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 East
of Olympus, at an altitude of 1380 meters, lies the village
of Pano Amiantos, which is considered as one of the highest
villages of Cyprus. The village is located next to the known
mine of Amiantos, to which it owes its name and existence.
Pano Amiantos receives an annual rainfall
of about 1072 millimetres -one of the highest in Cyprus. It
is worth noting that during the first three months of the
year the rainfall run up to 551 millimetres, surpassing the
average rainfall of Cyprus. The rains often come abruptly
and the snowfall is very heavy. On the 4.14.1936 the village
received 237.5 millimetres of rain within only 24 hours. On
the 24-25.12.1968, Pano Amiantos received 294,1 millimetres
or rain in 48 hours. During the winter the humidity surpasses
70% and the temperature is below 0? Celsius. The highest temperature
of the village during the month of August reaches 31.2? Celsius.
There is almost no agriculture in the village
for the reason that it is clearly a mining settlement.
The inhabitants of the village in 1946 run
up to 656, which decreased to 430 in 1960 and to 200 in 1973.
In 1982 the inhabitants numbered 106. In the 2001 census they
were 61.
 The
Cypriot mine of Amiantos is located on the mountain range
of Troodos, at an altitude of 1400 meters. Between 1878 and
1904 the British colonial government made several efforts
for the development of the asbestos mining industry. The efforts
failed because the asbestos of Troodos has short fibbers and
its processing then was not profitable. In 1904 the mining
of asbestos from Troodos started when the use of short-fibber
asbestos in the manufacturing of asbestos foils and plates
begun. The operations started in a very small scale and in
a primitive manner. A mining permit for 50 years was granted
to Caesar Trompetta in 1905. He transferred their rights to
the Austrian company "Compagnia Mineraria di Cipro".
In 1919 the company was declared hostile and the its director
-along with other Germans and Austrians -were deported from
Cyprus. The company fell into the hands of various others
until 1947, ending up in a group of companies from Sweden,
Great Britain, Denmark, and Ireland. Production was gradually
increased and reached 35,000 tones of pure asbestos fibbers
per year.
 The
operations of the mine were of the open surface type, since
the nature of the rock did not allow the creation of galleries/tunnels.
Excavators that broke the rock in the slope of the mountain
mined the mineral. This was transferred to the two main stamping
mills from where - with a moving strip -it ended in a safekeeping
station. Then the separation between thin and thick material
took place. The thin material went straight to an open-air
desiccation place. The thick material went straight to the
scrap pile. Three to five million tones of wasted material
were rejected every year. After the desiccation, the separation
of the asbestos fibber from the stone occurred and finally
the asbestos was separated to the main types of the product.
Then the asbestos would go into sacks and was stored in palettes
for exportation. The transfer of the asbestos to be exported
was done with an overhead (aerial) railroad, which begun at
the mine, descended the entire slope of the mountain, and
ended in the company's storehouse in Limassol where the loading
dock was. This area of Limassol is still called "Enaerios"
(aerial) today. The overhead railroad has ceased to function
for many years now and the transfer of the product to the
harbours is done with trucks.
The Amiantos mine offered occupation to
the rural population of the neighbouring villages and large
sums of money to the economy of Cyprus through the import
of foreign currency. The operations of the mine were essential
for the economy of the island but -at the same time -the mine
itself was an open wound to the heart of the verdant mountain
range of Troodos. The destruction of the flora and fauna of
the region has as a consequence the acceleration of the corrosion
of the area with all the destructive consequences. The scraps
from the rocks are a real danger for the inhabitants of the
neighbouring villages.
The wounds from the operation of the asbestos
mine could possibly be reduced through proper procedures but
are hard to cure.
In 1986 the ownership of the company fell
in the hands of the former metropolitan bishop Chrysanthos.
The drop in demand for asbestos -but mainly the mismanagement
of the former metropolitan bishop -led to the closure of the
mine in 1988. Suddenly, not only the inhabitants of Pano Amiantos
but also of the surrounding villages found themselves without
a job. So, many were those who were forced to abandon the
village so as to secure their livelihood.
This fact was probably the beginning of
the end for our community. And when we say end we speak literally.
A community that -in the old days -was the capital of entertainment
(the first screenings of movies and opening nights for theatre
plays were done in Amiantos) slowly-slowly begun to fade away.
With the "aid" and "assistance" of the
government. Since 1997 Pano Amiantos is the only village of
Cyprus that does not have electricity and since then we have
been turned to a Ping-Pong ball between Ministries. Despite
our repeated pleas toward the appropriate authorities for
a joint solving of the important -for our health -problems,
we found no response. On the contrary, they are trying to
force us in abandoning the village, so that they can erase
us from the map of Cyprus without any guilt.
Our homes are supplied with electrical power
from generators, endangering our forests as well as our lives.
Water reaches our houses by crossing an outdated -and dangerous
for our health -network. Spraying has stopped for years now,
making each of us a target for countless mosquitoes every
time we exit our house. As for the winter, we pray that it
will not snow so that we will not be snowbound in our houses.
You see, the road network is considered a "private"
one and so no one cares to open it. Even though human lives
are endangered.
 The
few inhabitants that remained in the community, loaded with
all the illnesses caused by their continuous exposure to the
asbestos, are driven out of the houses -in which they have
lived their whole life -by the government, in spite of the
various solution (such as the payment of rent or lease, like
it is with the houses in Troodos) they have offered to the
officials. The government's continuous refusals for any alternative
solution cause legitimate queries. Where are we -the permanent
and legitimate inhabitants of Pano Amiantos -going to live?
How can there be a President of the Community Council and
a Community Authority of Pano Amiantos and -on the other hand
-not to be recognised as a community? What will become of
Pano Amiantos. Pano Amiantos has been a historical community
that has played an important part in the economical and cultural
history of our country; for that reason it should be guarded
like the apple of one's eye. This is Pano Amiantos today.
A lost town…It may no longer have life, no longer have thousands
of people passing by, but for us it is our life. We were born
here, we grew up here, we lived here, and here we will die.
As much as this may -inconceivably -upset some people's interests.
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