Excerpts from recent Greek History lessons, from eyewitnesses.
Category / Back to roots travels
A historical report by National Geographic for the Greek Genocide
A historical report by National Geographic for the Greek Genocide
Interview of the last living survivers from Kitkagats, a suberb of Smyrna of Asia Minor
Interview about Kitkagats from Kostas Papazachatriou with English subtitles – video Dailymotion
Συνέντευξη των τελευταίων εν ζωή επιζώντων από το Kitkagats, ένα προάστιο της Σμύρνης της Μικράς Ασίας
The interview was taken during 2006
Both branches of my family came as refugees from Asia Minor,Turkey.
I have inherited the emotional sensitivity, the rest of the members of the family,either directly or indirectly, acquired dew to the forceful uprooting from their home land .
This experience, helped me appreciate the real value of accommodating differences among people of different cultures, nationalities, religions and backgrounds.
My experience of the pain caused by uprooting people from their natural environment that consider “home land” has been very vivid and I came to the conclusion that it takes three generations to heal the pain of the elderly.That is why you see silent grandparents talking to their Grandchildren, in fact they were speechless and found their speech after two generations….
As a third generation descendant, I feel obliged to record some of these stories and capture their sentiments, although they bare a risk, due to the fact that these stories cut through long periods of time, under different conditions,conflicts, subjective observations and personal points of view, that may contradict or even offend others, due to national, religious or cultural differences.
Presenting the cases of members of my family, which inevitably are Greek stories, in no way, I want to offend or minimize the corresponding position of a Turkish person or counter argue the Turkish point of view, which is very much respected and appreciated.
Very little information exists,about the Greek community of approx. 5.000 people that lived in the town of Kirkagats, from which the branch of my family, related to my mother, came from.
Most of the information has been saved and documented in a book, written by Panos Meimareidis, a member of an important family in Kirkagats.
In the case of Greece this conflict resulted in a major catastrophe during 1922 where a significant part of Greek population was living in Asia Minor, under Ottoman rule, for many centuries. This population was forcefully uprooted and dispersed around the world sending 1.5 million refugees in the Greek mainland
There is no question that Greece made a serious mistake that gave the excuse to the rising new Turkish State to change the “status quo” of multy ethnic coexistence, that used to prevail for thousands of years, including, Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire periods.
I have tried to capture the stories of both branches of my family that lived thru these times of enormous change and documented them on various sites on internet and videos. My only desire is to retain the memory of these events for my children
I have introduced English subtitles to video recordings on interviews taken from the last living inhabitants of the town of Kirkagats.
Their stories describe aspects of life in Kirkagats when both communities were living side by side, as well as their experience of fleeing away from Turkey during the retreat of the Greek army in September 1922.
The interviews are recorded on two videos
The National Geographic documentary about the Greek Genocide in Asia Minor
INTRODUCTION TO INTERVIEWS RECORDED ON VIDEOS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS, SURVIVING GREEK INHABITANTS OF KIRKAGATS TOWN IN TURKEY DURING 1922
INTRODUCTION TO INTERVIEWS RECORDED ON VIDEOS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS, SURVIVING GREEK INHABITANTS OF KIRKAGATS TURKEY DURING 1922, THE ATMOSPHEAR IN TURKEY AT THE BEGINING OF THE 20TH CENTURY IS BEST DESCRIBED IN THE THE FAMOUS FILM DIRECTED MY THE GREEK DIRECTOR ELIA KAZAN AMERIKA AMERIKA. ELIA KAZAN IS A DISTAND RELATIVE OF KOYZOS FAMILY.
Extract of the film are shown at the end of this article.
I am a Greek national born in Greece but the origin of both branches of my family came as refugees from areas, Greeks are calling Asia Minor, which basically is Modern Turkey.
It is natural, therefore, that I have inherited the emotional sensitivity, my parents and the rest of the members of the family, either directly or indirectly, acquired for the forceful uprooting from the homes of our parents.
As a result, I became a person that processed information from many different sources, a fact that motivated me to search deeper, to understand national and cultural differences and causes of events that led to the development of the current “de facto” situations
This experience, helped me appreciate the real value of accommodating differences among people of different cultures, nationalities, religions and backgrounds.
My specific experience of the pain caused by forceful uprooting of people from their natural environment that we call “home land” has been very vivid and made me come to the conclusion that it takes three generations heal the pain of the elderly to even talk about it. That is why you see silent grandparents talking to their Grandchildren, in fact they were speechless and found their speech after two generations….
