When the British
administration started in Cyprus on 22 June 1878 after more than 300 years of
Ottoman sovereignty, the island was an underdeveloped country. One of the
important innovations brought to Cyprus by the British was the press. The first
newspaper was printed and published in Larnaca in August 1878. It was a weekly
newspaper called “Cyprus/Kypros” and it published articles in English and Greek
languages.
The first
newspaper published in Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriots in Turkish was the weekly
“Saded” which could appear only 16 issues in 1889 and it was supposed to be a
paper which published mainly some announcements. It seems that no copies have
survived up today.
Two years later, “Zaman”, the
second Turkish Cypriot weekly newspaper was published in 1891, again in Nicosia
by the contributions of the Ottoman Reading House (“Kiraathane-i Osmani”) which
established the first Turkish Cypriot printing house also. It was written in
one of the articles published in 1892 in “Zaman” that the richness and the
development of the Turkish Cypriot community would only be possible with the
review of the cirriculum of the Turkish Cypriot schools.
Some writers who
were supporting the Young Turks movement in Turkey left “Zaman” and published
the “Kibris” newspaper in 1893. One of the main aims of this weekly newspaper
was “to help our country, to teach affection for our country and to offer
services to its education.” “Kibris” stressed that the most important
embarrassment in the island was the backwardness of the education. It was a
necessity to open new schools at the Islamic villages and to change their
curriculum. The girls and the women should be educated too. (Kibris, 10 April
1893)
“Kibris” was the
newspaper where the early articles were written about the economic situation of
the Turkish Cypriot. There were complaints of the local British government
which did not give the necessary support to the commerce and the agriculture.
Therefore the industry could not develop. On the other hand the people did not
show enough interest and support to these economical fields. There should be
development of the production techniques and an increase in the production of
some industries like agriculture, textile and tannery, saving the working hours
and reducing the cost. Most of the people used to prefer buying European
products, causing a decrease in Cypriot production.
A small number
of Turkish Cypriot youth used to go abroad, mainly to Istanbul for higher
education, but when they returned to the island, they preferred to work as
civil servants or advocates. Only a few worked in the field of trade. The
number of the Muslim traders and artisans was very limited and their standards
were not perfect. The schools used to give religious education, rather than
reading, writing, history, arithmetics and science. The graduates of the
secondary school did not know these subjects like the Christian children.
An
article in “Kibris” newspaper of 1894 (25 June) made an assessment of the
situation in the island after 16 years of British administration as such:
“Since the change of administration, the Moslems of the island deprived
everything and they were left in misery. All of their rights were gone. They
started to be represented in the Legislative Assembly according to the ratio of
their population, 9 Greek Cypriots and 3 Turkish Cypriots. Year by year, our
population declined. Poverty disseminated. The Muslim education collapsed. The
doors for civil servants were closed. The Turkish Cypriot civil servants were
sacked and the Greek Cypriots were employed instead, especially in the
municipalities. The Turkish Cypriot policemen worked hard, but this was not
appreciated.”
Mehmet
Faik Bey, who was a member of the Moslem Educational Commission, sent a report
to the Ottoman Prime Minister, Halil Rifat Bey, dated 10 August 1896, accusing
the British administration that the job opportunities for the Turkish Cypriot
were limited and those who were educated had to immigrate to other Ottoman
provinces. The unemployed youth in the island could not get married. The rural
Turkish Cypriot population spoke Greek and they were illiterate, because of
lack of elementary schools. Some even converted their religion into
Christianity. New schools should be opened in the villages and a lyceum was a
necessity in Nicosia. The Christian population was 164,191 and there were only
47,927 Muslims. After 10 years, the importance of the Moslems would be
diminished.”
In
1897 there were in Nicosia 30-40 Greek Cypriot tradesmen and the Turkish
Cypriots had only 4-5 tradesmen with less business capacity, whereas during the
Ottoman period, the trade was in the hands of the Moslems and gradually the
Christians took it over.
The
problem of emigration of the unemployed Moslems continued also in the following
years. “Mirat-i Zaman” newspaper wrote in 1907 (29 May): “Unless we are forced
to do so, it is contrary to Sheria Laws to emigrate from the island. We have to
try to increase our population, instead of reducing it. He has to learn hand
skills and deal with commerce. Do not sit in the coffeeshops. Do not play
backgammon, draughts or cards. Let’s work and earn money. Do not be servant,
use servants.”
In
1909 one can see the influence of the “Unity and Progress Society” (Ittihat ve
Terakki Cemiyeti) also in Cyprus where evening schools were opened for
education of the Moslem people. For example, the village teacher Hadji Sadik
Efendi, gave the example of the Christian population in Cyprus when he spoke of
the importance of education at the opening ceremony of such a school in Siliku
of Limassol district. (Mirat-ı Zaman, 29 March 1909)
Dr.Hafiz Djemal,
who was a progressive T/C doctor practicing in Istanbul, stayed in Cyprus from
1906 until 1909 and established a school for the youth where they were taught
by Turkish and German masters various handskills like shoe-making, carpetry,
ironsmith, book-binding and umbrella-repairing. He also opened an evening
school for foreign languages like Greek, English Arabic, German and French.
