The Story of a Family’s Escape During Turkey’s Invasion of Cyprus

In the summer of 1974, the lives of people in Cyprus were forever changed by the Turkish invasion of their island.

Theodora Kokkinou, a young girl at the time, shared the harrowing story of her family, how they escaped from the war-torn Mediterranean island, and the lasting impact this period has had on their lives.

The calm before the storm

The paternal grandparents of Theodora lived in the village of Trimithi in the now-occupied Kyrenia. Her family had plans to stay with them, as they wanted to enjoy the beautiful northern side of Cyprus.

However, just two days before the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish Army in 1974, her grandmother sent a message to Theodora’s mother, urging them not to come due to a snake hiding inside the house.

Theodora’s mother listened to her and postponed the trip. It has to be noted that Cyprus is home to eight different species of snakes, three of which are venomous and therefore dangerous to humans, so locals know when and how to avoid them.

Therefore, they wanted to make sure that they had gotten rid of it before the family arrived. This unbelievable twist of fate would prove to be a blessing that protected the family from the worst.

Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974

On July 20, 1974, thousands of Turkish army men launched a full-scale invasion of Cyprus, using as an excuse their ”response” to a Greek-backed coup attempt.

Cyprus, a gem of the Mediterranean, was quickly engulfed in chaos, with war sirens blaring and radio announcements warning the population of the impending danger.

Theodora’s family, along with their neighbors, huddled together in a darkened hallway in a Greek-Orthodox church of the village, lit only by a single candle, not to draw any attention from the invaders.

”The next couple days were very frightening,” she told the Greek Reporter.

”I don’t recall anyone being able to sleep until the moment came to fleet the island by ship.”

Fear gripped their hearts, and they had no idea what was next for their island, their home and their family.

As the situation deteriorated, Theodora’s family made the difficult decision to flee Cyprus by ship.

The journey from Cyprus to Piraeus was treacherous, with injured people, women and children on board, and stormy seas with high winds reaching storm levels.

The family eventually settled in Nea Smirni of Athens, where Theodora’s father continued to work as a pilot for Olympic Airways, Greece’s flag-bearer airline back then.

”We were all very sad to leave Cyprus so abruptly. We tried to live a ‘normal’ life and continue on, it was difficult!” she recalls.

New life in Greece after the invasion of Cyprus

Life in Athens was a stark contrast to the family’s previous existence in Cyprus. The events had changed them, even if they didn’t openly discuss what had happened. ”I missed my relatives, my friends, our house with the garden, the sweet peas, roses, the fresh mint and all the animals,” she says.

Theodora struggled with separation anxiety and often felt ill at the thought of attending pre-kindergarten. The children at her new school were not always kind, adding to her stress and misery, following the trauma of the invasion.

Theodora’s saving grace came in the form of her elementary school teacher, Mrs. Sophia Alevra, at the 2nd Elementary School of Nea Smirni.

Recognizing the young girl’s trauma, Mrs. Alevra encouraged Theodora to share her story with the class, from the war sirens and soldiers with parachutes filling the skies of Cyprus to the perilous sea journey rom home to Athens. This act of compassion helped Theodora begin to process her experiences and find her voice.

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus resulted in the displacement of approximately 150,000 Greek Cypriots from the northern part of the island. Many refugees, like Theodora’s family, settled in areas in Greece, though most of them moved to the South of the island that remained free.

Theodora eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to attend Santa Monica College, but the memories of her life in Cyprus remain unforgettable—a dream disrupted by an illegal military occupation that continues to this day.

”My mother and my brothers still reside in Nea Smirni in Athens, my sister resides in Palaio Faliro, which borders Nea Smirni,” she explains to Greek Reporter, adding that her father passed away four years ago, in 2020.