MR HARIS SOPHOCLIDES

I was born in Nicosia on 2 August 1937.  My parents originated from Strovolos and Karavas.  After attending the Elenion and the English School I was granted a scholarship by then colonial government of Cyprus to study in the UK.  I arrived in 1954 and stayed until 1960. As a condition of my scholarship I had to return to Cyprus and offer myself for employment in the public sector.  However when Cyprus became independent, the  constitution stipulated that public posts had to be filled 30% by Turkish Cypriots and 70% by Greek Cypriots and although there were vacancies for Civil Engineers there was no need for Greek Cypriot engineers. I was duly released from that obligation.  Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.  I worked for a few firms but then I ended up with Joannou & Paraskevaides.  After 44 years I am still with them.  I worked with the company in Libya for 2 years but in 1968 we opened an office in London, so that we could be in a better position to direct our operations especially in the Middle East.  Yes, “the experiment had been a success” otherwise, I might not have been here in London discussing the experiences, lives and times of our early settlers.

I am happily married to an English lady.  We met at college and reside at her place of birth, which is some twenty five miles from central London.  We have been blessed with two sons, one daughter and seven grandchildren.  My eldest, works with me at J&P.  My daughter studied the Fine Arts and specialised in pottery. Indeed as part of her course she studied Ancient Cypriot Pottery in Cyprus.  She is the mother of a 2 year-old and she intends to return to teaching in September. My youngest son whom the title ‘eternal student’ seemed to be absolutely appropriate – he did Business Studies and Politics and completed a Master’s degree – worked for two well-known MPs but is now the Public Relations Manager of a big company.

I am currently the President of the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood.  In 1989, I succeeded my friend, the late Dr Homer Habibis, who was really one of our community’s most influential individuals, not only with the Brotherhood but also with the National Federation of Cypriots, which was formed immediately after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. The Cypriot Brotherhood was set up between the years 1926 and 1934. It has had its present form since 1934. Archimandrite Michael Constantinides was the one who really ‘fought’ very hard to form such a body.  At the beginning it had a purely humanitarian role. As the numbers of Cypriots was low at the time, they felt the need to find a method, a way of getting together. After all, what is a village coffee shop in Cyprus or anywhere in the world? In time this meeting place became an Association with financial and ideological strength. Having the experience of the problems when they first arrived they found ways of helping our compatriots who were arriving in substantial numbers after World War II.  They needed support to find shelter, work and to learn English. The Brotherhood also organised classes for both children and British people who wanted to learn the Greek language. Later it also established a library and a football team. The period 1954-59 was very difficult the Brotherhood. Due to the fact that the Ethnarcy offices were located in the brotherhood’s building at Fitzroy Square, there were times that many people, including the British government, were involved in its affairs. It is debatable whether the Brotherhood had a positive or negative history during these periods. With Cyprus independence the Brotherhood returned to its normal functioning.

As the number of settlers increased, other associations were formed and our compatriots moved from the West End to Mornington Crescent and Camden Town.  Today, Cypriots are found in all parts of the Greater London area.  We even have a daily Greek Orthodox school in Croydon.

There was a further influx of Cypriots to the UK after 1974.  Whereas in the past they came to find employment, after the invasion of their island they came here because they had lost their possessions and their homes. This time in addition to the traditional immigrants we had whole families with children. Without 1974, perhaps we would not be conducting this interview in Greek because very few today would know Greek. However the large numbers that arrived in 1974 had given the Greek language an extension of life. We then proceeded to form the National Federation of Cypriots with the aim of doing whatever we can to assist in the struggle of the Cypriot people to find a solution to the Cyprus problem and return to normality. I need to emphasise here that our policy has always been that whilst we would advise the Cyprus government and at times tell them if we disagree, in order to remain united and to have common goals we would follow the policy of the Cyprus government provided that it has been democratically elected

As a community, I believe that we have made great strides; it is well documented that most of the first immigrants went straight into the basements to work in the kitchens, washing plates From there they became cooks and waiters and then restaurant owners. Another group, mainly made up of women worked as machinists in factories or at home and in time became factory owners. Now we find ourselves not so much in a commercial period but also in a scientific one. I believe we now have more then 200 University lecturers and Cypriots can be found in all the professions and a significant number in property. For example, the foodstuffs of KFF can now be found in all supermarkets and also in most European countries. We can say that as far as employment is concerned our community has entered the mainstream of the society in which it lives and works.

Naturally we still have some challenges. Today about 50% of the marriages are with non Greek Orthodox. This is a natural development given that our children grow up in a multi ethnic society. However what happens when a ‘Maria Constantinou’ marries a non Greek and her name is no longer easily identified. Can we follow that family? Follow not with a negative purpose. I mean can we offer this family a venue, a point of reference of their Cypriot heritage so they can not forget it? Crime, in all its facets and the use of drugs, has made inroads into our community as well. Better cooperation between the church and the various associations could produce results.  Another problem, maybe the most serious, we have not managed to establish a forum to unite all the Cypriots at the local, Pan London, or national level. Unfortunately during the last 30 years the Cyprus problem has concentrated most of our efforts and we have neglected to deal with many fundamental aspects of our community.

We are all deeply involved with the education of our children. Many of our community schools were originally started by volunteers who had, generally speaking, limited education themselves and at times had difficulty in fully carrying out their duties. We have the problem of disunity. There are too many educational organisations. A few years ago there was a meeting involving the education ministers of Greece and Cyprus as well as the Archbishop and other community leaders, I was abroad and not able to attend. On my return I inquired of a very prominent member, what had happened at the meeting? She replied “Ah we have won; we were six organisations we have united and have become seven”. You understand what type of union was achieved. Unfortunately it is a problem which has afflicted Hellenism from most ancient times; we all want to do our individual thing.  We have the problem of how we should teach the Greek language. I am aware that until very recently we have refused, ‘for patriotic reasons’, to teach Greek as a second language. Some people argue, why teach it as a second language Greek is our first language. This argument I believe is nonsense because when I witness my children growing up in an English environment using English in their every day life, having difficulty to fully communicate with me in Greek and I still insist that their first language is Greek I would not be working in their best interest. We have a similar problem at the National Federation where for similar ‘patriotic’ reasons we do not use English. In reality the real reason is because many of the persons who are involved in associations do not have a good command of the English language. Unless we adopt as a minimum the use of both languages at our deliberations it would mean that in a number of years we would exclude ourselves from our youth. The danger of losing touch between the first and the new generation is very high