After two years of hard work, he had to leave the island under the pressure of
the religious reactionaries.
Dr.Hafız Djemal
wrote the following in his memoirs published in “Mirat-i Zaman” newspaper in
1909 (31 May): “The Turkish Cypriots lack education and artisanship. There is
no Turkish Cypriot doctor, pharmacist or midwife with diploma in the villages
or towns in Cyprus. The Turkish population of 60,000 persons are obliged to go
to the Greek Cypriots in order to satisfy their needs in these fields. There
are many Greek Cypriot advocates who can speak Greek, English, French, Turkish,
but there are only a few Turkish Cypriot advocates who came to the island
lately. The Turkish Cypriot make shamishi, yoghurt, muhallebi (pudding),
sherbet, sahlep, tea, ice-cream or they are servants, transport-workers, farmers,
workers. Those civil servants who earn more than one and half pounds monthly
are all in Nicosia and a few in Paphos. Some are shoe-maker, unskilled
gardeners, beys and aghas. Some grocers with small capital, barbers,
clock-repairers. In the subject of national development, the Greek Cypriots are
all in unity, cooperation and solidarity. The Turkish Cypriot cannot bear each
other, they quarrel, entertain themselves continuously and they live day by
day. 60% of them do not send their children to school. Some send, but they
cannot be big personalities and professionals. We are 200 years backward than
the Greek Cypriots.”
Mustafa Hami Bey
who served as a Turkish Cypriot member in the Legislative Council wrote a
series of articles in the “Vatan” newspaper in 1911 (26 June) under the title
“Our socio-economic problems” in which he tried to find an answer to the
question: “Why can we not be rich?” His answer was: “Certainly, we don’t search
for ways which can lead us to richness.” He also advised that secondary schools
should be established for the girls.
Again in the
same year of 1911, advocate Osman Djemal Efendi published a book with 46 pages
called “Awakening” in which he wrote the following: “Since 30 years, we are
struggling with the problems of education and vakıf properties. We could not
reach to any conclusions. Those who are supposed to lead us, pose themselves as
if they are patriots, nationalists, but after they are elected, they are lazy
and opportunists. The Christians are inclined to opt for trade and artisanship,
but the Moslems prefer to be civil servants and spend their money for
entertainment.”
Mehmet Remzi
wrote in “Dogru Yol” newspaper in 1920 (10 January) an article under the title
“Those persons and nations who do not have self-confidence come under the
sovereignty of those who are enterprizing and consistent” and proposed the
establishment of a Turkish Cypriot commercial bank in Nicosia where there was
only one Turkish Cypriot savings bank. The same newspaper wrote on the first anniversary
of its publication in 1920 (13 August): “50 years ago, we were rich, but today
we became poor. If you compare the level of our education 50 years ago with
that of today, there is a slight difference which cannot be felt.”
“Davul”, a
satirical newspaper of 1923 (1 April) gave the following report of the
economical situation of the Turkish Cypriots: “The villagers are about to be
drown in debt. All of their properties are given as mortgage to the rich Greek
Cypriots. Our rich people try to hide themselves somewhere. In all villages
illiteracy reigns, agriculture is being done in a very primitive way, commerce
is all in the hands of the Greek Cypriots. There is no Turkish Cypriot artisan.
Ironsmiths, shoe-makers, carpenters, in short, all branches of handwork are in
the hands of the Greek Cypriots. We are either butchers or quilt-makers. What
do we need more? The artisans who are masters, stay in Nicosia, they do not go
outside… Nicosia is the town where the Turkish existence is felt mostly.
Buildings rise to the sky in the Greek Cypriot quarters, whereas the Turkish
Cypriot quarters are like the hole of the mole, full of huts made of mud. Now I
ask: Is it advanced or backward?”
Advocate Fadıl
Niyazi wrote in “Birlik” newspaper in 1924 (25 January): “If we overview the
life of the Moslems in our island, we shall see that the farms, money and ready
earnings of our ancestors are gone into history. We inherited from them big
wealth and it is gone away in half a century. Today we have to work hard in
order to live… We have three fields in the island to work in: Agriculture,
Artisanship and Trade. They constitute the three legs of our national
existence.”
The first issue
of the “Haber” newspaper published in 1934 (20 October) reported: “Although a
lot of years have passed away, there is a field where we could not enter: The
field of money-earning… The road of progress for us could only give way when we
enter this field.”
