The heinous double crime of the Turkish soldiers and possibly some Turkish Cypriot Mujahideen who helped them in their advance, about 200 meters east of the occupied Acheritos in the province of Famagusta, are remembered and narrated by the middle-aged and most famous people of Acheria today.
On August 31, 1974, armed Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot Mujahideen entered British territory unmolested, pursuing unarmed civilians, men, women, children and the elderly, who were terrified of trying to remove pedestrians from their village.
The Attiles cold-bloodedly killed a man and a woman that day. They are 58-year-old Grigoros Georgiou and Christofis Hatzikkis. Both from Acheritos, who left orphans behind.
According to the son of the then 58-year-old Grigoros, Takis, his mother, as his father told him, in addition to being killed in the territory of the Bases, at the same time fell victim to a robbery. An empty bag was found next to her lifeless body, in which she kept a significant amount of money and valuables. It was given to her by her son who lived in England, as he was planning with them, to start building a hotel in Famagusta.
The tragic Gregory, the mother of nine children, two of whom were still at large, running to be saved, apparently wanted to save what her son had given her for his purpose. A short distance from Grigoros' body, the Acherians found the lifeless body of their fellow villager, Christofi (Ttofi) Hatzikki, who unfortunately did not manage to get away in time from the angry Turks who invaded the territory of the British bases.
What preceded
Famagusta had been occupied since mid-August 1974, followed by the occupation of neighboring villages by Acheritos. Kalopsida, Makrasyka and last of Achna. Until the evening of August 30, the people of Acheri were sleeping in their orchards (towards Vrysoula) or near the well-known packaging plant of SEDIGEP, where many hundreds of refugees from other villages lived. During the day, however, women returned home to knead, wash, and do the necessary.
According to residents, they did the same on August 31, although from the previous day some people working in the British bases had warned them that on that day the Turks would be advanced to Acheritos.
Unfortunately for residents, this happened shortly before noon on August 31st. The Turkish soldiers were found moving towards the village from the side of Kalopsida. As the people of Acheri remember, panic and scenes of insanity prevailed in the community. People of all ages, old people, young people, mothers with children, were trying to get away by all means, as the Turks were now on the west side of the village. Some did not catch up and were confronted by the Turks. Both were killed. Grigorou Georgiou and Christofis Hatzikis.
From the settlement of Vrysoullon they now look at their village
Acheritou is only 200 meters from the border of the British bases of Dhekelia-Agios Nikolaos. It is located a few kilometers west of Famagusta.
Before 1974 it was a purely agricultural village, with fertile land, which was built up to the nearby small settlement of Vrysoullos, where they moved after 1974, creating the current refugee settlement of Vrysoullon Acheritos.
The eastern side of the community, where the Church of the Ascension is located, is overlooked with the naked eye, as refugee residents cultivate their orchards in the area.
Every last Sunday of August, the Day of Remembrance of Acheritos is organized, with a memorial service for the fallen and slaughtered Acheriotes, as well as the laying of wreaths at the Heroes' Monument of the refugee settlement.