CYPRIOT GRIEF ACROSS THE DIVIDE: A CALL FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED TESTIMONY AND DIALOGUE

The policy brief highlights the lack of transitional justice mechanisms in Cyprus, where conflict-related trauma and 'ambiguous loss' remain unaddressed. It warns that as older generations pass away, the risk of losing first-hand testimonies increases, leaving future generations to rely on potentially polarizing second-hand narratives. The author proposes a shift from high-level political negotiations toward community-led, trauma-informed initiatives, including memorial spaces, intergenerational dialogue, and the archiving of underrepresented histories from the 1950s to 1970s. The brief draws on international best practices from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Chile to suggest informal, grassroots alternatives to state-level truth commissions.

• The absence of transitional justice mechanisms in Cyprus has led to three critical issues: a lack of trauma-informed welfare services, the imminent loss of untold histories from older generations, and a reliance on second-hand narratives by future generations that may increase polarization.
• Political narratives in Cyprus are driven by 'multilayered dissonances' and high-level negotiations that ignore the lived experiences and personal histories of the people, while trauma from conflict, loss, and displacement remains a daily reality for both communities.
• Research indicates that Greek Cypriot university students tend to hold more nationalist and rejectionist views regarding a solution to the Cyprus problem compared to Turkish Cypriot students, with both groups' views shaped by social and institutional pressures.
• The 'refugee cycle' persists through 'post-memory,' where younger generations inherit the trauma of their elders through narrative gaps and silences, often filling these gaps with distorted factual events drawn from parents and the educational system.
• State-level Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are currently unviable in Cyprus due to a lack of political will and the International Court of Justice's stipulation that amnesty cannot be granted for serious international crimes.
• The author proposes a three-pillar policy approach: establishing inclusive memorial spaces and ceremonies for victims and missing persons; facilitating trauma-informed intergenerational and cross-sectional dialogue; and funding the documentation of underrepresented histories from the 1950-1970s.

APA

LAGOUDES, A. (2025). CYPRIOT GRIEF ACROSS THE DIVIDE: A CALL FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED TESTIMONY AND DIALOGUE. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/06b78e62-61b7-40a8-a1d3-6298e22a6c69/ALgoudes 2025 UCY.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

LAGOUDES, ANDRIANA. CYPRIOT GRIEF ACROSS THE DIVIDE: A CALL FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED TESTIMONY AND DIALOGUE. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2025. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/06b78e62-61b7-40a8-a1d3-6298e22a6c69/ALgoudes 2025 UCY.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=LAGOUDES |first1=ANDRIANA |title=CYPRIOT GRIEF ACROSS THE DIVIDE: A CALL FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED TESTIMONY AND DIALOGUE |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2025 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/06b78e62-61b7-40a8-a1d3-6298e22a6c69/ALgoudes 2025 UCY.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lagoudes2025cypriot, author = {LAGOUDES, ANDRIANA}, title = {{CYPRIOT GRIEF ACROSS THE DIVIDE: A CALL FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED TESTIMONY AND DIALOGUE}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2025}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/06b78e62-61b7-40a8-a1d3-6298e22a6c69/ALgoudes 2025 UCY.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }