Greeks live in the south. The 1st Border Crossings opened in 2003 but this little exchange. We traveled along the Demilitarized Zone known as the green line and many people whose lives have been affected by 45 years of Political Division what are the prospects for review night in cyprus. Our journey begins in the southern part of the island the republic of cyprus and e. U. Member state since 2004 our 1st stop is the village of carter pyrgos this is christophes hes 30 years old and opened a Convenience Store here a while back new businesses over here. You get to. Many of the local residents have moved away. The left in the business is only good 2 months of a year during the Summer Holidays when we get tourists. Thats the only time you see new people around here otherwise the place is pretty deserted the mood in the village is always the same we feel sort of isolated. Around 700 people live in card gas in the 1970 s. The population was about 4000 but when cyprus was divided in 1974 the border was drawn directly between carter beat us and a neighboring village catto pyrgos ends on a kind of dead end street. Like many villages christophes also left he spent a few years in the capital nicosia then he returned home he used to come to this place often when he was a child the beach is a Restricted Military area and has been for years theres a Turkish Cypriot observation post on the hill christophes only knows about the events of the 1960 s. And seventys from his family and from his school textbooks. When we were children we knew that we were growing up in an unusual place and we know about the other side as well. Back then i thought that id never be able to meet a Turkish Cypriot. 1 and i never understood why my friends and i couldnt play on that hill over there there was a bomb you know either. The conflict began in the 1960 s. Cyprus had just gained its independence from britain when tensions escalated between ethnic raikes and turks instigated by greek nationalists. The majority of casualties back then with ethnic turks Un Peacekeeping troops intervened. The island was divided in 1974. Great cypriot military officers staged a coup against president makarios. On july 20th 1974 some 30000 turkish troops invaded the northern part of the island turkey said its goal was to protect the Turkish Cypriot population and. Greek cypriot families fled to the self the troops remained and Northern Cyprus is still under turkish control to this day. A number of Border Crossings have been opened along the green line since 2003 including one between cars hopi across and a Turkish Cypriot village on the other side. Christophe and his friends sometimes cross the border to shop in the north of the turkish lira has weakened sharply against the euro in recent years so they get more for their money here. But they dont interact much with the local residents they feel more comfortable back home in qatar peak gusts. At least im going to quote you but you we dont actually have any contact with the Turkish Cypriots before the island was divided government there were closer ties between the 2 groups but not now. You know that woman a few years ago they made an effort to bring young greeks and turks together but it didnt work out very well when. I think that our village would be better off if they could solve the cyprus problem we wouldnt be cut off anymore but its going to take time a lot of Greek Cypriots here lost relatives during the turkish invasion and 1974 so i can understand why they want to keep their distance ready. Since the Border Crossing was opened it now takes about an hour to try to make a c. R. Instead of 2 and a half hours the road runs through the northern part of the island that means Border Crossings and passport checks many cypriots see this as a major inconvenience we arent allowed to film at the actual Border Crossing. Were now back on the road to make a c. R. Knowing greek has left and in turkish has left. Home to some 300000 people its europes only divided capital. The green line runs right through the middle of the city. There are barricades. Fences and walls. The socalled republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by turkey which also provides it with substantial economic support. The un supervised Demilitarized Zone separates north and south we have 10 special permission to film here a spokesman explains why peacekeeping troops have been in cyprus for more than 5 decades. So the buffer zone is a huge. Area and patrolled by our peacekeepers day and night by thought by bicycle by their cool and also by helicopter and they play an important. Mic. Singh with the opposing forces to maintain the military status quo and prevent tensions between the 2 sides from escalating. We filmed our interview of what used to be nicosia is International Airport the facility was shut down during heavy fighting in 1984 and never reopened this side is now the headquarters of the Un Peacekeeping troops reunification talks between greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders broke down 2 years ago but both sides hope that theyll resume soon one of the main sticking points is the presence of turkish troops in Northern Cyprus. One of the longest and oldest peacekeeping operations. Anywhere in the world and i think we share the hope. One day soon there will be a settlement that will facilitate the departure of the peacekeeping operation and see agree unified cyprus for the benefit of all the cypriots in 2004 cyprus held a referendum on a u. N. Sponsored reunification plan 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted for