Thursday, February 4/2016

(Photo: Cyprus Mail)

Identify the bar that was the scene of the shots last week. Bizarre, really: no one injured, bar closed for the night, but about 20 shots. Obviously not one careless person thinking it was unloaded and finding otherwise. Busy square with semi upscale bars and cafés, diagonally opposite where used to stay several years ago - before the hotel and square began to move up in the world.

Bus strike continues. Meeting with the relevant minister, or his delegate, predictably useless. Public sympathies probably limited, in part because only 39% of Cypriots have ever set foot on public transport, nor has the quality of same encouraged them to do so. As with so much in Cyprus, corruption seems to have been commonplace. Stories of personal vehicles being fueled at company expense.

J has acquired a friend at the beach, a Cypriot man who speaks almost no English but is highly voluble in Greek. He has a number of medical problems, from what J can make out, including metal replacement bits in his legs, back problems, and need for some difficult heart surgery for which he is waiting. Some of this information gleaned from a friend who sometimes keeps an eye on the man as he swims. Last week Cypriot Friend went swimming on a chilly day and J, seeing him shivering on the beach, brought him a cup of hot coffee. Later in the week, to J's embarrassment, CF pressed on him a bag of gifts - wine, sweets, zivania (wine based spirit). Today there's a top up package with Commandaria (traditional heavy, sweet Cypriot wine), nuts and more sweets. And this from a man with little savings, as his friend explained earlier! Horribly out of proportion any kindness in J's bringing coffee. He's on the beach today when We meet up and J introduces me. 

There's a young woman there sitting outside the concrete change room/toilet building who translates for us. His daughter? No, she works here but keeps an eye on him. She is Cypriot but Australian born and about to run out of any official assistance. The powers that be give her a number of days work and then cut her off. She says, philosophically, thar some people refuse to clean toilets but she needs the money. She has a ten year old daughter. She also used to have a good job, she says, working at the airport for €1000 ($1541 CAD, £771) a month. But with the economic crisis the salary was cut and then she was asked to work a split shift - which as a single parent she couldn't do. She shrugs. There are people who will work for four hundred euros - or five, or six - but you can't live. Later research shows that there are some minimum wage regulations, around €900 monthly, but only in a few occupations