A few weeks ago I had some friends come over from Israel. They were staying in Limassol and one night we arranged to go out. After going to some bars we wound up outside Replay in the tourist area, opposite the now defunct Galatex. A couple of my female friends went up to ask how much entrance fee was to the two bouncers who were flanked by their harem of women (who I can only assume where their assortment of fun for the night). One of the bouncers told them ‘this club is for Cypriots only’ and with the water bottle he was holding flicked my friends with water, spraying them from head to toe.
I was tempted show them the error of their ways, by they are uneducated buffoons. They came down towards us ready for a fight but as I am on parole and my gang was causing havoc elsewhere I was outnumbered and had to find the next best thing: the police. As predicted the police did nothing; perhaps because they felt overdressed for the club or were probably digesting their souvla.
Luckily my friends took it lightly. Being Israeli they are tougher and didn’t let a brain-dead bouncer ruin their night, but I was incensed. They were guests in my country and faced discrimination in the service sector (tourism) that is meant to cater for them. Instead they suffered discrimination in the tourist area! No wonder tourist numbers are dwindling if we treat our guests like this.
I realize that this post will in effect achieve nothing as the management of Replay probably doesn’t understand anything in English (or Greek for that matter; written or spoken or drawn in pictures).
It’s not like my friends suffered a huge injustice in the grand scheme of things, but that’s not what this letter page is for, is it? I am aware that there are much worse things. But this is the least I can (legally) do for them. It will show people what a dump tourist area is; hopefully we’ll start treating our guests better and maybe people will boycott Replay (wishful thinking). Now I realize you can’t paint everyone with the same brush but this is an example of the bad service and discrimination in Cyprus to the people that run its most important industry. Furthermore, my friends were respectful and sober. Unlike the bouncer and the service. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
After they left, my friends went back to Tel Aviv where they caught a connecting flight to Istanbul to continue their vacation (out of respect for me and for Cyprus they didn’t go through the airport in the occupied areas). I don’t doubt that the Turks provided better service.
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