Cypriot Grief Across the Divide: A Call for Trauma-Informed Testimony and Dialogue

It is now more than 50 years since the beginning of the intercommunal conflicts, war in Cyprus, the subsequent division of the island, and the establishment of a situation termed ‘the Cyprus problem. ’This state of affairs is represented only at high-level political discussions and negotiations, ignoring Cypriots ’ lived experiences and personal histories. Multilayered dissonances drive the political narratives, while the problems of a traumatized people have been largely neglected. Trauma resulting from conflict, loss and displacement is a daily reality for both communities in Cyprus (Demetriou & Skotinou, 2018), and only recently has research begun to address the effects of these traumatic experiences on the Cypriot people (Volkan E. & Hadjimarkou, 2019).