‘Think clean, live clean’ appeal
“THINK clean, live clean” — that is the latest appeal to the TRNC people, urging them not to drop litter in order “to give us pride, to increase our self-love”.
It comes from former Nobel prize candidate and US-based Turkish Cypriot psychiatrist Dr Vamık Volkan, in a video posted on the Facebook page of the presidential Think Clean environmental campaign.
Dr Volkan, honorary head of the project, is joined in the film by “first lady” Meral Akıncı, who is now actively leading the drive.
Launched in September 2016, it gained new momentum last year when intensified countrywide clean-ups were championed personally by President Mustafa Akıncı and mayors of the country’s municipalities.
The video highlights the gravity of global environmental pollution, pointing to a World Health Organisation estimate that it causes the deaths of 1.7 million under-fives each year.
It features plastic debris in the sea and on beaches, which threatens animals including Cyprus’s nesting marine turtles, as well as litter thrown on roadsides and in the countryside.
“When you are drinking water in a car, don’t throw the empty bottles outside. If you do so, shame on you!” said Dr Volkan.
“If a person of my age can put rubbish in their pocket and then into a bin, you can do it too. Everyone can do it. We can create a miracle . . . together.
“Keep the Think Clean project in your minds. To give us pride, to increase our self-love, please, please do not throw litter on the ground.”
The video’s final appeal urges people: “Cyprus depends on you to remain green. Think clean, live clean.”