Tag Archives: Turkish-Cypriot

by | May 17, 2013 · 2:18 pm

PeacePlayers-Cyprus takes the court with The Harlem Globetrotters!

The Harlem Globetrotters present a donation of 25,000Krones (3,300euro) to PeacePlayers-Cyprus!

The Harlem Globetrotters present a donation of 25,000 Krones to PeacePlayers-Cyprus!

It never hurts to dream big, right? That’s what the community of Nesodden were thinking when they contacted the world famous Harlem Globetrotters, requesting a visit to their quiet community in Norway. In Nesodden, the game of basketball was already breaking down barriers as PeacePlayers-Cyprus’  basketball team of Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot boys were playing for the Hasna Cup, the first time ever that children from the divided island had the chance to compete together in an international competition.

Look out below!

It was our kids’ dream to play with the Globetrotters

But when a response came from the Globetrotters, the coaches’ and the community’s dream became reality.  The Globetrotters agreed to fly five of their players all the way to Nesodden for a community wide show (little did we know that the entire show was to going to be dedicated to the youth of PeacePlayers).

Friday evening came and people from all over the village showed up for the event. Goril, our teams’ amazing local host, said, “I think the experience was incredibly special.”  If seeing and playing alongside the Harlem Globetrotters wasn’t surreal enough for our PeacePlayers’ team, the real surprise came at the end of the evening. As the Globetrotters’ show came to an end, they called our boys to the court, this time to present a check for 25,000 Krones (about 3,300 euro)!  The surprise donation was raised through tickets sales and a bake sale that was hosted during the game.

What an unbelievable and unexpected gift from our new friends in Nesodden.  They will forever be a part of PeacePlayers-Cyprus and we look forward to the day that we can welcome them to our home here on the island of Cyprus.

A globetrotter

Orhan, from PeacePlayers-Cyprus, tests his defense against Fatima “TNT” Maddox

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by | May 10, 2013 · 3:44 pm

Happy Mother’s Day from PeacePlayers!

PeacePlayer Dimitris Charalambous and his mother Cleopatra

Cleopatra Charalambous and her son, Dimitris, outside of Larnaca, Cyprus

If it weren’t for the love, support and encouragement of our mom’s we wouldn’t be the people we are today. That is why this week, in honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to get to know one of our amazing PPI moms, Cleopatra Charalambous,  mother of one of our very special young leaders, Dimitris.

PeacePlayer Dimitris Charalambous and his mother Cleopatra

Dimitris and his mother Cleopatra in their home in Larnaca

Cleopatra was raised in London but returned to Cyprus over 20 years ago.  A mother of four, and working full-time at UCLAN University in Pyla, Cyprus, Cleopatra is quite a busy woman.  She is the epitome of hard working, loving moms worldwide who balance their professionalism with the invaluable task of raising and shaping their children into the young leaders they dream for them to become.

Having been raised in the multi-cultural atmosphere that is London, Cleopatra  developed an understanding of the importance of respecting other cultures and seeing people as people.  Even while raising her children in the quiet community of Larnaca, Cleopatra has managed to pass along these important  values to her children.

Dimitris (left) getting ready to play with his bi-communal team at the Hasna Cup in Norway

Dimitris (left) getting ready to play with his bi-communal team at the Hasna Cup in Norway

Six months ago Cleopatra’s 16 year old son Dimitris joined PeacePlayers and has already become a standout participant. After demonstrating leadership on and off the court, Dimitris was chosen to attend our Leadership Development Camp in Kantara  and travled to Norway with the PeacePlayers bi-communal boys’ team to compete in the Hansa Cup.

“PeacePlayers has been such a great opportunity for Dimitris, it is only too bad that he found out about the organization so late.  He doesn’t want to detach from the organization so when he finishes playing he wants to become a PeacePlayers leader.”

Dimitris with his new friend Tunc at the LDP camp in Kantara

Dimitris (left) with his new friend, Tunc, at the LDP camp in Kantara

Cleopatra has been very supportive of her son’s interest in PeacePlayers, and is thankful for the opportunity for Dimitris to develop new friendships with young people from all over Cyprus. When we asked Dimitris if his mom was nervous about going to the LDP camp in Kantara he said, “I don’t think so. She thinks it is great for me to have friends that are Turkish-Cypriots and I would spend more time with them.”

Cleopatra is the kind of encouraging parent that we as an organization are grateful for. When asked what she would like to see from PeacePlayers in the future, she responded, “I would love to see more children in Cyprus have the opportunity to be a part of PeacePlayers.  The organisation is an excellent tool for promoting good relations between our Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot communities, and the kids that are involved are getting a lot out of it.”

