The team behind the Little Anna series of children’s stories will be releasing a commemorative book marking the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Together with the Cyprus Community of Melbourne & Victoria and SEKA Victoria, they’ll be hosting a launch event on April 7.
Titled “Fifty Years Have Passed, and…”, the book serves as a tribute to the missing and fallen Cypriots and is designed for upper primary and secondary school students.
The protagonist is George, a Cypriot friend of Anna.
Through George’s narrative, readers learn of his uncle Andreas, who tragically went missing in 1974 at the age of 18, during the invasion of Cyprus.
Written in clear and simple Greek, the story has also been translated into English for wider accessibility.
Those behind Little Anna and now this new book is author Niki Farfara Pashos, illustrator Ourania Papageorgiou and Perry Papageorgiou.
Previously they had published a book to recognise 200 years since Greek Independence and now found it was time to do one about the invasion of Cyprus.
“We want to pass this onto the younger generation, so they know what happened,” Pashos told Neos Kosmos.
“We don’t use any political language in there and no hatred.”
Pashos shares that the idea for the narrative stems from a circumstance that happened nearly 20 years ago.
“My son, who is 30 now, but when he was 11-years-old, he had written a letter to my brother.”
Her brother went missing during the Cyprus invasion.
One day she found a letter her son had wrote to his long-lost uncle.
“Based on that, I made the story. How my son felt about his uncle he never met.
“The way we present it, yes, it is very emotional but we don’t blame anyone. We don’t accuse anyone. It’s just from personal experience.
“If he was emotionally involved when he was 11, imagine other kids currently at the same age. They need to know what happened and how some other young kids felt about it.”
For those wishing to attend the launch event, they must RSVP on the Anna Stories website.
When: Sunday April 7, 3pm-5pm
Where: Cyprus Community of Melbourne & Victoria, 495 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057