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Cypriot MEP Loucas Fourlas has recounted a harrowing testimony from a woman who survived the events of the 1974 Turkish invasion, describing sexual violence against children and adults and the lasting trauma carried by survivors more than five decades later.
Speaking during an appearance on the Netcast Zone podcast, Fourlas described testimonies given by people who experienced the invasion and its aftermath. Among them was a woman who, despite the passage of more than 50 years, continues to wear black and has never told her husband, children or grandchildren what happened to her.
Fourlas said some of the accounts involved children being taken between camps in pickup trucks and subjected to sexual violence in front of their parents. He recalled one particularly disturbing testimony in which the abuse was described as taking place in front of both mothers and fathers.
“In some cases, they kept the babies in the pickup trucks and took them from camp to camp to rape them. They raped them in front of their parents. In front of their mother. They also raped the father.”
The MEP said the woman later sat before five members of the European Parliament from different countries and described her experiences for the first time. Fourlas said she was not only recounting the events to the group for the first time, but was also hearing herself speak about them aloud after decades of silence.
The testimony proved difficult for those in the room to process. Fourlas said the interpreters eventually stopped translating and gestured that they were unable to continue, having become visibly emotional while listening to the survivor's account.
The woman noticed the reaction around her and, according to Fourlas, became worried that she had crossed a line by revealing too much.
“Did I say something I shouldn't have?”
A lifetime of silence
Fourlas said the woman's experience also illustrates why many survivors have kept their stories private for decades. Although she is now a grandmother, the MEP said neither her husband nor her children or grandchildren know what she experienced during the invasion.
He also recalled that the woman contacted him after discussions began over plans for a memorial dedicated to victims. The project has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is planned for a central location in Nicosia.
Her concern was not about the memorial itself, but whether the names of survivors would be displayed on it. Fourlas said her reaction demonstrated the fear and stigma that some victims continue to carry, even after more than half a century.
European Parliament recognition
The testimony comes as Cyprus continues efforts to preserve the experiences of those affected by the 1974 invasion and formally recognise crimes committed during the conflict.
The European Parliament has recognised that rape and sexual violence were committed during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, following an initiative by Fourlas, with MEP Eleonora Meleti acting as rapporteur. The parliamentary recognition also refers to victims who were minors at the time.