On behalf of the entire PPI family around the world, we are wishing every mom a Happy Mother’s Day!

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by | April 26, 2013 · 1:46 pm

PeacePlayers Leadership Development Retreat at Kantara Camp!

PeacePlayers-Cyprus team bike ride to the Kantara Castle built in the 10th century

PeacePlayers-Cyprus team bike ride to the Kantara Castle built in the 10th century

“Play for peace, respect each other” answered one of our PeacePlayers Leadership Development participants when we asked her what PPI-Cyprus means to her. This past weekend 31 PeacePlayers boys and girls between the ages of 15 to 17, spent 3 days and 2 nights at our semi-annual leadership retreat. Friday afternoon the buses picked up the kids and brought them to the checkpoint in Nicosia, but this time was different than all of our previous weekend retreats. Instead of the Turkish Cypriot youth crossing through the checkpoints into the south, it was the young Greek Cypriots turn to now cross to their friends’ side in the north for a long weekend. While to an outsider this may seem like just another weekend camp, to those of us within the PeacePlayers-Cyprus family we understand the depths of meaning behind this moment. The staff and the board at PPI-CY has been making an effort to balance out the number of events that we hold in the two communities and give our players the opportunities to feel comfortable visiting the rest of their island.

PPI-Cy LDP participants go bug catching in the forest as part of the weekend's environmental education sessions

PPI-CY LDP participants go bug catching in the forest as part of the weekend’s environmental education sessions

Kantara camp is nestled in the mountains that stretch out towards the Karpaz Peninsula on the northeastern stretches of the island. Three outdoor basketball courts surrounded by small bunkhouses in the forested mountain range made for an ideal setting for our weekend retreat. Respect was the buzz word for the weekend as we explored the essences of respecting one another, respecting ourselves and respecting the environment. Nick Symmons, from The Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre led sessions in the classroom and in the forest focusing on bio-diversity and environmental awareness.

The retreat also served as a bonding, teambuilding weekend for our PeacePlayers boys team who left Tuesday for their week long trip to Norway to play in the Hansa Cup. They arrived Tuesday evening in Oslo and took a ferry up to Nessodden where they are currently living with host families, visiting the local high school and playing friendly matches with the local team, who happen to also be their host brothers. Check out the video that aired on national TV in Norway: http://nrksuper.no/super/supernytt/2013/04/25/spiller-for-fred/

Please follow along on our Facebook page for daily updates from the team!

PPI-Cyprus boys team plays a friendly scrimmage match with their host brothers from the Nesodden boys team in Norway

PPI-Cyprus boys team plays a friendly scrimmage match with their host brothers from the Nesodden boys team in Norway

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by | February 4, 2011 · 2:08 pm

PPI-Cyprus’ First Twinning of 2011

Getting up a tough shot at the Famagusta-Larnaca Twinning

The PPI-CY 2011 Twinning Season got off to a great start last Saturday when Turkish-Cypriot children traveled from Famagusta to Larnaca to visit a team of Greek-Cypiot children. Over the course of the afternoon, these children from different backgrounds came together for a full slate of fun basketball activities.


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For the Laranca team this was their first PeacePlayers Twinning. Larnaca is one of PPI-CY’s newest teams and, for many of the kids, it was the first time they had even ever met Turkish-Cypriots, let alone learned their names, shook their hands, and played basketball on the same court as them. Several of the kids’ parents came to watch the event, unsure exactly how well the kids from different backgrounds would get along.

Introducing the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot kids to one another.

The PPI-CY coaches and Fellows got to work quickly, however, leading the children through some high-energy dribbling drills. One such drill included having the kids spin 10 times before attempting to dribble up the court, around cones, and back, before handing the ball to their teammate, who also had to spin. Then the teams were lined up on either side of the court, and one team member had to pass the ball to each one of his or her teammates while yelling out the recipients’ name, before attempting to make a lay up. This is a great way to get kids comfortable with each other, while helping them to learn their teammates’ names.

Passing the ball while yelling out teammates' names.

Finally, the kids played full-court basketball, passing to each other, giving each other high fives, and communicating on court strategies. By this time the parents watching could hardly tell who was Turkish-Cypriot and who was Greek-Cypriot, as all the kids were quickly running and passing to each other.

Food is an important part of all PPI-CY Twinnings.

