The intergenerational trauma suffered by Pontian women refugees will be the topic of the Food for Thought Network-( FFTN) free online Zoom on Sunday 26 June, at 7pm.
Modern Greece, and Greek identity, is formed in part by the genocides and explosions of of Asia Minor’s indigenous Hellenic populations which occurred from the late 19th century to the start of the 20th century. Modern Greece and Turkey as nations convulsed out of a series of bloody wars ethnic cleansing and the genocide of Turkey’s Hellenic populations, as Ottoman Empire collapsed.
The discussion will be led by psychologist Sofia Georgiadou, from Kozani, Greece. She says that historically traumatic past events impacts on future generations.
Pontic Greeks had a continuous presence in Pontus- bordering the Black Sea in northeastern Turkey – Georgia, and Eastern Anatolia from 700BCE.
The genocides, and expulsions – euphemistically titled “population exchanges” between Greece and Turkey- saw 1.2 million Hellenes expelled from Turkey, and over 300,000 Pontic Greeks murdered by Ottoman troops and irregulars.
The Pontic Greeks who survived the genocide found themselves as refugees in Greece where they faced prejudice.
Ms Georgiadou will discuss how the shared history of trauma – loss, poverty and displacement – experienced by Pontic Greeks has been transmitted across generations through the retelling of narratives. Stories that have are also instrumental in forming the modern Pontian identity.
Ms Georgiadou’s presentation includes input from three Melbourne Pontian women, Roma Siachos, Litsa Athanasiadis and Simela Stamatopoulos.
The Zoom forum is on Sunday June 26 at 7pm for Melbourne, and 12pm for Greece
To receive the zoom link go to: https://www.trybooking.com/BZWJI
or visit www.fftn.org.au
