Deniz's Story

Until 1974 we lived through very bad days. We submitted to all the injustices and torture of the Greeks. We lived in very bad conditions. We couldn't eat, we couldn't sleep, we couldn't talk, we couldn't live like normal and free people. This continued for a long time. We started to lose our hope. We started to think that nobody could help us with our fight for freedom. Because we applied many times to qualified organizations but we never got any answer from them. Meanwhile we started to heard news about the "Peace Operation" and in 20th July 1974 Turkish soldiers started their operation and started to fight with Greeks to save us and to save our country. This was an experience which I had that was an example of my life.

Q. Did you have any thoughts or ideas or conclusions at that time?
During the war, we saw many bad days and we lived through many bad events. These affected me very much. I don`t have any physical sore or effect but these events affected my psychology very badly. I can say that war is something very bad.

Q. Were these thoughts or ideas or feelings or conclusions a problem for you in any way?
Yes, to live these days and these events caused a problem in my mind. To see those days made me a very sad and suspicious person. And in the future, my suspicious character affected my friendship relations. I can`t trust people easily for a long time.

Q. What were your feelings or emotions at that time?
At that time I felt very bad because I didn`t know the conclusion of the operation but I trusted to my God and to the Turkish and (Turkish) Cypriot Army.

Q. Did these feelings or emotions help you in any way?
These feelings helped me to learn the power of God and also the power of the Turkish people.

Q. Were these feelings or emotions a problem for you in any way?
They never caused a very big problem for me; the only problem is I lost my hope.

Q. Did you have any questions or confusions at this time?
During the [peace] operation time only one question confused me. This was "what will be the conclusion of the operation?"

Q. Did these questions or confusions help you in any way?
Because of that confusion I prayed to my God all the time and wanted help from him.

Q. Was there anything that happened during this time that was helpful for you?
During this time we lived by the help of Turkey. This was the most helpful event for us. Because if they didn't help us we couldn't live.

Q. How did this help you?
This event helped us to live. And if we would continue to live we must defend our country and save it from our enemies. We took courage and started to feel we are more powerful than Greeks. With these ideas and feelings we won the war.

Q. Was there anything that happened during this time that hurt you or got in your way or was a problem for you somehow?
During this time I lost some of my relatives and this made me very sad and also this increased my grudge and disgust of Greeks.

Q. Was there anything during this time that MIGHT HAVE helped you or COULD HAVE helped you?
There must be a miraculous event to save us. When we lost all our hope the miraculous event occurred and the Turkish Army came to help us. This helped us to become hopeful people. With this hope, we again started to fight. And the result of this was that we saved our country.

Q. Is there anything in your experience during this time that you would say was a "lesson for life?"
Everything relating to that time was all a "lesson for life" for me.

Q. Is there anything you else you would like to say about your experience during this time? These questions make me live those days again and also this makes me become sad.


DEMOGRAPHICS
Occupation (or life's work): Housewife.
Age: 62.
Sex: Female.
Nationality: Turkish Cypriot.
Where now lives (country and city/town/village): Girne.
Where lived during the events described during the interview: The village of Ozankoy (near Kyrenia).
What was the occupation (or life's work) of the main income earner in the household when growing up: Farmer.


This interview was conducted by Sibel
18 May 1996

For the previous page. "1974: The War."