"War and… a doctor left incredible wounds on my body and soul…"

He is a sensitive man, patient, with a warm soul. He does not hide the pain of the past and his feelings. He knows the feeling of loss, pain, loneliness, despair and would never want to be the cause of any of them. This man's story is unlike any other. It was 1974 and he was only 19 months old…

Mr. Costas Konstantinou reports in ant1ıwo:

"I was born on 16/4/1973 in Trachonas (a suburb of Nicosia in its currently occupied part) and I have 2 brothers. If it weren't for the invasion in 1974, my life would definitely be very different. I would grow up normally, next to my parents with love and calm. Unfortunately, the war and a doctor left incredible wounds on my body and soul…  

July 20, 1974: The invasion begins…

My family and I left Trachonas to be saved. At first we went to my aunt's house in Cherry and then to Karpasia. My father's relatives were looking for us and when they managed to contact us, they told us to go to Famagusta because we would not be in danger there. But we went to Karpasia because my father's parents and sister lived there. His sister was 20 years old and was not married.  

When a ceasefire was declared on 23 July…

Some relatives told my parents to go to Nicosia. They were told that they could also get a Refugee ID there. My parents decided to go. But because they would only stay a few days and because I was too young - only 19 months old - not to be bothered, they left me with my grandparents and aunt. 
My parents were in Nicosia when the second phase of the invasion began and they could not return to Karpasia. In the meantime, I was seriously ill. I had a high fever and my aunt took me to the doctor. 
The doctor who examined me gave me a subcutaneous injection which, instead of healing me, caused me much more problems.

My grandparents and aunt were very scared. I reacted strangely and the fever did not go down with anything. A few years later, the doctors who operated on me in England told me that I was very lucky to be alive. My grandfather had to seek United Nations help and I was taken to a hospital in the Free Zones. I was hospitalized for 3 whole months because I had a serious infection. My aunt and grandparents were always by my side. 

  My poor parents were looking for us but could not find us. They did not know if we were alive. We were found shortly before I was discharged from the hospital. I was told that I did not want to go with them, I cried and I wanted my aunt because I thought she was my mother, I did not remember anything. 

Up to 6 years old, I could not walk normally…

My parents took me to England at their own expense. After the surgery and a lot of physical therapy, I managed to walk up to 100 meters. I could also stand for a while. When we came back to Cyprus, I was taken to the Cyprus Red Cross Children's Hospital. There I did daily physiotherapy and went to school but I was again away from my parents…

I only lived with my family for 10 years. In the afternoons after school, I always worked and always had my own money. When I turned 22, I bought my own house and since then I live alone. All these years, I did several surgeries that unfortunately had no result. The problems grew and from the age of 16 until today, I use crutches. The doctors who operated on me in England believe that this happened because of that injection.   
 
Unfortunately, I do not remember anything beautiful from my childhood. Only nightmares…

I remember how much I was afraid of the Turkish soldiers and I always had nightmares at night. They came to pick me up; I flew to sleep at 200 beats per minute. I will never forget that wooden pistol that I made myself and with it I wanted to kill all the Turks who hurt my family, who took my house and who often made raids to scare the trapped people to leave their homes. . 

 I fought so hard all these years to chase away the nightmares and all those endless hours of loneliness that hurt, away from my parents and siblings. 

In the invasion, although 19 months old, I lived, I tasted the glass of war. "The Turks, along with all the evils they did, killed the little souls they wanted to live, the little hearts they did not want to fight."