Posted by Frossa in Quote of the day

0 comments.

"if one day everyone woke up and looked in the mirror and was satisfied with what they saw, the worlds economic system would collapse"
-  Constantinos Manglis -

"2010 reasons for a solution"

Posted by Huseyin A in

8 comments.

I recently received a request to join a group on facebook called "2010 reasons for a solution". The group is in Turkish and people post comments on the wall saying why they think a solution is necessary in Cyprus. I found these comments really interesting as they reflect the thoughts of the T/Cypriot youth so I have translated some of these to English. Here they are:

I want a solution because…


- I don’t want to pass through borders in my country.

- I don’t want to live under occupation and I am pregnant. I have to think about my baby’s future.

- I don’t want the “Cyprus Problem” to form a part of my life.

- When I say I am Cypriot, I don’t want the people to start speaking to me in Greek. I don’t want the world to ignore me as a community of Cyprus.

- I want my future, our future.

- When I am calling my country I want to use its own code, not Turkey’s code.

- I don’t want my degree certificate to be an accessory on my wall.

- I want to be a part of an independent Cyprus, I want freedom.

- I want to see the evil ones loosing against the good ones again. I don’t want to see my future through bars any more.

- I want people’s rights to be returned to them.

- I don’t want the history to prevent a happy Cyprus. I want to be able to see my future, not to get stuck in my past.

- I don’t want to be a part of a “pirate government”. I want to be a part of the Republic of Cyprus.

- I want to belong to a community which does not need the help of others to survive.

- I want my culture and dialect to live.

- I don’t want to be an “unrecognized” individual living in the “illegal” areas.

- I don’t want to stay in the UK after I finish my studies.

- I can’t stand any more a soldier telling me: “this is a restricted area, go away” while I am wandering around on the mountains.

- I don’t want to live with hatred and grudge, I want to live with peace and love.

- I want my kids to be born as Cypriots, and grow up with the Cypriot culture, food and dialect.

- I want the income of this island not to be spent on military and endless negotiations, but on infrastructure and economy.

- I want to be able to live in Paphos again.

Career paths in Cyprus

Posted by NEo in

0 comments.

Theme of the month (March 2010)

This month we are discussing about "Career paths in Cyprus"

• Is there a lack of variety in Career paths in Cyprus?
• What about employment security and unemployment?
• Are the salaries satisfying?

What are your thoughts on the subject? Are you currently working? If yes is it the job you always wanted? If not, do you think that you will find a satisfying job opportunity in Cyprus?

Send them to us at contact@mahallas.com or make a new post with the email provided in the sidebar!

Articles:

Leaflet on federation

Posted by pi in Cyprus, politics

1 comments.

The long awaited leaflet on federation promised by Christofias' government was distributed on Sunday with all Greek-Cypriot newspapers. Below you can find a link to the online version of it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find out if there is an english version of it as well..

http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/E2D264056F00ACB1C22576DC0034DEC5/$file/pdfomospondia.pdf

EU nations split on whether to ban trade in tuna

Posted by Maria Armenaki-Xatzimixail in Environment, politics

0 comments.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/eu-nations-split-on-whether-to-ban-trade-in-tuna-1917058.html

By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor

European Union countries are still arguing about introducing a ban on the trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna. Conservationists say that such a ban is the only way to save the over-fished species from extinction.

The proposal is top of the agenda for the conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), which begins in Doha at the end of next week. The EU is divided over the issue between countries which have major tuna fisheries themselves, such as France, and those which do not, including Britain.

If adopted in full, the plan, which was put forward by Monaco, would save one of the sea's most majestic fish from vanishing. Its highly-prized and hugely-valuable flesh is much in demand, principally from the Japanese. A single 500lb tuna fetched £111,000 on the Tokyo fish market two months ago, making it the most valuable fish ever sold.