At the end of the event, all the kids, coaches and parents gathered for pizza. Food is an important part of all PPI-CY Twinnings. After the basketball games the kids can sit down with each other and begin to get more comfortable interacting with children from different backgrounds than their own. These same children will twin again in a month, to help reinforce the bonds made during this twinning.

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by | September 17, 2010 · 3:18 pm

September Spotlight: PPI-Cyprus’ Team in Iskele/Trikomo

The Iskele/Trikomo and Famagusta teams at a friendly match in 2009

It’s September in Cyprus. The air is finally cooling to a tolerable 88 degrees, days are getting shorter, and schools are again filled with the familiar sounds of crowded hallways and excited children. This also means that PeacePlayers teams are coming back together after a summer off. Each summer there is some shuffling of PeacePlayer teams as coaches move to new schools, children get older and new teams are brought in. But there are some teams that stand the test of time, continuing stronger than ever.

One of those teams is located in Iskele/Trikomo. Iskele/Trikomo is a small village in the north of Cyprus with a population of only a few thousand Turkish-Cypriots. Prior to 1974 the village was a primarily Greek-Cypriot town known as Trikomo. After the events of 1974, the inhabitants of Trikomo were pushed south. At the same time a large group of Turkish-Cypriots moved to Trikomo after being relocated from their homes in the city of Larnaca on the island’s south coast. They renamed the village Iskele as a reminder of the place they once lived in.


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PPI-CY coach Sevki with his son Cetin, his wife Ferda, and his daughter Sevili.

PeacePlayers came to Iskele in 2006, making it one of the first villages approached to start a team. Coach Sevki Pirlanta had his own small basketball team at the time, having moved to Iskele 13 years ago, after graduating from a university in Famagusta. He landed a job at a local primary school and soon decided to start his own basketball program. It started slowly, but soon kids from all over the village joined, including his own son, Cetin.

“Cetin is one of the main reasons I decided to join PeacePlayers,” Sevki says “I don’t want my son to go through the same things I had to deal with growing up.” Sevki was born in Paphos, but left when he was only 3 years old to escape intercommunal fighting in the region. Sevki was introduced to PeacePlayers in 2006, only a few years after starting his own program, just as PeacePlayers was just getting started in Cyprus. Today the PeacePlayers program in Iskele/Trikomo is one of PPI-CY’s strongest with over 35 boys and girls.

Teslime (center) and Galatia (second from right) at the May PeacePlayers Tournament in Agros

A program like PeacePlayers can be particularly effective in a village like Iskele/Trikomo because it is a place where there would normally be no contact between Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots. Since going into the village, PeacePlayers teams have had many bicommunal events. Teslime, a 14-year-old PeacePlayer from Iskele/Trikomo, said that she was nervous the first time she attended an event with Greek-Cypriots, but she has now become friends with Galatia, a Greek-Cypriot PeacePlayer of the same age from Agros. They are able to stay in touch through Facebook, and look forward to seeing each other during PeacePlayer events.

Sevki’s team will be one of many PPI-CY teams coming together for a large Peace Day Basketball Tournament on September 25. The tournament will have over 200 Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot boys and girls coming together to play on mixed teams. We at PPI-CY can’t wait to see all the kids from Iskele/Trikomo as well as many new faces from all across Cyprus come together to celebrate a day of peace.

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by | July 9, 2010 · 12:50 pm

PPI-CY Visits Peristerona

The Peristerona kids get into lines for a cooperation drill

Back in April we at PeacePlayers – Cyprus blogged about our visit to a new Greek-Cypriot primary school in the village of Peristerona. Now, 3 months later, the video capturing that visit is finally complete. Please take a look at this new community hoping to contribute to a new future for Cyprus.

Peristerona is an interesting village in Cyprus. Approaching it from the road, two unmistakable sights appear: the Greek-Orthodox Church of St. Barnabas and St. Hilarion and the two minarets of an abandoned mosque.  Before the events of 1974, Peristerona was a mixed village, a place where Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots lived together peacefully and worshipped right next to each other. Today, it is a Greek-Cypriot village, but situated only about 5 km from one of the five checkpoints in in the “buffer zone” that divides Cyprus’ Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities.

PPI-CY Managing Director Marina Vasilara and Fellows Adam Hirsch, Rory O’Neil, and Gunnar Hagstrom put on a show for the 5th and 6th graders of Peristerona’s primary school. First, the Greek-speaker of the group (Marina) gave a presentation on PPI-CY’s history, programs, and mission to the group of 50+ kids. Several short videos showed PPI-CY’s practices, twinnings, and events, much to the delight and amusement of the children in attendance.

