From the Paphos campaign that saved an animal sanctuary to the Limassolian who climbed K2, ALIX NORMAN looks at our island’s small wins over the last 12 months
Globally, 2023 was not great. Conflict continued (Ukraine) and began (Palestine). Earthquakes in Turkey, Morocco and Afghanistan killed thousands. Cyclone Freddy and Storm Daniel did untold damage across Africa.
In Cyprus, the cost of living continued to soar through the dustiest spring and hottest summer in years. Fires broke out everywhere. The metaphorical heat spilled over into rioting. And to top it all off, a third of the island’s felines succumbed to Cat Covid.
But there were good things too; little moments of hope.
They were small wins. But wins nonetheless…
January: rain reigns
In January, it rained. A lot.
By the end of the month, rainfall had reached 156 per cent of average, and the dams were looking much fuller than usual. Paphos District’s Pano Panayia village topped the readings with 294.9mm of rain over the course of January – a 193 per cent rise on normal levels.
And though the surfeit didn’t last long (Cyprus’ rainiest years on record are 1911 and 2012), it was very welcome!
February: visitor victory
It’s been a long three years!
In 2023, Cyprus saw tourist arrivals close on the pre-pandemic highs of 2019. But it was February that was the stand-out: at close on 120,000 arrivals, the month’s visitor figures actually surpassed those of any previous February by a cool 14,000.
Very welcome news for the 54,000 locals with jobs in travel and tourism.
March: winning woman
House President Annita Demetriou made history in March as the first female to be elected leader of the Disy party since its founding in 1976.
Since then, Demetriou has fought tirelessly for women in politics. She’s called for the creation of an “environment that encourages women” to participate in public life, and spoken out on issues of equality and domestic violence.
Let’s hope the fervour lasts.
April: feeding the needy
In late April, we saw the launch of Cyprus’ first food donation platform, FOODprint.
The platform created a community of donors and recipients. The former (such as hotels, restaurants and supermarkets) donate surplus food; the latter (whether individuals or organisations supporting those in need) claim the food and ensure nobody goes hungry.
Since April, the platform has been feeding people island-wide on a daily basis.
May: global goodbye
This certainly isn’t a ‘Cyprus only’ celebration. But it’s definitely worth including!
In May, after three years and more than 7 million deaths (1,364 in Cyprus) the pandemic was finally downgraded from global threat.
“For over 12 months, the pandemic has been on a downward trend,” said WHO’s Director-General at the time. “This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19.”
In 2015, Birdlife Cyprus introduced the island to The Barn Owl project.
At first, it met with opposition. But, having realised that barn owls will naturally control mice and rats, farmers island-wide are now installing nesting boxes.
Rodenticide use has halved since the project started. And, in June 2023, Birdlife Cyprus reported that, for the first time, barn owls had taken up residence in nearly half of all nesting boxes, and the chicks were thriving.
July: Nicosia to NBA
In July, Sasha Vezenkov became the first Cyprus-born player to join the NBA.
Originally Bulgarian, Vezenkov was raised in Cyprus and Greece, and holds triple citizenship. In fact, the 6-foot-9, 28-year-old prodigy was actually born in Nicosia, and played for the APOEL youth team! One of Europe’s most lethal shooters, the star signed his $20-million contract with the Sacramento Kings in July 2023.
Excellent news for local sports fans.
Evgenios Staroselskiy climbs k2
August: Limassol leopard
In August, Limassol resident Evgenios Staroselskiy returned to the island as the only Cypriot (and one of just 500 people in history) to climb K2.
The 8,611-metre peak claims the lives of one-quarter of those making the attempt. 61-year-old Evgenios (known as the ‘Snow Leopard of Limassol’) braved ice storms, blizzards, and avalanches to raise the flag of Cyprus on the summit.
It was, he says, the proudest moment of his life.
September: purr-sistence pays
In September, Tala Cat Park was on the brink of disaster. The founder was ill, help was limited, and the original structures were falling into disrepair.
With winter imminent, desperate volunteers set up a social campaign, and appealed to local media. The word went out and, within a month, the Cat Park had received all the funding it needed – as well as countless new helpers.
“It was an absolute triumph of solidarity,” says one of the Park’s volunteers. “Thank you Cyprus.”
October: geeks gather
Three years after it closed its doors, Cyprus Comic Con returned to the island on October 7 and 8.
The Con drew 20,000 people to Nicosia’s State Fair, and traffic backed up to the Limassol highway. Stranger Things’ Tom Wlaschiha, Deadpoal’s Stefan Kapičić, and Game of Thrones’ Miltos Yerolemou were all in attendance, and the weekend saw everything from mass tournament shoot-outs to riotous rounds of Laser Tag.
“Cyprus deserves some fun!” said organisers.
In November, Cyprus followed Canada, Australia and the UK by scrapping what’s known as the ‘Tampon Tax’.
In a bid to provide relief from inflationary pressures, the government approved zero VAT on items such as bread, milk, eggs, baby food, and diapers. Female hygiene products also made the list, meaning sanitary napkins and tampons actually reduced in price.
Great news for women across the island.
December: a new hope?
In a landmark move, December saw Cyprus send its first humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Organised by the Volunteer Doctors of Cyprus, the 10-tonne cargo of medicines saw dignitaries working around the clock for six weeks to ensure delivery. In the final week of December, the shipment was finally okayed, and arrived at Egypt’s Port Said – there to be transported to Rafah on the border with Gaza.
A hopeful note to end a difficult year.
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