NICOSIA, Cyprus—Over the past week, as Cyprus concluded chaotic talks on
an international bailout, relief workers at St. Barbara's church readied bags
of food, cooking oil and other essentials.
Donations flowed into the parish in Nicosia during the high-stakes tug
of war between Cyprus and its European partners over the terms of the bailout.
Giving by individuals and companies rose in line with an anticipated jump in
demand for aid, said Panagiotis Panagiotou, the director of the church's food
bank.
By Tuesday, locals' requests for aid had risen, according to a second
church worker.
Many people "call us and ask, 'Will you be able to give us food?'
" said Mr. Panagiotou. "It's obvious people are really frustrated and
worried."
The bailout that Cyprus secured early Monday called for a shake-up of
Cyprus's two largest banks, the pillars of a financial sector that brought
prosperity in recent decades. By Tuesday, many Cypriots were bracing for a
contraction in the banking sector and a jump in unemployment.
Several economists are already predicting a double-digit percentage
decline in gross domestic product this year, and a recession that could stretch
for at least two or three years. The pace of developments in Cyprus make more
precise forecasts difficult, they say.
But the aid negotiations appeared to have spurred a turn to
self-reliance here. On Nicosia's streets, Cypriots said community solidarity
will see them through. They liken their troubles to the Turkish invasion in
1974 that created a separate enclave in the country's north—and was followed by
the economic surge in the south as Cypriots built an international banking
haven.
"Europe should know that when our backs are to the wall, we band
together, tight, like a clenched fist," said Efychios Odysseos, an
employee of Cyprus Popular Bank PCL, also known as Laiki, who participated in a
protest march outside the presidential palace on Saturday.
Cypriot groups that provide aid to the needy say the uptick in donations
started around the beginning of last year, when Greece's financial woes began
to affect Cyprus's economy. One worry now is how long embattled Cypriot
companies will be able to continue their donations.
The giving impulse emerged when some Cypriots entertained pooling their
own money to help fund the government's share of their country's bailout,
rather than agreeing to levy a tax on depositors as international parties had
sought.
In a television interview last week, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the
leader of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, said: "All of us without exception
should put our hands in our pockets so that the state, the banks will be
saved." He volunteered to use the assets of the wealthy church to help,
and said Cyprus would be better off outside the euro zone.
The hat-passing campaign, while impractical, struck a chord in a country
that has often had to get by on its own. Invaded by Romans, Richard the
Lionheart and Turkey, among others, Cyprus bristles at the idea of being
dictated to by larger powers.
After a history of crusader and Ottoman rule, Cyprus in 1960 gained
independence from Britain, which maintains two naval bases here. It was invaded
by Turkey 14 years later in response to an attempted coup instigated in Athens
and aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
Those shifting fortunes have created a sense of self-reliance in most
Cypriots that expresses itself in their reverence for their church and in
relations with the rest of the world.
The country's first president, Archbishop Makarios III—a popular figure
identified with Cyprus's independence movement in the 1950s—steered the country
between East and West and was a founding member of the nonaligned movement,
presaging the island's traditionally close ties with both Europe and Russia
today.
Many here stress that the island's rapid economic growth in recent
decades hasn't undermined its strong family-support networks, which could help
cushion the blow of a steep recession.
"My brother works at Bank Laiki and my mother is already preparing
what he will need if he gets laid off," said Pavlos Papadakis, a student
from Nicosia, referring to one of the banks that will be restructured in the
deal reached Monday.
In the coastal resort town of Limassol, local authorities also set up a
food bank in the winter of 2011 for 250 local families in need. Limassol Mayor
Andreas Christou said the economic crisis hitting the island would bring
hardship to more people. "It will be a difficult position for those who
are losing their jobs," Mr. Christou said. But, he added, "crises
always unite people."
The island's ability to pull together will face a stern test in the
months ahead. Banks on Cyprus remained closed Tuesday for the 11th consecutive
day, as officials laid the groundwork to contain capital flight before the
lenders are set to reopen Thursday. The local economy was functioning largely
on cash withdrawn daily from automated-teller machines.
Many here say they are happy that their legislators turned down an
initial deal by the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank
that would have imposed the one-time levy on bank account holders, including
small depositors.
Imagine you have worked all your life and saved "and then the fools
come to tell you they will take some of it," said Constantinos
Magdalinides, a 30-year-old taxi driver. Voting yes was out of the question, he
said. "Cypriots are very crazy....Our blood boils easily."
Others were less certain that their lawmakers' act of defiance would
turn out to be worth it.
On Friday evening, worshipers entered a large church in Nicosia's
center, passing beneath a banner of Mary and Jesus hung over the arched
entrance.
Antonios Apostolides, a retired teacher, said he appreciated the
church's view that Cypriots could solve their problems through self-reliance
and donations, but he thought it was too late for such homegrown measures.
"This is a time that has brought about a unity of the people,"
said Mr. Apostolides. But the notion that Cyprus could manage its problems
without a foreign hand, he said, was wishful thinking.
"We need help from whoever will give it," he said.
