Georgios Karyos

He was born in the village of Avgorou¹, Famagusta district, in 1930.

He died on October 28, 1958 at the Nicosia General Hospital, after being injured² in a clash with British soldiers.

Georgios Karyos attended the Avgorou primary school and was disabled in one of his legs, due to damage to his kneecap. He worked as a train driver in agricultural work. His fellow villagers described him, for his activity, as a volcano in constant energy. He was active in the struggle since 1952, while he was in Athens. He spoke everywhere about the struggle and the Union. He wrote poems, inspired and organized the youth for the struggle. With the beginning of the armed action by EOKA, he took part in the attacks and ambushes of the groups in his area as a guard and signalman. He also transported fighters to the places of attack and was responsible for hiding their weapons.

On April 1, 1955, he was arrested and detained for fifteen days. He was arrested again on April 4, 1957 and, after being subjected to horrific torture, was held in the detention centers of Kokkinotrimithia³ and Pyla⁴. After the heroic death of his brother Andreas Karyos, in the Liopetri Barn, he escaped from the Kokkinotrimithia prison, without seeking Digenis’ approval. He slipped and crawled through a 20-inch pipe, approximately 150 meters long, that ended at the entrance to the prison and left as a laborer.

He joined the guerilla group of the Morphou sector, to which he was accepted by the sector commander, because he knew his family. In fifteen days, the group was surrounded by English troops in Astromeritis, where house arrest had been imposed. The group went on a death march. Karyos hid and when the English soldiers spotted him, he attacked them with the only revolver he was holding. In the ensuing clash, he was wounded and arrested on 19 October 1958. He died nine days later at the Nicosia General Hospital. His mother bid him farewell at his burial with an improvised couplet: