[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING FAMAGUSTA, CYPRUS AS A GHOST CITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ZACHARY T. SPACE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mr. SPACE. Madam Speaker, yesterday, I met with Mr. Alexis Galanos, 
Mayor of Famagusta, Cyprus to discuss the current situation he and his 
constituents face every day.
  In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, running residents of Famagusta out of 
their town and their homes in fear. Since then, Famagustians have been 
unable to return to their city in the occupied area, and the city 
itself remains a ghost town.
  Prior to the invasion, Famagusta was a bustling tourist destination 
and an economic dynamo. The hotel and construction industries were 
booming, the harbor had been widened to further contribute to its 
economic activity, and the rich and fertile mainland easily supported 
production of the potato crop.
  This all changed with the invasion of Turkish soldiers. Turkish 
troops drove the people of Famagusta out of their town and sealed it 
off with barbed wire. This is how the situation remains today, 33 years 
later. 45,000 residents of Famagusta have become refugees in their own 
country; they lost their land, their homes, their property, their 
businesses, their livelihoods, and for some, their lives. Since the 
Turkish invasion, churches, cathedrals, monasteries, and the cultural 
heritage have been subject to looting, vandalism, destruction, and 
theft.
  In 2003, partial lifting of movement restrictions by the occupying 
regime allowed some displaced Greek Cypriots to visit their old homes, 
but they are still denied the right to return to where they were born 
and raised. Property that was once in the hands of Greek Cypriots has 
been unlawfully distributed to illegal settlers from Turkey, and 
unprecedented illegal construction is taking place on land that 
technically belongs to Greek Cypriots.
  The former residents of Famagusta worked very hard to make a living. 
Families spent decades paving the way for the well-being of future 
generations, but they were forced to start over from square one.
  The people of Famagusta, like other Greek Cypriot refugees, have a 
burning desire, and a right, to return to their homes. I am pleased 
that Mayor Galanos was able to visit Washington to share the story of 
Famagusta, Europe's Ghost Town.