The Mayor of Kalamaria Mr. Ioannis Dardamanelis, the President of IAPE Mr. Ananias Tsirampides the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Constantinos Polycarpou the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Akis Daghazian, and the Honorary President of the Armenian Cultural Association Hamaskain Mrs. Diru Galilaia Kalfayan, in the context of the commemorative events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, invite you to the following events:

• On May 8, 2023, at 19:00, at the Armenian Cultural Center, (Tsimiski with Antoniou Kamara 1) event on the topic: “Greeks and Armenians of the East who settled in Cyprus after the Asia Minor Catastrophe”. The speakers are the Associate Professor of Modern Greek History at the University of Cyprus, Mr. PetrosPapapolyvios, with the title of the talk: “Asia Minor Refugees in Cyprus” and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. AkisDagazian, with the title of his speech: “Armenian Refugees in Cyprus”
• On May 9, 2023, at 19:30, at the Municipal Theatre of Kalamaria “Melina Mercouri” (7-9 Argyroupoleos and Metamorphosis), presentation of the play “FOTEINI” by Evridiki Pericles Papadopoulou. The play will be performed by the theatrical group Solo for Three in a theatrical analog. Directed by Maria Mannaridou-Karcera, and set design by Thelma Kasoulides. The roles are Medea Hanna, Herodotus Miliades, and RafaellaKavazi. The music composer GiorgosKalogirou on stage with his own compositions and lyrics by Eurydice Pericles Papadopoulou, performs Greek and Armenian songs of Ionia.

The play, which is set in the 1950s during the late British rule and the EOKA struggle in Cyprus, follows the life of a Smyrna woman who fled to Larnaca in 1922 as a refugee with her daughter. After managing to get back on her feet, she sees her life turned upside down after her granddaughter meets a young Armenian boy. A relationship that will awaken hidden traumatic secrets and locked memories of life at home and the tragedy of refugee life.

One of the lesser-known aspects of the Asia Minor Catastrophe is the reception and care of the Greek and Armenian Asia Minor refugees in Cyprus in September 1922 and onwards. According to the official figures of the British Administration of Cyprus, by December 1922, about 2,400 refugees (200 British, 500 Armenians, 800 Asia Minor refugees of Cypriot origin, and another 900 Greek Asia Minor nationals) arrived in Cyprus from Asia Minor. Larnaca received the largest wave of refugees. In which there was a purgatory. The refugees who eventually settled in Cyprus came mainly from areas of southern Asia Minor (Iconium, Mersina, Allahia, Kylindria, Antioch, Attalia, Seleucia, Anemuria, etc.), as well as from Smyrna and Constantinople. Geographically, it seems that the refugees were scattered all over the island, both in urban centers and in the countryside, coastal and inland.

With the above event, the Historical Archive of Refugee Hellenism of the Municipality of Kalamaria seeks to cover more fully the events of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, highlighting yet another, for many, unknown aspect of it.

Reservations: 2310434917 Mrs. Maria Kazantzidou Mr. George Mavroudis

Είσοδος ελεύθερη

Κρατήσεις: 2310434917 κα Μαρία Καζαντζίδου κος Γιώργος Μαυρουδής