Greek and Turkish Cypriots unite to restore cemeteries along Green Line

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Greek and Turkish Cypriots unite to restore cemeteries along Green Line  The €700,000 project involves work at 15 sites in the Green Line, the island's demilitarised zone.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/08/14/greek-and-turkish-cypriots-unite-to-restore-cemeteries-along-green-line  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:01Fifty-one years after Attila II and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the wounds are still open.

00:07But in both communities, despite their differences, there are initiatives that leave hope for the future.

00:13Both sides have started restoring the cemeteries of the other religion as a sign of respect and community.

00:20Possibly out of all the monuments, it beholds a more anthropocentric and more grounded value.

00:28And one that also relates more directly to the people.

00:34So far, the restoration of fifteen cemeteries on the Green Line,

00:38which divides the island of Cyprus into the Republic of Cyprus

00:41and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is underway.

00:44People come to our village to see the villages, the houses.

00:49We have people who are looking for to see what they were and what they were.

00:53We don't want to see what they were, the children, the church, etc.

00:57I think that it's important to see what we are.

01:01After the Turkish invasion, Christian churches and cemeteries were vandalized,

01:05while Muslim mosques and cemeteries were damaged and abandoned.

01:09For decades, even crossing over to the other side to leave flowers on gravestones was banned.

01:14The cemetery restoration project, which is funded by the European Union, began last May.

01:19When I saw here, I was very impressed.

01:21Why did this happen?

01:23We want to be able to protect our villages,

01:27and protect our villages and churches.

01:32We have our own religion, and we have our own religion.

01:35We want to be able to live in our villages,

01:40and we have our own religion.

01:42There are discussions for expanding the project, which would cost 700,000 euros.

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