A list of the Greek villages of Pontus.

ΠΑΦΡΑ - BAFRA

Τμήμα Πάφρας - Section Bafra

Πάφρα - Bafra
Αζάι - Azay
Άγτζαλαν - Agtzalan
Ακουσαγί - Akousayi
Άκτεκε - Akteke
Αλέμτεμιρτζη - Alemtemirtzi
Απαρί - Apari
Αράπουσαγου - Arapousagou
Αρχαντάγ - Arkhantag
Ασάμαχλε - Asamakhle
Ασάρ - Asar
Ασμάτσαμ - Asmatsam
Βάζγεδιι - Bazgedii
Γαϊτάλαπα - Yaitalapa
Γαπουχλούκιοϊ - Yapoukhloukioy
Γαρατζογούνοραν - Yaratzogounoran
Γαπουχλούκιοϊ - Yapoukhloukioy
Γερμένουσαγί - Yermenousagi
Γέραλτι - Yeralti
Γιάιλα - Yiayla
Γιαϊλάουσαγι - Yiaylaousagi
Γιοκαρίκιοϊ - Yiokarikioy
Γιουρδάνουσαγι - Yiourdanousagi
Γκισλά - Gkisla
Γκιόλπελεν - Giolpelen
Εβρένουσαγου - Evrenousagou
Εϊνατζή - Eynatzi
Εκίζτεπε - Ekiztepe
Ελνταβούτ - Elndavout
Ελίσαφλαρ - Elisaflar
Ελματζίκ - Elmatzik
Ερεντζίκμπασι - Erentzikmbasi
Ζεϊγκέλ - Zeygel
Καβακλίογλου - Kavaklioglou
Καβλαάν - Kavlaan
Καγιανίνμπασι - Kayianinbasi
Καλτιπέκ - Kaltipek
Καπαλάκσαλαγι - Kapalaksalagi
Καπάνπογαζι - Kapanpoyazi
Καπάντσουχουρ - Kapantsoukhour
Καπλάν - Kaplan
Καπούκαγια - Kapoukayia
Καπουσούζ(λαρ) - Kapousouz(lar)
Καράασλαν - Karaaslan
Καραϊσλάμμποκιλ - Karayislammpokil
Καράγκιόλ - Karagkiol
Καρατζάκεϊκ - Karatzakeyk
Καρατζάκισλα - Karatzakisla
Καρατζάπουγιουκ - Karatzapouyiouk
Καράτικεν - Karatiken
Καράτσακουλ - Karatsakoul
Καράτσαμ - Karatsam
Καραπίντσιφλικ - Karapintsiflik
Κελέρ - Keler
Κέλτεπε - Keltepe
Κενικλίγιουρτου - Kenikliyiourtou
Κεστενέ(β) - Kestene(v)
Κιγίτσογλουλάρ - Kiyitsogloular
Κιζίλοτ - Kizilot
Κιμινόζ - Kiminoz
Κιόρογλου - Kioroglou
Κιρεζλί - Kirezli
Κιράντσουκουρου - Kirantsoukourou
Κισιρλένταμ - Kisirlentam
Κοβάν Κριστιανοί - Kovan Christiani
Κοβτσέσου - Kovtsesou
Κοζαγιλί - Kozagili
Κόλγιανί - Kolgiani
Κορεζλέρ - Korezler
Κοσεντίκ - Kosentik
Κοτσάγιουβαν μαχλεσί - Kotsayiouvan makhlesi
Κοτσάμπουγιουκλαρ - Kotsampouyiouklar
Κοτσέρουσαγι - Kotserousagi
Κοτσέρπουναρ - Kotserpounar
Κοτσυκλέρ (Σουρμελί) - Kotsikler (Sourmeli)
Κούζαλαν - Kouzalan
Κουμρούσαγου - Koumrousagou
Κουρλένταμι - Kourlentami
Κούρτουσαγι - Kourtousagi
Κουτσέπουναρ - Koutsepounar
Κουτσουλάρ - Koutsoular
Κωνσταντίνουσαγι - Konstantinousagi
Κωστηλέρ - Kostiler
Λεγγερλί - Lengerli
Λιουλουκλέρ - Liouloukler
Μαϊσλί - Maisli
Μεγκενλέρ - Megkenler
Μιντελίσκετιγι - Mintelisketigi
Μιστετσέππασι - Mistetseppasi
Μιτερίκετιγι - Miteriketigi
Μοαμλού - Moamlou
Μουστετζέμπασι - Moustetzembasi
Μουζμελέκ - Mouzmelek
Μουρούσογλου - Mourousoglou
Μπαλικλάρ - Baliklar
Μπακίρπουναρ - Bakirpounar
Μπεζιρλού - Bezirlou
Μπεσκελλέρ - Beskeller
Ντεβρέτ - Devret
Ντερμένκουνεγι (Τερμένκουνεγι) - Dermenkounegi (Termenekounegi)
Ντεγιρμένουσαγι - Deyirmenousagi
Ντεμιρτζίκιοϊ - Demirtzikioy
Ντικεντζίκ - Dikentzik
Ντοούρουσαγι - Doourousagi
Ντουβάνγιουβασι - Douvanyiouvasi
Ντούζσουρμελι - Douzsourmeli
Οπρούχ - Oproukh
Όρμονος - Ormonos
Ορτάμαχλε - Ortamakhle
Οσμάνμπεγλι - Osmanbegli
Ορτάκαγια - Ortakayia
Ότμασα - Otmasa
Οξυζόγλου - Oksizoglou
Ούρτσελερ - Ourtseler
Ουμουρτσούκ - Oumourtsouk
Παντάζουσαγι - Pantazousayi
Παπάζογουνατα (ή Παπάζογλουνατζα) - Papazogounata (or Papazoglounatza)
Παριατζούχ - Pariatsoukh
Πέιτουρλου (Μπέητουρλου) - Peitourlou (Beytourlou)
Πενγλήουσαγι - Pengliousagi
Πογιαλί (Μπογιαλί) - Poyiali (Boyiali)
Ποχλουτζέγιουρτ - Pokhloutzeyourt)
Πυρίγιουρτ - Piriyourt
Σαργουλάρ - Sargoular
Σαρίτσογλου - Saritsoglou
Σελέμελικ - Selemelik
Σιρτ - Sirt
Σιμιόν μαχλεσί - Simion machlesi
Σιχλίκ - Sikhlik
Σοούχπουγαρ - Sooukhpougar
Σουλούτερε - Souloutere
Σοχούτσουχουρ - Sokhoutsoukhour
Σουρμελί - Sourmeli
Τάρμογαζ - Tarmogaz
Τεκιούρ - Tekiour
Τζαντίρ - Tzantir
Τζιλμπαχλάρ - Tzilmbakhlar
Τζιριχλάρ - Tsirikhlar
Τιγκιρλέλ - Tingirlel
Τιρεκλί - Tirekli
Τιρλακλάρ - Tirlaklar
Τιτεντζούκ - Titentzouk
Τονούσαγι - Tonousagi
Τοχουρλάρ - Tokhourlar
Τούζκιοϊ (Ντούζκιοϊ) - Touzkioy (Douzkioy)
Τουτουντζιλέρ - Toutountziler
Τσαβτσουλού - Tsavtsoulou
Τσάλκιοϊ (Κριστιανοί) - Tsalkioy (Christiani)
Τσαλμασάχ - Tsalmasakh
Τσαλβαράς - Tsalvaras
Τσατάλτσαμι - Tsataltsami
Τσαγαλλί - Tsagalli
Τσενικλίγιουρτου - Tsenikligiourtou
Τσερικλί - Tserikli
Τσερικλίπουναρ - Tseriklipounar
Τσορουχλάρ - Tsoroukhlar
Τσιλιχλάρ - Tsilikhlar
Τσουλφάχοτζα (Κριστιανοί) - Tsoulfahotza (Christiani)
Χατζηκίλ - Hatzikil
Χιτρελέζ (Άη-Γιώργης) - Hitrilez (Ai-Georgis)
Χορόσογλου - Horosoglou
Χούσε - Housseh

