MRS KYRIACOS TSIOUPRAS

I was born in Komi Kebir and I am now 73 years of age. After attending primary school, I enrolled at the prestigious Famagusta Greek Gymnasium from which I graduated in 1951. I have to say that at the time my two brothers and a sister were living in London. This was a great advantage for would-be emigrants or students to have close relatives in a country such as the UK. This explains my decision to come to London- in fact to study law. I already had a “yes” to study at Grays Inn. At the time Cypriots with a Gymnasium leaving certificate, which included Latin, were automatically accepted to study at the Inns of Court.

My intention at the time was to become a lawyer. My arrival, however, coincided with the year when the University entrance requirements changed from the matriculation system to the now well-known GCEs. I was confused. I was in two minds and I kept asking, “which course of study is more suitable”. My mind was soon made up. The cousin of a school mate from Cyprus, named Paschalis Paschalides, was already in London and if I remember rightly was a second year undergraduate at the London School of Economics. My school friend suggested that I should go and see his cousin and perhaps he said “you might change your mind” regarding your eventual choice of study. We met at his uncle’s restaurant in Southampton Row. He then invited me to visit him at the LSE. If I am not mistaken it was on a Friday. We had lunch and we then went on a “tour”. I was mesmerised. The library areas were amazing.

My journey to the UK, which took twelve days, was a great experience. The ‘Capitolio’ was very popular. Most Cypriots embarked in Limassol, others in Famagusta and fewer still in Larnaca. The trip to London was extremely interesting. Ismir was our first stop, then Piraeus from where we visited the Acropolis. Then onto Brindisi in Italy. From there by train to Venice and then accompanied by guides from the well-known ‘Homatas’ travel agency to the British capital. Crossing the English Channel we arrived at Folkestone. We all believed that it was Dover. We were running around trying to locate our belongings and then we boarded a train bound for Victoria Station. Some were asking if Victoria Station was in London. We were told “yes”. Everyone was mystified by the whole adventure.

We arrived at around 7.00 p.m. Darkness was setting in. I was welcomed by my brother Nicholas who was very happy. Amid the confusion there were no major surprises for us. For me, however, there was one. A black taxi took us to St. Anne’s Road. It was very expensive. £1 then was a lot of money. Why not go by bus? A motor car then, was beyond the means of most Cypriots. I would imagine that my brother decided on this form of transport because everyone was waiting to see us. There to greet us were some 10 to 12 relatives, friends and co-villagers. I recall my sister’s two children; four and eight years of age respectively playing happily outside on the pavement.   I was torn between emotion and contentment.

My first impressions of London were positive. Nevertheless, my one and only worry was to enrol at a school. Yet what may lie ahead in a strange land was always a worry. Surely the unknown was bewitching. After a few days my sister said, “I heard that a grocery shop near Astoria in Finsbury Park is now selling olives so go with Nicoli (my cousin with whom I travelled to London with) and buy some”. On our return we took the bus we wanted but it travelled in the opposite direction. We were lost.

I was soon taken by my elder brother to enrol. The principal, who really looked the part of an academic, asked my brother, “why are you interested in your brother’s education?” Cypriot families are traditionally much closer units. English families perhaps were not as close. I was moved when I heard my brother’s reply. “I also wanted to study but I could not manage it so I express such feelings for my younger brother”. I successfully studied for my GCE’s at the University Tutorial College and Northwestern Polytechnic. I set my sights on studying at the LSE. To study law was now out of the question. Strange how people behave! Economics as a science was relatively unknown and not only in Cyprus. I was really in love with the LSE. Receiving an official acceptance offer must surely be one of the happiest days of anyone’s life.

On the first Monday there, I remember that some people came from British Guiana (Guyana) – a country riddled with revolutionary activity. The British colonial power failed to recognise progressive leaders such as Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham and in 1953/54 ousted Jagan’s party from power. They came here to protest, and the place they chose to speak was the LSE. My determination to do well was reinforced and forthwith my studies took precedence.

In general terms, the Cypriot community was on an upward trend. Families were beginning to arrive en masse. Isolationism was henceforth a thing of the past. The first all-Cypriot Church, that of All Saints in Camden Town, started its services in 1948. Even today I often ask myself and wonder how many christenings, weddings, funerals etc are recorded there. Grocery shops were now seen scattered, very sparsely, in a few districts. Light industry was at its infancy. Our compatriots were mostly engaged, as workers mainly but also as proprietors, in the catering industry. Hairstylists and carpenters were also in evidence. In the early 1950s the clothing industry occupied hundreds of Cypriots. I may add that among the pioneers were the Nicholas family. They specialised in bridal wear and ladies dresses.

