Over 84 years have past since the ending of World War I and yet still the suffering endured by Eastern Orthodox Christians during this time and the persecutions which followed have yet to be officially recognized and properly memorialized for future generations. Why has such a memorial and museum to commemorated our suffering never been created? Why is it that such buildings exist for others, such as for the Jewish Holocaust, and yet we Orthodox Christian have not come together to created such a Holy place of remembrance for our fallen martyrs? Orthodox Christians of Greek, Serbian, Armenian, Assyrian, Ukrainian, and Serbian descent to name but a few have all suffered under policies of forced marches, exiles, famine, labor/death camps and straight out massacres enforced by such political ideologies as Pan-Turkism, Communism, Ustashism and Kemalism, numbering over 50 million victims.Today we Orthodox are continuing to feel the pressure of persecution, whether is may be inside the borders of Bosnia and Kosovo, in between the crossfire’s of feuding Middle Eastern politics, or inside the Neo-Ottoman state of Turkey and Occupied Northern Cyprus. Are we, the victims of such genocidal tactics, not worthy enough for our own place of remembrance? Our own place to teach future generations of the trials and tribulations we have suffered because of our faith? I myself think we are entitled such a place, a place where Orthodox Christian may come together to learn and remember about the brutal moments in our faiths history.
The crimes committed against our people have found little recognition inside the international community. For example the Greek Genocide, which took place during the First World War under Turkish persecution, has yet to find itself mentioned by neither the United Nations nor the European Parliament. The Greek Genocide finds itself in a tough position, as it is mostly overshadowed by the events of the Armenian Genocide, which is also part of the Orthodox Holocaust of World War I. Thanks to the Treaty of Lausanne and other minor treaties between Greece and Turkey, our government officials have all but forfeited our rights towards pushing for internationally recognized, for fears of upsetting the fragile balance of peace with our neighbor, Turkey.
And yet such heroes as Michalis Charalambidis, former PASOK Central Committee member, have pushed for our Genocides recognition. Only finding victory when in 1994, our motherland finally recognized our Genocide, over 71 years after its tragic events. If we are to wait for our government to take charge and start such a project on a facility as I speak of, we are truly lost. The Greek Government, whether PASOK or New Democracy controlled, has never stood as defenders of Hellenism. Today, our only monuments dedicated to those martyrs can be found in Thessaloniki and Canada, only for those Pontians who were massacred in the closing years of the Ottoman Empire. It is up to the collective voice of Hellenism to stand on our own two feet and scream to the world, that such a place can and must be created.
There are numerous of examples, in which, other nations around the world have built memorials and museums to pay their respects to their fallen martyrs, in different Genocides. The victims of the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust both have such places. Such as Tsitsernakaberd in Armenia, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC and Yad Vashem in Israel. These places are used as memorials and research centers to help document and study the events of such crimes. Shining examples of what not only we Greeks are missing, but what the whole Orthodox world is lacking.
It’s with this in mind that such a place must be built not only for the victims of the Greek Genocide, but for all Orthodox Christians who have been victims of Genocide. Such a memorial and museum would best be located in a symbolic place that would best represent and aid the Orthodox World. Such a place exists in the Thracian port city of Alexandroupoli. Alexandroupoli serves as an ideal spot as it sits at the crossroads between east and west, with access to an international airport, and is one of the last places of Greek Orthodox land liberated from Ottoman tyranny. Most of its modern settlements are made up of survivors of the Greek Genocide coming from Eastern Thrace and Pontos. A building of such historic importance being located in the heart of Evros would go to show not only the native Hellenic people, but the whole world that Greece is not just the city of Athens. Showing that all of Hellenism, whether it be Pontian, Macedonian, Thracian or Athenian share a common bond. The region of Evros would also benefit greatly from such a project, bring much needed jobs and attention to one of the poorest place inside the small Hellenic nation. In short, I ask not the Hellenic government, but the Hellenic people, is it not time for our own place of remembrance? Is it not time that all Orthodox people came together to share a common memorial for our fallen brothers and sisters?
References:
http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/memoryof.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/
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