Pontian Day of Rememberance

WASHINGTON- Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades has requested all chapters to observe a “Day of Remembrance,” May 19, 2017, for the victims of the early 20th century genocide in Asia Minor that devastated the Pontian Greek community.

“Many of our members are descendants of survivors of the once great community of Greeks from Constantinople, Smyrna, and all of Asia Minor,” Zachariades said. “It is our obligation to remember a tragic part of our Hellenic history out of respect for the people who suffered and were sacrificed. A centuries-old civilization was extinguished. Our unfortunate ancestors were given a choice of ‘Islam, tribute or the sword’ by their Ottoman overlords. The fortunate ones escaped or became part of the League of Nations-sponsored population exchange in 1922.”

In 2007, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) voted overwhelmingly to recognize the Pontian and Anatolian Greek genocide. The IAGS resolution resolved: “…it is the conviction of the International Association of Genocide Scholars that the Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities of the Empire between 1914 and 1923 constituted a genocide against Armenians, Assyrians, and Pontian and Anatolian Greeks.”

According to historians and journalists, it is estimated that 353,000 Pontian Greeks perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during a period between 1914 and 1922 that coincided with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire; although there are some who estimate it to be as higher.  In addition to the Greeks of Pontus and Asia Minor, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians, and thousands of Assyrians also fell victim to the catastrophe.

The harrowing account of the Pontian Greek genocide, as endured by survivor Sano “Themia” Halo,” is captured by her daughter, Thea Halo, in the memoir, “Not Even My Name.” In 2002, Sano Halo received the AHEPA Medal of Freedom, and her daughter, Thea, received the AHEPA Homer Award for her literary work.

“It is our obligation to remember a tragic part of our Hellenic history out of respect for the people who suffered and were sacrificed. A centuries old civilization was extinguished,” 

Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades, said.