Do Greek and Turkish people live together peacefully

Do Greek and Turkish people live together peacefully in any one country or island? If so, what is it called?

This may come as a surprise to you…but Greeks and Turks nowadays live peacefully together just about everywhere they cohabit.

Football excluded where hotheads will shout and do whatever… Try to think of one instance where there has been a hate crime between Greeks and Turks in recent years. I personally can’t but I’m ready to be corrected if wrong.

Let us take the place where there was and is the most recent history of confrontation: Cyprus. People don’t live together anymore mostly but they visit and work together (There are currently thousands of Turkish Cypriots employed in Greek Cypriot businesses). No hate crimes. The fact that the old generations, embroiled in the old troubles are dying off or too old to care has assisted in this, naturally. Young people don’t want the mistakes of the past.

London and Britain in general. The Cypriot community is large, residing mostly in the capital, and Greek and Turkish Cypriots live side by side with no problems. They have a long standing Cypriot club in North London where they gather too.

Rhodes. The small Turkish minority has lived peacefully with Greeks for decades.

Western Thrace is a peculiar case, since there is contention if the people there are muslim Greeks or Turks. However there is peace none the less.

So who is the instigator of confrontation? It would seem that it’s politicians, revisionists and nationalists. That is, people with no soul, fools and haters. Unfortunately it takes one rotten apple in a position of authority to make the whole barrel go bad.

Christos Terzis