Known for her successful journalistic career but especially loved in the province of Famagusta, where she worked as a correspondent for RIK and local website manager, Eleftheria Sofroniou, a few months after her decision to leave (at least for a while) the microphone and the pen of the journalist for the sake of her husband, she opens her heart to Famagusta.News and tells us about her new career steps and life in London.
How did you decide to leave Cyprus and settle permanently in the United Kingdom?
I was so happy and so satisfied with my professional life that only something very strong would make me quit my job. My acquaintance with my husband and the feelings of happiness I felt with him played a decisive role in the decision to temporarily move to England with him until we returned to Cyprus. Then I realized that I had left my personal life in the background, so this decision to follow my husband and be with him completed me as a person and as a personality and made me happy.
Where do you live and what do you do today?
We live in London. My husband gave me the opportunity to live in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world with hundreds of opportunities for personal and professional development. At this stage, I am pursuing a postgraduate degree in Contemporary World History and Politics at the University of London (Birkbeck). I consider this postgraduate program to be the best extension of my 10-year journalistic career. At the same time, I teach philological lessons in a Greek school in the parish.
What does your spouse do? Was that the main reason for your decision to move abroad?
My husband is a doctor and works as a psychiatrist in London. Yes, because my husband is active in London, that's why I came to this city.
A year ago, you were a public figure, quite popular in the province of Famagusta as a correspondent for RIK. People nurtured great love for you and expressed it. How do you feel about all this being a thing of the past? Do you long for those days?
The relationship we have built with the world is not a thing of the past, love exists, it is reciprocal and the world continues to express it. If love no longer existed and was a thing of the past, it would mean that it was not true, it would be utilitarian, self-interested and superficial, something I have not noticed until now. It is true that news and news were in my daily life, and people were watching the news of the province of Famagusta every day. I was the transmitter who "broadcast" the news about Famagusta every day, that's why people identified me with this province. There was an intimacy and a communication with the people to feed me with the problems of the province, to listen to his concerns in general and to place them in the "public sphere". Alas, however, if people loved me only because I held the position of correspondent in Famagusta. People also knew me as a person because of the recognition given to me by the media. I feel very lucky that people appreciated my work and I managed to put my own mark on the mosaic of Cypriot news. I feel very happy because the part of my life as a Famagusta correspondent at RIK was a beautiful, dignified course that I loved very much.
Do you watch the media? How do you see the current correspondent of RIK Despina Pourekkou?
Yes, I watch the media. As far as I know, the current correspondent of RIK is very good!
Would you return to Cyprus as a journalist?
And of course I would return to Cyprus as a journalist if the circumstances allowed. Besides, the master's degree I chose is directly related to the profession of journalism. But in a few years - when my husband completes his specialty and we return to Cyprus - I do not know how things will be and what priorities I will have.
Have you considered doing journalism in the UK?
I thought about it but I still have not shown any interest, because I do not have free time. Maybe in the future I will try.
What is life like in the UK?
London is a multicultural city where people from all over the world choose as a destination because of the high quality of life it offers and the job offer. It is very nice to live some years in this city, to meet another way of life, other cultures and different ways of thinking.
What do you want most from Cyprus or more specifically the province of Famagusta?
I long for my family, my friends, the sun and the sea.
What is Eleftheria Sofroniou
After completing her studies in Greek literature and journalism, in Greece and England, respectively, Eleftheria Sofroniou worked for the newspapers Politis and Simerini, while from May 2012 to September 2017 she worked as a correspondent for Famagusta at the Cyprus Radio Foundation. . With her responses and reports, she highlighted various problems of the province of Famagusta while she laid the foundation stone for the equal treatment of Famagusta by the decision-making centers. Since last September, she has decided to take a "break" from the journalistic events in the province of Famagusta and follow her husband to London, on a new path of life.
The journalistic team of Famagusta.News owes it to her many thanks and wishes her all the best and success!
Famagusta.News