Τμημα Αλάτσαμ - Section Alatsam

Αλάτσαμ - Alatsam
Αϊντερεσί - Ainteresi
Ασαάμπεντες - Asaampentes
Γιασίνταγ - Yiasintag
Γκιμενέζ - Gkimenez
Καραγκιόλ - Karakgiol
Καράχουσεϊν - Karahoussein
Κελικλέρ - Kerikler
Κιλλίκ - Killik
Κόζκιοϊ - Kozkioy
Κοζλίβερα - Kozlivera
Κούρτκιοϊ - Kourtkioy
Μεϊνταντζούκ - Meintantzouk
Ναζλάρ - Nazlar
Περγκελλί - Perkgelli
Σαρπλάν - Sarplan
Τασκελίκ - Taskelik
Τσεντιρλίκ - Tsentirlik
Τσιβλί - Tsivli
Τσουφλόγλου μαχλεσί - Tsoufloglou machlessi

This list of the Greek villages of Pontus (or villages where Greeks resided) was compiled by the Center of Asia Minor Studies (Κέντρο Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών) which is based in Greece.

The list may exclude some villages which weren't known at the time the study was completed. The list comprises the villages from the 37 regions of Pontus.

Source: The History of Pontian Hellenism
Christos Samouilidis.
Thessaloniki 1992.

Pan-Pontian Federation of USA & Canada

USA/CANADA During the course of meetings with the political leadership of Greece and Cyprus and following a successful meeting between members of the Pan-Pontian Federation of USA and Canada and the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Dora Bakoyianni on September 25th, 2008 in New York, members of the Federation met with Ambassador Mr Alexander Mallias on November 14th, 2008 at the Embassy of Greece in Washington DC. Mrs Sofia Fillippidou, First Counselor, also participated in the meeting. www.panpontian.org

Hellenic speakers in Pontos (Interview with Omer Asan)

Omer Asan, Hellenic-speaking writer from Turkey and a guide to the Pontian culture : "I began the search for my identity because the language my ancestors spoke was not Turkish"
by Vlasis Agtzidis 

One of the most important books published in Hellas last year was Omer Asan's "The Civilization of the Pontos" (Kyriakidis Publishers , Thessaloniki). Now Hellenes have the opportunity to read this book first published as "Pontos Kultura" in 1996 in Istanbul, by Beige. A second edition is in press. Omer Asan, an economist, comes from Of, in Trebizond, north-eastern Turkey, an area with a strong Islamic tradition and a substantial Hellenic-speaking population. In addition to the Of version of the Pontian dialect, Asan speaks Modern Hellenic fluently. The writer was involved in the Left and was prosecuted for it during the 1980s. His father, a member of the Turkish Communist Party was imprisoned after the military coups of 1971 and 1981.

Omer Asan belongs to the post-dictatorship generation. He came to Hellas last year for the launching of the Greek edition of his book, and this interview was conducted during his visit.

"Are there Hellenic-speakers in Turkey today who speak the Pontian dialect?"

There are still people in Turkey today who speak and understand Pontian which is the oldest surviving Hellenic dialect. The members of this community come from Trebizond and are scattered throughout Turkey or have emigrated to other countries Pontian spoken in 60 villages in the Trebizond region, most of them in the Of area. At a conservative estimate. I would say this dialect is spoken by around 300000 people.

"You refer constantly to the identity problem. Why is this so important to you?"

Nowadays the identity problem comes up more often, and this is because traditional explanations, like official identity cards don't give adequate answers. Some say the search for identity is a fashion that comes and goes. In their view, everyone is an individual a human being and nothing else.

Regardless of what anyone thinks. I consider the important thing is to protect our language which we inherited from our forebears, and which is disappearing because we don't care about its disappearance and also to protect our culture and the identity it created for us.

Throughout the history of mankind many ethnic groups living in the same geographical area have been absorbed by the dominant culture. Personality I am against others today sharing the fate of ethnic cultural groups which during the course of history were sometimes incorporated into the dominant culture and sometimes assimilated by force.

"You often refer to the question, "Who am I" to define the motives for specific research Did your personal search play a decisive part?"

I began to search for my identity because of the fact that the language my ancestors spoke was not Turkish. Because in the village in town, at school, they taught us that we were Turks. In the neighborhood, at school, at work we spoke Turkish . But at home, in the village, my grandfather, my grandmother, everyone in the family spoke to each other in the language we called "Romaika". So what were we, "Romioi" or Turks? Now we speak Turkish.

In my village the old people speak Romaika, but they are the last to use the language. The coming generations will not be able to bear it and learn it. Let's say that we have agreed, as far as the present is concerned: We speak Turkish, therefore we are Turkish. But who were we until now, what happened to make us become Turks? By asking "Who am I?" I plunged into the unknown. I had to find the answer to this question at any cost. And that is how this adventure began.

"When did this adventure begin, and what was your research based on?"

At the end of the 1980's I began researching our identity and culture. But in Turkey I did n't manage to find written sources, or anything related to the language we spoke. I began in amateur fashion, to collect Pontian words I asked all the old people I met about our identity and language.

I spoke to Turkish experts and researchers and discovered to my surprise that no work had been done in this field.

At that time, aiming to find out at least a little information. I wrote letters and sent them to addresses in Hellas that I had learned of purely by chance. In 1993, just when I was about to give up hope. I was invited to a Pontian festival in Kallithea Attica.

What I saw and the sounds I heard there literally changed my life. I was astonished that hundreds of kilometers from the land where I was born. I heard songs in the language of my ancestors accompanied by the lyra, that I danced with unknown people in another country and that I could talk and make myself understood in Pontian which I thought was a language that was no use at all.

