Xristoforos Zinonos. and his team have released a song called ‘I poli tou Evagora’ which is to commemorate the 49 years that time stood still for Ammochostos.
On this day in 1974, the second wave of the Turkish military occupation was launched and the occupying forces took vast territories including Morphou, Mesaoria (partially), Karpasia and of course Famagusta. This song acts as a reminder to those who cry out for the losses they suffered, for the memories of a bygone time and for the hopes of the reunification not only of their beautiful coastal city but for all the lost homelands over Cyprus.
Songs like these remind the community and the worldwide Cypriot diaspora that Cyprus has not been forgotten, that the pain is multigenerational but more importantly that hope is not lost with young artists such as Xristoforos sharing the message that the Cyprus issue will not be lost to the pages of history.
This heartfelt track is fast catching on, having being shared by many on social media, whereby professional Greek dance schools such as Ακαδημία Ζεϊμπέκικου Dimitris have already began to pair their dancing styles with the track with the video engaging over 350 likes, over 30 shares and 19 comments, a somewhat impressive statistic considering what the song represents, perhaps it is a sign that the Cypriot people, wherever they may live, that have not forgotten that Cyprus was betrayed by the international community 49 years to the day.
There are many efforts from organisations today that are still active in helping to reunify the island the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK and also the Famagusta Association UK as well as a bicommunal effort by the Organisation of the Relatives of Missing Cypriots UK, that work with the Cypriot government to try to identify the missing persons caused by the military coup by the Greek Junta and the military invasion of Turkey.