As a third generation descendant, I feel obliged to record some of these stories and capture their sentiments, although they bare a risk due to the fact that these stories cut through long periods of time, under different conditions, conflicts, subjective observations and personal points of view, that may contradict or even offend others, due to national, religious or cultural differences.
So please take these considerations under the prospective of a “bird’s eye view” so that to distant ourselves as much as possible from the events in order to achieve an objective view.
In few words we need to place ourselves as living parties in the circumstances, at the time and place it was happening, taking the position of each participant.
Presenting the cases of members of my family, which inevitably are Greek stories, in no way, I want to offend or minimize the corresponding position of a Turkish person or counter argue the Turkish point of view, which is very much respected and appreciated.
A lot of references exist that provide historical and folkloric information about Greek and Turkish populations which coexisted under the administration of the Ottoman Empire, in what we know today as Greece and Turkey and more, representing complete national entities.
Never the less, very little information exists, about the Greek community of approx. 5.000 people that lived in the town of Kirkagats, from which the branch of my family related to my mother came from.
Most of the information has been saved and documented in a book written by Panos Meimareidis, a member of an important family in Kirkagats, who survived and progressed later in Greece, no other information exists except as reference in a book “THE NUMBER 31328” written be Ilia Venezis a famous Greek writer from the town of Aivali, again in Asia Minor Turkey.
It has always been very difficult to maintain a level of neutrality and objectivity when communicating information with Turkish people especially because there still exist a number of differences of opinion among Greeks and Turks which are sensitive, especially when it comes to Cyprus, West Thrace and some islands in Aegean Sea close to the west coast of Turkey.
In spite of this I have experienced excellent relations with Turkish friends as a student in UK as well as in business collaborations.
I don’t intend to analyze current major issues of conflict between Greece and Turkey, I will leave this to our politicians, I will only comment that both Greece and Turkey have mostly been victims of international politics engaged in conflicts serving the interests of big powers.
In the case of Modern Greece this conflict resulted in a major catastrophe during 1922 where a significant part of Greek population which was living in Asia Minor, under Ottoman rule, for many centuries. This population was forcefully uprooted and dispersed around the world sending 1.5 million refugees in the Greek mainland This consist the larger population movement that took place in the 20th century.
The issue has been the object of discussion indefinitely. There is no question that Greece made a serious mistake that gave the excuse to the rising new Turkish State to change the “status quo” of multy ethnic coexistence that used to prevail for thousands of years, including, Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire periods.
I have tried to capture the stories of both branches of my family that lived thru these times of enormous change and documented them on various sites on internet and videos and my only desire is to retain the memory of these events for my children and grandchildren.
My most recent work I have initiated was to introduce subtitles to video recordings on interviews taken from the last living inhabitants of the town of Kirkagats which include Evaggelia Kouzou Consolidou, her sister Dorothea Geraniou Consolidou and their compatriot Kostas Papazachariou an agriculturist, from the same town.
Their stories describe aspects of life in Kirkagats when both communities were living side by side as well as their experience of fleeing away from Turkey during the retreat of the Greek army in September 1922.
The interviews are recorded in two videos.
Video 1: Interview from Dorothea Geraniou Consolidou and Evaggelia Kouzou Consolidou : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5msqhw_interview-for-kirkagats-from-the-sisters-dorothea-and-evaggelia-consolidou-with-english-subtitles-mp_people
Video 2: Interview from Kostas Papazachariou:
RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAMILY IN GREECE
There are some interesting observations that one may make following the stories of Consolidis family from their original homeland in Kirkagats in Asia Minor to Greece.
Greece, at the time, was not in a position to properly provide for 1.5 million refugees arriving, literally barefooted, over a short period of time.
The country was financially in ruins, refugee camps were set up and foreign aid was desperately needed
Anastasia Consolidou and her family were very lucky to have relatives to help, in Anemotia village in Mytilene. There was really a lot of communication between the islands of East Aegean Sea and towns on the West coast of Turkey. This is another reason that explains the survival and progress achieved of the Greek populations that was based in Asia Minor, for so many years before 1922.
It is worth noting, also, that the standard of living of Greek populations coming from Asia Minor were considerably higher than that, of the Mainland Greeks, in many cases.
This inevitably created a cultural clash, even resentment of local populations against refugees.
