By Georgia Michael
The work she left as a valuable legacy proves why the President of the Republic for nine consecutive years entrusted her with the Ministry of Labour, a ministry that directly touches the citizen. Those who worked and lived through Zeta Aimylianidou, apart from her diligence, also highlight her quality as a human being.
One of them is the president of the "Voice" Council, Anastasia Papadopoulou who shared with the Cyprus Times moments she lived next to the late Minister.
"I met her in 2015 when I was appointed as a special adviser to the Inter-ministerial Committee to post the National Strategy on Child Sexual Abuse. She was the responsible Minister from the four Departments. From the first moment I met her I had a concern because I had heard how demanding she was with her colleagues at work. When I met her she simply said, 'tell me what you need and I'm here to help you deliver it.' Straight away I felt she believed in what we wanted to achieve. Even though she hadn't had much friction with the subject before, where I referred her, she was reading, studying and was convinced that we needed to do different things and first and foremost the Children's Home."
Since then, as Ms Papadopoulou said, it has now become her vision and in record time she managed to pass it on as state policy. "For the first time it had been achieved that all services were working together under one roof. It had never been done before."
A driving force that solved... unsolvable problems
What characterised the Minister was her diligence and the gift she had to listen to what was said to her and to solve, for others, unsolvable problems with calmness and arguments.
"When we faced any problems, whether they were bureaucratic or legal, Zeta was the one who calmly knew how to find a solution. She knew how to avoid all the obstacles one can find trying to do something through the public service at a time when we might be panicking. She was a leader, she was calm and a motivator."
[/P]In fact, what made her stand out was that... she didn't want to stand out and promote herself or shoulder the burden of success over her co-workers.
""She pushed" her co-workers to be their best selves. I at least felt that she believed in me and from the beginning she had shown me trust that I had not earned, and in doing so made me work even harder to prove her right. I really felt that she was giving me strength, solving my problems but mostly giving me sound advice. Of course she always had a sternness that if the other person was not well read and ready to rebut with arguments she would not leave them on a bare branch. She may have been strict and demanding but she was fair. She always gave credit where credit was due and never tried to appropriate anyone's work. On the contrary, in some projects such as the "Children's Home", the creation of the "Voice" while she was the one behind it all, she refused to step forward. She wanted to show off her collaborators and that it was a team effort. All she cared about was the outcome. She never sought promotion."
She worked up to 16 hours but... she never forgot her loved ones
The reforms and projects she managed to achieve, in addition to teamwork, hid many hours of work. Especially during the pandemic period, her ministry was one that bore the brunt of it.
"She worked very hard and very long hours. But the most important thing was that when someone went to talk to her about a problem, an idea, a vision, she listened to them. After all, that's why the Children's House and the Women's House came into being. She didn't rest. Particularly during the period when the coronavirus support plans were being drawn up, she also worked 16 hours a day. She stayed up until three in the morning but always found time for her family and those she loved."
In fact, she will not forget that while at that time the working hours were endless, every two to three weeks he would call her and give her advice on coronavirus as she was one of the vulnerable groups as a pregnant woman. "I would tell her you are more vulnerable than me and she would say 'no, nothing touches me'. She always had time for those she felt close to."
She supported women rape victims in '74
Apart from other things, the Minister was one of the people who through her office managed to get close to and support women who were rape victims during the Turkish invasion.
"She made a personal effort to help these women, but did so with all discretion and confidentiality. He would track them down one by one and send social workers to support them without even telling their families if they didn't want to. In fact, whoever she wanted would meet with her and talk for hours. I happened to see her after one such appointment and she was really overwhelmed. She didn't want these actions to come out, and even when they did come out she kept a low profile because she wanted to protect them. Her concern was the other person, not herself," Ms Papadopoulou noted.
Her concept was her granddaughter
For Ms Papadopoulou, Zeta Emilianidou was an excellent teacher and mentor, she said, adding that she is an example to follow for young women, and beyond, as she was a person who earned respect and proved that women can also succeed when they work hard.
"I will never forget when we did the opening at the Children's Home she pulled me into a corner to tell me she was proud of this project. I told her it was because of you but even then she insisted that was not the case and not to say it any further. She said it was due to the whole team that worked and made me feel like I had earned her respect. For me it was the greatest gift from a man I admired. She always cared and made at least a little time for those around her. But most of all, of course, for her family. Her great loves were her son and her grandson. She would show me pictures of her. She was even in the operating room when he was born. She was leaving the ministry and her concern was to go to her granddaughter. That was Zeta."
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