it many of them believed that it would set the stage for e. U. Membership but 76 percent of Greek Cypriots voted against it for a wide variety of reasons. Arista string deedes has committed himself to the reunification process. He says the politicians done nothing to help find a solution in fact he claims they dont even want to find a solution because they have built their careers on keeping the 2 sides of pot. Makes a personal appeal to the residents of cyprus forget that political nonsense forget nationalism just meet people for coffee i say just go over there and say hey lets have a coffee lets talk the media say that were supposed to kill each other dont do that go over to the other side and talk to people even if you think that theyre morons even if you dont like them just talk to people just say hi. Aristos of them stages public protests to call attention to the continuing division of cyprus here hes trying to break into the Demilitarized Zone and hes invited some reporters to watch him do it he knows he risks being detained i just started destroying things i didnt care i said i want to go over there and have a cup of coffee why do i have to show my passport at the border every day and all that nonsense that sux. When the local the 1st attempt failed so arrest us tried another spot and managed to get into the dimia tries desire and few follow him then the un authorities arrived. And im wondering now get up everybody out is the buffer zone everybody else will be here do not enter here. That would arrest us was arrested but the police later released him after he paid a fine. Arrest is also part of the peaceful group of young cypriots that promotes interaction between the 2 communities they say the toughest part of their if it is to eliminate prejudice on both sides today theyre taking a bicycle to us through the old town some of these people grew up in this city but theyre only familiar with half of it. Says child you never physically hurt us or like you dont have memories you build and the trigger believe. You have isnt just to live your life there so its almost like the familiar but its actually a show. So far away from life. So the best suited to be. Heading north the 1st stop is a Border Control post where the visitors have to show their passports. Then they move on to whats the citys former army and quarter which is making something of a comeback after decades of decline a 1st service was healthy again after 40 years. This. Religious group of armenians moved to the south since the sixtys through the 1st conflict. Episodes we had seen the 1st conflict events. Because. This the western side of me crazy. This like return he was very in it was like the core of the conflicts. Of restlessness family used to live in this part of the city a lot of their neighbors were turkish like many local residents the family lost their home and their business during the conflict and then the green line officially divided the city into 2 parts it used to be a traditional. And he mixed with the turkish speakers because he spoke turkish as well as a refugee from asia minor so my grandmother was around and she told me these were houses that were built for poor people support antigones says that efforts to promote understanding between the greats and turkish communities are slowly becoming more popular especially among people whove been directly affected by the divide. Of course there is a lot of a lot of work to be done in order to create a bridge that all the people and get especially that young people with human age each other. The 2 communities in conflict. Next we head to. A village in the north that is almost completely surrounded by the buffer zone. Greeks and turks both used to live in this village back then it was called lucina. During the conflicts in the 1960 s. The greek residents lived and Turkish Cypriots refuge there among them was the family of historian. Rick seen here on the left. Yes he would light a study in germany he was 4 years old when his family fled to the village. I was feeling a lot of Turkish Cypriots moved here including my family where we. Are going to get these people came from pitot mia darley and other villages and we all ended up here thus it was almost like a ghetto. Man house on battles was a child at the time he says that during the clashes up to 5000 people lived. Here surely could the village was quite secure back then we had a lot of people and we could defend ourselves well because the village is surrounded by hills. And little of the. It was difficult for the greek troops to attack us so they kept their distance of the much incidentally been. For the 1st 5 years following the conflict the village became part of the Restricted Military zone the residents were not allowed to leave me as he visits the place where he and his family lived after they fled here. They moved away. So did many others today the village has only about 300 residents. Neons he moved to germany to study. On this writing and score so he the years that i spent in germany were quite valuable from a british i learned that germany was able to take a selfcritical look at its past and that helped me to ask questions and look for answers and thats when i started writing about peace and reconciliation for joining a church etc. Earlier this year neons he was elected a member of the European Parliament parties from the north are not allowed to take part in a you elections but its residents are allowed to vote but they have to go to polling stations in the south and theres no Border Crossing neither village. They couldnt go right if we could vote