I do not like the word ‘Diaspora’. Its dictionary definition is “the dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland”. This evokes feelings of temporariness and permanent homesickness. For third, fourth generation Cypriots these feelings are meaningless. Their original homeland is Britain. These to me are negative feelings which put barriers in front […]
A lovely, crisp day. The first day of autumn. I walk through tranquil gardens with two friends in bright sunlight towards an imposing building. A large crowd had started to gather in front of the building. The place is the St. Marylebone Crematorium in East Finchley. A sense of déjà vu washes over me. Not […]
I’ve been trying really hard not to just be against change and to appreciate the possible positive outcomes of gentrification… but it’s becoming an insane situation! Originally from Turkey, I’ve been living in this city for 16 years and consider it as my ‘beloved’. I find it hard to just ditch or pass London on […]
Originally from Croydon, South London, Ayla Azmi Işık is a married mum of one living with her family in Köyceğiz, Muğla, in southern Turkey. Earlier this year her son Enis, then aged 20 months, nearly drowned. Battling against the odds, baby Enis continues to make incredible progress towards a full recovery at İsparta Hospital. Watching the ordeal of […]
I was not planning to write about my trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, where I attended a conference on Cultural Heritage in Migration. We all had an intense discussion on this issue with the conference organisers and participants, and later my personal experience of heritage in Sofia left me to conclude that I must address […]
Mark this date: 25th June 2017. It could be a highly significant date for us, diaspora Cypriot Turks. It could prove to be the date we finally started to get organised, to get noticed. But only if we know how to grasp the significance of what happened on that day. Only if we know how […]
Turkey’s referendum result is undoubtedly a serious setback for Turkey’s long and torturous process of democratisation – but it’s not difficult to find signs of hope. The mood of NO supporters in the recent referendum on changes to Turkey’s constitution which dramatically expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ranges from manic depressive […]
He was a giant of a man. Our gentle giant. “Uncle Pasha,” we called him. “Huriye, let us take the children for a ride. Gather them round,” he would call out to Auntie Huriye, his wife. We would jump in his shiny black Dodge he had recently purchased with screams of delight. I remember he […]
My last wish When I die Is that you bury me in Cyprus Let my body be merged With the soil of my native land My head to my guts in the South My loins to my feet in the North Let me have two graves In the North and in the South For I […]
On a bitterly cold January evening, I walk with trepidation towards a grand, imposing church. Why trepidation? Because I know the temperature inside this magnificent venue is not going to be that different from the outside; I spent many hours trembling inside Union Chapel attending union meetings. The choice of the venue is perhaps anathema […]