So I decided to focus my research on Erenkioi, my village in Of, and to study its living culture as an extract trace of Pontian culture. The result was this book that was published first in Turkey and then in Hellas. It is in six parts, including the theoretical context, historical and ethnographic details, popular literature, folklore, nomenclature, a glossary and bibliography.

"How was your book received in Turkey? Were there any problems with publication?"

The book had an extremely good reception in academic circles, since it filled a gap in modern Turkish learning. The second edition is already in press. But it did give rise to misunderstandings both in Turkey and in Hellas. Both sides interpreted the book differently. I didn't come to Hellas for three years, because of political incidents between the two countries. I hope that the improvement in the climate will facilitate scientific research into taboo subjects.

And also that some groups in Hellas that speak in the name of the Hellenic-speakers of Turkey will start to show more respect for that population.

"What are the greatest problems arising from the investigation of questions of identity and national culture?"

In today's world problem centered on identity are not easily resolved. Indeed when the question of ethnic identity arises the alarm, it causes can lead to conflict. The most recent example is the tragedy that occurred in Kosovo. Besides we observe clashes - close by in the heart of Europe - that stem from the aspirations of groups who share a common identity to create nations.

However, we must realize that at the end of this century, when cultural nationalism is being fomented and has become fashionable, national states which engage in a war of interests can easily exploit national and cultural identities that are in competition with each other. Although ethnic groups can express themselves freely in the easiest and most peaceful manner very many of them readily enter into disputes and are incited to conflict .

Personally I am of the opinion that we must discuss the subject of our cultural identity in a flexible manner which does not give rise to clashes be aware of the sensitivity of the topic, and not ignore reality.

"What is your opinion about Turkey's European outlook as it emerges after the Helsinki summit?"

The founders of the Republic of Turkey wanted to forge closer ties with Europe Since then unfortunately the meaning of democracy in Turkey has not developed in parallel with Europe. We know the cause of this to be history and other political issues. Never theless. I interpret Europe's acceptance of Turkey in historical and sociological terms. That is say, that Turkey is too important for Europe to be discarded. "A decision that was taken bears what I say. Moreover, we shall that the idea of being Europe will help society rethink its ideology and its exclusive depends on the state. We can see that state and its mechanisms are already coming into question. This was a dream of ours that was a long time coming.

"If the European Union had accepted Turkey, what would have happened?"

We don't even want to think about that because Turkey has a lot of problems. One outcome these problems is that they suffocate us. Who would that benefit Europe, Hellas, the Caucasus, the Middle East? Nobody think In order to solve all these problems we need a broad horizon. This is what our links were the European Union have given us, to a certain extent. But may not be enough. The Turkish people have a difficult life, was economic and social problems.

For this reason the time has come for Turkey to make some extremely important decisions and to embark on reforms in this sector. Everyone accepts it. For it will not come about so easily think that the Turkish people are being tested by history. I believe that a successful outcome of this test will benefit everyone.

PREFACE - By Peter Mackridge-Ömer Asan

Ömer Asan's family comes from a Greek-speaking village in the region of Pontus in north-east Turkey. The community to which they belong, together with many other communities in the region, are survivals from a time, before the creation of the nation-state, when language, religion and customs did not have to conform to a national standard of homogeneity. These people are Greek-speaking Muslims. For this reason they were allowed to remain in their homeland after the war between Greece and Turkey in 1919-1922, when, with certain exceptions, the Christians of Turkey and the Muslims of Greece were obliged by the Treaty of Lausanne to emigrate to the other country. Since the exchange of minorities took place on the basis of religion, and language and religion did not necessarily go together in the Ottoman Empire, many Turkish-speaking Christians found themselves forced to move to Greece, while Greek-speaking Muslims were obliged to migrate to Turkey. Thus the large communities of Greek-speaking Christians living in Pontus, numbering hundreds of thousands, were forcibly resettled in Greece, while the Greek-speaking Muslims remained high and dry above the flood tide that swept away hundreds of thousands of their fellow Greek-speakers.

Who are these people? This is what Ömer Asan set out to discover. The definition of an individual or a community according to criteria of race is a dangerous undertaking. Suffice it to say that the Greek-speaking Pontian Muslims must have very diverse genetic origins, consisting of Greek and Turkish elements as well as elements from the peoples that inhabited the region before the coming of the Greeks from about 800 BCE and before the arrival of the Turks in the eleventh century CE. During the Byzantine period the Pontians became Christian and no doubt large numbers of those who still spoke other languages gradually became Greek-speaking. Some time after the Ottoman Turks captured the capital of Pontus, Trebizond, in 1461, some Pontians began converting to Islam, although the largest wave of conversion seems to have taken place as late as the seventeenth century. As occurred in other Greek-speaking areas of the Ottoman Empire such as Crete and Cyprus, however, their change of religion was not accompanied by a change of language; after all, as far as Islam is concerned, a Greek-speaker can be just as good a Muslim as a Turkish-speaker. While the majority of Pontians remained Christian, there are tens of thousands of Greek-speaking Muslims in Pontus at the beginning of the third millennium. The largest communities of Greek-speaking Pontic Muslims are to be found in the Of district, where the majority of the population espoused Islam; indeed, Of became renowned for the piety and learning of its hodjas (Islamic teachers).

My own interest in these survivors is chiefly linguistic. Because the Greek-speakers of Pontus were cut off from the rest of the Greek-speaking world, the local Greek dialects of are in many respects significantly different from the Greek spoken on the mainland and the islands of Greece - so much so that Pontic and standard Greek are to a large extent mutually incomprehensible. After 1922, the majority of Pontic-speakers were resettled in Greece, where they continued for decades to preserve their language, customs, dress, music, dancing, cuisine, etc. Even now, almost eighty years after the departure of their communities from Pontus, the older people still speak to each other in Pontic. Nevertheless, almost all of the Pontic Greeks speak standard Greek too, and this - coupled with the fact that their communities have been surrounded by Greek since their arrival in Greece - has inevitably exerted an influence on their Pontic. They were already exposed to the Greek of the Church while they were still living in Pontus, and many were exposed to standard and official Greek at school there; but in Greece they were immersed in a standard Greek-speaking environment that gradually impinged on them more and more as the press gradually gave way to radio and thence to television.

