It’s been a while, my writing is a little rusty (having been so prolific in the months around the start of our #importanterstuff journey). It took some time to settle back after our amazing time in Belarus, so many great memories and so much quality time with our family over there. We are already planning our return in Summer 2024 – assuming conditions remain (somewhat) settled over there – I’ve stopped trying to predict what might happen next!
There was quite some time between Project 1 (Belarus) and Project 2 (Cyprus), time to find another “job”. For the weeks between the projects, we spent afternoons in Carrigoran House (a residential home for seniors) close to our home here in Shannon. We were working with the events team, plenty of craic with bingo, singing, sitting and chatting, hand massage, and general merriment. As we’ve experienced previously, music is such a powerful way of communicating – often with people who have little or no language. We have had to learn so many new (or should I say old) songs to keep the residents singing along in Carrigoran, especially at the “pub” on a Friday afternoon. We had to take a back seat when the superstars arrived to entertain!
Our “official” second project was initially planned to be late October or early November, and we had expected that we might spend 3 weeks with Refugee Support Europe in Cyprus. We had been speaking to the team at RSE from early on in the #importanterstuff journey and we were on a list to slot into a time that best suited the charity – and so November 25th to December 9th became the Project 2 dates (closer to Christmas than we had expected to be away).
There were important things to take care of at home before departure, the tree and Christmas were brought to life a little earlier in Shannon (but it would be far too late to be doing this on our return). And then there was our last evening in Shannon, and The Late Late Toy Show (some traditions will never die – Joanne and I watched it alone, the boys are far too “old” to watch such childish stuff [just you wait!]).
Refugee Support was founded in 2016 in response to governmental failure across Europe to protect and support people who had fled violent conflict—a failure which continues to this day. Outside of Europe, the situation is often worse.
Refugees regularly end up in terrible accommodation, barely able to make ends meet. RSE provide practical help and lets refugees know they are welcome and that we care about them. Through their pioneering Dignity Centre model, they give people choices and offer a sense of normality.
A family friend, from Kilfinane in County Limerick, is an ambassador for the charity and he (Gerry Clancy) and I had many conversations about our passions (BCP and Gorodishche for me and RSE and Dignity Centres for Gerry). We had hatched a plan, during Covid, that we might experience each other’s passions. #importanterstuff was the opportunity for me to see the world through RSE eyes.
After several calls with the RSE Team, Joanne and I were heading to Nicosia, Cyprus. Some learning to be done about where we were going, RSE was working on the Southern side of the Island (the Greek side), the Dignity Centre was just a minute from the border. Initially there was a little concern about borders, peacekeeping troops, recent hostilities; were we really going to another “unsafe” place. This was not the case, and our early experience showed that crossing the border was a very simple process, as long as you had your passport with you at all times!
We flew from Shannon (who wouldn’t), through Stanstead (UK) on the way out and Wroclaw (Poland) on the way back. Getting to/from the airport to the Dignity Centre accommodation in Cyprus meant that we had to stay a night close to the airport on arrival and departure (it’s winter here but I can see why it’s such a popular destination – everything here is focused on the holidaymaker).
We arrived at the RSE apartment (our home for the two weeks) to meet our fellow volunteers Maddy (English with Irish heritage) and Emi (Polish, now in College in Sweden) , and the co-ordinator Andrea (Australia). Maddy (she’s an experienced RSE volunteer and also an ambassador for charity) and Emi (she was to become our RSE “daughter” – we seem to have one of these on all of our trips) have completed their first week in the Dignity Centre.
A quick walk around the city to see some of the sights and then off to bed before our first day in Nicosia.
So, I hear you all ask, what exactly is the Dignity Centre and what were you doing in Nicosia? We had some idea before we left Ireland, but the reality of what we were to do was hard to envisage (even with the excellent pre-trip volunteer info pack and videos).
Physically, the Dignity Centre is a building close to the centre of Nicosia. It’s essentially two rooms – a front “reception area” and the back room is a small shop (known locally as The Market). The centre is open five days a week from 10:30 to 17:00 (although work starts earlier as we prepare for visitors and stock the market shelves.
The market stocks essential food and hygiene products that are “sold” to members (that’s what those that are registered for RSE support). For a period of six weeks after registration, individuals and families are given points to use in the market, using their points as pseudo cash. 840 points for an individual, more than 4,000 for some of the families. So, for a period, we became shopkeepers here in Nicosia!
There is something very satisfying to see individuals and families shopping in the market – there is a real sense of “making a difference”. Whether it’s tins of sardines and packets of noodles (that’s the young men) or potatoes, onions, fruit, flour, rice, and beans (that’s the families), the sense that we were really helping people was so evident here in the market. People came with smiles and left with bigger smiles and bag(s) of Dignity.
A highlight of the Project for me was after a young Somali girl had been into the market. I was out in the reception area when she arrived out with her friend, they were giggling – clearly excited. When she opened the bag of food, her face lit up – it looked like there was a light shining out of her small bag of Dignity.
