By Yiannis Souliotis
It took a little more than 24 hours for the flames of war that Israel and the US ignited in the Middle East to reach Cyprus. Before midnight on Sunday, when the British Air Force base in Akrotiri was hit by a drone, any talk of war shelters, evacuations of settlements for fear of military strikes, and anti-ballistic shields seemed rather out of place and exaggerated. And yet, since Monday morning, the island has been living in a warlike atmosphere.
No, that is not the first impression one gets when walking around the island’s major cities – Limassol, Nicosia and elsewhere – where life seemingly continues normally.
The interest of the Cypriot government and the country’s media, however, is focused on the developments that followed the attack on the British base, with residents of many areas expressing in private concern about the possibility of further escalation of the war. The Civil Protection and Civil Defense have issued announcements reminding the public of an application that shows the nearest shelters in the event of a mass attack – a total of 2,500 throughout the country. The Ministry of Interior posts instructions on what an emergency backpack should contain, in case a rapid evacuation of an area is required, such as water, a whistle, cash etc. No one could have predicted all this a few days ago.
Same is true for the roughly 1,000 permanent residents of Akrotiri, a town a stone’s throw away from the British air base. None could have imagined that on Sunday night and Monday morning the sirens of war would sound. For over 50 years the elderly residents have been accustomed to living with the sound of fighter jet engines overhead, but not with the sounds of emergency messages calling them to leave their homes as their lives were in danger.
“There is an ongoing security threat in the Akrotiri area. Instructions have been given for a mandatory evacuation of Akrotiri. Please head towards Episkopi High School,” read one of the messages they received on their mobile phones on Monday afternoon, shortly after it was announced that two more drones launched by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite armed group, from a position outside Beirut and heading toward Akrotiri, had been intercepted and crashed into the sea.
Those who fled were accommodated in the homes of friends and relatives and in two hotels in Limassol, while 12 families found refuge at the Monastery of Saint George of the Cave, 10 kilometers from Akrotiri.
The Cypriot authorities, meanwhile, are attempting, on the one hand, to send a message of readiness and, on the other, the message that the country is not involved in the war. They are announcing that the French, Germans and British are sending missile batteries, warships, and anti-drone systems to the island as a result of the effective bilateral contacts of President Nikos Christodoulides.
On the other hand, government officials in their private talks with journalists, are quick to note that Cyprus is not under threat, and that in fact the country was not the target of the attacks, but the British-controlled territories in the Akrotiri area. With the summer season ahead, the prospect of a big blow to the island’s tourism industry cannot but cause terror.
“People should not panic. We appeal to the public to get their information from official and authoritative sources to avoid panic and additional concern,” read a statement issued on Monday afternoon. The same statement concluded with the exhortation: “We call on citizens to be observant and inform the authorities of anything worth reporting.” A difficult balancing act between maintaining normality and increasing the level of preparedness.
Back at the British air base, journalists from all over Europe and several from “Northern Cyprus,” as colleagues from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island introduced themselves to us, are waiting for news, day and night. What has been happening in the Republic of Cyprus in recent hours seems to have aroused the interest of the Turkish Cypriot community as well, but without there having been any reaction from them yet. The Cypriot authorities, however, have intensified checks at border crossings, as they say they are concerned about the possibility of “individuals who want to harm the Republic of Cyprus entering the country through the occupied territories.”
