‘Thank you…’ tells story of children forced to leave in 1974

Unaccompanied children, who were forced to leave the country in 1974 as a result of the Turkish invasion, is a repercussion that has not received the attention it deserved, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday, at the presentation of a book by Niovi Kerkidou on this aspect of the island’s recent history.

Fifty years ago, about 5,000 Greek Cypriot children, aged six to 17, were sent to Greece to have a home and continue schooling.

The book “Efharisto…” (Thank you…), presented on Tuesday, tells the story of those children.

Christodoulides said he recently met with some of these children, adults now, who wanted to tell their story.

Many of them, he said, were at the presentation on Tuesday evening.

He expressed gratitude to the Greeks for opening their homes to welcome those children and the Cypriots who accompanied them on their voyage to Piraeus.

Christodoulides said “the story of the unaccompanied children of 1974 is added to the sad list of consequences and effects of the illegal Turkish invasion, along with the refugees, the missing persons, the enclaved, the murdered and the many other victims.”

The president assured his government’s top priority was a solution to the Cyprus problem and outlined efforts in this direction.

The president congratulated Niovi Kerkidou for “the excellent work she has done, because by recording the testimonies, inter alia, she keeps the historic truth alive around such an important and unknown fact.”