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Before we can even start talking about resolving the Cyprus problem, or even the prospects of extracting low-cost energy from the offshore natural gas fields, those in power ought to get their blinkers off and start bringing about change, especially as regards attitudes, based on the bottom-up model and not the top-to-bottom schematic.
We would have hoped that the economic crisis would have forced some changes, or at least a return to the old values our society used to be proud of a long time ago – honesty, tolerance, fairness.
Only last week, Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos declared that Cyprus has earned 2 bln euros from taxes levied on property sales and from investments by foreign national, earning them the right to a Cyprus residency permit, or even a Republic passport. The 2 bln figure was nothing new, as it was reported in this newspaper several months ago. What is, ironically, new is the effort by officials to put a lid on the matter as it may upset other rival jurisdictions or even EU officials, while US embassy officials go ballistic every time a passport is handed to a Russian “investor” or Iranian property buyer.
The paradox in this whole issue is that while the government seems to be bending backwards (and over) to accommodate “mega investors”, it is doing absolutely nothing to change the discriminatory attitudes of some officers at the Immigration Dept. It is a shame that ordinary folk who have worked hard, contributed their taxes and have been actively taking part in local society, are still subjected to the almost racist attitude that used to prevail in the 1980s and 1990s and could be denied a passport, even after a 7-year wait, while those flashing their platinum credit cards get their citizenship within the day, almost like buying it off the supermarket shelf.
We used to think that the troubles there were the result of certain high-ranking official in the Migration Dept., but it turns out that this attitude continues to prevail at all levels, no matter how hard the Reform Commissioner tries desperately to convince us that he is trying to instil change.
What, then, could be said of the police nowadays, where one would think that with more supposedly educated young officers being recruited, attitudes should have abandoned the notions of the 1960s. In fact, as one particular case recently proved, when a young pair of traffic officers pulled over a motorist for what they believed was a traffic violation, the audacity with which they both declared “well, who do you think the judge will believe?” goes to show that present day officers allow or even encourage such mentality, which simply puts citizens off from regaining their trust in officers of the law. In effect, this attitude often back-fires.
Attitudes can change. It’s just that government ministers cannot be bothered to deal with some issues within their departments, which some may say are minor, but we say are fundamental.