By listing the bluefin on Cites' Appendix 1, all international trade in the species would be banned, and the Japanese, the biggest buyers by far, would no longer be able to purchase the thousands of tonnes of tuna caught by European fisheries each year. The end of the Japanese trade would undoubtedly torpedo the demand which is driving overfishing.

A streamlined predator which can grow to 12 feet in length, weigh half a tonne, and travel rapidly through the water, Thunnus thynnus, the bluefin tuna, has been celebrated for its culinary qualities since antiquity.

It was once plentiful, but stocks are now quickly tumbling, and there are widespread fears that it could soon become commercially extinct. It migrates from the Atlantic each year to spawn in the Mediterranean, where much of the fishery is concentrated.

The EU's member states have been arguing about the trade ban proposal since it was first advanced last year. However, although the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, finally recommended 10 days ago that member states should back it, it is becoming clear that substantial differences still exist with the community.

In particular, Europe's six major tuna fishers – France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus – want an exception to be made for "artisanal fisheries", using local fishing boats as opposed to "industrial" vessels.

But "artisanal" is not yet precisely defined, and it is clear that local fishing fleets could themselves be responsible for thousands of tonnes of the tuna catch which could then be sold on to Japanese buyers – thus negating the impact of the trade ban.

Britain is strongly opposed to the "artisanal" get-out clause, government sources made clear yesterday, as are other EU member states that are not involved in tuna fishing.

An official pointed out that "artisanal" fisheries might be responsible for between 10 and 40 per cent of the trade taking place at the moment.

Discussions are continuing in Brussels between officials, but if agreement cannot be reached the issue will have to go to a meeting of ministers.

The issue of the 27 EU member states taking a common line is key, as the European lobby is likely to swing votes if it is united. To secure the listing of the bluefin on the Cites Appendix 1, two-thirds of the delegates must vote in favour of the ban. Cites currently has 175 member nations.

The Doha meeting will also consider proposals to ban trade in polar bears, red coral and some sharks, including the probeagle and the spiny dogfish – the "rock salmon" of old-fashioned fish and chip shops in Britain – as well as proposals to tighten the trade in body parts of rhinoceroses and tigers.

It will further consider a request from Tanzania and Zambia to sell their stocks of legally held ivory – something Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, has already said Britain will oppose.

All the joy in my heart died.

Posted by backbeatlili in Videos, World

1 comments.

*Warning: This post is not for minors or for the faint-hearted*

Can you imagine a world with so much misery?

It exists. It is our world.

Can you imagine a world with so much crying?

It exists. It is our world.




Can you imagine a world whose children are so sad and frightened?

It exists. It is our world.

"I was discarded everywhere, the poetic whisper in my soul died.

Do not search for the meaning of joy in me, all the joy in my heart died.

If you are looking for stars in my eyes, that is a tale that does not exist."

Nadia Anjuman

I only picked one country, Afghanistan, and this is what I came up with.

But it is just an example.

Women, children and men are being oppressed all around the world, no matter how backward or forward we think a country may be.

It could be happening next door to us or it may even be happening to us.

I have come to realise that oppression comes in different forms but it is always devastating.

http://www.rawa.org/rawa.html
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/

Quote of the day

Posted by Frossa in Quote of the day

1 comments.

“Telling the past, or even ones own past, is unavoidably a violation of that past in order to effect such a narrative organization of the past – an organization that is not intrinsic to the past itself.”

- F. R. Ankersmit - 

r.

Posted by Frossa in Poetry

3 comments.

today i planted my first ever plant. its wonderful. there was soil involved and everything!

sending me that package is such a beautiful gesture. i really like that its not some cut flowers that you stick in water and watch them die

its a bulb and you plant it and take care of it and watch it grow and live and flower.

i think it makes me room a nicer place, and it makes my windowsill useful. it gives it purpose :)

do you think the sun feels happy because it knows that it is productive? because it knows that it contributes to the growth of beautiful things?

i want my life and my actions to be useful