Anastasia was even luckier because her husband, Ignatios Consolidis had the forethought to sign a life insurance contract with an International company to protect his family against unforeseen disasters in case he died. Another indication of how advanced of their time were the Greeks in this area of the world.
Another reason that improved the conditions of the family’s life was the fact that, to their surprise, the Turkish government kept forwarding money for the rent owned to Anastasia as the owner of old Municipality building of Kirkagats, up to the time of population exchange that took place during 1924, despite the war conditions prevailing this period.
Finally a house, belonging to a Turkish family sent to Turkey, under the same agreement, was given to the family.
But most important, the cultural roots from the Girl’s School of Kirkagats and the rest of the cultural influence of Kirkagats have followed the two young girls, Dorothea and Evaggelia who arrived at the village of Anemotia that had not even primary schooling facilities, they had to walk two and half hours among the mountains of central lesbos to Kaloni town to satisfy their cultural needs.
As they were growing their thirst for education forced them to move to the islands’ capital and stay alone or with Aunts to finish high school, and later to Athens for University degrees and professional and professional opportunities. Their desire to pursue higher education was passed to their children and grandchildren who all obtained post graduate degrees in Athens and London Universities.
Their descenders seek professional achievements in three continents around the world Europe, USA and Australia. That is how far the Kirkagats influence has gone.
I have always been surprised where from this drive for higher education, professional recognition and pursue for success came from.
It is not so easy to leave unnoticed the effect an influx of 1.5 million refugees had to Greek mainland, you have only to mention a couple of names such as Aristotle Onasis From Manisa, to stress the international success in global shipping industry this man had and a couple of names in modern Greek literature with Nobel awards that Greece had with George Seferis from Smyrna and Ilias Venezis from Aivalic, even Ilia Kazan the top USA director distant relative of Kouzos family.
But outside these famous Greek names one needs to appreciate the boost that these refugees gave to the Greek commerce and industry with hundreds of Industry pioneers reviving food industry ship building industry, Banking and so much more.
So, how this was made possible from Greeks that lived for centuries under Turkish rule in Asia Minor?
There are people giving the explanation that it all had to do with Ottoman administration that gave certain degree of freedom to various nationalities inherited after the concurring of the Byzantine Empire. We all know the dividing of administrative sections under the name Vilaets.
Vilaets had been allowed to retain certain degree of autonomy, to exercise their religion and finance and trade activities as long as they followed the tax regulations.
The Turkish elite was mainly occupied with military activity and the Turkish clergy was mainly involved with religious and spiritual activities.
This gave a window of opportunity for Greeks, Armenians and Jews to establish their communities and acquire control of most commercial and financial sectors of the Ottoman Empire as the rest of the Turkish population remained in the agricultural sector, in reality most middle class space was taken by these three communities.
Meanwhile West and central European powers developed special interests in acquiring parts of the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Germans tried to take advantage by entering the Ottoman market when they realized that their real competitor were by far the Greeks and to a lesser degree the other two national communities.
The British, French and Italians took a different approach, trying to acquire parts of the Ottoman Empire and control the road to Mosul oil wells that were becoming more important..
The rise of ‘New Turks’ movement initially gave hope to Greek communities that a new liberal wind will blow in what was emerging as New Turkey, but very soon it became obvious that the three elements of Turkey, The military, the clergy and the agricultural population basically wanted to get read of the three nationalities and create its own middle class.
That was the end of any coexistence that would have been the alternative. The expedition of the Greek army during 1919 under the encouragement of the British gave the excuse to Kemal to organize the Turkish Army with the support of the Germans and launched counter attack to what proved to be a very stupid campaign of the Greek army, which was left alone with no support from its allies, especially the British who changed their politics in favor of Kemal who gave them access to the road to Mosul.
This left the Greek population unprotected which was exterminated or thrown back to the sea.
At various stages of negotiations the top negotiators from both sides Kemal and Venizelos nearly managed to resolve the problem in benefit of both countries but external influences did not allow this to take place with Greece being the big looser because the expulsion and uprooting of such population was a national disaster of immeasurable magnitude.
So the story of both branches of my family describe a small but indicative part of the story.
It is my firm believe that both countries would have gained if this destruction wouldn’t have happened and the middle space between Europe and Asia would have been a major power dominating on equal terms with all world powers and certainly within Europe since we would have created the first model of a European Union very much ahead of the second world war, instead of spending enormous amount of money on defense that counts against each other today.
