Pontian Greek genocide centennial
Thursday, May 19, marks the 100th anniversary of the Pontian Greek genocide by the Turks. The Pontian genocide of 1916-1923 is the most tragic page of Pontian Greek history.
The Pontians had suffered a lot throughout their history of nearly 3,000 years, but the genocide was the most terrible of their misfortunes, for it deprived the Greeks of the Black Sea region not only of their friends and relatives, but also of their native land.
Remembrance of the genocide is necessary not only for relatives and descendants of the lost; such terrible facts of human history must be known to all. For if people forget about the pain of other people, if they pass it by with indifference, they kill inside their souls a part of their “humanity” – and this must not be allowed to happen, lest tragedies of this kind might be repeated.
Paul Dictos, Fresno
This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Pontian Greek genocide centennial."