Today was a normal day until one thing pissed me off, and then a second thing did, so now I have two things to be mad about, and I was curious what makes other people mad (This is a non exhaustive-list, these are the things that made me mad right now, things I am usually mad about include: Housing, salaries, corruption) but I will cover those not here right now. So things that piss me off:
1) The community system – my god do I hate this colonial-ass relic. I am ethnically Russian, but I lived my entire life here, I speak Greek, I did my honest 14 months in the army, and I hate when I asks what community you are a part of, technically, legally I guess I am GC, but I despise ticking that box (I chose to tick Unspecified today). There are so many people that I served with who were half GC, and a lot of ppl at my army base, who were Cypriot by citizenship, but some third ethnicity. Indians, Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Germans, English, Pakistanti – all Cypriot all served in the army. I know a guy whose dad is GC, mom is TC and he was born in London, so what the hell is he? And why is it that the Armenians, Maronites and Latins get a seat in parliament with no right to vote? That almost seems like a downgrade. I hate the community system. Its a Northern Ireland-ass, Lebanon-ass, stupid-ass system, and segregates the population for no reason. I am Cypriot, mono.
2) Cyprus’s undeserved reputation as a money laundering place. Saw a Russian article and then this awful piece of misinformation: Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies – ICIJ Russian money (Atleast the corrupt, illegal, and criminal kind) is mostly gone, any that remains comes from shipping and IT companies, who have legitimate businesses. I hate this awful PR situation, where whenever I mention where I am from (And I say Cyprus, because I never lived anywhere else basically) its this bullshit and nonsense, about how easy it is to launder money in Cyprus and blah blah blah. The government needs to make a PR campaign to clean up its reputation and sue all of these deceitful journalists.
Thats 2 rants for now, I may rant in the future. But my question to everyone is what makes everyone else angry?
https://old.reddit.com/r/cyprus/comments/1de2r1f/what_pisses_you_off_here/
Posted by TheoryOfHistory
17 Comments
I never heard of an Armenian or Maronite serving.
The community system is not as important as you make it out. It’s just to determine which school your kid goes to and if you go to the army or not, maybe a few more things.
Also, note that Armenians, Maronites and Latins vote in the parliamentary elections as part of the Greek community and therefore they do have a say in the election of the voting Members of Parliament. It’s only the observer members of their communities that do not have a right to vote in Parliament.
Now, as far as money laundering is concerned, you are way off. Cyprus has laundered billions and billions and money laundering is still going on, look at all the sanctions being slapped on Cypriot companies. Yes, the situation has improved in recent years but it was only after heavy pressure and threats of sanctions from the EU and US. In any case, the reputation is not undeserved.
Agreed with a lot of what you’re saying, but there’s some caveats.
Regarding the first, it’s the same in the UK. They all you to add white/black/Asian/mixed (and different denominations of each one. Where does a Cypriot fit into that? I’m darker than Pakistani’s when I’m tanned.
Unfortunately, it is as you said, a remnant of the colonial past in Cyprus and it has been enshrined in our constitution, so no one bothers to change it.
Regarding your second point… You’re right, a lot of Russian money left the country. Partially it has been replaced by Israeli and Ukrainian money, the disparity is still there and our government is going very little to disprove the reputation we got.
Add to that, the mess that is the legal system in Cyprus, and you’re not left with a lot.
Some of the “legitimate” businesses you’re talking about are also involved in a lot of grey areas of the law, that our legal system is not equipped to handle.
Regarding my pet peeves…
1. The “this is Cyprus” mentality, that in the end prevents any change from happening. Acts as an excuse to not do anything, and a pass on the assholes that have screwed us over.
The ethnic communities of Cyprus have a very real and tangible historical basis, even if the way they have been historically applied by the British colonial establishment was catastrophic. So it is not pointless to ask someone what their ethnic background is, the same way that being a citizen of any country doesn’t mean your ethnic background is irrelevant.
That being said, the ethnic quotas and segregationist constitution of the RoC is deeply flawed and problematic, which is partially why it failed as well. There is merit to some of your questions which would make one rethink the constitution and its provisions. But still, making the constitution less racist and segregationist won’t remove the very real communal lines that exist between communities. In fact, this isn’t even a bad thing.
It’s good to retain some strong identity among Maronites for example, since their language is nearly extinct. There is value to keeping these distinctions alive in more practical (e.g. educational) terms, because otherwise much about this cultural heritage could be lost.
My friend….If you don’t like it, you can just leave it.
Edit for the downvoters : chill out guys, and get some second degree sense.
“Cyprus’s undeserved reputation as a money laundering place.”
Well, it *is* deserved. A whora to the dolla, years and years of money laundering brought that tag upon us. It doesn’t go away easily or quickly unfortunately. And with the ‘this is cyprus’ scandal, the tag isn’t only set upon us by the international community but also by locals. The crackdown has stifled a lot of these practices but they are still very much in play, if not for Russians, it’s the myriad of other international businessmen and/or Russians with Ukrainian passports or via third parties. There’s still *a lot* that needs to be done.
Undeserved reputation as a money laundering place? UNDESERVED?? lol
Pienne je si esso sou
I just want to be able to afford and house and have a nice cost of living. Is that so hard to ask for? 🥺
Identity is nauseating. Give it up. Political, Religious, Ethnic, National, etc. Give it up. Let it go. Free your mind.
Fuck it all. 🖕🏻
Fascinating that Maronites and Latins exist in Cyprus. Their culture and language should be protected and supported. We all should have a basic human right to identify in accordance with our personal heritage and to live without fear of prejudice and discrimination.
Every individual, irrespective of their ethnic or linguistic background, should be endowed with the fundamental human right to embrace and celebrate their personal heritage. This inalienable right extends beyond mere tolerance; it necessitates an active commitment to fostering an environment where cultural diversity is not only respected but also nurtured and celebrated.
It’s a tough one. Identity is important but also causes division and conflict.
What language do the Latins speak? Is it a dialect of Roman Latin? Fascinating.
People that park their cars without respect to anyone except themselves
ppl parking whereever
My guy the president of Parliament was caught on camera trying to flog passports to a guy who told him that he represented a criminal.
Totally deserved reputation.
UNDESERVED MONEY LAUNDERING PLACE??????
NAHHHH BROOOOO
WE DESERVE THAT TITLE
THAT’S THE ONE THING WE’RE GOOD AT CMON
I like your funny words, Russian man.
Being told to “Go back to your country” and “we don’t need you here” when one half of my family is here hurts.
The colonial system the British left had only the community, ethnicity, nationality of the father matter. It’s the same in a lot of countries including India and Lebanon. That’s just how the British viewed stuff since the middle ages. And the Republic of Cyprus kept this even until today for the army.