At the time we also had one newspaper. The ‘Vema’, the only forum for Greek Cypriots, was in existence from 1939. It was really a collection of a few documents/tracts and nothing more. Basically, a four-page tract. The point I am making is that our community began to organise itself; it required a voice. Stability was the essence. Even students started to arrive in substantial numbers. The main travel agency owned by the late Homatas recorded many arrivals but very few departures. Yet, there was another lesson. Up to the early 1950s the system of rationing, via the coupon method, meant that our compatriots were satisfied with the simple things of life. Frugality was of great importance.

The weather was another talking point. “We mustn’t complain and we should not grumble”, were the catchphrases most often heard. The long winters were sometimes unbearable and the fog was a constant nightmare. And, the aftermath of such a disastrous war, was a constant reminder of what happened and what may have been. It was like a shadow which dictated the behaviour of human beings. This had a bitter effect on all Cypriots. I repeat those were the years when a sizeable influx showed their presence in the UK but especially in London. The West End and the route to the north, Albert Street and Arlington Road in Camden Town, were hot favourites for the early settlers. During the 1950s there was a move northwards towards Finsbury Park and during the 1960s, Haringey and Wood Green were ‘taken’ up.

The community also organised itself into national and political groupings. The Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, solidified in 1934, concerned itself more with humanitarian issues. It soon became more politicised. Other organizations were soon to follow. A few months after my arrival, I joined AKEL (the Progressive Party of the Working People). My first contribution was to attend a ‘lobby’ at the Houses of Parliament. I remember asking, “what is a lobby?” I was taken there by Stelios Costi and by another person from the village of Avgorou who died a few years ago. Only fifteen or so attended the lobby. St. Anne’s Road was part of the constituency of Tottenham. I was asked to see the MP for that area. He was an elderly gentleman who knew very little about Cyprus. However, he showed an interest in our cause. The Greek Cypriot Brotherhood was now politically active. The community also had Spyros Kyprianou who was then studying law. He was also the representative of the Cypriot Ethnarchy in the UK. The 1950s were of course very difficult years because Henry Hopkinson’s NEVER statement precipitated a storm, a political blitz. The Cypriot problem entered a new and more dangerous phase.

Graduating in 1956, I decided to return home. However, my parents were now with us in London. I expressed a wish to continue with my studies. I was then approached by Hambis Michail who offered me the post of manager of ‘Vema’, the weekly Greek Cypriot newspaper. Journalism was henceforth a major part of my life. From 1956 to 1959 I worked hard to improve the status and readership of the newspaper. I then returned to Cyprus and worked for ‘Haravgi’. I was requested to do so by Papaioannou, the AKEL General- Secretary.

Some personalities: The late Tefkros Anthias came to the UK just after the end of World War II and returned back to Cyprus in 1954. Three years later he was back in London. During his first session here he was preoccupied with the teaching of the Greek language and culture. I remember when in one of his visits to St. Anne’s Road he met Christophoros Loizou, my brother-in law, who was also a member of the Greek Parents Association. I believe that the foundations, at least in outline form, were set to establish a Greek school. The Church I must add was for many years previously preoccupied with such matters. Anthias and his highly-motivated friends worked extremely hard to establish what is today almost taken for granted.

1959 proved to be a year of great expectations but small beginnings for Cypriots. The Zurich-London Agreements established the Cyprus Republic. The island was no longer a colony. Not everyone was happy since there were so many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. From 1959 to 1963 I worked for ‘Haravgi’ in Cyprus. I was then posted to Moscow as its special correspondent. I stayed there until 1969. Whilst in Cyprus I met Paula, a very special individual whom I married in October 1961. It was probably the happiest day of my life. When we finally departed for Moscow, Paula was around seven months pregnant and after two months gave birth to our daughter Stavroulla. Moscow was an eye opener. I was able to witness first hand the merits, weaknesses etc of a major socialist state and of socialism as an ideal.

In the meantime, our beloved island was developing nicely. The economy was booming yet the political issue, the so-called “Cyprus problem”, was in tatters. You could feel that a storm was approaching. The outcome was the coup and invasion of July 1974. In November 1974, I returned to London to manage the newspaper ‘Parikiaki’, renamed as ‘Parikiaki Haravgi’ from September 1974. It was a decision taken by the AKEL party. How things had changed. I came here as a student in 1951 and now twenty three years on I was the manager of a “our” newspaper.

Our community was/is booming. In fact, the years between 1960 and 1970 were known as the “golden years”. It was the decade when the rag trade was in the ‘hands’ of the Cypriots. The early settlers however, soon gave way to the second and third generation of Cypriots. They moved into the so-called “posh” professions: medicine, law, accountancy, architecture and so forth. We are witnessing a ‘new’ community, a self-sufficient one functioning and inter-mingling with others in this multi-ethnic state called the UK. Who can predict the future? We can however, be proud not only of our achievements in our so-called ‘second homeland’ but of our contribution to our beloved Cyprus.