I hope neither of our governments will repeat the same mistakes of the past that both countries have paying for years.
Nick Kouzos
28/5/2017
Athens Greece
PS
A text published by another descendant of the family, my cousin Tzeli Chatzidimitriou who experienced similar influences:
My grandmother was called Renea Karekou Consolidou, .
She came from Kirkagats. They were five little girls, their mother and their Nene Anastasia Consolidou Grigoriadou.
They arrived as refugees in Anemothia village in Mytilene.
They advised locals how to lay a dinner table properly and how to make delicious meatballs. She married, and had three sons two died, one son died very young, the second died at his 20s, the third left for Australia.
Shortly before my mother died, my grandmother had lost her mind completely. She was not even 70 years old when she died.
She used to see me and thought I was her twenty-year-old son. She used to speak to me about the fields in Kirkagats, the fine melons, how we would go with the “araba” and how beautiful life used to be there.
So I grew up, searching for the paradise of Kirkagats.
The cousins from Kirkagats were all talking among themselves, about those years and how “peasants” were the locals.
They all had a sensitive nervous system that I inherited, along with all their memories for both, their persecution during 1922 and their past happy years.
From my Nene, I inherited the same sadness in her eyes, with the same nostalgia, the same search for another life.
What a nice description Bravo Tzeli!
AMERICA! AMERICA! by Ilia Kazan extract:
The link that follows refers to an extract from the film America! America! Produced from the famous US Director Ilia Kazan, of Greek origin, distant relative of Kouzos family.
The film describes the story of his Grandfather, a story that gives the atmosphere in Turkey during the Ottoman period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqThT2fbNgY
“ Ντρέπομαι που ανήκω στο Ανθρώπινο είδος”
“ Ντρέπομαι που ανήκω στο Ανθρώπινο είδος”
George Horton
Η Νάνση Χόρτον η κόρη του Αμερικανού Προξένου στην Σμύρνη το 1922 απεβίωσε στο Νοσοκομείο Υγεία.. Η Νάνση ήταν 103 ετών, είχε αφιερώσει την ζωή της στην διαφύλαξη του έργου του Πατέρα της, μεγάλου φιλέλληνα.
Τα τελευταία δύο χρόνια είχε ένα σοβαρότατο εγκεφαλικό. Λίγα χρόνια πριν είχα συναντήσει την Νάνση στην Γλυφάδα όπου ζούσε
Η τελετή θα γίνει στην Αγγλικανική Εκκλησία Φιλελλήνων το πρωί 11.00 στις 5 Μαρτίου ενώ η Σορός της θα μεταφερθεί στην Αμερική αμέσως μετά.
Η Συμβολή του George Horton στην διάσωση πάρα πολλών Ελλήνων το 1922 αλλά και οι ενέργειες που έκανε προς την Αμερικανική κυβέρνηση καθώς και το συγγραφικό του έργο έχει αποκτήσει ιστορική σημασία.
Ο George Horton εργάστηκε ακούραστα ριψοκινδυνεύοντας την δική του ζωή με το να προμηθεύει στους πρόσφυγες τα κατάλληλα έγγραφα με σκοπό να εξασφαλίσει την διαφυγή τους. Σε μία στιγμή μάλιστα έδωσε την ευκαιρία στον Αρχιεπίσκοπο Χρυσόστομο να σωθεί αλλά εκείνος έμεινε και υπέστη μαρτυρικό θάνατο.
Οι τελευταίες λέξεις του Χόρτον κατά τη αποχώρησή του από την φλεγόμενη Σμύρνη επιβαίνοντας στο θωρηκτό S.S Litchfield ήταν: “ Ντρέπομαι που ανήκω στο Ανθρώπινο είδος”
Ένα από τα χαρακτηριστικά συγγραφικά έργα του Χόρτον ήταν το βιβλίο του “The Blight of Asia” (Η Πληγή της Ασίας)
Η ίδια η Νάνση Χόρτον μου δώρισε ένα βιβλίο αφιερωμένο στο έργο του Πατέρα της “The Infamy of a great betrayal” ‘Η αισχρά προδοσία που συνεχίζεται κατά της Ελλάδας από την τριετία 1919-1922 ως τώρα.
