Documentary

Parallel Trips

Synopsis:
Part I
Palaikyto Village

Palaikythro is a mixed village (now in the north part of Cyprus). During the Turkish and Greek clashes in 1974 some Greek Cypriots were killed by paramilitary Turkish Cypriot groups. Petros was 10 year old the, his brother Costas 8 year old. They experienced the execution of their whole family in front of their eyes. Costas ran away and survived, Petros had four bullets in his body, but he managed to survive. Myrophora brought her five-year-old boy to the military hospital. He had been shot on the leg. She was taken away and she believes that he is still alive. Nicos experienced as a ten-year-old boy the whole story, which happened in his village.

Atlılar, Muratağa, Sandallar Villages, a Turkish Cypriot village had a similar story. It was attacked by paramilitary group of the next Greek Cypriot village and occupied. The Turkish men were sent as prisoners of war to a concentration camp. Three weeks later, when the Turkish army made a second operation, the Greek paramilitaries killed all the women, children and old people who remained in the village. Survived men of Maratha narrate their story. Huseyin, an old man, manage to survive, but he observed the armed Greek Cypriots to arrest in front of him his whole family. Later he experienced that they were not alive.

Part II
Sirin
Turkish Cypriot Sirin was 5 years old in 1974. Her father was a soldier and he was killed during the fightings. Her mother collapsed for several months, but she didn’t know what really happened. For some years she believed that her father was in Turkey as a wounded person. When she realized the thuth she promised herself to bear a son at the same day of her father’s death. Some years later she brought to life her son at that day.
Panayiota
Greek Cypriot Panayiota lost her husband during the fightings. He was a soldier and he was sent to the front. He has never come back and he is considered as a “missing person”. Panayiota suffered a lot in poverty. She became a refugee and she tried to grow up her two children alone. They stayed for three years in an unfinished building without doors, windows and heating. Her biggest problem though was to tell her children the truth about their father. She lied that he was in England. Later of course they discovered the truth. Today her heard fights with her mind. Her logic says that her husband will not return back, her heart though insists to believe that he is alive.
Saim
Saim, a Turkish Cypriot, was wounded by a grenade. He lost his two legs. Now he is running a shop in Kyrenia and he works voluntarily for the union of handicapped persons. He is happy that he can come back to his old hoby, fishing.
Michalis
Michalis a Greek Cypriot, was also wounded by a grenade during the war. He has been married and he has now two children. He is fighting to be accepted as a “normal” person by the society.
Salih
Salih, a Turkish Cypriot painter, has suffered from the bi-communal conflict. His father was murdered by Greek Cypriots and later he was forced to move from his house. He was given a Greek Cypriot house. He found there some photos and he keeps them until today in order to return them back to the owners. He doesn’t want that they have the same feeling he has: That he lost all his memory by loosing the family photos. He participates to a b-communal choir and he is very happy that this group of people contribute for peace through singing Greek and Turkish songs.