ORIGINS

Cypriot President Papadopoulos used the term “Osmosis” to refer to the reunification of the North with the Republic. To be frank I do not believe given the decades of negotiations and government measures for Turkish Cypriots that even Mr Papadopoulos would use the term in any other way. But the term has been inflated by his opponents and Pro- Partition Turkish Cypriot politicians who are using it as ‘proof’ that Papadopoulos’ real aim is to vanish the Turkish Cypriots through the method of ‘Osmosis.’ Consequently, Mr Papadopoulos is now being portrayed as a kind of sea monster who wants to swallow Turkish Cypriots whole.   
 

CONTRADICT

But critics of Papadopoulos’ use of the term Osmosis such as Mr Ercakica and his boss Mr Talat are clearly colour blind to a different kind of Osmosis happening under their very noses– the deliberate change of the demographic character of Northern Cyprus and creeping annexation by Turkey. I wonder, does the ongoing process of assimilation in Northern Cyprus caused by the mass numbers of Turkish settlers arouse Mr Ercakica in the same way or is his wrath only directed at Greek Cypriots? Does the death of the Turkish Cypriot dialect and culture in the North bother him? Or are we to understand that it is acceptable to be assimilated by Turkish settlers who now out number Turkish Cypriots 2 to 1?

With both Mr Talat and Mr Ercakica exercising prolonged silence over the issue and an increasing litany of complaints by Turkish Cypriots, I beg to ask how can Osmosis with the Greek Cypriots with whom we share the same culture worry them more than a worse assimilation that is already happening under their supervision. 
 

A TWO-WAY PROCESS

Obsessed now with liquids, if the Turkish Cypriot leadership genuinely feels afraid that Turkish Cypriots will dissolve into a Greek Cypriot lake, and then they should rest assured that that lake will no longer be a Greek Cypriot lake once this happens. This is Science after all. Osmosis is when a “higher concentrated solution is diluted with water from the other container until the concentrations on both sides are equal.” In other words no side wins while the other dies; quite simple a whole new liquid is formed.  

ALREADY A REALITY

An important point to note is that Osmosis has already happened. The off shoot of Osmosis, even after World War II it was still common to find Cypriot Muslims who spoke only Greek, Cypriot Armenians who spoke fluent Turkish, Cypriot Muslim-Christians or Crypto-Christians who often mixed Catholicism and Islam. African slaves have long become assimilated and it is not uncommon to find many Greek Orthodox Christian Cypriots who have a Turkish speaking and Muslim grand parent or parent. Was our Osmosis into Cypriot culture as Ottoman Turks in 1572 not the reason why Turkish Cypriots are Turkish Cypriots and not just Turks today? Fear of Osmosis therefore is pointless since Cyprus was for most of its existence a melting pot and we as Cypriots are the result of that melting pot. To try to hinder this process now is not only going against who we are, but it demonstrates a deep inferiority complex. 

DETACHED

Although assimilation scares many people as the dominant group wins, in Osmosis no group or liquid prevails. Liquids work differently. Rather a new liquid is formed. And what is the alternative to Osmosis? If we as Turkish Cypriots do not want to be absorbed with other members of the human race to form a whole then do we prefer to live detached? Isn’t isolation the reason we are unhappy anyway?

Even when it comes to a Cyprus solution, Mr Talat and his advisers seem to be under this impression that a Federal state solution would enable Turkish Cypriots to live in Southern-Style segregation, with only minimal contact with Greek Cypriots. But this is not what the UN has in mind. Let’s us also not forget that while a separation of territory may allow for some segregation in larger countries like Canada or Belgium, where two linguistic groups live in their own linguistic areas far apart, in a small island like Cyprus where people have enough sentimental reason to visit each side of the island it is near impossible to prevent the mixing of the communities. In short, you would need to lock up Turkish Cypriots and keep the barricades in place after reunification to prevent a gradual process of Osmosis taking place.

Now if Mr Talat who admitted in public that he preferred it if his offspring did not marry a Greek Cypriot wants to protect Turkish Cypriots from an inevitable natural human process, then why is he claiming to fight for a reunified Cyprus? Should he not be supporting partition?  

NOT REAL

Osmosis is not the epitagh of our community, far from it, it will instil a more inclusive Cypriot umbrella identity. While being a minority (numerically-speaking) may have been unlucky in the 1960s, with Cyprus now in the EU small communities are often better placed in terms of their rights than the majority, gone are the days of assimilating minorities. Minorities today are empowered and at the centre of decision-making.

If we look at Canada or the United States where their societies are the result of a process of “Osmosis,” we can see that yes, small communities are exposed to far bigger cultures, yet they have a greater sense of self than generations ago and many speak their own language unhindered. According to John Stackhouse who wrote First Step: End the segregation” (The Toronto Globe) “cultures have progressed and thrived when forced to integrate with others, while those that are isolated all too frequently wither. In fact the groups frequently push for their own school system, sports teams and churches, signs not of insecurity but of marking one’s ownership of their own country. 

OSMOSIS IS NOT A DIRTY WORD

With equal and full citizenship rights for all and protection for cultural and linguistic rights supported by the EU, Osmosis is not a dirty word. It doesn’t mean you will lose your culture. That is your choice. It doesn’t mean you lose your political equality either. It just means that you embrace all other cultures and learn from them too. A natural process, Osmosis in Cyprus is nothing to fear; we are already Cypriots right?

But consider that the two liquids are not Greek and Turkish Cypriots but 72 million Turks on one side and 120,000 Turkish Cypriots on the other, can we guess the result? Will your culture survive?

Lastly, let us also not forget that a reunified Cyprus even as a federation will ultimately be a single state, and doubtless over time Osmosis will occur as it has for thousands of years in Cyprus. And perhaps given the divisive hatred whipped up by Greek and Turkish nationalism over the decades, dare I say it; a process of Osmosis is just what we need in Cyprus.