Community celebrates 100 years of Greek Pontians in Norwalk By Patricia A. Hines - Norwalk Citizen The story of George Tsilfidis' grandmother aptly describes the travels and travails of the Pontian people. His grandmother, who died in 1997 at the age of 102 or 104 -- "we're not sure how old she was," said her grandson -- was forced to flee Pontos; was relocated to Russia, then had to leave there; went to live in Greece, where she witnessed and survived the Civil War; and endured her Pontian countrymen suffering and dying in the Greek genocide of the early 1920s. She arrived in United States when she was in her 70s or 80s. "She only saw war before," said Tsilfidis, from Norwalk and the president of the Pontian Society "Pontos." As she lived out her life on American soil, she experienced only the positive. "She saw her kids prosper," said Tsilfidis, who was 14 years old when he arrived in the United States in 1971. On a recent afternoon at Pontos Taverne on Isaacs Street, which also houses the Pontian Society offices, Tsilfidis, his first cousin Gus Tsilfides and Dr. Konstantinos Fotiadis sat down to discuss the history of Pontians and this weekend's celebration. From Friday to Monday, the Pan-Pontian Federation of U.S.A. and Canada and the Pontian Society of Norwalk are hosting an event celebrating 3,000 years of Greeks in the Black Sea region, 100 years of Greek Pontians in Norwalk and the 30th anniversary of the federation. Fotiadis, a professor of history at the University of Western Macedonia, will be the keynote speaker during the convention from 10 a. m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center, 99 East Ave., and will address "Memory is Power." The first-ever English version of Fotiadis' book "PONTOS -- Justice and Honor to Memory" will be released at an event on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall sponsored by Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia. "Norwalk is proud to host this significant celebration of history and culture. Welcoming visitors from throughout North America to recognize the deep respect for Greek Pontians' impact on the development of western civilization and the more recent contributions to our local communities is a privilege for our city and all its citizens," Moccia said in a release. The book is a compilation of the 14 volumes of the 3,000-year history of the Pontian people that has been translated to English to reach a wider audience. "We've known of his work. He has other books dealing with the history of the Pontian people, but this is his latest work, which mostly refers to our ancestors," said Tsilfides. One of the other highlights of the convention is a pictorial exhibit of more than 40 four-by-four-foot color boards called "Pontos Justice & Honor to Memory," which will be on display at Norwalk City Hall through Sept. 9. Additionally, a dinner dance takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday at Continental Manor. Throughout the weekend, there also will be performances by members of the Pontian Society, Aliki Kayaloglou and Adem Ekis and dance troupes. Tsilfides, who was 10 years old when he came to the United States in 1969, said the primary goal of the convention is to "perpetuate our culture. For our kids not to forget the dancing and the music and the language and the traditional foods, sayings, myths -- all those things encompass our culture." The secondary goal is to promote the strides made in the United States and in other regions for worldwide recognition of the genocide, which took the lives of more than 3 million Armenians, Pontians, Greeks and Assyrians from 1916 to 1923 during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. More than 350,000 Pontians were killed in massacres, death marches and other forms of torture, they said. Pontos is an area in Asia Minor along the Black Sea. Its history is long and deep, and is where Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece. The first Greek colony, called Sinopi, was established on the northern shores of ancient Anatolia. Over time, other Greeks followed and set up more colonies. According to Fotiadis, speaking through translation by Tsilfidis and Tsilfides, 75 cities were established by Pontians in a region rich in trade and commerce, and most of the inhabitants had become Christians. Life was good for the Pontians, said the three men, until the rule of the Ottoman Empire, with Islam becoming the preferred religious belief. Tsilfidis explained that Labor Battalions were employed for Pontians, who were forced to work in intolerable weather and perform hard labor, leading to the death of many. The Pontians got little help from other countries during this period of World War I, said Tsilfides. Allied ships, including those from Italy, United States, France, England and Germany, were stationed off the coast while the genocide took place, doing nothing for fear of losing any claims to the Middle Eastern oil pipelines, he said. "The world knew," he said. Many Pontians fled to Russia, where they faced more atrocities under the regime of Joseph Stalin, who exiled them to Siberia; others went to Greece, said Tsilfidis, who added that more than a million were in Russia at this time and 300,000 relocated to Greece. Interesting, said Tsilfides, many of the Pontians who stayed behind did so because they became Muslim. "In order to save their lives and their families, they became Muslims, but Muslims in name only. They remained secretly Christians and they continued to teach their children their language, the music, the culture, the arts." Pontians then began to come to the United States. "The major migration to the United States," said Tsilfides, "was facilitated because those who first migrated to Russia were given a special status as Russian refugees and given automatic visas to the United States. For a period of about 22 years in Greece, a major goal for young eligible men or women was to find a Russian refugee to marry so they could be their ticket to the United States." Turning to Fotiadis for historical background, Tsilfidis said the earliest that