One year later
in 1935 (3 October), the “Ses” newspaper underlined again in its editorial
under the title “Our Situation” the importance of trade and artisanship which
was emphasized before by Dr.Hafiz Djemal and other T/C newspapers like “Masum
Millet” of Advocate J.Rifat Bey. It was the duty of the Turkish Cypriot leaders
to ask for the foundation of one school for commerce and one for handwork. The
same newspaper paid attention to the importance of industrialization in Cyprus
which was being developed by the Greek Cypriots and Armenians. It was reported
that it was a pity not to have any Turkish Cypriot member in the executive
committee of the Cypriot Chamber of Commerce in March (5) 1936.
In 1936 (30
July), “Soz” newspaper stated that in Turkey many industries were built by the
banks, whereas in Cyprus there had to be a Turkish Cypriot commercial bank
which would lay foundation for the Turkish Cypriot factory. In 1938 (5 April
and 10 May), Nedjati Ozkan, an ex-MP, established some companies of his own: a
cigarette factory, a shipping agency, timberwork, mosaic factory.
In 1943 (29
June) , the daily newspaper “Halkin Sesi” reported that there were 5 G/C
cigarette factories which used 17,500 okes of tobacco, whereas Nedjati’s
factory could only use 13 okes of tobacco, making 520 packets of
cigarettes.
The weekly
“Yanki” newspaper complained in 1945: “We showed great incapability and lost
our national wealth which worthed fortunes. We became weak and poor. We handed
over the markets full of Turkish tradesmen to the competing element. We can
express it with one sentence: We were masters and we became servants and
nothing. Because we could not adopt ourselves to the innovations of the time.
We are without organizations. We established the (political party) KATAK, but
our co-founder friends tried to destroy it with their heavy critics.”
Riza Burcak
wrote in Soz newspaper in 1946 (11 January) in a serial of articles under the
title “The reasons of our backwardness”. The reasons were given as having no
ideas and the mentality of a civil servant. He advised the readers to
enterprize into the commercial life.
Advocate
J.M.Rifat, publisher of “Masum Millet”, wrote the following in the first issue
of the journal called “Yeni Fikirler” (May 1946): “The endeavour of Dr.Hafiz
Djemal Bey was rejected in 1904 when he wanted to bring the polytechnical
education into the country… There is no need for the masses of civil servants
and teachers.”
As it is
recorded above the Turkish Cypriots are away from a productive life since the
beginning of the 1900’s. They are outside the economical life and stayed as
consumers.
M.Kemal Deniz
was happy to write at the end of 1946 (6 December) in daily newspaper “Ates”
that recently some Turkish Cypriots entered into commercial life. He gave as
examples the “Turkish Cinema Company”, the commercial companies like “Atai Brothers”,
“Halil Ali and Sons”.
A columnist
called “Gurses” was still stressing in 1947 (7 September) in the daily
newspaper “Ates” that the Turkish Cypriots should try to develop themselves in
the field of economy. They should stop going to the cinemas, entertainment
places like bars and gambling-houses which were enemies of money.
In 1947 (11, 12,
13 June) “Hursoz” daily newspaper published a series of articles written by the
pharmacist H.Timur Azmioglu under the title “The situation of the Turkish
Cypriots in the economy, handwork and commerce”.
“Halkin Sesi”
newspaper published (29 April 1948) award-winning article called “Why did we
stay backward in the social field?”
The weekly
newspaper “Kurun” reported (1 May 1948) about a discussion of the pupils at the
first class of the Lyceum under the subject: “To be a civil servant or a
free-lance professional?”
In the same year
1948 (19 May), “Emekci” newspaper was published in support of the miners on
strike, complaining that the workers were not organized. “Emekci” wrote in its
first issue: “The Turkish Cypriots are today a mass of villagers and farmers
without a plot of land and the labourers working in the towns and cities as
miners and dock workers. They do not have a team of tradesmen and factory-owners,
forming a class of businessmen.”
Irfan Huseyin
was arguing in his editorial in the “Turk Sozu” newspaper in 1948 (9 July)
under the title “Our Economic Claims”: “As the Jews grabbed the economy, the
Arabs were sleeping.Where are our enterprizing men? Ledra Palace could be built
by a Turkish Cypriot company, instead of a Greek Cypriot one. Our many doctors
could come together and establish a hospital.”
Finally in 1950
(15 November), one could read the following in “Istiklal” newspaper of Nedjati
Ozkan, under the title “A Turkish Cypriot Market of which we can be proud”: “In
the Medjidiye Street (of Nicosia), there are furniture-makers, tailors,
shoe-makers, pharmacies, importers, confectionaries, upholsterers, the Turkish
Bank, Istiklal newspaper and its printing-house, Turkish State Airlines and
Railways, Guven Insurance Company, booksellers, book-binder, curiosity shop,
taxi-office, bicycle-repairer, barber, grocer, the club “Kardes Ocagı”,
accountant’s office.”
The Turkish
Cypriots were now able to speak of a market of their own.
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