Community: What It Was and What It Has Become

A week ago or so, my grandmothers house was violated. In a neighborhood that used to be friendly and quiet, it seems that things are changing rapidly. But let me start from the beginning.

The house that i grew up in is located in Kaimakli. The house was built from my great-great grandfather with lots of blood, sweat and tears. My grandmothers family was made up of 6 children; 3 boys and 3 girls, her father and mother, and also her grandparents. A total of 10 people were staying in that same house. Situations were different at that time. No electricity meant, no refrigerators, no television, no heated water. Everything was basic. A hole in the ground would serve as a refrigerator to store meats, that were seasoned in order to last, a wooden stove to heat up the water for all the bathing needs of the family.

This house went on to see the invasion of the Turks in 1974 and still bear the marks to tell its own story. Bullet holes can be found on the edge line joining the roof with the walls of the front of the house porch. That is were my great-great grandfather was sitting at the time of the event and thanks to his hearing loss he didn't get nervous and didn't get in the crossfire. The community of the neighborhood was very close. Everyone knew everyone and all of them had the best relations. However no back-stabbing was in sight, as one can see in today's Cypriot society.

When i was growing up in that neighborhood, i had many friends from the surrounding houses. All of us would ride with our bikes around the neighborhood, build custom ramps in empty lots and have genuine fun. We would visit each others home's and tinker with electronics devices that were out at that time. That would give us so much fun and the fact that we could share would make the fun part twice as good. I remember my grandmother talking with her friends from the neighborhood while they were doing the chores around the yard. Our front door was always open, the windows too. People would sit out and enjoy the company of each other and the good weather of this island.

In today's society things are completely different. People in the neighborhood have changed. Others moved, others have died, others are still there but have a certain age. Just like my grandmother. She's 84 years old and still does a lot of things. Due to circumstances my grandmother spends a lot of time in my mother's house. Her house was used only for sleeping at night. During the past year we had the suspicion that her house was being watched. We tried to make my grandmother move to an apartment, somewhere safer. But lets face it. Persuading an old man or woman to let the place that he/she woke up and slept for her whole life is no task for the faint of heart. So we failed.

Last week i saw just how much my grandmother was scared. The act of breaking into her house wasn't an issue as the burglars didn't manage to find anything in the house...and let me tell you, they tried hard to find something. The problem that occurred after was the safety of my grandmother in that house. What if she was in at the time of the event? How would the burglars react? How would my grandmother react? So many what-if statements appeared in my head that night. Today my grandmother is staying with my mother for a few days until we move her things to an apartment we found for her. She saw the place and approved it, so all of us are very happy.

None of the neighbors saw anything or heard anything from the event of the break-in. Most of them were locked up in their own house and others were at their workplace. If this could happen at past times i'm sure 1000% that all of the neighbors would have run to her aid and chase the burglars away.

Things have changed and are changing constantly. Its up to us to keep our humanity and treat each other with respect and decency. We all live under the same sun and sky. We all seek for the same things give or less. Security, happiness and love from the ones around us.