By contrast, ever since their conversion to Islam, the Greek-speaking Pontic Muslims have not been exposed to any other kind of Greek than their own; nor did they have much close contact even with their Christian neighbours in Pontus. This means that their speech has preserved many archaic features that have now almost or completely disappeared from the Pontic spoken in Greece. (It should be said that their speech has also lost a large number of words that have been replaced by items of Turkish origin.) Ömer Asan's village, like the village where I have carried out my own linguistic fieldwork, is situated in the district of Of, east of Trebizond, which is home to the largest concentration of Greek-speakers in Pontus today. The Of district is the easternmost area in which Greek has been continuously spoken without interruption since ancient times. If Pontic is a peripheral dialect of Greek, then the sub-dialect of Of is a peripheral version of Pontic. Like most peripheral dialects, the speech of Of preserves an exceptional number of ancient words and grammatical features. For this reason the study of the sub-dialect of Of can throw fascinating light on the historical development of the Greek language.

Christian Pontic has been more exhaustively studied than any other dialect of modern Greek. By contrast, no one had workd on Muslim Pontic for more than a hundred years until I carried out some linguistic fieldwork in the Of dictrict in the 1980s. I was greatly struck by the ancient and medieval features of the Of sub-dialect, such as the use of the ancient negative particle ou where the other Pontians use ki and the other Greeks use kai.

Ömer Asan's book is the first study of the history, culture and language of the Pontus to have appeared in Turkey. It is also the first book ever published to contain a survey of the vocabulary and grammar of the Pontic Greek sub-dialect of Of. I was both delighted and astounded when I learned that Asan was about to publish the original version of his book in Turkey. In a country that, despite obvious evidence to the contrary, officially prides itself on its ethnic homogeneity, for anyone to publish a study of the history, culture and language of a linguistic minority there seemed daring, to say the least; it also seemed extraordinary that a Turk should be interested in investigating the non-Turkish aspects of his local culture. Asan has thrown himself with great passion into the study of the history, culture and language of his village and its surrounding region. I have learned a great deal from his book, not only about the folklore and customs of his village, but about its language, and it has been fascinating to compare the vocabulary and grammar of Çoruh, as he records them, with the linguistic material that I and others have collected from other villages in the Of district and from other parts of Pontus both before and after 1922. The variety in vocabulary and grammar between one village and another just a few miles away is extraordinary, and we would ideally like to have such a study of every Greek-speaking village in Pontus.

Asan's collection of material from Çoruh is a rich treasure-house of language and lore, and I eagerly look forward to seeing the results of his continuing investigations.

Review of Fridtjof Nansen and the Greek Refugee Crisis 1922-1924: A Study on the Politics of International Humanitarian Intervention and the Greek-Turkish Obligatory Population Exchange Agreement by Harry J. Psomiades.

My muscles ached the day after dancing to the haunting but lively music of the lyra and daouli at the  Pontian
Society of Chicago dinner dance on November 12, 2011. Children, some as young as three years old, initiated the dancing dressed in traditional costumes, with the boys brandishing bandoliers across their chests. They keep alive their culture in a country far removed from the land of their ancestors, Pontos, on the coast of the Black Sea in Turkey. 
From in 1914 through 1922, thousands of Greeks from Pontos, as well as thousands of other Greeks living in Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace, were deported by Turkish authorities or fled their homes in the face of Turkish atrocities. In 1922, following the defeat of the Greek forces in the  Greek-Turkish war and the burning of Smyrna by the Turkish  army,  any Greeks remaining in Turkey, except those in Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and 
Tenedos, were forced to leave Turkey in what is  called the  “exchange of populations.” All together, more than a million Greeks left Turkey.   
The descendants of these Greeks celebrate life, but there is an underlying sadness. They mourn the relatives who died at the hands of Turks; they ache for a homeland in Turkey that has been lost to them forever; they remember the difficult life they experienced as refugees.  
To make sure their history is not forgotten, members of the Pontian Society of Chicago organized the Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center (AMPHRC). They recently published the 162 page book, Fridtjof Nansen and the Greek Refugee Crisis 1922-1924: A Study on the Politics of International Humanitarian Intervention and the Greek-Turkish Obligatory Population Exchange Agreement by the distinguished historian, Dr. Harry J. Psomiades. 
Psomiades had organized the October 11, 2011  conference in Athens about  Nansen, the Norwegian explorer, scholar, statesman, and winner of the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize. The conference and book celebrated the 150thanniversary of Nansen’s birth in 1861.  The conference was followed a day later by  the  dedication of a bust of Nansen in the park between S. Merkouri and King Constantine in Athens. Sadly missing was Psomiades, who had died in August 2011. 
At the conference, George  Mavropoulos,  president of the  (AMPHRC),  told of his own family’s experience as refugees: “After my grandfather died in the labour battalions (where the average life span was 2-3 months) at the age of 44, my father assumed responsibility for taking his family to Greece but before they arrived, they were held in the notorious  barracks of  Selimiye, in Constantinople, for several months where 30 to 300 refugees died daily from typhus, cholera or smallpox. It was Nansen who called in the League of Nations’ Epidemic Commission to deal with the various epidemics in these camps and elsewhere.” Psomiades’ book brings the reader face-to-face with Nansen, an extraordinary man who shaped the history of modern Greece and whose impact on Greece continues to be felt today. 
Psomiades interprets the history of the refugee crisis and of the impact of not only Nansen but of the former Greek prime minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, during this crucial period of Greek history. Step-by-step Psomiades outlines their roles in the negotiations regarding the compulsory “exchange of populations” agreement between Greece and Turkey following the Greek-Turkish war.  
Nansen helped thousands of refugees who were caught in the tangled web of war and politics. He did not take “no” for an answer in his quest to obtain transport, healthcare, food, and shelter for them. He got them the assistance they needed from various countries, organizations, and individuals. 
His strength of personality was revealed at a young age.  Nansen excelled as a student and athlete. At age 18, he broke the world one-mile skating record and the following year, won the national cross–country skiing championship. While a university student, Nansen went on a five-month expedition to the Arctic. 
He thrived on adventure. While working on his doctorate, he became the  first person to cross Greenland.  The publication of his book about the Greenland expedition made him an international celebrity. In 1885, he set off on a 2400-mile journey to the North Pole, getting farther north than anyone else before. He survived two winters in the frigid Arctic before making his way back to Norway. 
When he returned, he got involved politically by writing articles which championing the cause of Norway achieving independence from Sweden. When Norway peacefully achieved its independence in 1905, he became its first ambassador to Britain, where he established important diplomatic contacts. These contacts helped him in his subsequent work with refugees. 
After this assignment, he returned to family life (he had five children) and research writing and teaching. In 1920, the League of Nations asked him to help with the repatriation of POWs to their respective countries following World War I. To combat typhus and cholera, he established stations to treat the prisoners before they were transferred to their respective countries.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, 1½ million Russians became refugees or asylum seekers. He was asked by the League to assist them. The Russians under his care were placed in the Slavic countries of southeastern Europe and France. He established the Nansen passport for the unfortunate Russian refugees who were left without a country. The Nansen passport was also used by Armenian refugees fleeing slaughter by the Turks.  It was honored by 52 countries. 
After Lenin had asked for help for the 30 million Russians who were threatened by famine, the League again called on Nansen to help. Since the Great Powers did not trust Lenin, they did not give Nansen much monetary support to carry out his job. He relied on private organizations to help them. 
On September 1922, the League called on Nansen to head their initiative to deal with the exodus of Christian populations from Turkey in the wake of the Greek-Turkish war. Nansen helped with transport of the Greek refugees and delivered food and clothes. He helped stem the transmission of dreaded typhus, cholera, and smallpox by setting up stations where Greek refugees could be treated and disinfected.  
He planned, organized, and funded settlements for 15,000 refugees in Western Thrace. The International Refugee
Resettlement Commission, which was established in Greece in 1924, adopted his model and installed similar
settlements throughout northern Greece.
Psomiades goes into detail regarding the events that led up to the “exchange of populations” that was agreed to by Turkey and Greece on January 30, 1923. He explores both Nansen’s and Eleftherios Venizelos’s role in this controversial agreement, the first “forced exchange.”  
Both Venizelos and Nansen (who had been empowered by Greece to act on its behalf) supported the exchange of
populations. They realized Turkey would not allow refugees to return and were concerned with the well-being of those remaining in Turkey. Psomiades points out that Venizelos wanted to clear Greece of its Muslim populations so that there would be room for the Greek refugees who  had begun pouring into Greece. He says that Venizelos worried that there would be “severe repercussions if Greece forced the expulsion of its Turkish minority…. And it certainly would accelerate the massacres and expulsion of the remaining 200,000 Greeks in Anatolia and even those in Constantinople.” 
There was also concern about the Greek detainees (men from the ages of 16 and 50 who were captive in the dreaded life-taking labor battalions), prisoners of war, and civilian hostages held by the Turks. 
Psomiades points out that the painful choice of the compulsory uprooting of populations was viewed as a “lesser evil by both Venizelos and Nansen” and that “subsequent historical developments have tended to vindicate their actions.”    
After helping settle the refugees from Turkey, Nansen continued in his work as an international civil servant. He helped the Armenian refugees, victims of the 1915 Turkish massacre, settle in Soviet Armenia. According to Psomiades, there had been reports that he had been disappointed with his lack of progress and the unwillingness of the international community to support the Armenian refugees. He returned to Norway in the winter of 1929. He died on May 13, 1930 at the age of 69, after catching a cold following a ski trip. 
Psomiades did a thorough job documenting his sources. He built upon research he had conducted over many years, utilizing foreign policy archives in London, Paris, Rome, and Washington, D.C., as well as archives and libraries in Greece and Switzerland. To assist the reader with further study, he included an extensive list of “Works Consulted,” 3as well as the following documents: “The Military Convention between the Allied Powers, the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Greece, October 11, 1922” (in French); The Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek-Turkish Populations, January 30, 1923;” and “The Treaty of Lausanne, July 24, 1923.”Nansen is a fascinating man whose role in the modern history of Greece had been forgotten. Congratulations to the Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center for  giving us the opportunity to learn about him through Psomiades’ excellent book.  
For more information about purchasing this book, please contact the AMPHRC by email at
gmavropoulos@hotmail.com, phone 630-303-4361 or visit www.pontiangreeks.org
About the reviewer:
Elaine Thomopoulos, Ph.D., is the editor of  Greek-American Pioneer Women of Illinois and the author of  The History of Greece (to be released by ABC-CLIO/Greenwood in January 2012). She serves as curator of the Greek Museum of Berrien County, Michigan, which is located at the Annunciation and Agia Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church building in New Buffalo (http://www.greekmuseumofberriencounty.com). 

