It was February 20 when the nightmare of the aphthous ulcer began in Cyprus… In record time, it turned into a full-blown disaster.

Today marks six months. Six months of despair, with a bleak future ahead. This is evident on the faces of the people who have lived through—and continue to live through—this great catastrophe.
  
The affected livestock farmers have been counting nothing but losses for months now. They wait patiently, watching their once-full farms remain empty.
  

ALEXANDROS—Livestock Farmer: “For
me, the emotions I felt were heartbreaking because I grew up on the farm, and from one day to the next, everything was gone…”
 
There were many times when Alexandros, like many other livestock farmers, thought about giving up, since they’ve been anxiously waiting for months for the green light to bring animals back to their farms.
 
ALEXANDROS—Livestock Farmer: “As
long as the weather keeps going on and on, and you don’t see anything happening, you lose the will to start over, to try again, since we’re just waiting, we’re in limbo…”

Many of the livestock farms were family-run operations. Like Mr. Fokas’s, who has owned the farm for 42 years, with his children and grandchildren growing up there.
 
FOKAS—Livestock Farmer: “I remember coming here as
a child with my father and my grandfather, to this very farm, all of us striving for something better for our family, and then one day, everything fell apart.”

FOKAS—Cattle Rancher: “I’ve
been doing this for a few days, but I can’t take it anymore; I just can’t. I have to keep coming back… I can’t do it—I have to come; there’s no other way. Every afternoon I get in the car and come.”
 
For many of the livestock farmers, the pain of loss cannot be healed by compensation, though it is an important step toward getting back on their feet.
 
Of course, things would be even more promising if they knew when they’ll actually be able to resume operations, since most of them have been getting by for months on the compensation they’ve received and don’t know when they’ll be able to bring animals back to their farms, or whether they’ll even have the financial means to do so.
  
In a state of despair and waiting for a response from the Veterinary Services are certain farmers who have not yet received a single cent in compensation due to issues identified by the Veterinary Services during an inspection after their animals were culled.

In Aradippou, in the livestock-raising area, a facility with a capacity of 5,000 animals was among the first to test positive. And while the owner should have been compensated with more than 1 million, not even 1 euro has been credited to his account.
  
The owners have been trying for weeks to resolve the issue with the Veterinary Services. Their uncertainty and anxiety are growing by the day, as they do not know whether they will ultimately be compensated for the thousands of animals they lost.   

The foot-and-mouth disease case remains open, with the farmers who have stayed in the business waiting for the long-awaited green light to resume operations. To date, more than 80,000 animals have been lost and 121 farms have been affected.

Watch Eleni Michael’s report:

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