right here all of us would limit it but to cast our ballot we would have to go to the capital or p. L. O. And it takes at least an hour to get there. But. The residents of i can speak a mixture of great and turkish something very seldom on the island but the 2 cultures remained shop they divided especially in the schools. Yasi says hes concerned about that one often by them as i would and theres a lot of nationalism in the School System and quite a bit of serious prejudice on both sides. I guess i. The main shows is a hilly area where fighting took place between crakes and turks. This tank serves as a memorial has signed says he would like to be able to walk across to the next village but that its just not possible. For them and all of the uk as long as i live i will have hope that we can make reunification work that the politicians may not wanted but i still have hope. Ready we move further east to the village of peel. Much of the village lies within the demilitarized sun and the population includes both greek and Turkish Cypriots. A contingent of u. N. Peacekeeping troops has been based here since 1974 about half of the village lies south of the green line is a border to the north but not to the south it is home to both great and Turkish Cypriots theres both a church and a Mosque Street signs in great and turkish and 2 men one for the greeks and one for the turks. But theres not a lot of interaction between the 2 communities. That separation begins at school and of course there are 2 of them. John at school is a teacher at the Turkish School for many years critics said that the curriculum a would 2 nationalist oriented reforms were introduced on the turkish side in 2004. But chances that his Greek Cypriot colleagues have some catching up to do so i know that they still have some problems because unlike us they didnt carry out teaching reforms. Are going to extend well i dont know the details but the Greek Cypriot teachers i know are definitely opposed to it. That some of the turkish pupils dont have much contact with the greek children away from school and theres a good reason for that it has nothing to do with prejudice. Youre. The great kids dont treat me like im different i think you know that we have to talk to each other in english because i dont speak greek and they dont speak turkish but i have fun with the greek kids anyway because you like it here in. The residence of people used to speak both languages but that changed after the island was divided. A common cypriot culture was gradually replaced by separate greek and turkish cultures. He. Teaches say that its not a good idea for the 2 groups of School Children to grow up isolated from each other. We dont want to repeat the experiences of the past so we all have to Work Together to change things. Teachers can play a key role. Junk tree is flexible and what the children learn in school will probably influence them as adults and i mean thats why we teach them to treat others with respect and love. And their owners are there to another all at their last. Until the 1st Border Crossing in cyprus was opened in 2003 pilo was the only place on the island where greek and Turkish Cypriots could meet a new troll ground so to speak. Ready ready ready ready ready Un Peacekeeping troops keep a close watch on the community. A number of intercultural events take place here and they usually attract politicians. Today the local residents have gathered to watch a football match one team is from Northern Cyprus the other from the south senior politicians from both sides to attend but even before the match begins there is some complications. Students from both schools and also here the Great Children are wearing red shirts the turkish green ones. The president of the republic of cyprus nicholas honest us address has just arrived. It turns out that the turkish later mustafa will not be attending. He was stopped at the border because he had a Northern Cyprus flat on his car. Because after that. It was originally blonde for my dearest friend which stuff i can to our jane in order for both of us to send a message. For the reasons were known to fail to attend. Despite any differences we might have with my. Friend. Hume and i share a common vision for achieving lasting peace. Reporters dont pay much attention to the game the festive mood of the crowd or the positive interaction between the schoolchildren ready theyd rather focus on the negatives. Ready later one journalist wrote we cant even manage to play football together how will we ever be able to achieve peace. Ready ready now and for our final destination the village of terrain. The local mayor is working hard to bring greek and Turkish Cypriots together. Man and us cut a young us really visits this small chapel because it lies inside the Demilitarized Zone the local residents are allowed to attend services here just twice a year we had to get permission from the un to take the speeches. The chapel is located near the beach but that is off limits to the residents. Whose it supports and. Forms that are fully home of us from after 97475 percent of the village ended up in the north including the beach. Its a saintly area thats 2 and a half kilometers long it didnt have any hotels before 974 or your fault or. The village lies just south of the town of farmer in Northern Cyprus some buildings including some former hotels border right under in your until 974. 00 family was a Major International tourists resort. Today the entire area is a Restricted Military zone occupied by turkish troops many locals say it resembles a ghost town. There is no