The Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia have issued a message today to mark the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe this month.
In the message, the Federation said they will continue to fight for justice for the hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Armenians who were massacred or expelled from their homes in Smyrna in 1922.
Full Message:
Smyrna is located approximately over 1000km from the nearest Pontian city and yet as Pontians we feel the pain of that loss as if it were one of our own.
The Pontian community have long held memorial services for the Burning of Smyrna as it was at the tail end of a 10 year campaign to rid all of Asia Minor of its Christian population.
3000 year history of Greek civilisation in that part of the world was wiped out in a matter of days. Approximately hundreds of thousands of Greek and Armenian refugees crammed the waterfront to escape from the fire. They were forced to remain there under harsh conditions for nearly two weeks. Turkish troops and irregulars had started committing massacres and atrocities against the Greek and Armenian population in the city before the outbreak of the fire. Many women were raped, tens of thousands of Greek and Armenian men were subsequently deported into the interior of Anatolia, where many of them died in harsh conditions.
On the 100 year anniversary of this tragic event, the members of the Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia pause and remember what was lost.
We reaffirm our commitment to our ancestors and our shared history that we will never forget and never give up pursuing the justice that has evaded our people to this very day.
May the memory of Smyrna and its people be eternal.
Signed by:
- Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia.
- Pontoxeniteas NSW.
- Panagia Soumela Sydney.
- Greek Pontian Society of Wollongong Diogenes.
- Pontian Club Canberra.
- Akrites Tou Pontou Victoria.
- Pontic Foundation Panagia Soumela of Australia.
- Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia.
READ MORE: Sydney’s Greek community gather to remember victims of the Greek Pontian genocide.
