Suzan Ari (1927 - 2002)
A Great Helper in a Great Educator's Educational Reforms
"...loss of valued Suzan Ari we are grieving"
(Cosar -Leader Democrat Party [Minister for Economy kktc] ~Halkin Sesi -26 Nov. 2002)
The Prime Minister of North Cyprus attended the funeral of this rare woman among women.. from Canada university teaching & education staff, and others in the USA & the UK who as 'auntie' referred to this extraordinary woman poured in messages, including from persons knighted by Britain and representing this unforgettable woman's nation in Europe, of commiseration...
Suzan Ari in social educational cultural reforms and social progress of (especially Turkish speaking) Cypriots was a great helper in education efforts of her husband & educator, the late Orhan Seyfi Ari by the Minister of Education dubbed 'teacher of teachers', and "a vigorous fearless defender of liberties" in his columns -in articles on teachers, educators, and poems a thinker 'himself a school', "whose mark on the nation's history of education is not little", who a street is named after ~in the visionary teacher's, reformer's, successful educational cultural efforts this woman's help was enormous.
As the Greek and Turkish Cypriot pupils of her husband's, teachers, and many people of the British Colony of Cyprus do teacher Orhan Ari's teaching and educational and cultural leadership as teacher at elementary then Cypriot and English secondary and grammar schools and head teacher at secondary schools and lecturer at institutes his efforts and also hers, so do many from the later Republic of Cyprus and the still later Northern Turkish Republic of Cyprus remember and appreciate, although she was not even a teacher, also Suzan Ari's extraordinary help in efforts in teaching and education of pupils and peoples to advance a society previously resisting literacy and teaching, teachers and education, or in illiteracy -without much literacy, helpless in educational, cultural, literacy and social development.
This extraordinary woman, Suzan Ari, was born in Morphou, Cyprus, on 12 July 1927, at a time that socially education, especially education of women, was unimportant. After her compulsory education and then training as dress-maker under the British system of apprenticeships and private tuition in playing music and self education in Turkish and Greek contemporary literature and with an avid interest in cultural and current affairs (perhaps resulting from her father Mr. Uney's cultural interests and social activities as a successful businessman and local community leader in central Nicosia -the capital) as a young woman she was one of the first in Cyprus to show with her husband (a young idealist teacher while teaching trying to convince authorities, people, of the need for schools, teachers, educators, reformers in teaching and education, that co-education was not promiscuous) in 1941 the courage of conviction that e.g., while there might be nothing wrong with the cultural Turkish and Greek Cypriot custom of women's dowries, marriage should be for love.
In Nicosia, during inter-communal troubles of 1960's Cyprus, when teachers and teaching staff too were often without salary, as a woman with children Suzan Ari fed teacher Ari's many immigrant guests, and stood by his choice unlike many teachers, educators, teaching staff, although favoured for a good prestigious non-teaching Turkish community position in England and qualified to teach in the British Commonwealth, not to emigrate, abandon, but in Cyprus to continue teaching.
In Cyprus, peoples of e.g. the city of Paphos and the town of Loudrijina, still tell of this great woman's extraordinary help in teacher Air's teaching, social literacy and educational cultural efforts, of Suzan Ari's, in the budgetless days after the Second World War in 1940's & 1950's this rare woman's with young children sleepless nights to gratis make costumes for their secondary school's first taste to them of their cultural heritage (national dances, stage plays -in oil-lamp light gratis sewing flags for their celebrations of national days) which teacher Ari was instilling, teaching, social awareness of.
They still tell of this extraordinary woman's opening her home in the latter place (as teacher Ari was helping have roads & electricity & water and getting built schools and teachers for a society in illiteracy whose lack of literacy was to extent of many's not seeing how their sons -especially daughters, women, could benefit from teaching, teachers and education) to dentists to treat people, hosting artistes for cultural shows, learning and gratis teaching her husband's women students skills. Suzan Ari, a rare woman among women, as regarded by teacher Ari (dubbed in poetry "The Teacher") was a great helper with great contribution to the reforms in the history of education of Cyprus, in the education and cultural social progress of a Commonwealth nation now its men and women at its level of teaching, education, culture enjoying the highest percentage of university graduates in the European Union.
Suzan Ari had been to prayers on Wednesday night on 20th November, 2002, met, chatted, prayed with her neighbours, friends ~the following morning this great woman contributor to educational cultural social progress was found to have peacefully passed away.
These verses of the people's 'teacher of teachers -the Teacher' Orhan Ari apply to the extraordinary woman Suzan Ari -a great helper in educational, literacy, cultural social progress:
The pure in heart truly die never
Joyous be, in hearts they live forever
Tulips representing donations in her honour to the educational trust surrounded Mrs. Ari's coffin.
More on the efforts of Suzan & Orhan Ari on -click http://www.geocities.com/eoa_uk
About the Author
Author's favourite site is the Teacher of Teachers
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