The front reception area offered quite a number of services to the refugee community. But at its most basic level, it offered a place to come and meet whilst have tea/coffee and charging your phone (and eating us out of biscuits every day!).
Registering people to get a government Labour Card was an important aspect of the service offered. This was complicated by recent legislative changes where refugees need to be in Cyprus for nine months before they can be registered. Can you imagine what that feels like – having to wait nine months to be allowed to do a basic job (you can apply to be a cleaner or kitchen porter, regardless of your qualifications or previous experience).
Once you have your labour card the next thing you will need is . . . you guessed it . . . a CV. The next service on offer, helping people to prepare their CV and printing a few copies so that they might share these with prospective employers. There was craic to be had as we prompted young and old to put their best foot forward in the hope that they may get the “job of their dreams”.
Friday afternoons saw the front area transformed into a barber shop, offering free haircuts to any of the members (I had a fantastic beard trim on one of the quiet times, although I was a little worried that my request for “a little off” might be lost in translation – it was!).
Salieu, himself a refugee awaiting status, came to the centre two days of the week to offer services around banking and health insurance. He knows the system well, he’s been here for a few years. He’s studying IT (I gave him some pointers and offered to help him in any way that I could) with a plan to better himself and get a job somewhere in Europe (virtually or in reality) as soon as he is localised (that’s not going to be today or tomorrow). Salieu has a most interesting back story that can be read HERE.
Whilst the focus of support was very practical, it was hard not to engage with some of the characters that visited us (some on a daily basis). Members from 16 countries (yes, I was counting) came through the Dignity Centre during our time there. Iraq and Syria accounted for more than 60% of visitors, this has changed in the past year when the centre would have seen more North African visitors – a sign of the changing times!
One such character was Harry (name changed to protect anonymity), a Kurdish refugee with an interesting back story (although we only got to know a tiny piece of this I feel). Harry was an everyday visitor to the centre, a gentleman in his 40’s (although I would have thought him to be older than that). His greeting was unlike all others who frequented the centre, Harry was a hugger and often became quite teary-eyed when he met the volunteers.
Harry lived on the streets of Nicosia, he was homeless. We learned that Harry had two wives and two families (one of which was based in The Netherlands). It appeared that he was “someone” in his country and a photo of him, in a smart suit, presenting in front of a UN flag was intriguing – who was the “real Harry”? He told us that he would be in grave danger if he was to return to his native country, something that we heard from several members (and we thought we had troubles!).
The day that we left Nicosia was, coincidently, the day that Harry left Nicosia to see if he might have better luck at one of the resort towns on the South of the island. We said our goodbyes, yes there were hugs and tears, and wished Harry the best in his quest for something better than he had experienced since arriving here in Cyprus.
The walk from the apartment to the Dignity Centre (yes, the weather was so pleasant that we were able to walk every day!) took about 30 minutes, each way, and brought us through the back streets of the old city of Nicosia. ”Just keep going straight and you’ll get there” was the direction given to us by our fellow volunteer Maddy. She had been here previously, why would we doubt her! For the next 30 minutes, we turned left (multiple times), crossed through a park, turned right (multiple times), and ended up at the Dignity Centre – straight all the way! On the second week, we navigated the streets without Maddy’s inbuilt GPS and never made a wrong turn (how could you on a straight road!).
A notable feature of all our walking through Nicosia was the presence of cats, they were everywhere. And it’s no wonder, we learned that there were more than 1.5 million cats on the island (where the human population is 1.2 million).
Much of the walk ran parallel to the UN policed Buffer Zone, the piece of land that was neither South (Greek) or North (Turkish). There were several manned outposts (UN Peacekeepers visible on the watch towers), with flags flying on each side of a zone that looked like it was very neglected. As we were living and volunteering on the South of the city, trips to the North were done at weekends and in the evenings. But these trips were worthwhile, there was a very different sense of place as soon as we crossed the border with shops and markets, selling all sorts, the feature of the North side of the city.
The Islamic “call to prayer” (from the North side) was heard early and often. The sound, broadcast through LOUD speakers, a chant from the Mosques, calling Muslims to pray, This was an early morning alarm (until I got used to it), at about 5 am.
Even with all of the pre-visit meetings and documents, we were quite unprepared for what we experienced in Cyprus. Unlike our trips to Belarus, there was a sense that the “work” in Cyprus was more process/functional – not quite the emotional engagement that we thrive on in Belarus. But this was an entirely different cause, and the work that we did made such a difference to the members of the Dignity Centre in Nicosia. The Charity, and those that volunteer, do amazing work for a group of people who have little in the way of possessions or hope (sometimes it’s best not to dwell too much on what might become of the “real people” that we met on our trip).
And so it was time for home and . . . Christmas. There were trees and lights all around Cyprus but the weather made it look surreal (20° on some days). There were children singing carols, reindeer and sleighs on the streets – Christmas but not as we know it!
We’ve spoken about whether or not we would return, the jury is out on that one. Maybe one of us will return to the Dignity Centre 😉
A Random Selection Of Photos From Cyprus
Importanter Stuff 
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