Γραμμένο σαν αφιέρωμα στον Χόρτον από τον Δρ Μεναδρο Φοίβου Ακάδημο. Το βιβλίο έχει ταξινομηθεί στην πτέρυγα Ιστορικών έργων της Μεγάλης Βιβλιοθήκης του United States Congress.
Συνημμένα επισυνάπτω σύνδεσμο με λίγες σελίδες από την εισαγωγή του συγγραφέα. Πολύ επίκαιρο με το προσφυγικό πρόβλημα.
Back to roots Nick Kouzos No 4 (Part4.1) trip to Kirkagats of Asia Minor
ΟΔΟΙΠΟΡΙΚΟ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟ ΚΙΡΚΑΓΑΤΣ ΤΗΣ
ΜΙΚΡΑΣ ΑΣΙΑΣ, ΠΟΛΗΣ ΚΟΝΤΑ ΣΤΗΝ
ΣΜΥΡΝΗ ( Το πρώτο μέρος)
Το video αυτό αναφέρεται στην επίσκεψη που έγινε το 2001, στην πόλη του
Κιρκαγάτς πατρίδας του δεύτερου σκέλους της οικογένειας του Νικολάου Κούζου
από την Μητέρα του Ευαγγελία Κονσολίδου.
Το Video είναι χωρισμένο σε δύο 12 δεκάλεπτα τμήματα 4.1 και 4.2.
Το όνομα Κιρκαγάτς, στην Τουρκική γλώσσα σημαίνει τα σαράντα δέντρα.) Η
πόλη είναι κτισμένη στην αριστερή όχθη του ποταμού Bakir-Tsai, 120 χιλιόμετρα
Βορειοανατολικά της Σμύρνης και 50 χιλιόμετρα Βόρεια της Μαγνησίας. Η
τελευταία είναι γνωστή από το χωριό Αξάρ, που είναι και η γενέτειρα του
Αριστοτέλη Ωνάση. Το Κιρκαγάτς, ήταν μια πόλη με 20.000 κατοίκους, εκ των
οποίων οι 5.000 ήταν Έλληνες και οι 15.000, Τούρκοι.
Το απόγευμα της 27ης Αυγούστου του 1922, μία μεραρχία Ελληνικού στρατού ( Η
ανεξάρτητη Μεραρχία) με αρχηγό τον στρατηγό τον Θεοτόκη, έφτασε έξω από την
πόλη του Κιρκαγάτς. Κατά την υποχώρηση του Ελληνικού στρατού από την Μικρά
Ασία, η συγκεκριμένη Μεραρχία είχε εντολή να πάει στο Δικελί προκειμένου να
επιβιβαστεί σε πλοία και να επιστρέψει στην Ελλάδα.
Το Δικελί, ήταν ένα λιμάνι στο Αιγαίο, περίπου 100 χιλιόμετρα Βορειοδυτικά και
απέναντι από το νησί της Λέσβου. Το πλήθος των πολιτών ακολουθούσε τον στρατό,
ή με μουλάρια και άλογα, ή με τα πόδια μεταφέροντας ότι μπορούσε να σηκώσει στα
χέρια.
Back to roots No 4 (Part 4. 2) trip to Kirkagats of Asia Minor
ΟΔΟΙΠΟΡΙΚΟ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟ ΚΙΡΚΑΓΑΤΣ ΤΗΣ
ΜΙΚΡΑΣ ΑΣΙΑΣ, ΠΟΛΗΣ ΚΟΝΤΑ ΣΤΗΝ
ΣΜΥΡΝΗ
Το video αυτό αναφέρεται στην επίσκεψη που έγινε το 2001, στην πόλη του
Κιρκαγάτς πατρίδας του δεύτερου σκέλους της οικογένειας του Νικολάου Κούζου
από την Μητέρα του Ευαγγελία Κονσολίδου.
Το Video είναι χωρισμένο σε δύο 12 δεκάλεπτα τμήματα 4.1 και 4.2.
Το όνομα Κιρκαγάτς, στην Τουρκική γλώσσα σημαίνει τα σαράντα δέντρα.) Η
πόλη είναι κτισμένη στην αριστερή όχθη του ποταμού Bakir-Tsai, 120 χιλιόμετρα
Βορειοανατολικά της Σμύρνης και 50 χιλιόμετρα Βόρεια της Μαγνησίας. Η
τελευταία είναι γνωστή από το χωριό Αξάρ, που είναι και η γενέτειρα του
Αριστοτέλη Ωνάση. Το Κιρκαγάτς, ήταν μια πόλη με 20.000 κατοίκους, εκ των
οποίων οι 5.000 ήταν Έλληνες και οι 15.000, Τούρκοι.
