A group of young people (15 in number, according to reports), many wearing hoods, attacked two young Indians without provocation, brutally beating them and taking all the money they had on them, as well as a mobile phone.
Witnesses from a nearby establishment reported that the attackers were beating the victims while hurling racist insults. Some were even carrying sticks, stones, and water bombs, which indicates that the attackers were prepared—they went out on the streets with a specific intention.
Against foreigners, of course. This incident is not isolated, even if attacks like these often go unreported for various reasons. It has become a kind of sport for some, much like it was decades ago in America with the Ku Klux Klan.
How did we get here? How did we become like this as a society? Last August, when the violent incidents occurred in Chloraka and the president was banging his fist on the table, one might have expected some measures to be taken.
Instead, even more violent incidents followed in Limassol, with the police playing the role of onlookers. A few arrests were made, and after several trial postponements, the sentences for two individuals were finally revealed: a fine of 600 euros each and a six-month prison sentence with a three-year suspension for one of the two.
In a society where racism threatens its very foundations, when the penalties for such violence are comparable to the fine for crossing a traffic light line, it feels as though racism is being rewarded.
People have been assaulted, properties destroyed, and the perpetrators walk free and unpunished. Why wouldn’t they repeat their actions, bringing others along with them?
When political figures post pictures of kindergarten children, stoking xenophobia and racism, and the authorities turn a blind eye, why wouldn’t any fascist take to the streets to attack anyone with darker skin who crosses their path?
If the price is just 600 euros, it’s a small price to pay for such “entertainment.”
When the authorities leave 40 people stranded in the buffer zone, enduring scorching heat—or soon, freezing cold—washing their hands of responsibility for their fate, the message is not directed at the desperate people around the world, warning them not to seek asylum in Cyprus.
It’s directed at the locals. When the government behaves so inhumanely, why should citizens view foreigners as human beings deserving of humane treatment?
Xenophobia, racism, and fascism have been nurtured and have grown strong. The perpetrators are the ones in hoods, but there are also those who incite them from behind the scenes.