Greek Genocide 1914-2Pontus

Pontus (in Greek, Πόντος) is a historic region on the Turkish Black Sea coast that was home to a large Greek population, known as Pontic Greeks or Pontians, before the Greek Genocide took place. Pontus is a region of Asia Minor.

Greek Population

At the start of the Twentieth Century the Greek population of Pontus numbered several hundred thousand. Many Greeks lived in the coastal towns, such as Trebizond, Samsoun, Ordou and Kerassund, while others lived inland. American sources place the 1914 pre-genocide population at 457,000 while the 1912 Greek Patriarchate statistics record a population of at most 453,000. Ottoman Turkish statistics record the population as 363,000. Other sources, such as those of the Central Council of Pontus, claim there were as many as 700,000 Greeks in Pontus. In a February 1919 memorandum calling for their self-determination, the National League of the Euxine Pontus described the Pontus Greek population as follows:

"According to the most recent information received from the different dioceses, the orthodox Greek population can be evaluated at about 700,000 souls, without counting the 350,000 who, fleeing from Turkish persecution, took refugee several years ago in foreign countries, there are about 250,000 in the Caucasia and the remainder are in other countries."

However, as the League was making territorial claims in the region these figures cannot be judged reliable especially given how they conflict with most other accounts. Thus, the pre-genocide Greek population of the Pontus region of Asia Minor can be estimated as not exceeding 500,000.

Pontus during the Greek Genocide

As with all Greek-inhabited regions of Ottoman Turkey, the Greeks of Pontus were subject to a genocidal campaign. The Austrian Ambassador of Constantinople, Markgraf Johann Pallavicini, described the events in and around Samsoun in December 1916:

“11 December 1916. Five Greek villages were pillaged and then burnt. Their inhabitants were deported. 12 December 1916. In the outskirts of the city more villages are burnt. 14 December 1916. Entire villages including schools and the churches are set on fire. 17 December 1916. In the district of Samsoun they burnt eleven villages. The pillaging continues. The village inhabitants are ill-treated. 31 December 1916. Approximately 18 villages were completely burnt down, 15 partially. Around 60 women were raped. Even churches are plundered.”

On 29 December 1918, the Archbishop of Amassia and Samsoun, Germanos, wrote:

"Towards the middle of December, 1916, began the deportations from Amissos (Samsoun). First of all the army reduced to ashes all the region round about. ... A large number of women and children were killed, the young girls of the nation outraged, and immediately driven into the Interior. ... The majority of course died on the road and none of the dead at all being buried, vultures and dogs feasted on human flesh. ... Believe me ... that out of 160,000 people of Pontus deported, only a tenth and in some places a twentieth have survived. In a village, for example, that counted 100 inhabitants, five only will ever return; the others are dead. Rare indeed are those happy villages where a tenth of the deported population has been saved."

According to figures compiled by the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople by 1918 257,019 Greeks from the Pontus region of Asia Minor had been deported to the Interior. At the end of 1921 some Greek sources placed the Pontus death toll at 303,238. In 1922 the Central Council of Pontus stated:

"Since the year 1914 the Ottoman Government, on the lines of a plan organised and premeditated has caused more than 1,500,000 Greeks and Armenians of Asia Minor to be massacred by its local agents. The infortunate Greek populations of Pontus have been decimated by murder and privation, have witnessed their churches profaned, their daughters violated, their wives dishonoured, babies snatched from the arms of their mothers and hurled against the walls, old men and children burned within the churches and priests massacred under the portals."

