Paper short abstract:

I examine the various meanings Greek and Turkish Cypriots refugees attach to the label ‘refugee’ and how this reflects their experience of displacement. Recent interaction between the two groups gave rise to both internal and cross-ethnic debates regarding each group’s experience of displacement.

Paper long abstract:

'Refugees' on Cyprus are technically internally displaced persons, but the local people are oblivious to the international usage when they refer to themselves as 'refugees'. In this paper I examine the various meanings that people on both sides of the divide attach to the label 'refugee' and how this reflects their experience of displacement.

I focus on two groups of displaced people whose link is a common 'place of desire', namely, a small mountain village in the north of Cyprus. The Larnatsjiotes are Greek Cypriots displaced from the village of Larnakas tis Lapithou in 1974. The Kozanlı are Turkish Cypriots displaced to this village, renamed Kozanköy after 1974.

The opening of the border in 2003 provided the opportunity for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to visit their villages across the divide. At the same time, interaction between the two groups also gave rise to both internal and cross-ethnic debates regarding each group's experience of displacement, degree of victimization and current status.