european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

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European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) Even the methods of training teachers bear remarkable similarities to one another. Turkish teachers are required to complete a four year teachers college prepatory program, while Greek teachers are required to complete more of a technical degree. This technical degree has a structure of accountability built into it which helps to ensure the quality of the training and the accountability of the individual(s). The implication(s) here are that the major differences, meaning the nature of the training, assessment, and curricular focus of each school system is political in nature. Accordingly, “...curriculum should be considered foremost as a political document which reflects the struggles of opposing groups to have their interests, values, histories and politics dominate the curriculum” 16 . While there have been dissenting voices to this use of history in the curriculum, they have not been part of the political leadership, nor have they been representative of the sentiments that galvanized popular sentiment in directing political action. Meanings for Students, Schools, and Society There is great concern on both sides that cultural identity will be a casualty with contact, because that contact would surely drudge up the recent past and this is a highly charged and volatile topic in both communities. For someone not familiar with the fabric of this struggle, the nature of this conflict makes limited sense, but unfamiliarity here does not properly reflect what has been built into the civic knowledge and understanding of these two nationalities on this small island. People in both groups feel they are being marginalized by the other for the state and construction of their culture and heritage. With no colonizer bigger than both of themselves to struggle against, they have turned the quest for cultural recognition and legitimacy in a way that targets each other. A paper was presented at the 6th biennial conference for the International Network of Philosophers of Education (INPE) by Kamil Ozerk in which he traced the use of language throughout the history of the island. Ozerk reported that the island has never been monolingual 17 . Though the citizenry of the island became proficient in what they had to, there was never a concerted effort to introduce and maintain bilingualism through both school systems. As stated earlier, the Turkish schools did offer other languages in their schools, but the Greek school system did not. What are the implications here? The absence of bi-lingual language instruction in both school systems in a mutually complimentary manner helps to serve the otherwise default function of distorting perceptions of equality that people of both groups hold toward one another. This state of relations retards progress that may be made through cooperation on economic, cultural or political levels. Even worse are the consistent battles fought in the name of countering the perception(s) of hegemonic influences by the ‘other group.’ Ozerk contends that communicative competence is crucial and language is a major, if not primary, component of this competence 18 . With each group holding an orientation directed away from the other, communicative competencies cannot be easily built into the civic relations of the younger population, since they are not legitimized by the existing school structures. These same competencies are part of an effort that would be constructive towards understanding. With the mission of the school focused solely around the idea of cultural reproduction and maintenance on both sides, one must be curious as to what this means for the idea of peace education for students in the schools. If the political leadership intends to isolate the other group, then students who grow up and go to school in this climate of cultural frigidity will surely have a take on the struggles at hand. 16 Ioannidou, M. p. 395 17 Ozerk, K. (1998). “A right to and opportunity for reciprocal bilingualism: A study of the role and potential of bilingualism in inter-communal relationships in Cyprus.” Paper presented at the 1998 International Network of Philosophers of Education (INPE). 6 th biennial conference. 18 Ozerk, K. 1998. 82
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) In 1996, a workshop was sponsored by the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) and held by the Harvard University Conflict Management Group, college students from both Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities were asked for their perceptions of the conflict that each has dealt with through their respective communities 19 . This workshop revolved around determining their understanding or articulation of the nature of the political and cultural struggle, what it meant to reside in a community, and developing skills at negotiation and dialogue in order to resolve the conflict on a personal level. The results of this workshop make it quite clear that, while many of the students do not have a profound mistrust of the other as individuals or groups, they do mistrust the nature of the civic and national orientations that have been put in place; politically, economically, culturally, and educationally. The relevant time frames both groups refer to in the context of the present situation range from the years of the Cypriot Republic (1963-1974) and to the present. Greeks and Turks both place causal factors to what occurred during this frame of time. The Turkish community focuses on 1963-1974 because this was a time where there was a large degree of social unrest and illegal entities such as the Greek terrorist organization EOKA committed acts that terrorized residents of Turkish communities on the island. Their activities and persecution forced many people to flee these communities on the southern portion of the island for the northern part of the island where the Turkish population was larger. The Greek coup de grace added to this and, legitimate in the eyes of the Turkish population, brought about the Turkish invasion of 1974. The time from 1974 on is the era focused on by the Greeks as this represents a violation of the sovereignty of the island by Turkish forces. This same event is looked at as being legitimate by the Turkish community, due to the same coup 20 . As is replete through the recent history of the island, two groups see the same set of circumstances in very different ways. Both groups cite historical links to the past with the Greek Cypriots citing their Greek heritage and the Turks their own heritage. It should be noted that neither group placed the totality of their respective identities within the historical parameters of their cultural progenitors, but they hold fast to the fact that these different groups give them their roots. Neither group, especially the Cypriots of Greek heritage, desires a permanent division of the island. But with history still as fresh as it is, these acts of division are still quite fresh in the minds of the younger generation and so they must be resolved. Historically, with the physical border that exists on the island between the two groups, there is an economic result which comes about with regard to the prosperity of each community. As a result, the Greek community to the south has a much higher standard of living than their northern counterparts due to their ties with Greece, and subsequently Europe. Northern Cyprus trades almost exclusively with Turkey and this substantially limits the degree of foreign investment and prosperity that have come to their part of the island. The infrastructure of the southern part of the island is better developed and, since it is recognized as the legitimate Republic of Cyprus in the eyes of the world community, enjoys a far greater degree of trade and prosperity. Cyprus joined the European Union in 2005, though not as a unified or reconciled people 21 . Though both the north and south are members of the E.U., only the southern Greek portion of the island receives the monetary and trade benefits which accompany state membership. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Turkey is the main sponsor for northern Cyprus. Turkey desires to join the European Union itself, but the issue of its military and financial support of TNRC (Turkish Northern Republic of Cyprus) serves as a stumbling block for their acceptance. At this point, Turkey needs the Cyprus issue to be resolved so they can pursue their own interests with acceptance to the EU. 19 Erduran, S. (1996). “Reflection on Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot students’ perceptions of the Cyprus conflict: Implications for peace education.” Paper presented at the 1996 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York. Eric document: ED427985. 20 Cyprus conflict narrative, http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/index.html (accessed July 11, 2007). 21 Country profile: Cyprus, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1016541.stm (accessed July 11, 2007). 83
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