I’m from this region from my paternal side. Perhaps we were Greek speaking Muslims that became assimilated a few hundred years ago, who knows.
Anyway, my personal opinion is that Turkey and the other post Ottoman Balkan / Caucasus countries would have been better off if all the minorities stayed in the newly formed countries. Would have been much better I think, I think all the countries would have developed better than they have done otherwise and had better relations between them if each country had a large minority of neighbouring countries people inside the borders.
Of course this is idealistic view, but in theory it would have been better.
I watched a short documentary on youtube about Pontians in Greece who faced some discrimination after they arrived, because people thought they were too *Turkish*, which struck me as sadly ironic.
I feel like the Pontic Greeks aren’t very well understood or covered in the English-speaking world. Beyond the genocide (which itself doesn’t get enough attention), scholarship seems to be relatively limited. Which is a shame.
As someone, whose family is either close-by or from the same region depending on the line, I certainly feel bad for them although the issue came to a point of either them, native Greek-speaking Greek Orthodox folks, being cleansed or Muslim, i.e. native Greek or Turkish speaking Muslim folks and the indigenous Kartvelians (especially Laz) being cleansed. That, of course hardly justifies the pain that was inflicted.
That being said, Greeks choosing 19 May as their commemoration date is pure stupidity that only assures this never getting recognised, even if one day Armenian or Assyrian Genocides and everything can be recognised. They especially chose the date to counter the very date celebrated as the start of the Turkish War of Liberation so eh… It doesn’t do any justice to souls being lost.
I do find it cute that successive Greek governments created made up dates corresponding to Turkish national holidays for their remembrance days.
May 19 1919 is the day Atatürk arrived in Samsun to start the Turkish war of independence from both the ottomans and the invaders. In 1994(when GR/TR govs were in a fit and tensions were high), Greek government of the time just decided to set the same day as the start of what they call the “pontic genocide”.
I’m from this region, i’m an ethnic minority as well, but a muslim one. Noone remembers what the Greeks or the Armenians did to my grand grand mother’s village when their husbands and sons aged 16-60 were off fighting in the war.
Happy May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day everybody.
Every answer in this post is Turks saying “it wasn’t so bad” in different ways.
Do you show as persecuted immigrated peoples ?
Poor Hellenized Lazs 😞
Ah, yes. We murdered more greeks than the entire population of black sea region 🤦♂️
Such noble act; Greece recognized exterminations of Turkish/Albanian/Jewish population in Greece as “massacres” during their independence war and at the same time they recognized “Pontic Genocide”day for May 19th. May 19th is when Ataturk declined Treaty of Sevres and started to rebel. Nice move..
We can find very reliable sources about Armenian Genocide but not this genocide. Only internet posts. If you want to meet Pontics, visit the blacksea region. They are UltraTurkish nationalists; congratz (not congratz) for after 1950 social policies.
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I’m from this region from my paternal side. Perhaps we were Greek speaking Muslims that became assimilated a few hundred years ago, who knows.
Anyway, my personal opinion is that Turkey and the other post Ottoman Balkan / Caucasus countries would have been better off if all the minorities stayed in the newly formed countries. Would have been much better I think, I think all the countries would have developed better than they have done otherwise and had better relations between them if each country had a large minority of neighbouring countries people inside the borders.
Of course this is idealistic view, but in theory it would have been better.
I watched a short documentary on youtube about Pontians in Greece who faced some discrimination after they arrived, because people thought they were too *Turkish*, which struck me as sadly ironic.
I feel like the Pontic Greeks aren’t very well understood or covered in the English-speaking world. Beyond the genocide (which itself doesn’t get enough attention), scholarship seems to be relatively limited. Which is a shame.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tripolitsa
As someone, whose family is either close-by or from the same region depending on the line, I certainly feel bad for them although the issue came to a point of either them, native Greek-speaking Greek Orthodox folks, being cleansed or Muslim, i.e. native Greek or Turkish speaking Muslim folks and the indigenous Kartvelians (especially Laz) being cleansed. That, of course hardly justifies the pain that was inflicted.
That being said, Greeks choosing 19 May as their commemoration date is pure stupidity that only assures this never getting recognised, even if one day Armenian or Assyrian Genocides and everything can be recognised. They especially chose the date to counter the very date celebrated as the start of the Turkish War of Liberation so eh… It doesn’t do any justice to souls being lost.
I do find it cute that successive Greek governments created made up dates corresponding to Turkish national holidays for their remembrance days.
May 19 1919 is the day Atatürk arrived in Samsun to start the Turkish war of independence from both the ottomans and the invaders. In 1994(when GR/TR govs were in a fit and tensions were high), Greek government of the time just decided to set the same day as the start of what they call the “pontic genocide”.
I’m from this region, i’m an ethnic minority as well, but a muslim one. Noone remembers what the Greeks or the Armenians did to my grand grand mother’s village when their husbands and sons aged 16-60 were off fighting in the war.
Happy May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day everybody.
Population exchange isn’t genocide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_exchange_between_Greece_and_Turkey
Every answer in this post is Turks saying “it wasn’t so bad” in different ways.
Do you show as persecuted immigrated peoples ?
Poor Hellenized Lazs 😞
Ah, yes. We murdered more greeks than the entire population of black sea region 🤦♂️
Such noble act; Greece recognized exterminations of Turkish/Albanian/Jewish population in Greece as “massacres” during their independence war and at the same time they recognized “Pontic Genocide”day for May 19th. May 19th is when Ataturk declined Treaty of Sevres and started to rebel. Nice move..
We can find very reliable sources about Armenian Genocide but not this genocide. Only internet posts. If you want to meet Pontics, visit the blacksea region. They are UltraTurkish nationalists; congratz (not congratz) for after 1950 social policies.