RETURN TO ANATOLIA
GREEKS ∞ ARMENIANS ∞ ASSYRIANS
ΕΛΛΗΝΕΣ ∞ ՀԱՅԵՐ ∞ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ
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The Return to Anatolia Committee is comprised of members of the local Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities, each of which traces its roots to the region of Anatolia.
The history of Anatolia, ancient as it is vibrant, is shrouded in conflict and tragedy, the culmination of which, in the early twentieth century, was Genocide: a Holocaust against the Christian population of Anatolia.
With the migration of the Diaspora to Australia, the land of opportunity, the Anatolians of Armenian, Assyrian and Pontic Greek descent have maintained the memory and traditions of their place of origin whilst making a positive contribution to their new homeland.
It is the mission of Return to Anatolia to help merge this common historical heritage and utilise it to inspire and educate the wider Australian community about the tragic events which took place in this once great land.
Presentations by dedicated historians at our conferences have illustrated the universal themes of community, conflict, tragedy and survival which touch us all.
Map of Anatolia (modern Turkey).
Approximate distribution of indigenous peoples.
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PONTIAN HELLENES
The terms Pontic Greeks, Pontic Hellenes, Pontian Greeks, Pontian Hellenes, or simply Pontians can refer to Greeks specifically from Pontus, a region of the former Empire of Trebizond on the Black Sea coast of modern-day northeastern Turkey, or more generally to all Greeks from the shores of the Black Sea. Pontians traditionally speak the Pontic Greek dialect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontic Greeks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide
ARMENIANS
The Armenians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands. A large concentration of them has remained there, especially in Armenia, but many of them are also scattered elsewhere throughout the world (see Armenian diaspora). The Armenians have had a significant presence in countries such as Georgia, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine due to their proximity to Armenia. After the Armenian Genocide, a large influx of survivors fled to France, the United States, Argentina, the Levant and other countries that welcomed the Armenians. There are an estimated 8 to 10 million Armenians around the world. Christianized in the early 4th century, Arsacid Armenia became the first Christian nation, although Christianity had began to spread in Armenia soon after Christ's death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Jude and St. Bartholomew, thus most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church. They speak two different, but mutually intelligible dialects of their language: Eastern Armenian, spoken mainly in Armenia, Iran and the former Soviet republics, and Western Armenian, spoken primarily in the Armenian diaspora. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian Genocide
ASSYRIANS
The Assyrians are an ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, but many of whom have migrated to the Caucasus, North America and Western Europe during the past century. Hundreds of thousands more live in Assyrian diaspora and Iraqi refugee communities in Europe, the former Soviet Union, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. As a result of persecution in the wake of the First World War, there is now a significant diaspora. Major events included the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Simele massacre in Iraq, and the Assyrian Genocide in what is today Turkey. The latest event to hit the Assyrian community is the war in Iraq; of the one million or more Iraqis reported by the United Nations to have fled, nearly forty percent (40%) are Assyrian, despite Assyrians comprising only three to five percent of the Iraqi population. |
