My Greece - An Awakening in Cyprus

My Greece
by contributing writer, Elise Liades
(U of M Modern Greek Program Fall 2006 Newsletter)

"Ah, America, a very important place, you know." Standing inside the UN controlled buffer zone that separates the internationally unrecognized "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" and the Greek Cypriot portions of the island, the recurring words of foreign diplomats and Cypriot officials returned to me. A faded "Enjoy Ice Cold Coca-Cola" sign swung in the gentle morning breeze from a decrepit shop front, riddled with bullet holes and overgrown with grass and shrub, giving an austere picture of the peace that once existed, and the brutal destruction of so many lives, properties, hopes, and dreams that were abandoned when war first tore apart this beautiful city.

I stared in awe at this portion of a now modern capital, frozen in time. Excluding the rare but shocking reminders of war such as an abandoned movie theatre with sandbag filled windows, while the rest of Nicosia has been re-built and made tourist friendly, the buffer zone remains a war zone. Cautious not to stray off the dusty path, as both our UN tour guide, and the barbed wire fences warned of mine fields still uncleared from the war, I found myself fascinated and appalled, hopeful and overwhelmed, sad and disappointed, as the destruction before me made the island's painful history clear.

That hot day in July, the bright sunlight typical of a Cypriot summer shone, for me, with both hope and despair. A child of immigrant parents, while fully steeped in American popular culture, strains of Hellenism permeated and confused my identity. "You are Greek-American. The Greek comes first," my mother would remind me as once again, without fully comprehending, I found myself caught between two cultures and worlds. A toddler who learned Greek before English, a kindergartener who with frustration realized the distinction between two languages, a rebellious teenager who defied family members by insisting on speaking only English, I felt the sources and consequences of this tension between identities pervading my life.

In a strange and confusing whirlwind of emotions, as the devastating consequences of the struggle of powers became undeniably apparent, and scenes of war spun around me with the same speed as my thoughts, again I heard "Ah, America, a very important place, you know." The very words that had previously filled me with embarrassment and frustration over the level to which America was elevated and my affiliation with it, were unexpectedly empowering, liberating, and inspiring. I felt a sudden strong desire to intervene, to assist in a way that previous assistance had not succeeded, a desire that even a month into my State Department internship, I had yet to feel. I had perceived my position as a citizen of a country that imposes its will on the weak as unavoidable, if not regrettable. The United States, regardless of my thoughts, actions, and emotions, is a world leader, and as history has proven, great powers have and will continue to exert their force over the world. Born into a position of international privilege, I have been given the choice to remain a frustrated observer of situations worldwide that sadden the soul, or to use this privilege to make a difference. A child of immigrant parents, imbued with a desire to make the most of life's hard won privileges and a refusal to squander opportunity, I saw my Americanism for the first time, not as a part of my identity of which to be mildly ashamed, but instead, as a possession to proudly claim. It was there, behind the "Green Line" of barbed wire and intimidating national guards that politically, religiously, and linguistically divides the island, that I, a 21 year old American born American citizen, first embraced my Americanism. I would use not only my Hellenism, but also my Americanism as an aide, a source of power, a jumping off point in making a difference.

Elise Liadis received her B.A. in Organizational Studies, with academic minors in Modern Greek and Economics. She will be attending Harvard Law School in the fall."