Latest Bicoomunal Youth Activities
On Saturday the 30th of December the bicommunal Youth Groups had a joint celebration of Christmas, Bayram and the new year in Pyla. About 100 people were there and according to its organisers, if it was not for the latest tension in the area there would be a lot more people who would attend. Nevertheless the point was made that the youth are there and their peace building efforts continue.
The organisers have also pointed out that there have been many cases that members of the bi-communal youth groups could not come to the party because their parents did not allow them, fearing for their safety.
"Any parent would feel worried after watching the news on TV, night after night with the first item being the tension in the Pyla/Pergamos area" siad Nicos Anastasiou one of the teachers who co-ordinates the activities of the Youth groups. And he added: ".... After speaking to a number of people living in Pyla, I heard repeatedly the same conlcusion being expressed: the media have blown this idea of tension out of proportion and in the village itself life continues as normal. People just want to get on with their lives. This was what UN sources also told us. On Saturday everyone came along without any difficulty - the only difference was the additional checkpoint set up by the Dhekelia Base authorities near Ali's bar. Having said all that, we still have a problem to the extent that many people still consider it a risk to come to the area again. This is not the first time that such problems arise, but our work will continue, one way or another."
The Youth Groups work will continue with the meeting of the 7th Youth Encounters of Peace project which will take place on the 17th and 18th of February. The participants of YEP 7 will be a bit older than the teenagers of the previous YEP groups and 40 Greek and Turkish Cypriots in their twenties are expected to participate in the project.
