The power within: A story of Cyprus and resilience

By Chrystal Psaltopoulos (nee Kyprianou).

This year marks 50 years since the invasion of my beautiful island home of Cyprus. It was on my 1st birthday, the 20th July 1974, when Turkish forces invaded Cyprus and took over half the island.

To this day, Cyprus is still occupied and its capital Nicosia remains the only divided capital city in the world. The North has a Turkish section, the South is Greek Cypriot and in between lies the Green zone patrolled by the United Nations.

A few years ago I wrote a short kid’s story book called “THE POWER OF CHRYSTAL” which unfortunately never saw the light of day. I won’t go into why I’ve kept it to myself for so long, but let me just acknowledge that imposter syndrome is alive and well. 

Now that the 50 year anniversary is coming up, I’ve decided that today is as good a time as any to share it with you all. And while this story may centre around the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, it’s one that unfortunately so many people are able to relate to. Both in the past and present day.

I dedicate this story to my parents who not only managed to start over in a foreign country but did so with grace, passion and success. Who, as a young married couple in their 20’s, said goodbye to all they loved and boarded a plane in search of a brighter future. A story so familiar to so many. Imagine having your whole life turned upside down in a single day? Waking up to sirens signalling the end of your little world as you know it. This was the reality my parents and I, along with all my Cypriot family, faced. Displacement. Loss. Grief.

Mum Andriani, my little sister Panayiota, dad Kypros and I celebrating a birthday in Melbourne. 

“Justice for Cyprus” and “Never Forget” are phrases which have been engrained into our brains. And we will never forget. Because 50 years on nothing much has changed and our beautiful island home remains occupied and divided. 

The Power Of Chrystal​ is a story of resilience in a time of war and displacement. As a young girl, Chrystal faces the aftermath of an invasion on her home in Cyprus which subsequently sees her family flee to start a new life in Australia. With a new school, home, friends and a foreign language to deal with, Chrystal looks for the power within to help her survive challenging situations. Not only does she survive; Chrystal discovers that the powers we hold within us are much stronger than we could ever imagine.

THE POWER OF CHRYSTAL

Chrystal always believed she had special powers. On her third birthday Chrystal’s parents told her they had to quickly leave their house…

 “Grigora, quickly get into the car,” cried her mum. “The soldiers are coming”.

Chrystal’s birthday cake was sadly left on the kitchen table as they quickly loaded the car with as many belongings as they could grab.

Scared and afraid was how Chrystal was feeling as she left her birthday cake behind. People say there was no way young Chrystal could have a memory of that day…but she did…she had the powers.

Along with her mum and dad, Chrystal spent some time in a camp with other families who also had to flee their homes. The days were different to what she was used to back in her cosy home. Chrystal missed her toys and books and thought about them all alone in her old bedroom. Luckily, she made friends easily and filled her days playing, singing and going on adventures with the other children. As long as she had the powers, she would be okay.

For what seemed like many years, Chrystal would ask her mum and dad when they would return home. She was told it was too dangerous to ever go back. “Someone else lives there now,” declared Chrystal’s dad with a tear in his eye. “We have to find a new place to live. Be brave agapi mou.” Chrystal was fearless as she had the powers.

When Chrystal was five years old, she arrived in Australia with her parents. It had been her first trip in an airplane and she loved it!

Her family soon found a new place to live and although it was small it had everything they needed.

Chrystal started a new life far away from her island home. Her parents hardly spoke of their old country. “Unfortunately, we can never return. Our old life has disappeared and we must now make a new one here,” uttered her mum sadly.

Chrystal believed that wasn’t true. She smiled to herself knowing she would one day see her old home again. Her powers told her so.

Starting at her new school, Chrystal struggled to understand the children and teachers. They were all speaking a foreign language that she knew nothing about.

The other children would point and laugh at her funny looking shoes and tease Chrystal about her ‘pink dip’ sandwiches that smelt fishy. But she didn’t care. Chrystal knew how to make the laughter stop. She had the powers.

One time the class had a party and everyone took a letter home to let their parents know.

GRADE 2M WILL BE HAVING A CLASS PARTY TO CELEBRATE ANOTHER GREAT SCHOOL TERM. PLEASE BRING SOME FOOD ALONG WITH YOUR CHILD TOMORROW TO SHARE.THANK YOU, MRS MALONEY

Chrystal’s mum sent her to school with some freshly baked Halloumopitta (halloumi cake), Eliopitta (olive cake) as well as some rose flavoured loukoumi for dessert. 

When Chrystal arrived at school she proudly put all the food her mum had made amongst the others on the table. She was smiling to herself when she first heard the snickering behind her.

The quiet giggling quickly turned into roars of laughter and finger pointing at the ‘weird’ food Chrystal’s mum had made. While the teacher tried to settle the class, Chrystal withdrew to a corner of the room.

She closed her eyes to escape the deafening laughter that had erupted from the children. With her eyes firmly shut, she imagined herself in her old kitchen laughing with her mum and dad while the hum of the air conditioner kept them cool. Chrystal was back there; she had the powers. 

As time passed, Chrystal soon learned to speak the strange foreign language. To her delight, Chrystal’s class mates now wanted to share her lunch. They loved her ‘pongy’ pink sandwiches and Chrystal used her powers to learn to enjoy vegemite!

Chrystal even taught her friends some Greek words!

Finally she felt like she belonged and didn’t need to use her special powers quite as often… As an adult, Chrystal returned back to her island home for a holiday with her mum, dad and sister.She had so much fun listening to all the stories from her relatives about the old days.

But best of all, she got to visit her childhood home once again and even got to enjoy a birthday cake with three candles to blow out. She always knew that one day she would return to her island home. Chrystal had the powers.

THE END

We did in fact get the chance to revisit our home in the village of Skilloura (2003) which is in the occupied part of Cyprus. It was the first time my parents and I returned after having to flee on the morning of July 20th 1974. It was bittersweet as you can imagine and the Turkish family who was now occupying our house gave us a look inside. I can’t begin to imagine what was running through my parents’ head at the time. 

I hope you enjoyed the story. My aim was to spread awareness of the plight Cyprus still faces today 50 years on after the invasion. My hope is that we never forget the loved ones we lost, the homes we fled and the land that is still not free. Never Forget. 

Love, Chrystal