Father’s Day
He came from nothing.
No mom, No dad, No aunts, No uncles,
No grandparents, No home, No possessions
NOTHING... NOTHING... NOTHING ...
Not even his name -
Was Kyrillos or Kyriako his given name or
[as he believes] a name given to him by a priest
at the Zappion Orphanage in Athens?
He came with NOTHING but
the shoes he wore and the clothes on his back.
But little Kyriako didn’t start that way.
At birth and until age six he was the son
of a wealthy [possibly tobacco] farmer living in a loving home
with his parents and having workers and servants.
They lived in the Pontian Mountains of Turkey
in the Samsun Region in the town of Kavza (also spelled Havza);
Kavza was the very town where Ottoman General Mustafa Kemal
(known as Ataturk), started his “Turkey for Turks” movement
that was officially called the “Turkish War of National Liberation”,
a fancy name for the genocide he carried out personally
|and through [so called] generals to rid Turkey of non-Turks and Christians.
One General was the infamous barbarian
Moulazim Memdouh Bey who; with his illegally paid militia,
was documented as killing little Kyriako Eleftheriou’s
father on March 22, 1919, in Kavza
Kyriako wasn’t special.
In life, his family was typical Pontian
and in death they met their fate
as did 2 to 4 million other poor souls
his father was hung in their barn
his mother was shot,
his farm and all the family possessions stolen.
He was left like a piece of trash,
abandoned like a rabid dog,
to suffer, starve, freeze and die;
a six-year-old; alone,
in the deadly aftermath and awful silence
of a most horrid and barbaric act.
Orphaned and alone in the world
with only the memory of his slaughtered parents,
he had no idea of “why”
his life was destroyed and his parents annihilated,
only to later learn that their crimes were two-fold...
They were Christians and they were not Turks
These children like little Kyriako were called survivors
but they were more than that;
they were the living embodiment of the truth,
the undeniable living relics of a genocide
perpetuated on innocent people
and a sad commentary on one of the worst demonstrations
of inhumanity in the history of the world.
The cruelty was surpassed only by the Jewish holocaust
perpetuated by Hitler, who’s genocide killed 6 million Jews
and who actually referred to Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) as a hero and idol.
The players are well known and lots of blame to go around.
The British and French:
for failing to force Turkey to abide by post-war surrender agreements and also,
for failing to stop the Turks from ravaging Christians in Pontos and Asia Minor
The Turks:
for the holocaust perpetuated through the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of
+/- 3 million Greeks, Armenians and Serian Christians from 1900 to 1923
But these children would not be denied.
The over-run orphanages released them
in their mid-teen years with minimal education
and little to no skills. They survived by doing
undesirable work as child laborers
and all manner of menial, low paying jobs.
Some lived on their own,
others with fellow holocaust survivors
and most lived in repulsive, detestable conditions.
As they entered adulthood, these young adults scattered around the world.
They sought opportunities, they were street-smart,
some got educated, others developed trade skills,
many became entrepreneurs.
For these young adults, joining the merchant marines
was like going on a vacation cruise.
By the mid-50’s these children not only survived
but thrived as adults with strong faith, jobs, growing families
and never forgetting who they were or where they were from.
Here in the U.S.A., they defined what was meant by
living the American Dream and... they were proud to be “Americans”,
They worked hard, were faithful, law abiding, appreciative
and well-grounded family people with high morals.
Never did these children seek retribution or revenge by returning violence with violence.
They only sought acknowledgment by the world order of what occurred
and to call it for what it was... with no politically correct word-smithing.
To make those accountable... for being responsible!!!
So proud of you Dad for all you over-came and the father and person you were
..... Happy Father’s Day .....