In the heart of the historic Lonsdale Street Greek precinct in Melbourne’s CBD, the Greek Centre, the Greek Community’s of Melbourne’s HQ turned red last night to mark the Remembrance Day for the Greek Genocide in Pontus.
The red light symbolises the blood shed, the blood of the 353,000 Pontians massacred by the Ottoman Turks.
“The Greeks of Pontus are an important part of our history. As a Greek with Pontian roots and a grandmother who was born and raised in Trabzon, we celebrated this shocking anniversary for another year," said Greek Community president, Bill Papastergiadis.
On her part, Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of Pontian Associations of Melbourne, Roma Siachos stated: "The memory of our ancestors must remain immortal, we must continue our struggle in every direction and together we must reach the coveted recognition of the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus."
"The Coordinating Committee calls on the entire Greek community to embrace the events commemorating the Genocide and to give a new impetus to our struggle," she concluded.