Voices
Little Nikos laughed with joy and, in his excitement, gave the alien a brief tour after buying him Geroskipou loukoumia and Paphos tar to take back to the planet he came from.
Cyprus, together with other major powers, took part through its Minister of Foreign Affairs in the inaugural emblematic (iconic) session of the Peace Council in Washington under the presidency of Donald Trump.
As a country that plays a leading role in the region through the constant travels and contacts of its emblematic leadership, Cyprus showed Washington that it is ready to take a leading role in Gaza as well. According to what we were told, the next day for Gaza seems to have already begun based on what was heard last Wednesday and Cyprus made sure to be present.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, submitted an emblematic document prepared by Nikos Christodoulides which includes workable options for supplementary assistance in four areas. These include the provision of humanitarian aid through the emblematic Amalthea plan, despite the collapse of the problematic pier built by the Americans, and the early restoration and reconstruction of critical infrastructure in the region.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that regarding the restoration of Gaza's infrastructure, a special emblematic joint document was submitted with the UN partner organisations (UNOPS). A separate emblematic proposal was also presented for contributing to the international stabilisation force with six emblematic options.
Emblematicity (iconicity)
The President of the Republic and the members of his government use the adjective emblematic at every opportunity. Some of the President's advisers, without particularly good knowledge of Greek, proceed to all sorts of usually awkward uses of the adjective, such as saying things like: "I went and had an emblematic dump and felt relieved". Beyond these unfortunate examples, the adjective is usually used correctly to highlight the painstaking and grand efforts of our government to achieve greatness.
Etymologically, the adjective emblematic comes from the ancient Greek noun emblema: en (inside) plus ballo (to throw or place). Originally, emblema meant something inserted, a decorative element placed inside something such as a shield, mosaic, piece of jewellery or coat of arms. Today, emblematic is used for people, works, places or events that encapsulate an entire era or idea. For example: "We are living through the emblematic presidency of Nikos Christodoulides". The word also carries strong symbolic weight. For example: "Nikos Christodoulides is an emblematic figure, comparable to Evagoras I of Salamis, President Makarios III and the Magus of Strovolos Stylianos Atteslis". Emblematic also describes things widely recognised as a trademark. For example: "Portable desalination units are a trademark of President Christodoulides' emblematic policy to tackle water scarcity".
More generally, within the framework of the President's emblematic policy, Cyprus has been filled with
• emblematic buildings
• emblematic personalities
• emblematic works of art
• emblematic decisions
It should be noted that although the word emblematic may have as its second component the verb ballo, it has no relation to the noun projectile, even though many politicians, to return to Washington, use that term to describe the President of the United States.
We in Cyprus, of course, a country of emblematic size and political significance, are not in danger. Some medium sized powers such as France, Germany, Spain and Poland that did not attend will probably find themselves in trouble. Their absence did not go unnoticed by Donald Trump, who made sure, without naming names, to send some emblematic messages (iconic in tone) in his own way. Some people are playing with me, said the American President, indicating that they cannot play with him. He also noted, giving his statement an emblematic tone, that in the end everyone will participate.
Aliens
At the same time, the gigantic American President announced that he intends to order ministries and federal agencies to identify and release files on aliens and unidentified flying objects, something that a portion of Americans has wanted for decades.
Perhaps that is why the President of France, Macron, and the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, did not go to Washington. Trump could have labelled them aliens, resulting in their arrest and transfer to Area 51, the United States Air Force base in Nevada.
"Given the tremendous interest that has been expressed, I will order the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and all other relevant ministries and agencies to begin the process of identifying and releasing government records related to extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena and unidentified flying objects", the magnate assured via Truth Social.
In that case, President Christodoulides is willing to travel to Nevada in order to see first hand and confirm some experiences he had as a child.
Those who know him remember his stories of when he saw his first alien in Geroskipou. He was not green. That was the first shock. He had no antennae and no eyes like car headlights. He wore something between a tracksuit and a municipal worker's uniform and looked around with the expression of someone who has just realised they boarded the wrong bus.
He met him by chance while leaving catechism class at the church of Agia Paraskevi in Geroskipou. The alien was standing at the bus stop reading the timetable in despair. "Excuse me", he said, "does this actually go anywhere or is it written just to pass the time?"
That was when Little Nikos understood. No human would ask something so sincere.
He struck up a conversation and the alien explained that he had come to Earth for research. To study, he said, the resilience of the human species. Little Christodoulides asked why he chose Paphos and Geroskipou. Because, he replied like a prophet of good news, in a few years Paphos would become famous across the world since one of its teams would play in the Champions League. Little Nikos laughed happily and in his joy gave the alien a small tour after buying him Geroskipou loukoumia and Paphos tar to take back to the planet he came from.
He Was Never Seen Again
Years passed. The alien never appeared again or perhaps he did but had already fully integrated, obtained a tax number, formed an opinion on the Cyprus problem and developed a view on portable desalination units. Little Nikos grew up, became President and kept that encounter inside him like an emblem: something inserted, placed deep within, unseen yet guiding.
Perhaps that is why Cyprus today does not fear the unknown. Not the big summits, not the big words, not the big planets. Perhaps that is why it appears everywhere, declares its presence, submits documents, proposals and options, preferably emblematic (occasionally iconic).
And if one day the files in Area 51 are opened and a report is found describing an incident involving Geroskipou loukoumia and Paphos tar, do not be surprised.
Cyprus has always known how to leave its mark: small in size, vast in imagination, absolutely emblematic.