Fellows Adam and Gunnar put their hands in for a final cheer

After that, it was time to get on the court and show these kids how PPI-CY brings together peace and basketball on the court. Dribbling relays with dancing, blindfolded teambuilding games, and crazy games of sharks and minows were all on the menu for this sunny day on the asphalt – with Rory, Adam, and Gunnar refusing to let these kids simply “go through the motions.” Before long, the screams, cheers, and clapping of the kids could probably be heard from miles away. A good barometer for PeacePlayers to see if a new area could start a PPI-CY program is always the enthusiasm of the kids participating. The sound of their screaming and cheering on this day was…deafening.

After the session, pictures were taken, the players and Fellows exchanged high-fives, and Marina presented free frisbies, hand-bags, and other little goodies from the E.U. to the children to take home. All in all, it was a great day for PPI-CY.

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by | July 2, 2010 · 12:01 pm

PPI-Cyprus Visits a Peace and Sport Camp

This past week, PeacePlayers International Fellow Gunnar Hagstrom spent his time working at a “Peace and Sport Camp” in Kyrenia. He described his experiences there below.

Gunnar helps an "Andriod" and a "Lizard-Human" communicate in their new multi-cultural village.

This past week I worked as a trainer for a Peace and Sport Camp in Kyrenia, teaching kids how to play Basketball, American Football and Ultimate Frisbee, along with assisting in peace and education activities.

The camp brought 70 kids together from four different cultures: Greeks, Greek-Cypriots, Turks and Turkish-Cypriots. The kids, whose ages ranged from 13 to 17, came together to spend a week living, playing sports, developing multi-cultural villages and – perhaps most importantly – playing in the pool with each other.

The main focus of the camp was the creation of fictional multi-cultural villages, where groups of kids could use their imagination to create a new kind of community. These villages could be anywhere in the universe, with any type of people, who could create their own government, education system, economic structure, and so on. The goal of the village was to show how groups of people can break down stereotypes between each other and find a common thread that will allow them to live together in peace. The kids then presented their village to others through film, dance, political debate and creative writing.

I happened to be a part of the village “Liberta,” which was located on a space station and had four different tribes living there: the Androids, the Reptile-Humans, the Angels and the Elves. To present Liberta we put together a film with the help of trainer Ivan Charalambous; each kid in the group had a responsibility to either be an actor/actress, costume designer, set designer, or production assistant. It was unbelievable to see how the kids all worked together – Greeks face-painting Turks, Turkish-Cypriots holding hands with Greek-Cypriots as they marched down an aisle. (The multi-cultural village film will be posted on next week’s blog.)

The entire experience was very moving. On the first day of camp all the kids sat at their own respective tables, with no one talking to one another, but by Day 7, it was a different story. As the Greeks and Greek-Cypriots rode on a bus away from Kyrenia, there was a line of Turkish-Cypriots and Turks saying goodbye and throwing water at the bus (a Turkish tradition) in hope that their new friends would soon return.

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by | June 11, 2010 · 3:04 pm

New PeacePlayers International – Cyprus Mural at Agios Antonios Elementary

New PeacePlayers - Cyprus mural at the Agios Antonios Elementary School in Limassol

Agios Antonios Elementary, in Limassol, is part of the Cyprus Ministry of Education’s “Zones of Educational Priority” (ZEP) program, which provides special assistance to schools of need in underprivileged areas.  Agios Antonios is a very diverse school, with children of Greek-Cypriot, Turkish-Cypriot, and Roma or “Kerbet” descent. One thing they all have in common is a working class upbringing, with very few constructive outlets available in the neighborhood after school. Teachers and administrators frequently report discipline issues, and fights are a common occurrence. This is one of the reasons PeacePlayers started a basketball program there just over a year ago – to give the kids a place to spend their time in a safe and positive way.

Adam works with one of Agios Antonios' students to finish the mural.

When I first walked into Agios Antonios Elementary School back in March, I couldn’t help but think of my old high school, Berkeley High. The same old buildings, the same over-worked teachers, the same crazy kids, and the same spray paint on the walls. At Berkeley, some schoolmates and I worked together to paint a mural on campus, the idea being to give the kids a reason to take pride in their school, to make something beautiful, and to give the kids a place to put their energy towards something positive.

