Notes from the mass grave at Synchari...
Sevgul Uludag
caramel_cy@yahoo.com
Tel: 99 966518
On the 2nd of December, 2010, Thursday, towards lunchtime, I travel up to Synchari... I go there to look at the mass grave being exhumed by our archaeologists. The team leader Hazar Kaba, picks me up from the village and we go to the exhumation point...
Hazar, Deren, Demet, Ershen, Giorgios, Güliz, Maria, Stelios, Djeren, Frixos, Marios and Chrisanthi are the archeologists digging the mass grave. Although Hazar was the team leader, experienced archeologists in exhumations like Demet and Deren have been sent here to help with the mass grave. Demet spent more than one and a half years at Gerasa, exhuming the remains of one busload of Turkish Cypriots who had been `missing` from Tochni since 1974. The second busload had been buried elsewhere… Recently, Demet exhumed a mass grave of eight Greek Cypriots just outside Tziaos (Chatoz) that one of my readers had pointed out. Deren, on the other hand, was the one exhuming the mass grave one of my readers showed in Neachorgo Kythrea (Minarelikeuy). Ergin is the shiro operator and two rokers are also helping them. Up on `Aspro Mutti` or `Bozdagh` as Turkish Cypriots call it, at an altitude of 800 meters, Uyum, Sophia and Aspasia are working as archeologists, collecting the bones of `missing` Greek Cypriots from where they had been left.
How can I describe a mass grave? A mass grave is only the reflection of human tragedy. Primarily, this is the sight of `desperation` - people lying there, helpless, as death has caught them, on top of each other that freezes you to your bones. Our archeologists, both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot have got used to these sights and they don't `freeze` but slowly and carefully try to take out the remains… Some, more experienced who had been in the team of exhumations of the Cyprus Missing Persons Committee, try to train others who came later on… They work slowly and carefully, having learnt not to `freeze` in the face of such a sight.
They dig the mass grave at a small opening near the pine trees, close to the road. There is the smell of pine and wet soil in the air… The mass grave is only 50 centimeters deep and 17 Greek Cypriot `missing persons` have been buried in this mass grave. They had been buried as they are, with their forks in their pockets, with their pocket knives, the small change and keys and key holders in their pockets, their rings and watches… Two of them still have their metal helmets on their heads.
As they had been buried, lime had been sprinkled over their bodies but bones and all the remains are in good shape, there are no burns or anything, therefore making it easy for DNA identification. Even this can be considered as `luck` by relatives since sometimes, bones can remain out in the open or might have been burnt, making it very difficult for DNA identification.
I sit quietly by myself at the edge of the mass grave and for one and a half hours, watch the archeologists taking out the remains. Each one of these 17 `missing` Greek Cypriots had a mother who gave birth to him, taught them how to speak, how to walk, how to love, how to smile… They had mothers drying their tears when they cried, mothers that they called out to while dying, without getting a reply… Each one of them had someone loving him and caring for him and waiting for his return… As the war caught them here in Synchari, these loved ones would wait for them to come back for many years… How much did they cry for these `missing` 17 Greek Cypriots, how much did they hope that `Perhaps he will come back, probably he will come back, will he come back?...` They lay on top of each other with the horror of death and each part of their remains are taken by the archeologists and slowly the mass grave is being emptied. Now, their painful return to their families is going to begin. They had come out of their houses fully alive, the war brought them all the way to Synchari and now they will return to their families in small coffins to be buried… Their coffins will be washed with tears but maybe later, much later their relatives knowing now where they are would be able to continue their paralyzed life since they had gone `missing`. They would mourn and would be able to continue their own lives without such questions like `Perhaps he will come back, probably he will come back, will he come back?...`
I sit quietly watching the exhumation in the mass grave… This mass grave is just at the edge of the road where the `Burnt Convoy` as is known amongst the people (The 181st Artillery Unit of Greek Cypriots) had been… Years later, pine trees had been planted in this area and I can see two trees, both of them have been cut by the archeologists. The roots of one of the trees have grown amongst those who had been buried here. That's why archeologists are cutting small roots very carefully in order not to harm the bones. `If we pull it out, the bones might go all over the place` one of the archeologists explains. A little while later, Deren pulls out the bottom of a rocket from amongst the bones and holds it up in her palm. Before they began exhuming this spot, the UN anti-mine team had come to explore and in their tools, they had seen the two helmets. Whatever comes out of the mass grave, forks, knives, buttons of shirts, small change, keys, rings and watches are being classified, to be returned to the relatives.
They dig in the vast quietness, under the pine trees with patience and those with more experience try to train others about what they should look out for. Sometimes, they would ask what this or that particular bone is in order to train those with less experience.
I had very much wanted the archeologists to come with us to Brussels when AKEL's MEP Takis Hadjigeorgiou had invited us to make a presentation about `missing` at the European Parliament in Brussels at the beginning of November this year. Everything was ready and two Turkish Cypriot and two Greek Cypriot archeologists would be going – all three members of the Cyprus Missing Persons Committee even liked their presentation to be shown in Brussels but just one day before we were about to fly, some Turkish Cypriot officials based in Brussels would intervene and the archeologists would not be allowed to go. They could not show their presentation and could not share their valuable experiences at the European Parliament. Only Christopher Girod from the CMP would come to participate. In the future, I would still look for conferences for them to present their experiences so that others who need such humanitarian experiences can benefit from them… The archeologists, working together in exhumations can be our ambassadors of peace in the world since they have a unique experience and they can, in the future, extend their help to such places like Lebanon where there are around 20 thousand `missing persons` and there is no `process` for even looking for them yet or any other place on earth that might need their experience and expertise…
I brought them some baklava so that they can eat it after they finish work. Around 3 o'clock they sit down to eat and they share their food with me… They are very tired but not complaining. Uyum, Sofia and Aspasia also came down from 800 meters high – they can go up to a certain point with the four wheel drive but after that they need to climb the sharp hills for at least 20 minuts, many times falling down while coming down since the place is so steep… Without complaining, they would get up and continue their descent…
We sit under the pine trees together and then after a while they start packing up and putting everything in their cars. Time to go now… They will not stop until the exhumation of the mass grave finishes and then they will continue to dig other probable burial sites in the area… These young and fantastic archeologists will continue to find the `missing` pieces of our history, putting them in place and I will continue to feel proud of their work…
8.12.2010
Photo: Archaeologists in the mass grave in Synchari…
(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 19th of December 2010, Sunday. Similar article was published in Turkish in the YENİDÜZEN newspaper on my pages called "Cyprus: The Untold Stories" in December 2010…
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