The underlying trait of all successful groups of people is unity and a common goal. The Pontic Greeks (Pontians) are a group of Greeks who originated from a historic region in north-eastern Turkey named Pontus. Greek presence in Pontus can be traced back to 700 BC when ancient Greek seafarers colonised towns along the Black Sea coast. Pontic Greeks are survivors, make no mistake about that. One thing which distinguishes them from other Greeks, is their stubbornness, their ego and of course their Pontic identity.

Throughout the world it's estimated there are 3 million Pontic Greeks. What exactly defines a Pontic Greek nowadays is hard to say. As a result of inter-marriage between Pontic Greek descendants and non-Pontic Greeks as well as non-Greeks, fewer people exist today who can claim to be direct descendants of Pontic Greeks compared to say 50 years ago. And this phenomenon will continue. This is one reason why Pontic Greeks will struggle to survive as a group.

Today in virtually all parts of the world where Pontic Greeks live, there are Pontic cultural clubs. These clubs serve to mostly continue the tradition of Pontic Greek music and dance. Their purpose in serving as cultural centres has been one of the main things which has kept the Pontic culture alive within the social sphere. But problems arise when these clubs mix culture with politics. And when attempts are made to unite them all under the one umbrella, the Pontic ego comes into play.  The division amongst the Pontic clubs in Greece has resulted in the formation of umbrella organisations whose purpose has simply been to sign up as many clubs to gain numerical support against the others. These larger organisations are usually funded by Greek political parties who donate money to these Pontic umbrella organisations to gain votes in national and regional elections. The reason why most people avoid Pontic clubs is mainly due to this intermarriage of culture and politics. And this will continue whilst Pontic clubs accept allegiances with politicians and political parties.

In the diaspora a division occurred in Australia only last year. The existence of a Pontic federation since 1989 whilst sounding positive in principle, was also the underlying problem. It resulted in club dissatisfaction and dissunity. The federation in Australia turned into a political disaster. Those who initiated the formation of the federation in 1989, somehow wanted to dictate the direction of the federation rather than letting the federation take its own path. Many didn't want any involvement of the federation with Greek umbrella groups overseas who as we know are affiliated with Greek political parties and as a result protested. Individual clubs that became disgruntled with the direction of the federation then formed allegiances with other disgruntled members.

When this group thought they had enough members to vote the impeding president and his cohorts out of office, a surprise revelation of new clubs was made. Without the knowledge of the disgruntled clubs, new clubs were formed. According to the federation's constitution, anyone can come forward and form a Pontic club. Sure they have to pay a small fee of $200 and meet certain criteria, but really those criteria are open to interpretation. For instance, if 2 people get together and do something positive in the community in terms of promoting Pontic culture, would they be entitled to be registered as a club and have equal rights when voting in the federation? In other words, can a club comprising 2 members have the same voting power as a club with 200 members? Surely not. But in Australia this is the case.

Another problem is that a member of one club can be a member of another club within the federation. So can 10 people within one club be members of another club? In other words can 2 clubs exist with the same 10 people? There are just too many grey areas in the federation that need clarification. Member groups had a disastrous and public falling out. What's worse is that today in Australia, two federations exist with the same name. One group believes it is the ‘real' federation because it believes the other federation (group) behaved unconstitutionally. The state of affairs in Australia is indeed farcical and needs to be addressed.

Well known Pontic Greek, Anna Theofylaktou recently stated that there are far too many Pontic clubs in Greece. There is virtually a Pontic Greek club in every village in Greece. There are probably hundreds of them. The same it appears is happening in Australia. There are now 13 clubs in Australia when only a few years ago there were possibly a handful. The majority of these would have less than 100 members. And as mentioned above, duplication of membership comes into play; in other words the number is inflated. Most exist merely for the purpose of showing a Pontic presence in that state. And of course to cast a vote in the ‘federation' elections.

Another problem is appearing in Australia. One club (Pontiaki Estia) has recently decided to purchase premises virtually metres away from another Pontic club (Pontiaki Kinotita). Many within the Pontic community see this as sabotage, counter productive and a sign of disrespect. It indeed is akin to opening a fish shop next door to another fish shop and competing. So aside from the politics within the federation, Australia's clubs (or at least Pontiaki Estia) are now doing things which appear will create friction in the community.  Such signs of perceived sabotage are indeed worrying and must stop. A certain sense of respect must exist amongst Pontians if progress is to be made.

The formation of Pontic clubs is a good thing. They have promoted Pontic culture for decades since the exchange in 1923. But when these clubs are formed for the purpose of casting votes, or to spite other Pontic clubs, they do a great disservice to Pontic Hellenism. Ego driven decisions within the Pontic community worldwide must cease. Those who are causing the problems must stand down and allow Pontic culture to grow. Those who are using their position in federations and Pontic organisations to create division and disunity must be held accountable for the lack of attendance and poor memberships of clubs. And the allegiance of Pontic clubs with political parties must come to an end.

Overall, Pontic Greeks face an uphill battle to progress.

At the end of the day, Pontic Greeks are their own worst enemy.

Note: We'd like to thank the person in America who contacted us and told us that the act of opening a Pontian club right next door to another Pontian club has been tried in America.  Youth attendance at Pontian clubs is all but dead in America as a result of such acts. And old heads that cling to power for far too long is another reason why youth no longer attend clubs.  Australia is headed in the same direction and Pontosworld believes youth will continue to stay away from clubs that have committees that are  focussed on sabotaging the clubs around them.  And our advice to anyone wanting to start a Pontic club is to stay away from any sort of federation or peak body. Build a club based on history and culture. Not politics.