“Every time, whenever we go and whenever we leave, the feeling is the same. There is always a stone in the throat. They betrayed us. They got up and left and left us in the hands of the Turks”, are the words used by Ms. Katina Zaoura, to describe all the emotions she feels every time she passes the roadblock to go to her village, Agia Triada. These are her feelings, even today, on the day that Christ is baptized and although for some this is a happy, festive day that marks the end of the Christmas holidays, for Ms. Katina, her fellow villagers, but also so many other people who will once again celebrate Epiphany away from their homes, because of the Turkish Invader.
Once again, the refugees from Agia Triada, the occupied village of Famagusta, located near Ryzokarpasos and Apostolos Andreas, boarded the bus and took the road that led to Agios Therisos. Where the Consecration of the waters took place, where they once again threw the cross into the icy waters of the occupied Cyprus sea. And together with the cross that fell into the sea, from the lips of those present came the same silent wish or prayer one could say. Their desire to finally return to their homes, to their village.
In that village where only a few stranded Greek Cypriots live, since when the invasion took place, most of them were then adults, who have now become elderly. These old people, who have been living with the same desire for fifty years. Let their children come back, after our homeland is freed and the occupying army is a thing of the past.
These are the ninth Epiphanies, which will be celebrated in Agia Triada, since the first ones were in 2014, when hundreds of believers rushed from the free and those who were trapped in the village, who at that time were more than today and in a climate of deep emotion, celebrated Thea Liturgy with the Bishop of Karpasia, Christophoros. They dived into the waters to grab the cross, sanctified the waters, prayed. At that time, it was the first time since the Turkish Invasion that Epiphany was allowed to be held in the presence of people living in the free areas.
Since then, every year, faithful to their appointment, the refugees from Agia Triada, the children of those who stayed behind, because they did not want to part with their home, met again on the rocks of Agios Therisos, to celebrate the Epiphany. Ms. Katina, a child of trapped people, who grew up far from her parents, as when she finished primary school she had to be transferred to the free areas to continue school, is one of those people who once again boarded the bus and set off for the Holy Triad. This time, traffic is easier, there are no restrictions that existed before the roadblocks were opened. Then, when he could visit the parents the few times a year that can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
“Thousands of people come to Agios Therisos. The people who come from all over Cyprus are not only from the Holy Trinity. In the past, before it was allowed by the Turks, the liturgy was held, but not the Consecration of the waters. Now we go and do both sanctification and Consecration of waters. Our trapped people, unfortunately, are few, but we go and see them and despite their great age, they are happy to see us”, she tells the REPORTER herself.
The last Epiphany before the Invasion
Like all the regions of Cyprus, the Holy Trinity also had its own traditions, which were observed at every opportunity. For the Lights, the inhabitants of the village, taking advantage of the sea at their feet, threw the cross into the sea and the brave dived in to catch it.
“Every year we threw the cross into the sea to catch it. Also, the priest collected the water from the holy water in the pool, went from house to house and took it and did holy water there as well. He even went to the stables and performed holy water. We were waiting for the father to come with the holy water, to sprinkle our house. But we also caught holy water ourselves from the pool. We went with the bottles to the church and after the Divine Liturgy and Christ's baptism, we filled them and took them home. On that day, all the houses in the village were opened, because guests came and gathered in the houses”.
The Epiphany of 1975
Not even six months had passed since the Turkish invasion of July 20, 1974, when Attila's forces entered Cyprus and within a month managed to conquer 37% of its territory, including the Holy Trinity, and the Greek Cypriots had to to celebrate the baptism of Christ and the Epiphany.
Although they had remained trapped in the Holy Trinity, they did not have their freedom, to celebrate as they wanted, to carry out their customs and traditions. They had to limit themselves and follow the line that the outsiders had set for them. They had to follow the instructions of the Turkish soldiers, which they imposed on their will, despite the fact that Ms. Katina, her parents and so many other villagers were in the place where they grew up, in the place they themselves made.
“That year, Papalazaros, the priest of Apostle Andreas, came, because we had no priest to operate our church and celebrated the Divine Liturgy. However, we did not do Consecration of the waters, the service ended with the consecration of the pool. Years later, the Sanctification of the waters was allowed, but only those stranded from Agia Triada and Ryzokarpasos were allowed to go”.
These were among the last epiphanies that Mrs. Catina. In 1970 he had to leave and move permanently to the free zones, so that he could continue his schooling.
“Until 1976 I was in the village, with my parents and siblings. Then I came to the free areas, to study at the Gymnasium, because in the occupied territories we only had Elementary School. We couldn't stay there, we had to continue school. I was one of the lucky ones, because we had relatives who lived in the free zones and I stayed with them. Other children, whose parents were trapped and came to the free zones and had no one, stayed in reformatories and then on their own.
I was the oldest of the young children in the family, because at that time we also had students , who were absent abroad. When I grew up, I also lived alone, with my sisters, who came to the free areas, to continue school. They were difficult years for all of us.
We used to see our parents when they let us go to the occupied territories, for the holidays, Christmas and Easter, but then that stopped. Even until 1995, when I gave birth to my son, we were not allowed. Then they let us, the children, go to our parents. It was very difficult, living away from our parents. Then we didn't even have telephones to communicate with them, as we do now. We communicated with them only through the messages of the Red Cross. Now we can go through there whenever we can and go to our parents, then we couldn't do that. We can say that when the roadblocks were opened, the situation improved.” where Ms. will visit her village. Katina, the feelings they hold are the same as the ones she felt when it was the first time.
“Every time, whenever we go and whenever we leave I get the same feeling. There is always a stone in the throat. We only know one way and we go directly to our village, to see our parents. Although I always said to go around Cyprus with my children, we finally found a way. Every time we go, I feel the same pain, the same sadness and disappointment, especially in recent years, with the deployments made by the Turks.
My mother was 40 years old when the invasion took place and until a few years ago she was hopeful, along with my father. They hoped that a solution would be found, that we would return. Now, he understood that the solution will not come soon and he feels that their sacrifices and efforts were wasted. Of course, the thought of leaving was always in his mind, he had to choose. To leave and leave their home or to stay. Finally, they stayed, because it is not easy to leave your home.
Especially in Agia Triada, because no one kicked us out. They betrayed us, got up and left and left us in the hands of the Turks. This was a big problem. It's one feeling to be kicked out and another to leave alone. Nothing was easy, they drew a lot, but they didn't regret staying, because it was done consciously. There we broke out'
