‘I TRIED TO MOVE BACK, BUT TRNC REALITIES MAKE IT HARD TO LIVE AND WORK THERE’

IF THE government wants to learn something of the obstacles to the return of expat Turkish Cypriots, they could do worse than ask Australian-born Levent Hilmi.

The 32-year-old from Melbourne, a project manager for a renewable energy agency, moved to North Cyprus in January 2010 but returned Down Under in March 2012 and is now married and expecting his second child.

Mr Hilmi welcomed Dr Özersay’s announcement, but admitted he had faced difficulties trying to settle in the TRNC.

“I love North Cyprus, which is why I moved there. It was a lifelong dream for me, but the realities of the TRNC make it hard to move and work there,” he said.

“I worked with my uncle at a fish farm in Gazimağusa and separately in South Cyprus.

“In the North, I was treated like a foreigner. There is no opportunity to progress in employment and there are no rights for workers, especially in the private sector.

“I would never contemplate working in the North again. The salaries are based in Turkish lira, which continues to devalue against foreign currency, but properties are based in sterling. How do they expect young people to move there under these conditions?

“It is about equity, and facing harsh bureaucracy and corruption that puts people off.

“If these [issues] are resolved, I am sure many would consider moving there.”