NICOSIA, Cyprus—Over the past week, as Cyprus concluded chaotic talks on
an international bailout, relief workers at St. Barbara's church readied bags
of food, cooking oil and other essentials.
Donations flowed into the parish in Nicosia during the high-stakes tug
of war between Cyprus and its European partners over the terms of the bailout.
Giving by individuals and companies rose in line with an anticipated jump in
demand for aid, said Panagiotis Panagiotou, the director of the church's food
bank.
By Tuesday, locals' requests for aid had risen, according to a second
church worker.
Many people "call us and ask, 'Will you be able to give us food?'
" said Mr. Panagiotou. "It's obvious people are really frustrated and
worried."
The bailout that Cyprus secured early Monday called for a shake-up of
Cyprus's two largest banks, the pillars of a financial sector that brought
prosperity in recent decades. By Tuesday, many Cypriots were bracing for a
contraction in the banking sector and a jump in unemployment.
Several economists are already predicting a double-digit percentage
decline in gross domestic product this year, and a recession that could stretch
for at least two or three years. The pace of developments in Cyprus make more
precise forecasts difficult, they say.
But the aid negotiations appeared to have spurred a turn to
self-reliance here. On Nicosia's streets, Cypriots said community solidarity
will see them through. They liken their troubles to the Turkish invasion in
1974 that created a separate enclave in the country's north—and was followed by
the economic surge in the south as Cypriots built an international banking
haven.
"Europe should know that when our backs are to the wall, we band
together, tight, like a clenched fist," said Efychios Odysseos, an
employee of Cyprus Popular Bank PCL, also known as Laiki, who participated in a
protest march outside the presidential palace on Saturday.
Cypriot groups that provide aid to the needy say the uptick in donations
started around the beginning of last year, when Greece's financial woes began
to affect Cyprus's economy. One worry now is how long embattled Cypriot
companies will be able to continue their donations.
The giving impulse emerged when some Cypriots entertained pooling their
own money to help fund the government's share of their country's bailout,
rather than agreeing to levy a tax on depositors as international parties had
sought.
In a television interview last week, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the
leader of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, said: "All of us without exception
should put our hands in our pockets so that the state, the banks will be
saved." He volunteered to use the assets of the wealthy church to help,
and said Cyprus would be better off outside the euro zone.
The hat-passing campaign, while impractical, struck a chord in a country
that has often had to get by on its own. Invaded by Romans, Richard the
Lionheart and Turkey, among others, Cyprus bristles at the idea of being
dictated to by larger powers.
After a history of crusader and Ottoman rule, Cyprus in 1960 gained
independence from Britain, which maintains two naval bases here. It was invaded
by Turkey 14 years later in response to an attempted coup instigated in Athens
and aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
Those shifting fortunes have created a sense of self-reliance in most
Cypriots that expresses itself in their reverence for their church and in
relations with the rest of the world.
The country's first president, Archbishop Makarios III—a popular figure
identified with Cyprus's independence movement in the 1950s—steered the country
between East and West and was a founding member of the nonaligned movement,
presaging the island's traditionally close ties with both Europe and Russia
today.
Many here stress that the island's rapid economic growth in recent
decades hasn't undermined its strong family-support networks, which could help
cushion the blow of a steep recession.
"My brother works at Bank Laiki and my mother is already preparing
what he will need if he gets laid off," said Pavlos Papadakis, a student
from Nicosia, referring to one of the banks that will be restructured in the
deal reached Monday.
In the coastal resort town of Limassol, local authorities also set up a
food bank in the winter of 2011 for 250 local families in need. Limassol Mayor
Andreas Christou said the economic crisis hitting the island would bring
hardship to more people. "It will be a difficult position for those who
are losing their jobs," Mr. Christou said. But, he added, "crises
always unite people."
The island's ability to pull together will face a stern test in the
months ahead. Banks on Cyprus remained closed Tuesday for the 11th consecutive
day, as officials laid the groundwork to contain capital flight before the
lenders are set to reopen Thursday. The local economy was functioning largely
on cash withdrawn daily from automated-teller machines.
Many here say they are happy that their legislators turned down an
initial deal by the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank
that would have imposed the one-time levy on bank account holders, including
small depositors.
Imagine you have worked all your life and saved "and then the fools
come to tell you they will take some of it," said Constantinos
Magdalinides, a 30-year-old taxi driver. Voting yes was out of the question, he
said. "Cypriots are very crazy....Our blood boils easily."
Others were less certain that their lawmakers' act of defiance would
turn out to be worth it.
On Friday evening, worshipers entered a large church in Nicosia's
center, passing beneath a banner of Mary and Jesus hung over the arched
entrance.
Antonios Apostolides, a retired teacher, said he appreciated the
church's view that Cypriots could solve their problems through self-reliance
and donations, but he thought it was too late for such homegrown measures.
"This is a time that has brought about a unity of the people,"
said Mr. Apostolides. But the notion that Cyprus could manage its problems
without a foreign hand, he said, was wishful thinking.
"We need help from whoever will give it," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment