"Χθες ήταν η μαύρη επέτειος της Αλώσεως της Πόλης. Μας το “θύμισε” στην παρέα η Ελένη. Οχι ότι δεν το θυμηθήκαμε, αλλά θέλαμε να το θάψουμε στο υποσυνείδητό μας και να το κρατήσουμε στο πίσω μέρος της μνήμης μας. Το ιστορικό αυτό γεγονός “πονάει”… Απλώς, η Ελένη, που είναι και δασκάλα, το είχε “δουλέψει” το θέμα για να το παρουσιάσει στο μάθημα της τάξης της. Η Αλωση είναι η πτώση της Κωνσταντινούπολης από τους Οθωμανούς. Και αν αυτό μάτωσε όλη τη Ρωμιοσύνη, οι Ελληνες της Πόλης το ξεπέρασαν και κατάφεραν να γίνουν πάλι αφέντες στον κατακτημένο τόπο τους: έγιναν έμποροι, τραπεζίτες, καραβοκύρηδες, επιχειρηματίες και, ακόμη και υπό τον οθωμανικό ζυγό, η Ρωμιοσύνη της Πόλης ζούσε και βασίλευε: με λίγα γρόσια οι Ρωμιοί έκαναν τη δουλειά τους… Τα γεγονότα που ακολούθησαν την κατάρρευση της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας, η ίδρυση του κεμαλικού κράτους, η καταστροφή του 1922, οι διωγμοί των Ελλήνων στα σύγχρονα χρόνια, τα ανθελληνικά γεγονότα του 1955 στην Πόλη, το πογκρόμ και οι σφαγές, αυτά είναι που πονάνε περισσότερο.
Αντί για ο,τιδήποτε άλλο, θα κάνω μνεία σε σε 2 βιβλία-λευκώματα που κυκλοφόρησαν την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα από 2 ημερήσιες εφημερίδες: το ένα ονομάζεται “Η Αλωση της Πόλης: Μαρτυρίες εντός και εκτός των τειχών” και κυκλοφόρησε στη σειρά “Ιστορικά” της “Ελευθεροτυπίας”. Ξεκινά από το ιστορικό υπόβαθρο, καταγράφει την εμφάνιση των Οθωμανών και αναφέρεται στο γεγονός από διάφορες ιστορικές πηγές. Το άλλο ονομάζεται “Ο Ναός Της Αγίας του Θεού Σοφίας”, το διένειμαν “Τα Νέα” και εντοπίζει το αντικείμενο μελέτης σε αυτό που ονομάστηκε “η πηγή που έτρεφε και συντηρούσε ολόκληρο το βυζαντινό οργανισμό” (Tamara Talbot Rice, Ο δημόσιος και ιδιωτικός βίος των βυζαντινών, Αθήνα 1988).
Για την Αλωση και τα “Σεπτεμβριανά” μπορείς να μάθεις περισσότερα χρησιμοποιώντας τους συνδέσμους:
- http://noiazomai.agrino.org/1453.html
- http://www.manesis.gr/alosi/alosi.htm
- http://www.hri.org/MPA/gr/other/1453/
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6282759841132299845
- http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13136&m=A10&aa=1&eidos=S
- http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=22723
Πάντως, προσωπικά και χωρίς να παραγράφω τίποτε από τα εγκλήματα της Τουρκίας σε βάρος ενός εκ των δυναμικότερων στρωμάτων της κοινωνίας της, προτιμώ πάντοτε να έχω στο νου μου τα λόγια της Μαρίας Ιορδανίδου, στη “Λωξάντρα”, για την Πόλη του 1874:
“Οι Τούρκοι, βέβαια, ήταν τα αγαρηνά σκυλιά, αλλά οι Τούρκοι για τη Λωξάντρα ήτανε μία έννοια πολύ μπερδεμένη. Οι Τούρκοι ήτανε μία μάστιγα της ανθρωπότητας, μία θεομηνία. Σα να λέμε: χολέρα, σεισμός, κεραυνός. Τί σχέση όμως είχανε αυτά τα πράματα με τον Αλή ή με τον αυγουλά της το Μουσταφά, που όταν έβγαζε στο νύχι του καλαγκάθι ερχότανε και της γύρευε αγίασμα από το Μπαλουκλί?“.
Και αν το πίστευε αυτό η Λωξάντρα τότε, το πιστεύει σήμερα κι ένας αξιόλογος τούρκος δημοσιογράφος. Ο Μεχμέτ Αλί Μπιράντ, στην “Turkish Daily News”, παραδέχεται ότι “η ντροπή του Σεπτεμβρίου του 1955 είναι όλη δική μας” (των Τούρκων). “I can never forget” λέει.
<I am one of the living witnesses of what happened in Istanbul 50 years ago. I was 14 years old. I did not know what it was all about. However, the passage of time made me understand the seriousness of the incidents and I always carry the shame. I am one of the living witnesses of what happened in Istanbul 50 years ago. I was 14 years old. I did not know what it was all about. However, the passage of time made me understand the seriousness of the incidents, and I always carry the shame. Even though it was the only such incident in which the Turkish state officially admitted its culpability and tried to compensate its victims, it still continues to weigh on our conscience. I can never forget. I can still remember what I saw in Beyoğlu on the morning of Sept. 7, 1955. I had to go to Galatasaray High School to register for their preliminary class. I reached Beyoğlu with great difficulty. When I went to Tunel from Karaköy, I just was flabbergasted. The scene was shocking. The huge street seemed like a war zone, with windows of the shops on both sides of the street shattered and all their goods strewn all over the street. Bunches of clothes, books, notebooks, chandeliers and much more. People were taking home whatever they could find. The scene was like judgment day. I was a child, and I had no idea what had happened. What I noticed immediately was that while some shops were plundered, others were not even touched. I had a look and saw that there was a Turkish flag hanging on the windows of the shops that were not looted. Those that were had Greek names. People with long beards and those who were dressed very shabbily were walking around. I saw that some people who were dressed normally were hiding in the shops, looking outside. The police and the soldiers seemed like they were saying: "Enough is enough. You did what you did, but now just leave". They were both intervening and not intervening at the same time. That scene has always remained with me. Even though half a century has passed, I still shiver when I remember it. When I read the newspapers a day later, I realized the extent of the matter. Similar incidents had occurred also in Taksim and Şişli, where most of the citizens of Greek origin lived. Not only the shops, but also churches, even cemeteries were damaged and plundered. Jewish citizens also got their share of trouble, but the main targets were Greeks. Newspapers were writing about people waving Turkish flags, pleading with the looters: "Please don't do it. I'm a Turk. I am a Turkish citizen". It was a disgusting, belittling and tragic affair. My mother and other adults were criticizing what had happened, while officials were talking about �the placing of a bomb at the house in Thessaloniki where Atatürk was born, which had been turned into a museum, and the anger felt against what was happening in Cyprus,� explaining that the people had become enraged.
We were living on Ethem Efendi Street at the time. Our neighbors were mostly Greek. They were my best friends. All of a sudden, they shut themselves in their homes. They talked to no one. I can never forget Madam Eleni when she asked, "Can we seek refuge in your home if they attack us"� The barbershop she managed with her husband was in ruins. They were in shock. My mother sent them food for a week. We let them live in one of our rooms. I was too young to make sense of what had happened. Why should they attack Madam Eleni? What could they ask from them? Why were they different from me? As I was seeking answers to these questions, the Greek families in our neighborhood started to move to other places or go to Greece. After 1963 none of them were left. They left Istanbul. They took with them an important culture, a color and a different lifestyle. They left us alone in Istanbul to live our colorless lives. Later on we were full of regret, but by then it was too late... What's even more interesting is the way Sept. 6-7 shamed us and hurt us and tainted us as a nation. Discriminating due to religion, language or culture or using force on the weak is belittling one's self>.
Και καταλήγει: “I don’t know you, but I apologize to our neighbor Madam Eleni from Erenköy”…
