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The week started off with our attention turning to a row in a Larnaca parking lot where three Cypriot women were involved in a racist altercation, then northeast Syria went up in smoke after Trump let the Turks in.
A YouTube video went viral after it depicted a Russian woman at the centre of some vile racist abuse which also involved spitting and some physical violence.
It seems the Cypriot party was seen pranging another vehicle in a car park and attempting to drive off as if nothing happened, the Russian had told them to stop even though it wasn’t her car involved.
Three Cypriot women got out of the car to remonstrate with do-gooder, telling her to mind her own business, do things of a sexual nature, clean some windows and go back to Romania – or some senseless rubbish like it.
What has shocked many is the sheer ferocity of the abuse, stereotypical bad-mouthing of a foreigner who was trying to keep her cool by requesting the women do the right thing and not leave the scene of an accident.
A stream of insults came without provocation while the ladies in question seemed fresh from attending a far-right festival on racist propaganda and needed to find a foreigner to test their tinpot theories on, such as the depraved sexual morals of women from Eastern Europe.
There were also two kids wandering around in the group that did not seem to embarrass the protagonists into keeping their cool and behave with a modicum of civility.
A witness alleged that one of the kids also joined in to kick the woman while she was being verbally abused, spat at and physically assaulted.
Of the three women seen in the video, I felt sorry for one them, she seemed totally bemused by the deluge of filth with a sudden realization that her girlfriends were crackers with a vocabulary straight from a 1960s skinhead manual.
I’m sure she wanted a Saturday night stroll with drinks and gossip rather than a scene out of a female prison movie where the white supremacists rule the block.
The Russian was told to go back to her own country – although the women couldn’t make up their mind whether it should be Bulgaria or Romania.
People who usually say go back where you came from have no sense of history, couldn’t find Europe on a map or tell you the capital of Chile (let me just look that up).
Due to the shock of the incident – Cypriot women/mothers portrayed as crazed, racist psychos – the police were taking the matter seriously while there were statements from the great and the good.
Whatever the facts of this case, the arguments about personal data or loading such videos on social media, Cyprus has a problem with racism.
There are usually grand meaningless statements about human rights and equality, we are islanders who are suspicious of foreigners or anyone who is different or unconventional.
Cyprus is an ideal breeding ground for stereotypes because we lack a culture of diversity, we don’t embrace people of a different colour or sexual orientation.
Where is diversity being taught in schools, where are the positive images on TV or in the media, where is the public discussion on racism or inclusion?
There isn’t one. Due to a lack of dialogue or education, stereotypes are the only thing we have as a reference point.
Where are the positive Turkish Cypriot role models to prepare us for a society that is supposed to become a bicommunal federation of love and peace?
People find it hard to talk about their sexuality because this is not a place where you can come out or even stay in the closet.
Some would argue Cyprus is a special case as Cypriot identity is influenced by occupation and division.
Besides, we are also a member of the European Union where everyone is supposedly equal and shouldn’t be discriminated against because of their race, sexuality, ethnicity, religion or gender.
Everyone was either amused, shocked or disgusted by the car park incident with the police saying they take racism very seriously.
Well, they do when it’s plastered all over the news and social media, although how many other cases do they take seriously; such as abuse of housemaids, exploitation of foreign students or trafficked workers.
Police are only sensitive to racism issues because it’s the exact reason they allowed a serial killer to walk among us and murder women and children.
Cyprus suffers a gender imbalance, never mind tackling the corrosive nature of racism which exists in our society. We need to tackle these incidents with a comprehensive approach rather than knee-jerk reactions.
The first issue society must acknowledge is that it has a problem with racism, Cyprus is still on that journey of self-discovery in having another taboo it needs to shed.
It’s almost as bad as Trump devising his Syria strategy on Twitter, one minute excusing his actions by arguing the Kurds weren’t at Normandy (nor were the Turks) then suggested he could send in US troops back through the door he just opened.
