An elderly man has nowhere to sleep and thus sleeps in a “comfort” chair in Kofinou.
The report on the accommodation of four families in the same house was made by Ms Charalambous, the community leader of Kofinou. At this point, Mr. Nikos Kettiros, the president of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, intervened, discussing the relevant issue, stating:
“I am aware of the case, and, regrettably, the grandfather of the family sleeps in the comfort chair because there is no other space in the house.”
A representative of the young people living in the community mentioned that it is sad that people of his age have been abandoned.
He also mentioned that both he and other young people have known since childhood that at some point they would move either to other communities or to the city because there is no prospect of housing in Kofinou.
He also said that the wages of the young people disappear in high rents and transportation costs.
Almost all the land in Kofinou belongs to Turkish Cypriots, so there is no state-owned land that can be used for the housing of younger generations of Greek Cypriot refugees.
As explained by representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the Department of Town Planning, in the center of the village, there is state-owned land where four apartment buildings would be built, comprising 39 apartments.
However, due to the economic crisis, the housing refugee programs were canceled in 2013, leaving the 39 families in limbo.
They also reported that in a meeting last September, the Minister of Interior instructed to find state-owned land and consider the possibility of using them for refugee housing, within the framework of the broader state housing programs.
So far, the Land Registry has not investigated whether there is available state-owned land.
Nevertheless, as it was later stated, in the Kakoratzia area (which falls under Kofinou), there are ten hectares of uncultivated land.
