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spare parts and maintenance material and the demands of military service 69 . Each
able-bodied citizen was required to perform military duties along with their civilian
service. Periodic shortages of fresh vegetables led to an element of intensified
production (a form of Geertzian "involution" 70 ) which of necessity encouraged
domestic cultivation of market garden crops. In British terms, the political and
économie crisis of 1963 saw the création of a Turkish-Cypriot Home Guard (the
Turkish Fighters), a Grow for Victory campaign and a Blitz spirit amongst the
Turkish-Cypriot community.
In Nicosia, (the largest enclave both spatially and in terms of population) between
1964-8, more than half of ail able bodied maie time was spent in military
activities 71 . A typical day would commence with civilian work absorbing the hours
from eight in the morning until eleven when instructions would arrive for volunteers
to join units. Ail able bodied maies would then close-up shop, change into military
attire and go to their posts. Although things were more relaxed after 1968, the clash
between the Makarios government and various extreme right terrorist organisations,
the National Front and subsequently EOKA B, had dangerous implications for the
Turkish-Cypriot community. Though the worst situation after 1968, occurred just
prior to what the community generally perceives as their libération, during and
69 Despite the fact that military service masked unemployment and under-employment, the North
Cyprus Almanac put Turkish Cypriot unemployment in 1964 at 25%, Rustem K. (ed.) 1987. North
Cvprus Almanar.. London: Rustem K. & Bro., p. 81. In terms of military service die divergence in
productivity and / or underemployment has been outlined by Patrick (1976. op. cit., p. 181, footnote
33): "In 1971, a [Turkish Cypriot] Fighter private received about £30 per month. In many areas Iiis
duty left him plenty of time to work his fields or carry on another job. In other centres, Fighters
seemed to spend most of their time in coffee shops. By comparison, a [Greek Cypriot] National
Guardsman was employed much more fully by his military duties and was paid £4.50 per month, or
£15 if he had children."
70 Geertz, C. 1963. Agricultural Involution. The Process of Ecolo gical Change in Indonesia.
Berkeley.
71 Turkish Cypriot sources confirmed the introduction of conscription 6/8/1970, Cyprus Mail. The
Turkish Fighters were set up in 1963 and, apparently, previously manned entirely by volunteers. The
move, passed by the Turkish Communal Chamber, attempted to mobilise the young to fili the places
vacated by departing volunteers. It was stressed that the move should not be perceived as
mobilisation.
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