Introduction

Within a few months of the 1974 Turkish military invasion of Cyprus, new and extraordinary social needs emerged within Greek-Cypriot society. With thousands of people becoming refugees in their own country, there was an immediate need for the development or improvement of social support networks. Today there is much discussion of the way(s) in which crisis can lead to ‘social shock’ and disasters exploited by the rich and powerful to restructure society along neoliberal lines (Klein, 2007). But the case of Cyprus in 1974 presents another possibility: intervention by the state to speed up the process of developing new, or improving existing, social services and welfare programmes in order to meet the needs of the population.

The Cypriot case provides a clear example of how extreme circumstances and the grassroots mobilisation of ‘affected people’ can challenge traditional attitudes and force the authorities to promote progressive reforms. As will be discussed in this chapter, innovative and accessible social programmes emerged in the aftermath of the Turkish invasion and contributed to the creation of a more adequate welfare state.

At the time of the invasion in 1974, expenditure on public assistance was minimal: there was full employment and living standards were comparatively high; but immediately after the invasion public assistance expanded. The internal displacement of one-third of the population created many complex social problems and increased the dependency of vulnerable groups, such as the displaced elderly population, on state support. The situation led to an immediate need for the introduction of new services and programmes in order to support the 200,000 displaced Greek Cypriots (Sarris et al, 2008).

Cyprus at a glance

In order to understand Cypriot society it is necessary to understand the importance of its geo-political location and recent history. The island of Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, 75 km (47 miles) south of Turkey and 243 km (151 miles) north of Lebanon. The island has an area of 9,251 sq km (3,571 sq miles) and a coastline of 648 km (402 miles). Its population is made up of the Greek-Cypriot community (82%) and the Turkish-Cypriot community (18%). The capital city, Nicosia (or Lefkosia, as it is pronounced in Greek), is located in the central part of the island.