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Cyprus: Digging the Past in Search of the Future


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In December 2009 Lakhdar Brahimi, Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu travelled to Cyprus to film a documentary about the search for missing persons on the island. Watch the film here – available in English, Greek and Turkish.

Κύπρος: Αναζητώντας το μέλλον ανασκαλίζοντας το παρελθό&nu | Kıbrıs: Gelecek arayışında geçmişi irdelemek

Thousands of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were killed during violence and conflict in the 1960s and 1970s - many of them have never been found.

In this documentary, Lakhdar Brahimi, Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu join four teenagers on the island - two Greek Cypriot and two Turkish Cypriot - to learn about efforts to locate and identify the remains of these victims and return them to their families. Their journey raises difficult questions about the nature of forgiveness, and how communities living side by side deal with past conflict.

The film was premiered at special screenings in Nicosia and London and broadcast on Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot television in 2011. The Elders and their young friends, Idil, Tayfun, Thalia and Michael, hope that the documentary will help current and future generations to better understand the painful memories of their families and communities, and that dialogue and understanding may eventually help to heal the wounds of the past.

Duration: 38 minutes

Download the discussion guide that accompanies the film.

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