Trauma is passed from generation to generation and if it cannot be stopped is will separate the island’s two communities, the leader of an upcoming workshop teaching women the importance of forgiveness said on Sunday.

If we don’t find a way to stop this intergenerational trauma from being transferred, one day we will end up again with all this violence and denial and separation between communities, trainer on the Life Again programme Angeliki Hadjiloizou said.

The programme, that begins on October 12, is part of the Life Against War Violence foundation.

She said it will outlines how important it is to help women with war trauma realise how important forgiveness is to cut the chains that bind them to the pain of the past.

Hadjiloizou, who will run the programme with Mary Kanari, said that it is aimed at first, second and third generation women who have experienced the trauma of the 1974 war.

The programme consists of 10 weekly meetings, which take place in a space where they can offer women the opportunity to trust each other, to trust the space, to trust the programme and to be able to share and let go of what weighs on them.

“The goal is not to dig into the past because that brings more pain. The goal is to recognise that to be here today, it means that we had too much strength and we have come this far. And it is this power that we want to recognise and develop,” she added.

She said that women have “enormous power” to influence their immediate family, and that the goal of the programme is for these women “to now be able to influence their immediate family in a positive way, with hope for the future, with hope for life, with hope and with confidence in who we are and when we can continue our lives.”

It is the third time the programme has been run. While the first one, funded by Unficyp, was bicommunal, this one, like the last, will be for Greek Cypriots only.

Participation is free. For more information visit https://www.youtube.com/@ZoevsWarViolence or contact 70004800 or [email protected]