I am 68 and lived in the UK for 30 years so I think I can speak from experience. The answer to the question ‘How on earth hell did this happen to us’ referring to the Limassol District fire- is this:

Responsibility, Integrity, Conscientiousness, Respect and anything that should cause or make one execute their duties even half way at least, are not in anyone’s way of thinking nor are those virtues existing amongst government employees in general. From top to bottom.

If at the top it stinks, lower and lower down the ladder is the same.

Start from the Presidents, each one of them, except some have been worse than others and their circle of cronies every time. Look at the ones in key power positions who do represent political parties, all the big ones.

Down to the lowest employee all are immune from answering for their mistakes, negligent actions and/or inactions.

How on earth can you have a machine working well (not saying perfectly) when you cannot get rid of, or even repair, let alone replace, a part that not only hinders the proper operation it actually causes the machine to operate badly if not at all?

Open the TV and all you hear is narratives of absolution from their responsibilities, each one of them, passing the blame on someone or something else, speaking so confidently and without any hint of fear.

Now compare that with the way things are or at least were happening in the UK when I lived there.

Do you see the difference?

I remember even a minister being jailed for lying in court. I remember prime ministers resigning let alone MPs and others…!

Have you ever witnessed such in Cyprus?

I have known solicitors stricken off and estate agents jailed for corrupt actions during the 90s great recession.

I have known a prime minister who warned the islanders with sending the Royal Navy, if any British citizens lost any money due to the Landsbanski scandal and froze all their assets in the UK. I know, I was a Landsbanski client after they bought the Cheshire Building Society in Guernsey. I brought all my savings to Cyprus only to lose it to the scandal of Cyprus Popular Bank in 2010 and the subsequent SHAVE not Haircut of 2013 which the infamous Europe instigated and the then President Corrupt implemented. I am talking of 30 years savings which would have provided a reasonable retirement.

I could go on and on with real and true events and sad stories but consider it unnecessary.

I shall finish only with the words of my 90-year-old father who said: ‘We made a mistake my son’ The discussion was about 1955-59 and EOKA.

Is it at all clear what my father meant and what I adamantly believe would have been the situation in Cyprus had we been able to rewrite history?

John Pyrokkas