Parallel YOLCULUKLAR (PARALLEL TRACKS) is an epoch-making co- directed by Turkish Cypriot Derviş Zaim and Greek Cypriot Panicos Chrysantou. Produced at a time when the two communities were making efforts to reconcile with each other, this two-part documentary consists a series of interviews with ordinary people who were involved in it. The first part focused on two families, one from each community, who experienced displacement after the 1974 intervention. The Greek Cypriot family vividly recall the experience of Turkish soldiers massacring members of their community, as well as breaking up families and slaughtering innocent women and children. Likewise the Turkish Cypriot family recall similar brutalities at the hands of the Greeks, especially the massacre of family members of all ages. The memories are still vivid in everyone's minds; but at least they are making efforts to deal with them. Perhaps the most profound comment comes from one elderly Greek Cypriot lady, who observes that during wartime it was every person for themselves; either kill or be killed. Now that peace has descended, it's time to set aside differences and try to co-exist once more. The first part ends with a moment during 2003 when the border separating Greek and Turkish Cyprus was re-opened, allowing members of both communities to visit their former homes. The families meet and look over the sites where some of their siblings fell.
The second part interviews five individuals with equally painful memories. Şirin recalls how she lost her father at six years old, and had to cope with the experience of her mother's being traumatized by the news. Now Şirin has grown up, she had tried to cope with the experience by writing poetry. She might have reconciled herself to history, but she does not favor integration of the two communities. The best she can hope for is for them to exist side by side. Panayiota thinks likewise; but is perhaps more concerned to sustain the belief that her husband might return someday, even though he has not been seen since 1974. Saim, a disabled man in his sixties, recalls how he received his injuries, but seems more concerned to show how he has rebuilt his life since then as a market-owner and fisherman. Likewise Michalis suggests that even though he is disabled, this does not mean that he is entirely helpless. Mostly it's other people's incomprehension that prevents him from being accepted in either community. Salih ends this second part on a hopeful note - despite being forcibly resettled in a "refugee village" on the outskirts on Nicosia, he has become a member of a choir involving Greek and Turkish Cypriots which sings in both languages and performs in Turkey as well as Cyprus. Although this is a start, this second part of the documentary suggests that any moves towards integration are at best limited; it seems that the scars of war run too deep. The best that we can hope for is for the two communities to co-exist alongside each other.
Both directors avoid any visual tricks in what makes for a powerful documentary. They allow their subjects to voice their memories and opinions direct to camera, interspersed with shots of what might at best be described as a ruined landscape dotted with derelict buildings and other detritus of war. PARALLEL TRACKS might be a little old now, but it vividly shows how civil war destroys communities and leaves scars that seldom heal. This is as important today as it was when the documentary was made.