Statistics on Pontus, Central Council of Pontus, 1922
District	Communities	Churches	Schools	Population Exterminated
Amasia (Greek: Αμάσεια, Turkish: Amasya)	400	603	518	134,078
Neocaesarea (Greek: Νεοκαισάρεια, Turkish: Niksar)	95	135	106	27,216
Trebizond (Greek: Τραπεζούς, Turkish: Trabzon)	70	127	84	38,434
Chaldia (Greek: Χαλδία)	145	182	152	64,582
Rodopolis (Greek: Ροδόπολη)	41	53	45	17,479
Colonia (Greek: Κολωνία)	64	74	55	21,448
Total:	815	1,174	960	303,237

There were times when the Greeks of Pontus took up arms in an act of self defense to resist the massacres being perpetrated against them. In this respect Pontus makes an interesting case study of the Greek Genocide, much like the resistance demonstrated at Van by Armenians during the Armenian Genocide.

Only 182,169 Greeks of Pontus were ever recorded as having reached Greece. In 1925 George K. Balabanis wrote: "... the total human loss of Pontians from the [beginning] of the General [Great] War until March 1924 can be estimated at three hundred and fifty three thousand [353,000] [persons], murdered, hanged and dead through punishment, illness and privations." However, if one gives careful consideration to the various estimates for the region's pre-war population and the migration of Pontians into both Russian territory and Greece, it is clear that Pontian deaths are unlikely to have ever reached such a figure. A more reasonable estimate might be 250,000 which indicates that approximately 50% of the total population was killed.

Suggested Reading

• Black Book: The Tragedy of Pontus 1914-1922, Edition of the Central Council of Pontus, Athens, 1922.
• The Turkish Atrocities in the Black Sea Territories: Copy of Letter of His Grace Germanos, Lord Archbishop of Amassia and Samsoun, Delegation of the Pan-Pontic Congress, Norbury, Natzio & Co. Ltd, 1919.
• Γεώργιος Κ. Βαλαβάνης, Σύγχρονος γενική ιστορία του Πόντου, Αθήνα, 1925.
• Αντώνιος Γαβριηλίδης, Η Μαύρη Εθνική συμφορά του Πόντου 1914-1922, Αθήνα, 1924

