european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

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European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) other part of the story, much less well known, is that which comprises the middle road. This is a place where many Cypriots, both Turkish and Greek, desire to construct their own sovereign identities, which may be influenced by both Turkey and Greece, but they do not desire a strict replica of either. This is a very small piece of land in the Mediterranean and it has been concretely divided by a demilitarized zone and maintained by troops from the United Nations for nearly a quarter of a century. This fact has a substantial set of implications not only in that it separates the two largest ethnic groups of the island, but also in that it influences the realities, perceptual and otherwise, that they construct in reference to each other 7 . This situation closely mirrors what occurred when Germany was split into east and west and what occurs with the two Koreas today. At present, the Greek population comprises 77% of the population and the Turkish is 18% 8 . The Aftermath of Independence Cyprus achieved its independence from Britain in 1960. But this came with a series of problems since the two largest groups on the island had, from encounters that were sometimes violent, built isolationist and prejudiced tendencies into their social and educational practices with regard to each other. The constitution establishing the republic did not help matters any. The formal document referred to both groups in the articulation of its principles, instead of ‘one people’. There was also no national language. There was only the existence of groups that saw and defined themselves as being different in their ethnicity, nationality, and identity, but in close proximity to one another. Their schooling taught values strictly aligned with either Greek or Turkish identity, especially that of religious education. Hence, there were no real structures built in to foster political or ideological compatibility or tolerance between the two, only those serving as default political tools 9 . Different groups on the island, some of which were illegal and of a caliber of vigilante, worked to promote one cultural identity by undermining the legitimacy of the other and provoking civil unrest. This started with the Greek population, but then spread to the Turkish population. Both sides accused each other of being the antagonists of the situation and claimed defense, physically and in terms of sovereignty. The implication here is that these underground organizations created the climate where suspicion was prevalent and could easily be acted upon. Thus, from 1963-1974, there was substantial civil unrest on Cyprus, but the culminating events came first with a coup de grace engineered in Greece whereby the president of the Greek Cypriot Republic was overthrown. Though he was restored to the office, Turkey followed with a military invasion of the northern half of the island in 1974, claiming defense of sovereign Turkish Cypriot interests 10 . The ensuing conflict forced thousands of Greek residents to flee south from their homes in the north. Prior to and subsequent to the invasion, Turkish residents left their homes and communities in the southern half of the island for places with greater Turkish populations in the north. This culminated with the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Northern Turkish population and the southern Greek population; a border that still exists to the present day and is administered by the United Nations. The United Nations sent in a peace-keeping force to maintain this border after the Turkish military agreed to halt their invasion and withdraw to the northern half of the island. At present, there is limited contact between the different groups across the borders, even where the borders have been dismantled 11 . Though ordinary citizens have contact with each other, this has not filtered through to the political structure of both sides of the island or to the educational structures 7 Richmond, O. (1998), Implications for making peace: building negotiating positions during the Cyprus conflict, Paper delivered at ACGTA seminar in London (June 5, 1998) 8 CIA World Fact Book 2007, Cyprus, http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cy.html (accessed July 11, 2007) 9 Ioannidou, M. (1997). Curriculum as political text: the case of Cyprus. History of Education 26(4): 395-407. 10 Cyprus conflict narrative, http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/index.html (accessed July 11, 2007). 11 BBC News. (2007). “Greek Cypriots dismantle barrier”, http://news.bbc.co.uc/2/hi/europe/6433045.htm (accessed July 11, 2007). 80
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) that are influenced by them. Due to situations like this, the school systems that developed independent of one another are still isolated. An entire generation of students has scarcely had anyone from the other side for more than two decades. The state of these relations does not foster peace and/or any sense of possible reconciliation as those concepts may be taught to students. A relevant question here is the future that students are being groomed for through the civic and historical education they receive and how open that education is to the idea of reconciliation with their neighbors. Cypriot Pragmatism Prior to and following the events of 1974, it is important to mention that not all members of the population(s) held such extreme or intolerant views of the other group 12 . Indeed, there were many within the population that did not hold the sentiment that they should be strictly affiliated with either Greece or Turkey. Their desire was to have an identity which was uniquely Cypriot, and this included members of both groups. Their perspective comprised what we would refer to as the ‘middle road’. Their primary interest was in getting on with life, working, and participating in the workings of the rest of the world community. By 1967, there were two groups that are referred to as ‘nationalists’ and ‘rationalists’. On the Greek side, the nationalists were members of a group that desired unification with Greece and allowed no debate on this issue. Any sentiment or questioning running counter to it was considered selling out to the Turkish influence. Countering this were the ‘rationalists’ whose views concentrated more on developing the economy of Cyprus in a way that would invite greater prosperity to the population. It was their influence that persuaded, even demanded, that the Ministry of Education open vocational technical schools. Jobs and industry, they argued, would do more to build up and sustain the future(s) of Cypriot identity and not confine it to one particular ethnic group. These technical schools produced workers for the job market with newer and updated skills than those previously available 13 . The founding of these technical schools represented a compromise from the political leadership to aid the economic development of the economy on the Greek side. The leadership required a quid pro quo on the part of the vocational/technical educational establishment, though. In the curriculum schools in the Greek communities, they were required to offer courses in the social sciences, more precisely that of Classical Greek, which served to reinforce and expand the dimensions of the Greek identity, but not the Turkish 14 . Down to Brass Tacks The features of both educational systems in Cyprus are striking for the sheer nature of their similarities, both in structure and governance 15 . The major difference between them lies in the civic orientation each has toward its history and culture. The tone and substance of this uni-cultural orientation revolves around the notion of identity. The Greek system of education is administered through the Ministry of Education and Culture. A primary mission of this organization is the maintenance of Greek identity. Ranging from the primary school where both groups of students enter at age 6 all the way through to the end of secondary school which ends at around age 18, and including the technical and tertiary institutions, they are virtually alike. The social sciences are where the major differences lie, especially in relation to history and the perspective it is taught from. History and the social sciences are the main vehicles in the transmission of civic knowledge. In this context, the history is being framed from a point of view where one group is elevated to the point of unquestioned legitimacy and the other plays the role of the antagonist. 12 Cyprus conflict narrative, http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/index.html (accessed July 11, 2007). 13 Ioannidou, M. (1997). Curriculum as political text: the case of Cyprus. History of Education 26(4): 395-407. 14 Ioannidou, M. (1997). 15 Structure of education systems in northern Cyprus. www.euroeducation.net/prof1/cypco.htm (accessed July 12, 2007) 81
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Table 2: The Channels of the respon
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european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

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