Cyprus, Intercultural Education in

The sociohistorical context of Cyprus entails various consequences for intercultural education. Since 1960, Cyprus has been an independent, sovereign republic. Cyprus is a small island situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey, west of the Levant, north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece. Cyprus has always demonstrated a unique historical context because of its strategic geographical location at the crossroads of civilizations that has led to a continuous conflicts and conquests. The 1960 constitution of the Republic of Cyprus recognizes the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot groups as the two major communities of the island and establishes Greek and Turkish as official languages. Armenians, Maronites, and Latins constitutionally belong to the Greek-Cypriot community, and the Turkish-speaking Roma (Gypsies of Cyprus) are affiliated with the Turkish-Cypriot community.

Nonetheless, the strong resistance of the two major communities toward cooperation led to intercommunal violence. The consequent collapse of the bicommunal structures of the state led to the division of the island in 1974, and the massive relocation of Greek-Cypriots into the south and Turkish-Cypriots into the north. Although since 1974 the Greek-Cypriot government has controlled only the southern part of Cyprus, it is recognized as the de jure government of the whole island. Consequently, this entry focuses only on the officially recognized state. In April 2003, there was only a partial lifting of restrictions on the free movement from and to the occupied areas of Cyprus. Although Greek-Cypriots can cross the demarcation line, they still do not have the right of residence in the north or the right of access in their properties. It is notable that in April 2004 the United Nations unsuccessfully launched a negotiation process for the reunification of the island on a bicommunal, bi-zonal, federal basis. However, when Cyprus became a full member of the European Union (EU) in May 2004, the acquis communautaire (total body of EU law accumulated thus far) of the EU remained suspended in the north.

Currently, the large waves of immigration toward Cyprus have created an environment of interculturalism that is qualitatively different from the diversity resulting from the historically based minority groupings. Nevertheless, Greek-Cypriot educators contend that a case for intercultural education in Cyprus cannot be made as long as the political and sociocultural exchange between the two major communities is suspended. They explain how the historical context militates against intercultural education: Greek-Cypriots have always perceived themselves as victims of racism and human rights violation, blaming Turkish-Cypriots for the division of the island. Therefore, a debate that places Greek-Cypriots as the perpetrators of racism and immigrants as being at the receiving end does not fit in the national story of victimization of Greek-Cypriots. Greek-Cypriot educators thus report the perpetuation of immigrants' stereotypical portrayal and the growing tendency toward the perception of the immigrant and the “other” as a potential threat to the Greek-Cypriot standard of living.