Ο Πόντος στην Εθνεγερσία

Γράφει ο Δημήτρης Νατσιός
Δάσκαλος, Κιλκίς
«Είναι δε εις θέσιν οι Πόντιοι να αποτελέσουν τους φρουρούς του Ελληνισμού. Εν πρώτοις, είναι έργον εις το οποίον έχουν συνηθίσει από αιώνων. Περιβαλλόμενοι εν τη απομακρύνσει των από ξένα φύλα, παλαίοντες διαρκώς προς αυτά, αφομοιούντες παρά αφομοιούμενοι, αποτελούσι τον ισχυρότερον τύπον της ελληνικής φυλής». (Στρατηγός Καθενιώτης, σύμβουλος του Ελευθερίου Βενιζέλου).
Ήταν Μάιος του 1453, όταν έπεφτε στην πόλη του Ρωμανού, «ο τελευταίος Έλληνας». Ένα μοιραίο, κατά Καβάφη, πουλί, έφερε στην Τραπεζούντα των Μεγάλων Κομνηνών την ζοφερή είδηση: «Η Ρωμανία πάρθεν». Μετά από 8 χρόνια ο Πορθητής κυριεύει και την αυτοκρατορία του Πόντου. Αρχίζει η μακρά περίοδος της αιχμαλωσίας. Μία-μία οι ελληνικές αυτοκρατορίες, που συστάθηκαν μετά την άλωση της Πόλης από τους Φράγκους, θυσιάζονται για να σωθεί η Δύση.
Η Δύση που αφού σφετερίστηκε, σύλησε και δήωσε το «Βυζάντιο», προσπάθησε τους επόμενους αιώνες να αλώσει και πολιτιστικά τον Ελληνισμό. Η καθ’ ημάς Ανατολή καθυβρίζεται, υποτιμάται, η συμβολή της στον ευρωπαϊκό πολιτισμό αποκρύπτεται. Για 400 και 500 χρόνια η Ρωμηοσύνη, εκτός από το μαχαίρι του Τούρκου, υπομένει τις ιεραποστολικές ορδές των Λατίνων. Τρώνε τα θεριά αλλά η μαγιά μένει. Το 1962 ο Ουνίτης πατριάρχης Μάξιμος Δ’ ομολογούσε κυνικότατα στην Β’ βατικάνειο σύνοδο: «Ο σουλτάνος ζητούσε από τους Έλληνες φόρους και δοσίματα. Αντίθετα η λατινική Δύση αξίωνε το σώμα και την ψυχή, την υποταγή του πνεύματος, τον στραγγαλισμό της ελευθερίας». Ή όπως το λέει ο Άγιος των Σκλάβων, Κοσμάς ο Αιτωλός: «Και τι; Άξιος ήτο ο Τούρκος να έχη βασίλειον; Άλλ’ ο Θεός του το έδωκε διά το καλόν μας. Και διατί δεν ήφερεν ο Θεός άλλον βασιλέα… Διότι ήξευρεν ο Θεός πως τα άλλα ρηγάτα (σ.σ. τα ευρωπαϊκά) μας βλάπτουν εις την πίστιν και ο Τούρκος δεν μας βλάπτει, άσπρα δώστ’ του και καβαλλίκευσέ τον από το κεφάλι». Εδώ στην πολύπαθη Ρωμηοσύνη συνέβη το εξής ιστορικώς πρωτόγνωρο. Να αγωνίζεται ένα έθνος να περισωθεί όχι από τον κατακτητή που δεσμεύει την ελευθερία του σώματος, αλλά από αυτούς που επιχειρούν να περιορίσουν την πνευματική του ελευθερία. Το Γένος όμως δεν χάνεται, έχει την κιβωτό του, την Εκκλησία, τον θεματοφύλακα της ταυτότητας του Ελληνισμού. Έτσι φτάσαμε στο ’21.
Συνηθίζουμε οι σύγχρονοι Έλληνες να γιορτάζουμε την επέτειο της Εθνικής Παλιγγενεσίας και να περιοριζόμαστε μόνο σε γεγονότα που έχουν σχέση με την δημιουργία του λυμφατικού νεοελληνικού κρατιδίου. Η Μικρά Ασία, ο Πόντος, εκεί που μέχρι το 1922 επιβίωνε ακραιφνής Ελληνισμός, απουσιάζουν προκλητικά από τις επίσημες ιστοριογραφίες με αποτέλεσμα να δημιουργείται η άποψη πως οι Έλληνες του Πόντου, που μας ενδιαφέρουν στο παρόν αφιέρωμα, περίπου συνεργάστηκαν με τους Τούρκους ή στην καλύτερη περίπτωση, παρέμειναν απαθείς και αμέτοχοι κατά την Επανάσταση. Ξέρουμε πολλά για την περίοδο της Τουρκοκρατίας στον ελλαδικό χώρο. Και ο Πόντος; εκεί όπου κατοικούσε «το ισχυρότερον ελληνικό φύλο», τι έκανε την περίοδο της σκλαβιάς; Μετά το ’22, ίσως με έκπληξη έμαθαν οι Ελλαδίτες ότι εσφάγησαν 1.500.000 Έλληνες της Μ. Ασίας και άλλα 2.500.000 εκ. προσφυγοποιήθηκαν. Πώς κατόρθωσαν αυτοί οι τελευταίοι Ρωμιοί να διατηρήσουν την εθνική συνείδηση ζωντανή για τόσους αιώνες; Και όμως εκεί στα βουνά και στα μοναστήρια του Πόντου επέζησε ο φρουρός του Ελληνισμού, ο Πόντος. Ένα τραγούδι της εποχής λέει: «Έρθεν ο Τούρκον ο κακόν κι εκόνεψεν σην χώραν/ τ’ ομάλα (πεδιάδες) Τούρκ’ς εγόμωσεν (γέμισε) και τα βουνά λεβέντους.» Πάνω στα βουνά του Πόντου «οι κλέφτες», οι «εσχιάδες» (=εκδικητές), όπως αποκαλούνταν στον Πόντο, ανακουφίζουν τους πληθυσμούς από τις ατιμίες και κακουργήματα των δυναστών. Πολλοί κάτοικοι για να διαφυλάξουν την ορθόδοξη πίστη καταφεύγουν στην θρησκευτική προσποίηση. Έχουμε χιλιάδες κρυπτοχριστιανούς, Σταυριώτες ονομάστηκαν, παίρνοντας το όνομα αυτό από το κατεξοχήν κρυπτοχριστιανικό χωριό, το Σταυρίν της Αργυρούπολης. Το μεγάλο ψυχικό δράμα του κρυπτοχριστιανισμού, μία κατάσταση μεταβατική των Χριστιανών προς τον εξισλαμισμό, σε ορισμένες περιοχές της Μικράς Ασίας κράτησε ολόκληρους αιώνες (από το β΄μισό του 17ου αι. ως το 1856, τότε που δημοσιεύτηκε το Χάτι-Χουμαγιούν. Και εξασφάλισε το δικαίωμα της ανεξιθρησκίας στις εθνότητες της Τουρκίας), για μερικούς μέχρι το 1908, τότε που έγινε η ανακήρυξη του τουρκικού Συντάγματος, ενώ για άλλους μέχρι το 1922. Στο σημείο αυτό θα αναφέρω το εξής συνταρακτικό γεγονός στον Πόντο από την εφαρμογή του Χάτι-Χουμαγιούν το 1856: Στο Τσεβισκλκούκ της Ματσούκας αποφασίστηκε από τον Δήμαρχο και τον μουλά, θρησκευτικό αρχηγό των μωαμεθανών, να προσέρχονται για μερικές μέρες από την ανατολή μέχρι τη δύση του ήλιου, όσοι από τους Κρυπτοχριστιανούς ήθελαν να ομολογήσουν μπροστά τους δημόσια πως είναι χριστιανοί, ώστε δίπλα στα τουρκικά ονόματά τους να καταγραφούν και τα πραγματικά χριστιανικά ονόματά τους. Ήταν η τελευταία μέρα της καταγραφής και είχε δύσει πλέον ο ήλιος. Ο Δήμαρχος ετοιμάζεται να υπογράψει το πρωτόκολλο και να λήξει η διαδικασία. Τότε ο μουλάς Βαϊτζόγλου του λέει: «Μην βιάζεσαι. Περίμενε λίγο.» «Τι να περιμένουμε; Ο ήλιος έδυσε και δεν υπάρχει κανένας», του απαντά ο Δήμαρχος. «Υπάρχει ακόμη ένας, και αυτός είμαι εγώ» απαντά ο μουλάς. Και τον βλέπουν αποσβολωμένοι οι Τούρκοι να γράφει στον κατάλογο: «Γεώργιος Κηρυτόπουλος. Επάγγελμα ιερέας». Αυτά ζούσε ο Ποντιακός Ελληνισμός. Γνώριζε ότι μόνον η διατήρηση της Ορθόδοξης Πίστης θα περιφρουρήσει και την ελληνικότητά του. Μάχου υπέρ πίστεως και πατρίδος βροντοφωνάζει ο Πόντιος αρχηγός Υψηλάντης. Πολλοί διακηρύττουν με ανδρεία την πίστη τους. Το στέφανο του νεομάρτυρα τους αναμένει. Όπως γράφει ο καθηγητής Απ. Βακαλόπουλος «Η θυσία τους τόνωσε όχι μόνο το θρησκευτικό συναίσθημα του λαού, αλλά και το πνεύμα της αντίστασης απέναντι των κατακτητών. Έτσι οι νεομάρτυρες στην πραγματικότητα ήσαν και εθνομάρτυρες.».
