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Refugees and Enclaved Persons

Refugees and Enclaved Persons

 


 

Despite the passage of time its healing effect does not seem able to erase from the memory or the life of the Cypriot people the unpleasant memories and the dire consequences of the Turkish invasion. The thousands of refugees are still in need of relief and both moral and material support. Those who have remained enclaved in the occupied areas continue to need all the support they can get in order to survive. It has not yet been possible to trace the fate of the missing and as a result the drama of their relatives continues.

 

The C.R.C.S. faithful to its mandate of providing support and relief to those in need, and true to its commitment to always protect human dignity and the basic human rights, continues to this day and will do so for as many years as it is necessary, to offer its services in a practical and effective way to the refugees and in particular to the enclaved.

 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the enclaved, whose numbers are constantly declining while their age and needs are growing, would not have been able to survive without the aid sent to them from the free areas of the Republic. Their basic needs are looked after by the competent state services, with the C.R.C.S. satisfying all the rest.

 

 

 

 

Among other things, the C.R.C.S. is responsible for the following:

  • Covering all the needs of the enclaved when they visit the free areas, which includes picking them up at the Ledra Palace checkpoint and providing food for them, clothing, financial assistance, hospital care, as well as arranging accommodation and transportation with an escort anywhere in Cyprus, if necessary.
  • Sending personal packages with food and other necessaries through the United Nations.
  • Supplying medicine, oxygen bottles, wheel chairs and other individual aids (spectacles, hearing aids, orthopedic aids etc).
  • Sending Christmas presents every year and also books, toys and other necessaries to the enclaved children throughout the year.
  • Sending money to the enclaved children from the United States through the “Fund for the Children of Cyprus.”
  • Issuing certifications to the enclaved and to those who have been enclaved in the occupied areas.
  • Issuing of prisoner certificates to persons who had been held as prisoners during the Turkish invasion.
  • Providing clothing articles, medicine and special equipment to the aged, the sick, the disabled and other needy refugees
  • Providing assistance (clothing, medicine, family contact) to Turkish Cypriots living in the free areas.

All of the above, offered with the help and cooperation of the competent government agencies, as well as the assistance of UNFICYP, are appreciated not only by the recipients, but also by the Government, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and others, who have repeatedly expressed their satisfaction and congratulations to the C.R.C.S.