This week, UNFICYP welcomed Canadian, Finnish, and Swedish veterans who served in Cyprus since the Mission was established in 1964. This year, the Mission is marking 60 years in service of peace in Cyprus with a series of events organized to pay tribute to all those who have contributed to the peacekeeping efforts on the island.

Canada was the first Troop Contributing Country to deploy peacekeepers on the island. The first contingent arrived on 15 March 1964, followed by troops from Finland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom arriving in the following months.

In early November, a group of 75 Canadian veterans visited several locations where they were deployed and shared their memories and experiences with UNFICYP peacekeepers currently serving on the island. Canadian veteran Michelle Angela Hamelin said she was proud to represent her country: “UNFICYP is the longest running peacekeeping operation that Canada contributes to, it is so worthwhile to return after serving when I was initially deployed in 1986 and see how things have changed and improved over the years.”

During the same week, a group of 130 Finnish veterans, who were also on the island to visit the Mission, had the opportunity to interact with our peacekeepers and share their experiences from early 60s and 70s when they were initially deployed. Markku Valkama, a 77-year-old Finnish veteran, served first as Jaeger (an infantry soldier) from 1972-74 and returned in 1977 being promoted to Sergeant: “At this age, returning to the island feels great and rewarding, it is like coming back home. Since those times, I have made many Cypriot friends.”

Valkama recalls that in 1977, there were 250 Finnish peacekeepers serving on the island. At the time, there was a competition to design the Finnish monument that would withstand the test of time inside the buffer zone: “All soldiers were invited to participate by suggesting layouts for the space and I am proud to win it and see it so well kept today.”

Sweden was also one of the first Troop Contributing Countries to deploy peacekeepers in UNFICYP. For Swedish veteran Anders Arvidsson, his first deployment was a life changing experience: “As a young guy, Cyprus was a tremendous experience that has followed me all of my life.”

Arvidsson was in his twenties when he arrived in the island in 1964 as an armoured personnel carrier driver at his platoon. Having returned some 30 years later, he recalls: “It was hard to understand what was happening on the ground, we were facing some shooting incidents between the villages; we had to go out, stop the shooting and try to solve the problems.”

Peacekeepers make great sacrifices and are often deployed far from their homes and families as they protect some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. When UNFICYP was established, it saw military contingents from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and civilian police units from Australia, Austria, Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden. More than 150,000 women and men from the military and police forces who have served with UNFICYP since 1964.

The threats and challenges that the island and the United Nations have faced over the last six decades have been substantial, and 187 United Nations personnel lost their lives, making the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace in Cyprus.