing in guardian angels even after she was brutally attacked in her own shop in old Nicosia.
I met the families of the Helios victims. I shared in their pain. I felt their anger. It was an experience I’ll never forget and brought home the importance of family and how you never know what life will throw at you.
How could I forget Nicholas Pafitis? An 85-year-old who sits outside his home every evening and watches the world go by, his only companion his Sri Lankan housemaid. Far from old at heart, Pafitis retains a twinkle in his eye and a kind word about everyone.
Then there were the pensioners at Nicosia’s Day Centre for the Elderly. Never have you met such a heart-warming group of individuals. Full of laughter, joy and snippets of their own personal history, they made growing older seem less daunting and lonely.
Never will I forget eight-year-old Jasmitha Maharajasingh’s emotional reunion with friends and family this summer. The Sri Lankan child had spent 10 months at the Sheba Medical Centre’s Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital at Tel Hashomerm in Israel after having surgery to remove an aggressive malignant brain tumour. The elation in her face when she came through the arrivals door and settled her big dark eyes on her father’s face will remain forever etched in my memory.
Yiota Eleftheriou, Anastasia Stylianou and Lenas Savva all touched me when they shared their experience of breast cancer. Each one showed me what it is to live with courage and to keep on fighting for a life they know is precious and worth being a part of. Even during their struggles the trio kept a positive attitude and wanted other women and men to know that breast cancer is not the end of the world. That there is a support system. That it can be beaten. That early diagnosis saves lives.
And finally there were Athina Rokopou and Stephanie Solomonides: two women in their 20s who want to join the Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition next year. Both showed me what it is to let go of your fears and to live your dreams: to have a goal and to go after it with passion, determination and drive.
When I look back over the year and reflect on the people I’ve met and the lessons I’ve learned I consider myself blessed. How could I ever have selected only one among the faces of so many who truly enriched my life?
By Jacqueline Theodoulou
WITHOUT a doubt my story of 2008 concerned two little Dutch girls, whose mother had abandoned them with strangers in Cyprus and disappeared without a trace.
It isn’t easy writing these stories because try as you may, it is impossible to detach yourself emotionally; especially when you are dealing with small children.
My heart ached when I was told the story of these two little girls, aged 11 and nine, who had suffered such neglect and misery at the hands of their mother, it doesn’t bear thinking about.
The family they had been left with contacted the Cyprus Mail in mid-July asking if we could do something to help.
The little girls – who by the way were the cutest little things and so sweet-natured – were bullied at school for being neglected and dirty.
My skin prickled when I was told, among others, how they had been infested with fleas, ringworm and even tics, which their mother treated with dog flea and tick shampoo, provoking an allergic reaction.
The children’s father, Gerard Rotteveel, who lived in the Netherlands, had been trying to find them since their mother took them and left four and a half years previously cutting off all contact.
In the end, the family that was looking after the youngsters found a website Rotteveel had set up in the hope of finding his children and contacted him, summoning him to the island.
The biggest battle I faced with this story was finding a way to help Rotteveel take his children back to their homeland so they could start leading a normal life.
I was in tears after putting the phone down to this distraught father, who despite finally finding his children, couldn’t take them home immediately as the mother had taken their passports with her. Technically he would also have been in trouble for “abducting” his children if he took them and left without their mother’s consent.
But a happy ending was in sight. After the uproar caused by our story, an arrest warrant was issued for the mother and she eventually came forward in Holland and signed the relevant documents, allowing the two little girls to go home with their father and start living the lives they so much deserved.
Perhaps my proudest moment came when the Dutch Ambassador called the paper to thank us for all our help.
In newspapers you often have to write stories that leave you cold, but then one like this comes along and you remember exactly why you went into journalism.
By Marianna Pissa
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing news stories, informing people about ministers’ plans, a road accident, a food recall or what the weather will be like tomorrow.
But there’s nothing like writing a genuine human interest story, a story with a human face and one where you know you really can make a difference. Without a doubt my story of the year is 23-year-old Hossein Mozammel.
The Bangladeshi student came to Cyprus in July 2006 to begin his studies at Americanos College in Nicosia, but the accumulation of school and living expenses meant that he needed a part-time job to support himself. After three months of looking, Hossein finally found work at a plastic moulding factory. About a month and a half into working at the factory, he was pulled onto one of the factory’s large conveyor belts, his attempts to escape thwarted by with the sheer force of movement and the machinery, which ripped off his right arm. Ever since, it has been a daily struggle for him to get by as he could not work with just one arm.
Hossein was yet another victim of the exploitation of foreign students working illegally to make ends meet. Tragically for Hossein, the consequences from the accident are irreversible and he will have this disability for the rest of his life.
Americanos College allowed Hossein to change his degree from Tourism Management to Computer Engineering because of his disability. Several people that read the story offered to help Hossein financially by sending money to his bank account and even sent in food parcels to help him. An IT company that read my article called me up and offered to hire Hossein and train him.
Hossein now has a job and a prosthetic arm and is getting along fine. It was very fulfilling to help someone through what I do and make some difference to someone’s life. I learned a lot from Hossein and admired him for his strength of character, courage and kindness. His positive outlook on life despite his troubles was commendable. Hossein was not bitter or angry at the world.
