St Mary's Liberal Arts students, Caoimhe Campbell and Andy Toye, are studying at the European University of Cyprus through the Erasmus programme. Here they report on conditions, as they found them, in Nicosia on Saturday, 23 March, one day before the ten billion Euro bailout deal to save Cypriot banks from collapse.
"The banks have been closed and we are almost in the second week of this catastrophe. Many bank machines are empty and those which have cash in them have a limit of €100 per day. The Cypriot people have had to change their shopping habits and even going out, saving what they have in case the situation gets any worse. The high streets are empty, although the supermarkets are still well-stocked. People are buying the bare minimum and shops are no longer accepting payments by card. It is now a cash economy. We cannot pay our water and electricity bills, but we aren’t complaining about that! The university is operating as usual and the students are coping well at this stage of the crisis. It is amazing to be here in the middle of this historic event and to be able to experience a eurozone crisis at first hand."
