Harita Mantoles, the female symbol in the history of the Cyprus tragedy of 1974, during the invasion she saw her husband, her father and her relatives being killed in front of her. She was saved along with her two children aged one and two at the time.
Speaking to Mega's “Big Picture”, she described the nightmare she experienced when she was 27 and when she was called to identify the remains at the scene where her husband and family were killed. As she revealed, in one of the excavations she managed to locate her husband's wallet and a piece of his shirt.
I forgive all people
“I saved my son and the other two injured babies. When the coup happened and brother killed brother, should I not forgive the Turk? I forgive all people. And if it wasn't for this Turk, I wouldn't have my son.
He told the others not to bother us
The officer gave the order to execute us all. He seems to have made up his own mind and told the others not to bother us. He pointed the gun at the Turks and grabbed the girls by the hand and pulled them towards us to escape the rape,” said Harita Mandoles in her descriptions.
It's a miracle what happened
“We turned to the chapel of Archangel Michael and we were praying and I said, 'God, you sent us Archangel Michael, the Turkish soldier.' It's a miracle what happened. Ever since this bad thing happened, when I spoke on the radio I said that this Turk knows who I am and I want to see him. Wherever he is, let him come and reward me. And I pray for this Turk.
I'm not a victim but I'm not a heroine
I am a poor woman who experienced this drama. I'm not a victim but I'm not a heroine. I'm a poor person, no education, nothing, I just lived this drama”, were some of what Harita Mantoles mentioned.
In her turn, Despina Bembedeli spoke about the Turkish invasion and her anguish when her husband went to fight.
“Through this tragedy we are one of those families that, I would say, were lucky under those circumstances. We did not cry for the dead, we do not have the personal and individual anguish of the missing, we were not uprooted from our homelands. But I experienced the war. My husband went to fight as a reservist. I was anxious because there was a rumor that he had been killed, I was looking for him in the hospitals. Let's say it was a misunderstanding regarding the name, but I spent a lot of time worrying about it,” said Despina Bempedeli.
“I was left behind with my two babies but do you know what a joy it is, after all that stress of thinking he might be lost and never see him again, to find him right in front of me? This is very great happiness. In other words, the person you fear you won't see again because he has gone to war comes back,” the well-known actress told Mega.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
