A strong message of collective responsibility, solidarity and common commitment to the creation of a world in which every child can live in conditions of safety, prosperity, peace and progress, is the naming of school halls throughout Cyprus, honoring the missing children, the Minister said today of Education, Sports and Youth Dr. Athina Michailidou, in her greeting at the event "Missing children - Naming rooms in their memory", which took place today at Deryneia B Primary School.
In three classrooms of Deryneia B Primary School, Deryneia B Public Kindergarten and Deryneia C Public Kindergarten, the names of three missing children, Andreas, Maria and Kika, were given, with the Minister expressing "deep emotion" because as she explained " this significant ceremony will connect the schools of criticism for one more reason Deryneia and the entire wider region, with the history of our homeland, our place, Cyprus, but also all of us with our debt to young people".
He added that "the event once again recalls to our memory the tragic summer of 1974, when Turkey militarily invaded our homeland and placed under its control 38% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, when thousands of people and hundreds of others are still missing. A reality which, unfortunately, among so many others, constitutes the most tragic consequence and aspect of the Cypriot drama, a reality which violates, above all, international law".
The Minister of Education also stated that "the missing persons include civilians, women and small children, while the unclear fate of a large part of the original list of 1619 people maintains the anxiety, pain and drama that their families go through every day, at the same time being a challenge against all civilized humanity. In this long list of 1619 missing persons, 36 missing children are included, with the youngest child being only 6 months old and the oldest 17 years old."
The President of the Republic continued "one year ago, he announced the naming of 36 classrooms throughout Cyprus in Primary Schools, Middle Schools and High Schools, honoring these children. It is a powerful message of collective responsibility, solidarity and shared commitment to create a world in which every child can live in conditions of safety, prosperity, peace and progress."
In our effort, said Dr. Michailidou "we put forward our education and together with the whole of our educational community, we work so that our education continues to guard our historical identity and preserve our history, our language and our culture. We work so that our education system develops our children in all aspects, highlights their abilities and creates tomorrow's citizens who will recognize the importance and fight for the prevalence of the values of freedom, democracy and peace", he noted.
He also said that "there is no better tribute to these three missing children, Andreas, Maria and Kika, than to inspire the new generation to fight for peace, solidarity and giving. To raise a generation, nurtured so as not to forget the past and at the same time, to work tirelessly for a better, more humane future, to fight with every peaceful means for the justice of our homeland, but also the prevalence of human rights at the international level ».
The Minister of Education warmly congratulated "the management, staff and students of the three school units, for the remarkable educational and pedagogical work they perform daily, their continuous effort to keep alive the historical memory and our national consciousness, especially in the border region of Deryneia."
He also congratulated all those who contributed to the realization of this honorable act, thanked all those who, by their presence at the ceremony, prove "our unwavering dedication to the historical debt of the liberation and reunification of our homeland. I hope that soon the humanitarian issue of our missing persons will be resolved definitively and that we will live free in a free country".
May, concluded Dr. Athena Michaelidou, "the names of Andreas, Maria and Kika Kyriakou be beacons that will guide us towards a tomorrow full of hope, justice and peace."
It is worth mentioning that the missing children belong to Mrs. Chrystallas Kyriakou, one of the women who became a symbol and emblem of Cyprus during the second phase of the Turkish invasion of 1974.
Source: KYPE
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