Φτάνουμε στο 1800. Το σάλπισμα του πρωτομάρτυρα της λευτεριάς Ρήγα μεταφέρεται και στον Πόντο. Στον Θούριό του αναφέρεται στους Πόντιους Μαυροθαλασσινούς: «Λεβέντες Μαυροθαλασσινοί, ο βάρβαρος ως πότε θε να σας τυραννεί». Την ίδια εποχή 4.000 Μπαφραίοι θανατώνονται από τους Τούρκους, ρίχνονται δεμένοι πισθάγκωνα και πνίγονται στον ποταμό Άλυ. Οι πρόγονοι του «φίλου» Ερντογάν» επιδίδονται με μαεστρία στην μόνη τέχνη που διακρίθηκαν και διακρίνονται: την σφαγή του άμαχου πληθυσμού.
Το 1814 ιδρύεται η Φιλική Εταιρεία. Αρχηγός της ορίζεται ο Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης. Οι Υψηλάντες ήταν μια από τις αρχοντικές και παλιές ποντιακές οικογένειες του Φαναρίου της Πόλης, κατάγονταν από την Υψηλή, ένα παλιό χωριό του Όφι, στον Πόντο. Την άνοιξη του 1821 ο Αλ.Υψηλαντής κηρύσσει τον πόλεμο της ανεξαρτησίας στη Μολδοβλαχία. Από την πρώτη στιγμή της διακήρυξης περί ελευθερίας του Υψηλάντη, Έλληνες νέοι σπουδαστές σπεύδουν από διάφορα μέρη και οργανώνονται κατά τα πρότυπα του θηβαϊκού «Ιερού Λόχου», με αρχηγό τον Λασσάνη. Πολλοί, ίσως οι περισσότεροι, ήταν Πόντιοι. Στις 7 Ιουνίου του 1821 στο Δραγατσάνι, πέφτουν οι περισσότεροι στο πεδίο της μάχης. Από τους διασωθέντες είναι γνωστά τα ονόματα 19 Ποντίων αγωνιστών του Ιερού Λόχου. Ας σημειωθεί εδώ ότι ο Τούρκος σουλτάνος κήρυξε τον Ιερό Λόχο ως ποντιακή στρατιωτική μονάδα και με την πρόφαση αυτή, έσφαξε τότε τους προκρίτους της Αργυρούπολης. Επί δύο χρόνια οι κάτοικοι της Αργυρούπολης, κι άλλων περιοχών του Πόντου, δεν είχαν δικαίωμα να παίρνουν νερό την ημέρα από τις βρύσες τους, έστω κι αν αυτές βρίσκονταν μέσα στην αυλή τους. Ερμηνεύοντας το φιρμάνι οδηγούμαστε με βεβαιότητα στο συμπέρασμα ότι ο Ιερός Λόχος αποτελούνταν στην πλειοψηφία του από Πόντιους φοιτητές.
Από την άλλη μεριά οι Πόντιοι ενίσχυσαν τον μεγάλο αγώνα της ανεξαρτησίας και με χρήματα. Ένα σοβαρό παράδειγμα οικονομικής ενίσχυσης της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης είναι και η περίπτωση του λόγιου άντρα Ηλία Κανδήλη ή Κανδήλογου. Από τη μεγάλη παρουσία που απέκτησε με το εμπόριο, ένα μεγάλο μέρος, 500 λίρες Αγγλίας, το άφησε κληρονομιά στον Αλέξανδρο Υψηλάντη για τη Φιλική Εταιρεία.
Δεν έχουμε δυστυχώς πολλές μαρτυρίες για το θέμα της συμβολής του Πόντου στην Επανάσταση του ’21. Η ολοκληρωτική καταστροφή του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού συνεπέφερε και καταστροφή των μαρτυριών. Σε γραπτά όμως κείμενα αγωνιστών του ’21 πολλές φορές γίνεται μνεία εκατοντάδες για «Μαυροθαλασσίτες», «Τραπεζούντιους», «Σινωπείς», «Αργυρουπολίτες». Όλοι αυτοί οι μαχητές ήταν Πόντιοι εθελοντές που πολέμησαν γενναία για την απελευθέρωση της πατρίδας. Έδωσε, λοιπόν, και ο Πόντος τον φόρο τον αιματηρό για την ελευθερία της σημερινής πατρίδας μας. Για 100 χρόνια από την επανάσταση του ’21 ανθούσε η ευλογημένη γη των Κομνηνών. Ως την μαύρη μέρα. Και μετά σιωπή, απόκρυψη, άψογη στάση. Τίποτε δεν πρέπει να λεχθεί που θα ερεθίσει τους Τούρκους, η ελληνοτουρκική φιλία δεν πρέπει να διαταραχθεί με ασήμαντες λεπτομέρειες. Η ιστορία του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού, τα μεγαλεία και οι άθλοι της Ρωμανίας να λησμονηθούν. Ανάγκη μεγάλη να μάθει ο εκσυγχρονιζόμενος Ρωμηός πως η ιστορική μνήμη είναι ασυμβίβαστη με την δολοφονική Νέα Τάξη Πραγμάτων. Η μόνη αναφορά που ανέχεται «το εθνικό κέντρο» για τον Πόντο είναι τα συκοφαντικά ανέκδοτα. Θα ακουστούν μεθαύριο στα μηνύματα των επισήμων οι γνωστές κοινοτοπίες, οι νεφελώδεις και πομπώδεις φράσεις, ο στόμφος πίσω από τον οποίο κρύβεται το τίποτα. Θα ακουστούν οι «τροπαιούχοι του άδειου λόγου»… Θα ακουστούν οι ηχηρές γελοιότητες περί της Ενωμένης Ευρώπης, τα ίδια, μονότονα πράγματα θα ξανακουστούν…
«Τότε μεγαλουργούσαν οι καρδιές, τώρα μεγαλουργούν τα χρήματα» έλεγε ο Κανάρης. Τότε το ’21 ξεσηκώθηκαν καρδιές ρωμαίικες, τώρα επικάθησαν στο σβέρκο μας Γραικύλοι, που ονομάζουν την ανανδρία τους σωφροσύνη. («Το σώφρων του ανάνδρου πρόσχημα εστί»). Δεν θέλω ‘γω καινούργια η ξένα δώρα/παληά δικά μου πλούτη σου ζητώ» λέει ο Παλαμάς. Αυτά τα παληά πλούτη είναι το αίμα των παιδιών του Πόντου, της Θράκης, της Μακεδονίας που σήμερα η μικρά και έντιμος Ελλάς τα κρύβει κάτω από τα τουρκο-ευρωπαϊκά σαρίκια της. Αλλά με τα «παληά πλούτη» θα ασχοληθεί ο «προοδευτικός» σκοταδισμός; Μονάχη έγνοια του η τύχη των λαθρομειονοτήτων που ζουν στην Ελλάδα.
«Και τι θε ν’ απογίνει
με τη…μειονότητα
των λιγοστών Ελλήνων
δω μέσα στην Ελλάδα»
γράφει ο Χρίστος Κατσιγιάννης.
Κλείνουμε με τα λόγια του ποντιακής καταγωγής ηρωικού αρχηγού της Φιλικής Εταιρείας που σε μια παράγραφο της προκηρύξεως συνοψίζει και τον σκοπό και το μήνυμα της Επανάστασης: «…Είναι καιρός να αποτινάξωμεν τον αφόρητον τούτον ζυγόν, να ελευθερώσωμεν την Πατρίδα, να κρημνίσωμεν από τα νέφη την ημσέληνον, δια να υψώσωμεν το σημείον, δι ου πάντοτε νικώμεν: λέγω τον Σταυρόν και ούτω να εκδικήσωμεν την Πατρίδα και την Ορθόδοξον ημών Πίστιν από την ασεβή των ασεβών καταφρόνησιν».
( Το κείμενο πρωτοδημοσιεύτηκε τον Μάρτιο του 2003, στην εφ. «Χρόνος» του Κιλκίς. Τα βιβλιογραφικά βοηθήματα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την ιστορία του Πόντου είναι η κλασική «Ιστορία του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού» του Χρ.Σαμουηλίδη, «Τα απελευθερωτικά στρατεύματα του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού» του Αχ. Ανθεμίδη και «Τραπεζούντα» του Γ.Μίλλερ).