For many hundreds of years people thought that blood was something which separated one race from another. Racists have used and are still using blood extensively in their propaganda to gain support for their brutal and fascist campaigns.

We have many examples of racist wars and conflicts in our lifetime. In the last 100 years we have seen 2 World Wars, the Greek invasion of Turkey in 1920, the Cyprus conflict, and more recently the wars following the break up of Yugoslavia where its ethnic communities fought bitterly on racial grounds. To this, we can add wars in Africa, Asia and conflicts in other places around our world.

While millions of people's blood has been poured in these wars as a result of racial hatred, no one has thought about how blood can bring together ethnically different communities in conflict to save lives.

There are spectacular events that are happening right now at this very minute in Cyprus and else where, where Turkish and Greek Cypriots live.All Cypriots irrespective of their race or ethnic identity are struggling to save the lives of Turkish and Greek Cypriot children suffering from leukemia.

Cyprus has been divided into two by its two major ethnic communities. The Greek and Turkish Cypriots had been separated since 1963 when ethnic violence broke out between these two major communities of the newly formed republic. Cyprus was granted independence from Great Britain in 1960 and a bi-communal republic was formed. Since 1974, with Turkey's intervention, a green-line was formed across the island with Turks in the North and Greeks in the South. The ethnic violence has stopped but the free movement across the green line and human contacts between the people are prevented except in rare cases. The division has been a major issue and reason for contention between the two sides since then.

Now the unfortunate condition of a 6-year-old boy named Andreas Vassiliou has been making huge changes. Andrew is suffering from leukemia and his life depends on finding a suitable bone marrow donor. His father made an emotional plea in the TV a few weeks ago which has sparked a huge bi-communal campaign to find a suitable bone marrow donor. He has brought together the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of war-divided Cyprus with this humanitarian appeal. Soon after, another boy, a Turkish Cypriot Kemal Saracoglu required the same assistance with a bone marrow transplant. Cypriots regardless of their ethnic differences are now trying to find the right bone marrow to save their children. And, blood is in the centre of this peaceful and humanitarian campaign. Even the politicians had joined in.

In two weeks, more than 70,000 Turkish and Greek Cypriots have come forward and given blood samples in an effort to save these children. This meant that a huge amount of blood samples had to be processed quickly. The authorities in Cyprus had called on to people to stop coming forward until further notice. Turkish Cypriots were queuing at border points to give their blood and had started new campaigns in their own hospitals.

Cypriots had also started campaigns in Greece, Turkey, Australia, Germany, Britain and other places where they live. I am so proud that my father is one of the organizers of the campaign that is bringing the two Cypriot communities in Australia together for the first time since a number of decades. Communication over the internet is making this coordination possible.

Sadly, doctors say the chances of finding a suitable donor are 30,000 to 1. It was also reported that a Greek Cypriot girl, another leukemia sufferer is also in need of bone marrow. Since the beginning of the campaign, two other Cypriot lives are said to have been saved by finding suitable donors for them. It is more likely to find a suitable donor within the Greek or Turkish communities of Cyprus. Donors from Turkey and Greece are also highly likely.

The 6-year-old Greek Cypriot boy, Andreas Vassiliou, departed for the United States on April 1st where he is undergoing a 4-week chemotherapy program, in order to prepare for a bone marrow transplant. Universities in Turkey are also helping by checking blood samples and searching through the bone marrow databases. Doctors have said that Andreas and Kemal will die soon if bone marrow transplants are not carried out. That is why it is so important to find bone marrow donors quickly.

On another note, for many years in schools, churches and mosques, Turks and Greeks preached and taught students hatred towards the other racial community. Over the internet, youth from both sides of Cyprus, organized a youth and peace festival on Sunday, 26th of March. The festival took place in a village located in the British controlled area in Cyprus, accessible to both communities. In this festivalpicnic more than 2000 young people attended and played music. They danced their almost identical folk dances and gave blood samples to save the young 6-year-old Andreas and 12-year-old Kemal. A mixed rock band played Pink Floyd's song 'Our Wall' and kept repeating the words 'teachers leave us kids alone'.

The youth of the new millennium are determined to make peace and not to fight the previous generation's wars. Some of the things that they said were "We deserve a better future than what the paranoia of the previous generations has inherited us". "This is only the beginning" the students declared.

Children of Cyprus have found a way of communicating and building their friendship through the internet across the barbed wire. There are no walls in Cyprus such like there was in Berlin. The wall between Turkish and Greek Cypriots is more like a psychological wall. A wall built by racist propaganda, false education and provocation. That wall will be brought down by more humane education and understanding. The multicultural principles in ethnically diverse communities such as Cyprus and Australia will show the way for more confidence, tolerance and harmony.

After all blood flows through racial boundaries.

For so long blood was seen as something which separated ethnic communities. Now it is uniting diverse communities. Let's give it a chance.