With the same ideas in mind, PPI – CY recently started its own mural project with the children of Agios Antonios. The picture was inspired by the ideals of PeacePlayers – hope, peace, and of course, basketball. We had anticipated some excitement, but the children’s intense desire to help was overwhelming. We handed them some brushes and they were off, painting with ultramarine blues, alizarin crimsons and phthalo greens. After putting on some finishing touches myself, the mural was complete. The finished product was more than just something nice to look at; it was something the kids cold see everyday and be proud of, showing the world just how much potential they have if given an opportunity.

This past Thursday, after our last PeacePlayers basketball practice of the school year, we attended the school’s end of the year celebration. All of the kids were happy to see us come. They introduced us to their parents and then quickly dragged them to the courtyard to see their new mural. Although it was sad to say goodbye, in just 2 weeks we will be back to help with summer school and the organization of more art and sport programs.

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by | April 9, 2010 · 12:38 pm

PPI – CY Makes Its Video Debut

We’ve been working hard at PeacePlayers International in recent months to significantly upgrade our ability to show everyone out there interested in our work the impact that PPI is making. It’s an initiative that encompasses this blog, our monthly e-newsletter, our Twitter account and more.

PPI – Cyprus has been at the forefront of this effort in many ways, especially here on From the Field, where Fellow Rory O’Neil takes us behind the scenes in Cyprus every week. He’s recently gotten some new help though from Fellows Adam Hirsch and Gunnar Hagstrom, and they’re very proud to present their first video contribution to the blog.

Below, we take a look at a Twinning event that brought children together from Agros, a Greek-Cypriot town in the Troodos Mountains, Lapta/Lapithos, a Turkish-Cypriot town near Kyrenia, and Iskele/Tricomo, a Turkish-Cypriot village near Famagusta. As you watch the video, ask yourself if you can tell the difference between the Turkish-Cypriot children and the Greek-Cypriot children. On the court, on the bus, and – so we think – in life, the divides on the island can be overcome by a commitment to teamwork and mutual respect.

And, as an added bonus, we just happened to catch on camera a future Cypriot basketball hero nailing this miracle shot:

Keep your eyes opened for more from PPI – Cyprus and the rest of PeacePlayers International!

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by | January 29, 2010 · 3:44 pm

“Releasing the Peace”…One Village at a Time.

Over 100 Greek-Cypriot children in Kyperouda were introduced to PeacePlayers' work in Cyprus

Kyperounta is a very beautiful village in the upper regions of the Troodos Mountatin. Besides being known for its beauty and locally produced wine, it is also know for its isolation and distance from Nicosia (over an hour, which is a lot by Cypriot standards). Though the small village is not so islosated from the island at large that it rules itself or lives by itself, it is possible to forget the ups and downs of the on-going peace negotiations between the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders, as well as the current divided state of the island as a whole.

Orhun (at right) leads the kids in a school-wide clapping excercise. For most of the kids, Orhun was the first Turkish-Cypriot they ever met.

But when PeacePlayers International-Cyprus was invited to make a 2 hour presentation to over 100 of the village’s children last week, they were given a chance to contribute to a better future for Cyprus as never before. PPI-CY Fellow Rory O’Neil, Managing Director Marina Vasilara, Turkish-Cypriot coordinator Orhun Mevlit, and Agros Coach (Greek-Cypriot) Antonis Tsolakis made a video presentation, as well as a specch about PPI-CY in Cyprus, and also allowed all 100+ kids in attendance to take part in some PeacePlayers drills and games. For some of these kids, it was the first time they ever saw or spoke to a Turkish-Cypriot. This wasn’t a problem because their first memory is of Orhun Mevlit playing one of his famous team-clapping games that is usually a huge hit with kids from all backgrounds. After the presentatation, every child got a chance to participate in some dribble relays: a  PPI staple. The sound of kids screaming, cheering, and laughing was so deafening inside the school’s gym that Rory had to get up close to the translator’s ear just to shout out instructions at certain times.

Kids from Kyperounda participate in some dribble relays as their classmates and teachers cheer them on.

PPI-CY’s primary responsibility in Cyprus is to bring Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot children together through the game of basketball. Sometimes, due to logistical reasons and limited resources, it is very difficult to hold events, and spread the idea of peace through sport. However, people like the headmaster and teachers of the Kyperounda village, Maria Soutzi and her staff of teachers, deserve a great deal of credit for bringing the message of PPI-CY to the rural areas of  Cyprus, where they likely wouldn’t experience it otherwise. Judging by the laughter, smiles, and constant cheering during the day’s events, its safe to say that wherever PPI-CY goes, kids approve.

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