Sevgul Uludag
caramel_cy@yahoo.com
Tel: 00 357 99 966518
00 90 542 853 8436
Good news comes and finds me: The remains of the fourth `missing` Turkish Cypriot from Polis have been found in the place we had shown together with an old witness to the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee… We had gone to Polis on the 21st of October 2013 with an old witness who had come from London for holidays and the relative of a `missing person` from Polis had helped me to find him: He knew where some `missing` Turkish Cypriots had been buried…
It all came about quite accidentally, so to say… We had gone to Nikita village to look at a possible burial site and the person who was the owner of the house had been from Makunda… We had gone together with the officials of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee and there, the Assistant of the Greek Cypriot Member of the Committee, Xenophon Kallis had asked the guy from Makunda whether he had any information about those Turkish Cypriots' whereabouts who had been killed in the war in 1974 in Polis. The old man had said he knew nothing about it. The Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee had been excavating some places for these `missing` persons for over a year without any results…
When Kallis and the old man from Makunda were conversing I remembered Unay and Hasan Pasha from Polis… Unay's father, Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim has been `missing` from Polis since August 1964 and I had gone to their house in Morphou to interview them for my book `Oysters with the missing pearls`… Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim had gone away in his blue Morris van towards Paphos and no one ever saw him again: It was 21st of August 1964… After some time Unay Hanim would see her father's car painted in the colours of camouflage and was being used by some Greek Cypriot soldiers… She would report this immediately to the UN but nothing happened…
I thought of calling and asking her about what Kallis was enquiring about: The `missing persons` from 1974 from Polis. Unay's husband Hasan had already spoken to me about those killed in Polis in 1974.
So I called her and she was very eager to help… She told me that the person who had buried some of these `missing` from 1974 was in fact on holidays in Cyprus from London. He was someone from Polis who lived in London. Unay Hanim would find me his phone and I would call the old Turkish Cypriot, Mr. Shevket Rado and ask for his help… I ask him to come with us to Polis and show us where the burial sites are. Despite his old age, problems of health, problems with his leg and the fact that he has to go to dialysis three times a week, he accepts quite willingly to help out voluntarily.
On 21st of October 2013 Monday morning we go to Polis together with Shevket Rado and the officials of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee: Xenophon Kallis, Okan Oktay, Murat Soysal and one of the Greek Cypriot archaeologists. My husband gets up early and prepares wonderful sandwiches for us to eat at Polis since we need to be back in Nicosia early afternoon and would not have time to stop and eat.
We go to Polis. We go to the old cemetery of the Turkish Cypriots where a monument for the only `missing` Member of Parliament, Cengiz Ratip and `missing` teacher Turgut Sitki has been erected. Cengiz Ratip and Turgut Sitki are `missing` from Polis since 14th of February 1964. Despite all the efforts their remains have still not been found.
The old man, Shevket Rado takes us behind the monument at the cemetery.
Mr. Shevket Rado had been living in London since 1963 and was on holiday in Polis in 1974 when the war broke out. He would become a prisoner of war together with other Turkish Cypriots of Polis. One day some Greek Cypriots would come to the place where they had been kept as prisoners of war and would choose five of the strongest Turkish Cypriots – among them was Mr. Shevket as well. The Greek Cypriots took them to bury the three Turkish Cypriots killed in the war. Without absolutely any hesitation Mr. Shevket shows exactly where they had buried the three `missing` Turkish Cypriots. In a cavity of around one and a half to two meters they had buried Mehmet Chatallo, Ahmet Beyaz and Ayshe Ramadan. `You will find half a skeleton in the grave, we did not remove that, there was his head, arm and half of his body – this was an old skeleton from the old cemetery but when you dig, this might come out as well – let it not confuse you…` he explains to the
archaeologists.
I ask him to show us the possible burial site of the fourth `missing person` from 1974, Kemal Ismail. Hasan Pasha, the husband of Unay Pasha had told me the story of Kemal Ismail, that he had committed suicide at his military post - `If I see the Greek Cypriots coming, I will commit suicide` he had been saying and Hasan Pasha had warned his relatives about this… He too is `missing`… Mr. Shevket Rado takes us to the new cemetery of Turkish Cypriots of Polis - he leads the way and tells us that Kemal Ismail was buried in this cemetery… We thank him and go back to Nicosia…
Soon after the archaeologists start digging the spot behind the monument in the old cemetery of Polis and find the remains of the three `missing` Turkish Cypriots – just as Mr. Shevket explained, they also find half a skeleton…
Then news comes last week that the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee excavation team has found the fourth `missing person` in the new cemetery where Mr. Shevket had shown us the possible burial site.
Four more families will take back the remains of their loved ones and I thank from my heart Mr. Shevket Rado who came and showed us the burial sites despite his old age and illnesses, Ms. Unay Pasha and her husband for helping to find Mr. Shevket and the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee officials for exhuming these sites…
With the totally voluntary, humanitarian work, we have managed to find the remains of four more `missing` Turkish Cypriots… Unay Pasha, despite her own `missing` father helped to find other `missing persons`…
Despite grave difficulties with his health, Mr. Shevket helped quite willingly…
With people like them Cyprus has hope for the future – they are people who are not greedy and calculating like so many others – they have pure human hearts who are eager to help without expecting absolutely nothing in return…
The only thing that makes me sad is that despite her incredible humanity, we have not been able to give any news to Unay Pasha about her father Ahmet Ethem Ibrahim who has been `missing` from Polis for the past 51 years!
If anyone knows of his possible burial site, please call me with or without your name on my CYTA mobile: 99 966518.
Let's continue to work for humanity to prosper on this island… Let's continue to work for humanity not greed, for compassion and mercy to take root on this soil…
11.4.2015
Photo: With Shevket Rado at Polis...
(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 10th of May 2015, Sunday.
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