FUNDA GUMUSH: It's not about what you know But who you know! [OPINION]

I can bet everything I have that some of you have often wondered what you are doing in your life and why you are even here… That you were meant to be born in a different time or a different era… That your life should have begun before or later than it has…

There have been many times in my life where I wished someone had created a time machine so that I could go back in time and witness certain events… I would have wanted to go back and meet or at least see historical figures I had only read about – Queen Victoria, John F Kennedy, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. I would have wanted to see the Titanic sail off on her maiden voyage; Martin Luther King’s epic speech calling for an end to racism; the day Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon… The list is endless…

It’s strange how I never really paid much attention in school at events such as these; then again I don’t remember being taught any of this.  I remember Isambard Kingdom Brunel being drummed into me for being the Great English engineer who was responsible for the Great Western Railway… I might have taken a keener interest in history if the topics had been more varied and inspiring.

I’ve been in Cyprus for over 20 years now… This tiny island which thinks it’s the centre of the universe… and history could be in the making here if only it’s given a chance.  You only understand things when they happen to you... I used to work in a place where I could make a difference within reason. I didn’t command policy but I was able to contribute to it and give my meagre views. However I found I had to move on because I had run out of juice.

As there is a new era beginning on the island with the restart of the talks and a new president for the Turkish Cypriot side, I thought it would be a chance for me to contribute and use the skills I picked up working for the Foreign Office. I may not have what it takes, but I could at least be given that opportunity. But my calls went unheard; my emails and messages went without response. And it dawned on me that maybe my use to people only came with position. I wasn’t in that position now where I was useful or had the contact that people sought for. I learned a long time ago that it’s not what you know but who you know and in Cyprus this is ultimate. Everyone supports their friends or people they can benefit from. Whatever happened to having experience? Integrity? Respect?

Words are powerful tools which can make or break people, issues and events. Maybe this is how I’m meant to make the difference… through my writing. And the strange thing is I only discovered this right now at this minute, whilst writing this article. Maybe this is how I am meant to make a difference and how I am meant to serve a purpose. Through my words and writing; yes maybe this is my calling in life!

However it is, however I am meant to do it, I know I won’t need a time machine to find out!

*Funda Gumush writes for KP Daily News