Hlasy z města duchů – Avraamidou-Ploumbis Vivian (2024)

Varoša. The official name is Ammohostos, in English Famagusta. Ammohostos in Greek means a place buried in sand. Varoša, my hometown. A city with the most beautiful sandy beaches on the island. The first welcome of the sunrise at the ancient city of Salamis, which was built by the significant hero of the Trojan War, Teucer. Varoša. Turkish invaders stripped this beautiful city in 1974, raped it, placed a crown of thorns around it, and left it shackled so that human eyes could not see it. Fifty years depopulated. Without a kiss and without an embrace. Only in October 2020 did the occupying Turkish army lay a thin layer of asphalt on two central streets of the city like a black carpet, a shroud. With red ribbons, they strictly defined our steps, the steps of a false return. We, its former residents, are scattered. During the days of the invasion, we were forced to leave with only a blanket and a bucket of water. Upon our return, we could only cross two streets. Again and again, we crossed them among the carcasses of our homes, desperately searching for some fragment of our youth. Images of friends uploaded to the internet reveal the theft of the desire for life that the city has suffered. It was precisely these images that awakened emotions. Some sweet, others unbearable pain.