NEW YORK.- BY VICKI JAMES YIANNIAS – COMMUNITY: TELLING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF SMYRNA, 1922
Greek News
October 13 @ 11:49:34
New York
"I was writing a novel which had one chapter set in Smyrna. When I
started to research this chapter, I realized the need for a serious
work of history about the city and its destruction," Giles Milton,
historian, journalist, and author of Paradise Lost – Smyrna 1922 –
The Destruction of a Christian City in the Islamic World, told the
Greek News, "There is a real hunger to know what happened and why. If
my book helps to answer some of these questions then it will have
fulfilled a purpose."
The title of the book is not gratuitous, says the author, "To the
Americans who poured into this most alluring of Middle Eastern cities
at the bang of the 20th century, Smyrna seemed like paradise. So much
so that they gave this name to their large and wealthy colony on the
outskirts of the city."
The critically acclaimed new book was presented by the Consulate
General of Greece, the GreekAmerica Foundation, and Greek America
magazine, to a large audience of Greek and foreign journalists and
correspondents to the U.N., members of U.N. missions, Greek Americans,
and philhellenes at the Greek Press and Communication Office in New
York on October 2nd.
Consul General of Greece in New York Mrs. Agi Balta, introduced the
book and Greg Pappas of the GreekAmerica Foundation, and Greek America
magazine moderated the event. The author read abstracts of his book
and took questions from the audience.
Paradise Lost recounts the days of prosperity and the days of horror
in Smyrna — known as the richest and most cosmopolitan city in the
Ottoman Empire, and a majority Christian city that was unique in the
Islamic world — prior, during and after the war in the beginning of
the 20th century.
"What happened there in September 1922 was to prove one of the
most compelling human dramas of the 20th century, says Milton, "One
million innocent civilians – men, women, and children from scores of
different nationalities – were caught in a humanitarian disaster on
a scale that the world had never before seen. One million people were
trapped on the quayside – trapped between the sea, the Turkish machine
gun posts and a devastating fire. But the fire – and the refugees –
was only a part of the story. The destruction of Smyrna was to lead
to a far greater crisis. Two million people were to find themselves
caught up in a catastrophe on a truly epic scale."
While Paradise Lost tells of the devastating destiny of the city of
Smyrna and its people, it also provides an examination of political
and religious relations at the time and it tells a fascinating,
yet horrifying, story with clarity and insight.
Eyewitness testimonies, diary entries, and letters – some of them
published for the first time – are all part of this meticulously
researched, informed account. Paradise Lost is tells the story of the
cityʼs burning from an unusual and interesting angle and perspective,
from the viewpoint of the Levantine population in Smyrna.
Milton explains that he wanted to tell the story, where possible, from
the Levantine point of view. Who were the Levantines, and why tell
the story from their point of view? "These were wealthy Europeans
who had lived in Smyrna for two centuries; they did not care who
ruled the city as long as they could continue to make money. As such,
they are impartial witnesses. From everything I read – both their own
writings and those by Americans in the city – it is without question
that Smryna was burned by the Turks."
For many of the Greek survivors of the cataclysmic destruction of
the city and its inhabitants, the story was too painful to tell, says
Milton. "Children of the Greek survivors know less than others about
the Catastrophe because their parents don’t want to remember. I met
many second and third generation Greeks in America who have almost
no idea what their parents and grandparents experienced in Smyrna.
And the story of Smyrna is little known in Britain or America,
Milton stresses, even though there are many elements that are
extremely relevant to us today. "Genocide and ethnic cleansing –
both of which occurred in Turkey at this time – are still with us –
think of the Balkans and Rwanda"
The burning of Smyrna is part of the same chapter of history that
was the Armenian genocide, ‘Turkey for the Turks’ was the slogan; in
an age of nationalism, there were no longer any place for Turkey’s
‘troublesome’ Christian minorities, says Milton. "It is perhaps
ironic that Ataturk’s republic, built along democratic, secular lines,
was founded upon the expulsion of all the minority groups of the old
Ottoman Empire."
There are important lessons for us to be learned in this, says the
author, who is interested in the idea of Smyrna as the prototype of
our own modern cities – multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan. "It alarmed me
to see just how quickly such a diverse city – where Greeks, Armenians
and Turks had lived as neighbours and friends – could be destroyed. And
there is also the question of great powers intervening in the affairs
of a foreign country. In Turkey, Britain and America used a proxy
(Greece) to carry out their foreign policy. Nowadays, those same to
powers intervene with their own armies. If we had learned lessons
from Smyrna, the mess in Iraq might never have happened."
Having lived alongside each other as neighbors for centuries Greeks
and Turks in Smyrna shared some cultural roots, says the author. "They
had a shared culture, heritage, music, cuisine. Time and again in
the Greek archives the Greeks speak of getting along extremely well
with their neighboring Turks…you read of the different communities
in Smyrna living alongside each other in peace and harmony; they
played in the same football teams, went to each other’s weddings
etc. It was the rise of nationalism that caused the rupture in these
harmonious relations. With the rise of nationalism, all this came to
an abrupt end. Centuries of friendship was torn apart in the space
of a few months."
Milton explains that there are two groups in Turkey taking
two different stands (on the history of the event: the liberal
intelligentsia and the rabid materialists. Turkey is a divided
country. The educated liberal intelligentsia is willing to speak about
Turkeyʼs role in history. But the ardent nationalists refuse to admit
that any wrongs were committed. According to most Turkish historians,
Smyrna was burned by either the Armenians or the retreating Greek
army. It is almost impossible to publish a book in Turkey saying
otherwise."
Will the book be sold in Turkey? "There is the infamous Penal Code
301 which forbids publication of anything that ʽpublicly denigrates
Turkishnessʼ. My book does not do that…it simply tells the story
of what happened in Smyrna. Several publishers turned the book down,
although they thought it was fascinating. But now I have one publisher
who believes it is very important that the story be known to a wider
audience in Turkey."
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