© Sarah Malian 2009
Four years ago the British authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cyprus that in the case of future migrant arrivals into the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA), Britain would pay Cyprus to process asylum claims made to the SBA. The British authorities then began taking measures to ‘encourage’ the remaining families in Richmond Village to move into Cyprus. They cancelled the English teacher they had provided for the children, demolished some of the housing, transferred healthcare provision to the Cypriot authorities and removed a play area of swings and a slide. Here Ahin takes her daughter for a walk on the old playground.
