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Greeks and Turks brought together in quest for roots
Descendants of refugees expelled from Turkey and Greece in 1923 return to forebears’ homelands
Though his grandmother’s house on Lesvos is in ruins, Sefa Taskin, the former mayor of Pergamon, along with his wife Majide and his son Ekin, visited the neighborhoods where their families lived before the exchange of populations.By Zoyia Koutalianou - Kathimerini
Guided by memory and the stories they have heard, Greeks and Turks are crossing the borders in search of their roots. Children and grandchildren of people displaced by the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey nearly a century ago are visiting the houses of their forebears and laying the foundations of friendship between the two nations. When Giorgos Andreadis, the son of Greek refugees from the Black Sea region, set out to see the place his family came from, his route intersected notionally with that of Sefa Taskin, who left Pergamon and Smyrna to visit his family’s places of origin in Greece. Those who have told of their families’ displacement are just a few of the thousands who shared the same experience. They are united by a deep nostalgia. Through friendships built over the years and action taken by local communities, they promote rapprochement.
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