It's a journey back in time. A journey so timely, so necessary in the days of uncertainty we live in. One yellowed newspaper clipping followed another talking about the history of a people who fought to gain their freedom, about students who defied the army of the most powerful empire at the time, about women who sacrificed themselves unarmed for a better tomorrow. And at the same time, photographs that shed light on the past and that are a lesson for the future.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the EOKA struggle, the Press and Information Office (PIO) consulted its valuable archives in order to highlight these decisive moments in Cypriot history. The result of this effort is an exhibition organized at the Old Municipal Hall in Nicosia and the publication of a multi-page album. Here, it is worth noting that the PIO newspaper archive is the richest collection of newspapers and magazines published in Cyprus since 1860, while the photographic archive it has dates back to the 1950s and reaches today.

In the halls of the old municipal building of Nicosia, photographs and newspaper clippings unfold, which record not only the liberation struggle of EOKA itself, but also decisive moments that preceded it, as well as those that followed. The scenery that has been set up is unique, since the visitor reading the yellowed headlines and seeing the black and white photos is as if it is transported to that era.

At the same time, the exhibition is curated in a way that highlights the historical depth and the human dimension of the events. Every photo and every newspaper clipping tells a little story. All these come together and create the big picture, helping the visitor to understand the wider social and political context in which the EOKA struggle took place. Thus, the exhibition functions not only as a historical retrospective, but also as an opportunity to reflect on the importance of memory and the continuity of our history.

Many times we tend to forget what happened and believe that 70 years ago is a distant past. This is not the case. Our history must remain alive. The exhibition for the 70th anniversary of EOKA, as well as the album, highlights those who lived through those events, as a result of which the struggle and sacrifices of ordinary anonymous people who fought for freedom are recognized.

The album published by the Press and Information Office contains all the clippings and newspapers presented in the exhibition. Leafing through it page by page, the reader passes from the first newspapers that circulated in the Republic of Cyprus during the British occupation to the other important events that marked those decades, such as the October events, the Second World War, the struggle of EOKA itself, to reach the signing of independence.

The liberation struggle has a central place. The album contains sections concerning the battle of the Barn, the Imprisoned Graves, the sacrifice of Grigoris Afxentiou, the kerfios, the role of women, the processes for the solution, the return of Makarios to Cyprus and of course the moments when Cyprus managed to gain its independence.

The basis for this narrative, said Aliki Stylianou, Director of the Press and Information Office, is only the newspapers, which are available in the archives of the Press and Information Office. As he explained, all the positions and opinions of the newspapers are presented, so that there is not the slightest shadow for the objectivity of the exhibition, but also of the album.

The research for the exhibition and the album was arduous and lasted more than nine months. Starting from the first timid steps taken in order to set up a Cypriot press in 1878, while Cyprus was still under the British colonial yoke until the moment it was liberated, the staff as well as the hourly paid staff of the Press and Information Office, together with a multitude of collaborators, worked zealously to highlight the events that determined the course of our country.

Every moment that has been recorded has its own meaning. The director of the PIO in particular, however, focused on some of them. "It was a survey that caused all of us strong emotions. For the first time I read stories of our place that I did not know before. But I will dwell on the clashes between students and British soldiers, as well as between civilians. Among them was a pregnant woman, Loukia Christodoulou Papageorgiou in the village of Avgorou, a mother of six, who for an entire hour struggled to protect young children against soldiers and yet they could not stop her. For a whole hour they beat her with clubs, with stones and yet she did not give up, because so much was her need to protect the young children of the village. In order to stop it, the British used a machine gun against it. And in fact, at the time she was dying, her concern was again to protect the children."

Something that is also not widely known is that the British captured more than 1,600 civilians shortly before the end of the Struggle. "This is a huge number of people. We often hear that back then all of Cyprus was EOKA. This is exactly what was happening: all of Cyprus was EOKA," he said, stressing that finally these people are recognized because they fought for the freedom of their homeland.

The work done is important, explained the director of the PIO, because it is the first time that the history of Cyprus is presented through photographic material and newspaper archives on such a large scale. "In this way, the archival wealth that exists in Cyprus is highlighted. And here I should mention that this archival wealth needs greater care," he said, adding that the government must continue to support the protection of these archives. "It's our history, it's culture, it's everything we need to know, to know how to move forward."

Through the research, it is demonstrated, Aliki Stylianou concluded, that when Cypriots want to, they can. "And the fact that today we are where we are and we have the position we have, that we have an independent Republic of Cyprus, is due to the struggle of these people, whom we must honour and thank." And this is exactly the purpose of this exhibition and the album.

Recognition by a British body

At the same time, Aliki Stylianou also referred to a video prepared very recently by the Press and Information Office and which concerns an exhibition organized by the British War Museum on the struggles of three colony countries of Great Britain, Cyprus, Kenya and Malaysia. The exhibition is entitled "Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus". In it, the wave of independence movements in these three former colonies, after the end of World War II, territories that the British government of the time called "emergencies" (emergencies) is investigated.

This report is very important because for the first time the British refer to the EOKA struggle, speaking not of a terrorist organization, but recognizing it as a liberation movement. "This is not a private museum, so it is not a private initiative. It is of its own importance that a team of curators in collaboration with a curator from Cyprus, Maria Hadjichrysanthou, created this exhibition and promote it, from a completely different point of view, from the one we are used to seeing from Great Britain", he stressed.

Exhibition and lectures

The exhibition at the old town hall of Nicosia will be open until December 12 (Monday-Friday 4-7 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) Admission is free.

At the same time, in the context of the exhibition, the PIO organizes two important lectures in the area of the Old Municipal Hall:

"Battles that determined the course of the Struggle" with keynote speaker Charalambos Alexandrou, President of the EOKA Liberation Struggle Foundation 1955-1959 and Academician (Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 18:00).

"Students in the EOKA Struggle" with keynote speaker Petros Papapolyviou, Associate Professor at the University of Cyprus, Member of the scientific committee of the Research and Documentation Center of the EOKA Liberation Struggle Foundation 1955-1959 (Tuesday, December 9, at 18:00).

It should be noted that last Tuesday another lecture was organized entitled: "The role of women in the Struggle" with the keynote speaker Maroulla Violari Iakovidis, the first female journalist, member of EOKA.