[...]

During my childhood, our Greek neighbors used to love me as if I was their own child; and I remember their children playing happily in our backyard.During my boyhood, I played football with my Greek friends and at flirting age we ran together after the most alluring girls of our town.

I remember taking our special dish of "Kadayif" to our Greek neighbors during our "Bayram" festivities and receiving in reciprocation their special "Pilavuna" during their "Easter" festivities.

When we grew up we enjoyed many feasts around the same tables and frequented the same night-clubs. We attended to each other's funerals and wedding ceremonies so many times that we knew exactly how to behave on those occasions. And at maturity, we worked together at the same government offices and jointly attended the same international seminars and meetings of technical nature. What I mean is, I know Greeks as good as I know Turks. They are great company, especially when it comes to enjoy life together.

Then, what makes Greeks the way they are: so unfair, so cruel, so unjust, so one-sighted and so undemocrat when it comes to politics, religion and ideologies?

It seems to me that this is in their blood. However, there is no doubt that the Greek educational structure and the Greek political parties are highly influential in this regard.

Another factor I know for sure that is responsible for this phenomenon is the Greek Orthodox Church. I will give an example for this from my life experience.

One Sunday morning, my Greek friends collected me from my home for a picnic. We were teenagers then. They said we had to pass by the church because their parents would not allow them to go for picnic if they did not attend the morning prayers. So, we went together to the church which was also within our neighborhood.

The priest was preaching. the final words of the priest are still in my ears:"...a good Greek is the one who is fortunate enough to kill a Turk and bring his head to our church-yard. When the time comes you will all be asked to do so. We will now pray for this time to come...soon..."

"This time" came during the Noel of 1963.

During this Noel, the Turkish community witnessed with great pain and bewilderement that all their good Greek friends suddenly became professional fighters running after their heads. Where and when these people were mentally prepared and physically trained for such a cruel and inhuman mission? Who were behind this hatred?

One final note for the reader: It is a historical fact that before the Island entered under the Ottoman rule in 1571, there existed no influential Greek community in the Island. The Island was then under the Venecian rule and the Catholic leadership kept under severe suppression the Greek population which was sparsely scattered on the Island. After 1571, the Ottomans allowed the construction of new Orthodox Churches at every settlement and granted autonomy to the Greek Archbishopship. It is extremely sad that this very Archbishop, in years to come, professed to its followers the genocide of the Island's Turks.