Το απόγευμα της 27ης Αυγούστου του 1922, μία μεραρχία Ελληνικού στρατού ( Η
ανεξάρτητη Μεραρχία) με αρχηγό τον στρατηγό τον Θεοτόκη, έφτασε έξω από την
πόλη του Κιρκαγάτς. Κατά την υποχώρηση του Ελληνικού στρατού από την Μικρά
Ασία, η συγκεκριμένη Μεραρχία είχε εντολή να πάει στο Δικελί προκειμένου να
επιβιβαστεί σε πλοία και να επιστρέψει στην Ελλάδα.
Το Δικελί, ήταν ένα λιμάνι στο Αιγαίο, περίπου 100 χιλιόμετρα Βορειοδυτικά και
απέναντι από το νησί της Λέσβου. Το πλήθος των πολιτών ακολουθούσε τον στρατό,
ή με μουλάρια και άλογα, ή με τα πόδια μεταφέροντας ότι μπορούσε να σηκώσει στα
χέρια.
Χαιρετίζω την αναγνώριση, από το κοινοβούλιο της Σουηδίας της Γενοκτονίας των Ποντίων και άλλων Χριστιανικών πληθισμών
Το δικαίωμα στην μνήμη ιστορικών γεγονότων για τους λαούς και ακόμα περισσότερο στις περιπτώσεις της αναγνώρισης Γενοκτονίας δεν αποτελεί μία τυπική πολιτική διαδικασία, συνιστά αντίθετα μία διαδικασία προσέγγισης των λαών που γίνεται όλο και περισσότερο αναγκαία σήμερα που οι παγκόσμιες συνθήκες απαιτούν σημαντικούς συμβιβασμούς και αλλαγές των αρχέγονων προτύπων στην διαχείριση συγκρούσεων και διαφορών οικονομικών, εθνικών και άλλων συμφερόντων.
Η επίλυση των σημερινών προβλημάτων δεν μπορεί να γίνεται πλεον με τις ηγεμονικές συμπεριφορές Εθνών η ομίλων στρατηγικών συμφερόντων. Αρκετά υπέφερε η παγκόσμια κοινότητα για χιλιετίες και ποιο πρόσφατα με δύο παγκόσμιους πολέμους και τα εκατομύρια θύματα. Η μέχρι σήμερα άρνηση της Τουρκίας να αναγνωρίση την Γενοκτονία των Ποντίων, Ελλήνων, Αρμενίων Ασσυρίων και άλλων Χριστιανικών πληθισμών της Μικράς Ασίας υποκρύπτει ηγεμονικούς στόχους για την περιοχή.
Χαιρετίζω λοιπόν την αναγνώριση, από το κοινοβούλιο της Σουηδίας της Γενοκτονίας των Ποντίων και άλλων Χριστιανικών πληθισμών και ιδιαίτερα με συγκίνησε η ομιλία της Κουρδικής καταγωγής Βουλευτού της Σουηδίας Gulan Avci.
Ιδιαίτερα με συγκίνησε η αναφορά στο γεγονός ότι αναγνώρισε την συμμετοχή του Κουρδικού στοιχείου στη γενοκτονία των Ελλήνων. Οι σημερινοί Κούρδοι η Τούρκοι δεν ευθύνονται για τις πράξεις των προπατόρων τους, ευθύνονται μόνο για τις σημερινές πράξεις τους και η μη αναγνώριση Ιστορικών γεγονότων, πράξη που δεν βοηθά στην προσέγγιση των λαών.
Ιδιαίτερα για τον καθαρώς Ελληνικό πληθυσμό συντηρείται η άποψη ότι η γενοκτονία αποτελεί ένα αποδεκτό γεγονός μέσα στα πλαίσια των διεθνών ανακατατάξεων που προέκυψαν κατά την διάρκεια του πρώτου παγκοσμίου πολέμου. Αυτό δεν είναι αληθές διότι οι διωγμοί, το κάψιμο, οι σφαγές του άμαχου πληθυσμού και το ξερίζωμα από τα χωριά και τις πόλεις (Σηκώθηκαν, όπως συνήθιζαν να το λένε) δεν αποτελούν αποδεκτές ενέργειες ακόμα και στα πλαίσια πολεμικών συρράξεων.
