Emily Yiolitis is absolutely right that it is time for Cyprus to embrace its own identity and adopt a truly Cypriot national anthem (Cyprus Mail, October 10).
Relying on Greece’s national anthem only perpetuates old divisions and keeps the island tethered to external motherlands, rather than fostering a shared domestic civic pride.
If we look back at our history, we have already come close to establishing our own symbol. In 2004, during the Annan Plan period, a unique, lyricless national anthem was proposed, proving that the concept of a distinct musical identity for the republic is both viable and has been considered at the highest levels of diplomacy.
We do not have to start from scratch to build a meaningful, shared anthem today. There are incredible, organic cultural foundations already available to us. For instance, we could beautifully merge the moving poetry of Nese Yasin with the poignant musical adaptations of Marios Tokas, bringing together iconic Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot artistic heritages into a single, cohesive masterpiece.
Alternatively, a powerful bilingual anthem could be forged by uniting the profound verses of our island’s great literary voices. We could blend Tefkros Anthias’ anthem of a shared earth with Osman Turkay’s anthem of universal peace. Imagine a bilingual composition that seamlessly weaves together more of Anthias’ devotion to our common soil:
“This earth is our earth,
the common mother of us all.
Bound by the same deep roots,
we till the same fields, we look to the same sky.”
With Turkay’s soaring, expansive vision of cosmic harmony and regional reconciliation:
“Let peace be the light of our sky,
and love the law of our land.
Let the fires of past enmities dissolve into ash, as a new dawn rises over a unified shore.”
By combining these verses in both Greek and Turkish, Cyprus could finally possess an anthem that honours our shared geography, respects our diverse cultural tapestries, and looks forward to a unified, peaceful future. To make this a truly inclusive national endeavour, it would be wonderful to invite suggestions, feedback, and creative ideas from our Turkish Cypriot friends on how we can collaboratively build a shared anthem that speaks for every citizen of this island.
Kim Economides, Adelaide, Australia