“We are running for peace, to unite the island, because running is freedom, it was a unique feeling” said the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot runners who took part in the presentation of the mini-documentary about the event “Running for Peace – Birlikte/Together”, which took place last November.
The documentary was presented on Tuesday evening at Ledra Palace, in the presence of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, the Greek Cypriot negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou, diplomats and others.
On November 23 2024, about 250 runners, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots from various professional groups, who make up the Runite (run and unite) group, ran from Larnaca to Nicosia and from Kyrenia to Nicosia, met in Eleftheria Square and ran together to the House of Cooperation in the buffer zone, opposite Ledra Palace hotel.
In Cyprus, a simple run has become a powerful symbol of trust and hope, said Colin Stewart, who participated as a runner in the route from Kyrenia to Bellapais with his son, who was at the event yesterday.
The camera followed both groups of runners on both routes and the participants expressed their feelings at the time, running through villages such as Lympia, where they made a short stop, or crossing the Pentadaktylos, from Bellapais to Dikomo.
Most of the runners have been running together for more than 5 years and as they explained “sport transcends obstacles”. Next year, they said, they might run from Karpasia to Paphos all together.
Elena Ioannidou, an academic from Larnaca, said speaking about this experience that “when you run, you are stripped of identities. It was running, she said, that brought them together in 2019 and they created the Runite team with the vision of running all over the island to get to know it and get to know each other.
They ran together in towns, villages, mountains and the coast, in Famagusta, Lefka, Nicosia, Larnaca, Troodos and Pentadaktylos. Every September they organised, she added, a symbolic march in the divided Nicosia. And then, Ioannidou said, something bigger emerged, the routes from Larnaca and Kyrenia, the south and the north, to the centre, Nicosia.
Ozgur Ozit, a lawyer from occupied Famagusta, said they want to be “together/birlikte”, so they created this group and want to send a message. “We can do it. In Cyprus we are one. We don’t want walls, we don’t want barriers. We share culture, history and this beautiful island,” he said. This is what they feel, he added, when they are together and described Runite as not just a group but a “movement”.
More unites us than divides us and with every step we take, we are leaving division behind and moving towards a peaceful, understanding, united future, he said.
The screening of the documentary was followed by the testimonies of other runners who expressed their feelings. Paula said that running unites them, Michael, a runner for 45 years, is the one who gave the name “Runite” and designed the team logo, saying he is proud to be part of it all, while Costas said that what they did can be done by others in their own professional field.
Harun said that they sent a strong message that “we want to be together” and Stavros said that they are running to unite Cyprus together. David Hans, the documentary’s director, thanked everyone for their contribution and said that it is a pleasure to work on something inspiring and that it was a pleasure for them to edit this wonderful footage they gathered, which had “a very positive energy”.
The limelight was stolen by little Marios who asked “who finally won the race?” making everyone laugh and receiving the reply that “Cyprus and peace won”. The whole event was supported both in November and yesterday by the UN in Cyprus.
( Source : CNA)
