They were only 10 and 11 years old when the 1974 war violently cut short their childhood. Amid the fear and tragedy that Cyprus was experiencing, their parents made what was perhaps the most difficult decision of their lives. To part with them, sending them to Greece so they would be safe and far from the horrors of war.

The program “1974: The Unaccompanied Children,” airing on Monday, July 20, at 4:00 p.m., focuses on the stories of adults today who recount to Christiana Aristotelous how they lived through this tragic experience.

Siblings Koulla Yagou and Kostas Kakoulis are among the so-called “unaccompanied children of 1974,” the hundreds of children who boarded a ship and traveled to Greece to be taken in by families, far from the consequences of the Turkish invasion.

Their destination was Amaliada, where strangers opened their homes and their arms, offering them safety, care, and a sense of normalcy that, even if only temporarily, allowed them to forget the nightmare of war.

More than fifty years later, the two of them speak with Christiana Aristotelous about being separated from their parents, their journey into the unknown, and the love they received from the families who took them in.