Pontian Greeks came to Norwalk was in 1908 at the time of the Labor Battalions, and those who escaped discovered underground channels that would lead them to America. Three men are credited with starting the immigration to the United States. Industrial cities such as Chicago, Boston and Canton all attracted displaced Pontians, as did Norwalk, where 750 Greek families live and 85 percent of those are of Pontian descent, said Tsilfidis. Whole families started to come to the United States after 1955, with the largest immigration numbers between 1965 and 1973. "These people did not have an education, but they were not afraid of work. Working in the factories here was better than working in the fields and the farms back home where they were working for a meager living," said Tsilfides. Tsilfides, who learned half of the English alphabet and the numbers to 20 during the 11-day boat ride, said when his family came to the United States his uncle already was in Norwalk. "We arrived on a Thursday and on Monday, my father was working in a factory," he said. His father's first paycheck was $68, but he took on more work to provide for his family. The transition to America was not that difficult, especially for the young, since others were here, said the first cousins. The Pontians in Norwalk stayed together and relied on one another. "As kids, it was easier to adjust. But my mother cried for a year and a half." When discussing the effort to preserve the Pontian history and culture, Tsilfides said, "It's in our DNA. It is instilled us since the time we are little children to know who we are and to believe in the way of our people." The trio hopes that the convention and pictorial exhibit will attract not just Pontians but other as well. But, in the end, promoting and preserving the history in Pontian young people is uppermost. "If you forget where you came from, you are lost," said Tsilfidis. Pontos is an area in Asia Minor along the Black Sea. Its history is long and deep, and is where Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece. The first Greek colony, called Sinopi, was established on the northern shores of ancient Anatolia. Over time, other Greeks followed and set up more colonies. According to Fotiadis, speaking through translation by Tsilfidis and Tsilfides, 75 cities were established by Pontians in a region rich in trade and commerce, and most of the inhabitants had become Christians. Life was good for the Pontians, said the three men, until the rule of the Ottoman Empire, with Islam becoming the preferred religious belief. Tsilfidis explained that Labor Battalions were employed for Pontians, who were forced to work in intolerable weather and perform hard labor, leading to the death of many. The Pontians got little help from other countries during this period of World War I, said Tsilfides. Allied ships, including those from Italy, United States, France, England and Germany, were stationed off the coast while the genocide took place, doing nothing for fear of losing any claims to the Middle Eastern oil pipelines, he said. "The world knew," he said. Many Pontians fled to Russia, where they faced more atrocities under the regime of Joseph Stalin, who exiled them to Siberia; others went to Greece, said Tsilfidis, who added that more than a million were in Russia at this time and 300,000 relocated to Greece. Interesting, said Tsilfides, many of the Pontians who stayed behind did so because they became Muslim. "In order to save their lives and their families, they became Muslims, but Muslims in name only. They remained secretly Christians and they continued to teach their children their language, the music, the culture, the arts." Pontians then began to come to the United States. "The major migration to the United States," said Tsilfides, "was facilitated because those who first migrated to Russia were given a special status as Russian refugees and given automatic visas to the United States. For a period of about 22 years in Greece, a major goal for young eligible men or women was to find a Russian refugee to marry so they could be their ticket to the United States." Turning to Fotiadis for historical background, Tsilfidis said the earliest that Pontian Greeks came to Norwalk was in 1908 at the time of the Labor Battalions, and those who escaped discovered underground channels that would lead them to America. Three men are credited with starting the immigration to the United States. Industrial cities such as Chicago, Boston and Canton all attracted displaced Pontians, as did Norwalk, where 750 Greek families live and 85 percent of those are of Pontian descent, said Tsilfidis. Whole families started to come to the United States after 1955, with the largest immigration numbers between 1965 and 1973. "These people did not have an education, but they were not afraid of work. Working in the factories here was better than working in the fields and the farms back home where they were working for a meager living," said Tsilfides. Tsilfides, who learned half of the English alphabet and the numbers to 20 during the 11-day boat ride, said when his family came to the United States his uncle already was in Norwalk. "We arrived on a Thursday and on Monday, my father was working in a factory," he said. His father's first paycheck was $68, but he took on more work to provide for his family. The transition to America was not that difficult, especially for the young, since others were here, said the first cousins. The Pontians in Norwalk stayed together and relied on one another. "As kids, it was easier to adjust. But my mother cried for a year and a half." When discussing the effort to preserve the Pontian history and culture, Tsilfides said, "It's in our DNA. It is instilled us since the time we are little children to know who we are and to believe in the way of our people." The trio hopes that the convention and pictorial exhibit will attract not just Pontians but other as well. But, in the end, promoting and preserving the history in Pontian young people is uppermost. "If you forget where you came from, you are lost," said Tsilfidis.