North And South Cyprus Get Used To Coming Closer

Arasta, the area around the Lokmaci checkpoint, has for so long been a quiet, modest place.  On one street you find row after row of clothing and fabric shops, selling cheap jeans and fake designer bags, and another street you come across carpentry and ironsmith workshops, with most of the work being done in the middle of the street, and then occasionally a tea house or coffeeshop, with most of their customers being off-duty Turkish soldiers. Most of the shopkeepers complain about how bad off they are, while nearly all the buildings in the area are in a totally shabby state of disrepair…Basically, there was nothing special to draw Cypriots to the area, except to check it out and complain how bad it was… 

The first night of the opening of the checkpoint on this very spot was marked by huge celebrations. On the northern side, there was an atmosphere of a carnival, with a rock band belting out loud music, lokma stands lining the streets, people sitting at tables drinking beer, a folk dancing group jiggling away, all capped off by a brilliant fireworks display.  In comparison, there was what I would even call a somber mood on the southern side of the checkpoint – just another evening for Ledra Street. 

So, how does one make sense of the fact that the atmosphere in the south was so subdued, while here in the north so jubilant? The fact that the peace-oriented government in the south had to downplay the whole episode shows that resistance to change and gestures of goodwill run strong; the Archbishop had been on television for days criticizing the move, Rumors that the son of Papadopolous and former Foreign Minister Lillikas have joined forces to take over the main media outlet in the south also give a sense of the struggle ahead. 

Yet, according to one statistic, nearly three times as many people tried to cross from the south to the north.  In fact, there was so much demand that the police were forced to close the border at one point in the evening.  Having been there I can attest to the slight sense of panic I felt being caught up in that short and narrow passageway with about 300 other people. 

Greek Cypriot police claimed that Turkish Cypriot policemen, who were trying to manage the crowd, had overstepped into their territory, and thought it best to close the border.  With the two police forces, plus the UN peacekeepers, now in charge of co-managing a tiny space in such close proximity to each other, slight hiccups such as these can be expected as they get used to each other… 

Last night everyone knew that Arasta was the place to be.  For one moment, for one day, Arasta became the great connector. People set aside fears, prejudices, cynicism and just enjoyed the evening. The crowd dancing together to the music group was truly eclectic– Cypriot leftists, gypsy women wearing flowery headscarves and carrying children on their hips, the young Arab gangsta-boys of the old town, Greek Cypriots – people who normally would never socialize together, were all enjoying the same environment. Even social and political divisions that exist within the north seemed to melt away for the time being…(RZ/EK)