Καταθέτω λοιπόν την δική μου οικογενειακή εμπειρία από την πυρπόληση της Περάμου στην Χερσόνησο της Κυζίκου που έγινε από τους Τούρκους ταυτόχρονα με τους διωγμούς των Ποντίων και Αρμενίων το 1915. Από τους 5.000 Έλληνες κατοίκους της Περάμου που εκδιώχθηκαν μόνο 1900 επέστρεψαν από τις εξορίες και τον θάνατο, για να ξαναχτίσουν το χωριό τους . Οι Περαμιώτες για δεύτερη φορά φυγαδεύτηκαν τον Αύγουστο του 1922.
Η Ιστορία της Περάμου δεν είναι τόσο γνωστή όσο το κάψιμο της Σμύρνης, αποτελεί όμως παράδειγμα της τακτικής που εφάρμοσε ο Κεμάλ και οι Νεότουρκοι για να εξολοθρεύσουν το Ελληνικό στοιχείο που αποτελούσε μαζί με τους Αρμένιος σημαντικό μέρος της αστικής τάξης της Μικράς Ασίας κατά την Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία.
Απόσπασμα από αφήγειση:
Ο Περαμιώτης Γιάννης Μήχας διηγείται στο Βιβλίο του Γ. Σγουρίδη, ‘ΠΕΡΑΜΟΣ’, περιγράφοντας τις δραματικές τελευταίες στιγμές της αναχώρησης:
‘Αλλά Θεέ μου , δώσε μου δύναμη να συνεχίσω την ιστορία μου γιαυτό που είδα τελευταία ….
Όταν δέθηκαν πια τα καΐκια και η βάρκα, και το βαπόρι άρχισε να ξεκινά τότε όλα τα ζώα που είχαν μείνει στην ακρογιαλιά, νοιώθοντας ότι εγκαταλείπονται οριστικά, αρχίσανε ένα άγριο βέλασμα και ρίχνονται στην θάλασσα, πλέοντας προς το βαπόρι.
Με τις άναρθρες φωνές τους μας εκλιπαρούσαν να τα πάρουμε. Το άγριο μουγκρητό μας ανατρίχιαζε όλους. Η καρδιά μας δεν αντέχει άλλο, Πάει να σπάσει.
Με αναφιλητά αποχαιρετούμε για τελευταία φορά το αγαπημένο μας χωριό και το βαπόρι μακραίνει και πάει….Όταν πια στρίβαμε από την Καψάλα χάθηκε ολότελα από τα μάτια μας και το χωριό και τα βουνά και η θάλασσά του…
Η Πέραμος «Τετέλεστε».
Περιγραφή της ιστορίας της Περάμου μπορείτε να βρείτε στο προσωπικό site:
Smyrna between 13th to 17th Sept 1922
ΣΠΑΝΙΟ ΚΑΙ ΕΝΤΥΠΩΣΙΑΚΟ ΝΤΟΚΟΥΜΕΝΤΟ
ΔΕITE ΑΥΤΟ ΤΟ ΑΥΘΕΝΤΙΚΟ ΒΙΝΤΕΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΣΜΥΡΝΗ: Smyrna 1922
Smyrna 1922 from Davidian Video Productions on Vimeo.
You are informed of a 35 mm film transferred to digital in 2008. It can be watched at:
The creator of this video Robert Davidian found the film made by his grandfather at his grandmother’s NYC apartment in 2008 and made it digital. He writes as follows on the above website under the video:
«The Great Fire of Smyrna is the name commonly given to the fire that ravaged Izmir/Smyrna from 13 to 17 September 1922. Turkish armed forces systematically burned the city and killed Greek and Armenian inhabitants. This is based on extensive eyewitness evidence from Western troops sent to Smyrna during the evacuation, foreign diplomats/relief workers based at Smyrna and Turkish sources.» – Wikipedia.org Μήπως τελικά δεν ήταν … «λόγω του συνωστισμού»;
Robert Davidian’s grandfather, George Magarian, born in 1895, educated at the American College at Konya, Turkey and, later, director of the Konya YMCA, filmed Smyrna, Turkey, immediately after it’s genocidal destruction.
The resulting 35mm edited nitrate film was hidden in my grandmother’s apartment in NYC for 60 years. I was lucky to transfer it to digital before it completely disintegrates.
– Robert Davidian 5 March 2008
Times for Change 