After the Genocide of Pontian Hellenism, some Greeks of Pontus became Muslims and were forced to accept Turkish names. Thus continuing the multi-year process of Turkification. However, this is starting to change…
From the settlement of Giaila
One case in which a Turkish citizen found out that he was Greek is Giannis - Vassilis Giailali.
Giannis - Vassilis Gayilali (Ibrahim Yaylalı) was born in 1974 in the settlement of Giaila in the village of Asar in Bafra, in the prefecture of Samsun.
He is a former Turkish radical nationalist who was proud of his hostility to the Kurds and other indigenous peoples of Asia Minor.
In April 1994 he enlisted in the Turkish army and enlisted in the Turkish Special Forces, where he trained as a sniper.
The activist Giannis - Vassilis Giailali… (photos pontosnews.gr)
In September of the same year he was sent to Kurdistan, where he was wounded in battle and taken prisoner by the Kurds. He was released after being held for 2 years and 8 months.
Gaylali, who was nurtured by Turkish-Islamic racist ideology in his family, school and army, underwent a great transformation during his captivity.
The letter
During his captivity by the Kurds, he came in contact with the ideology of the leader - a model of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Ocalan. In addition, he learned from the letter the state sent to his father that he was Greek.
In addition, journalists who had been in contact with his family revealed that his grandfather was Greek and his name was Konstantinos and his grandmother Paraskevi. From the settlement of Yaila in the village of Asar.
A milestone in his life was the day he discovered his Greek origin. When he was released he decided to change his name from Ibrahim to Giannis - Vassilis.
Declaring that he regained his humanity and freedom…
He then went on to fight for peace, protesting against the war in Kurdistan. He was then arrested and held for more than three months in Turkish military prisons.
The flight to Greece
He was arrested again in April 2017 and jailed once again for his statements against Erdogan's policies as he and his partner, Meral Geylani, spearheaded anti-Turkish protests.
In July 2018 he was released until the trial of his case, which was scheduled for December 3, 2018, but he requested and received a postponement until February 2019.
With his partner Meral Geylani
Thus, in order not to be sent to prison again, Giannis Vassilis Giailali made the decision to leave Turkey secretly and come to Greece. He had tried in the past to come legally, but was not given a visa.
In 2019 he boarded a boat and under unknown circumstances arrived in Alexandroupolis. When identified by police, he revealed his identity, denounced the persecution he suffered and sought political asylum, remaining a conscientious objector and peace activist.
For all his activities in Turkey he received daily threats to his life. Both from the Turkish police and army, as well as from strangers with threatening messages…
"Now they would either kill me or at best for me I would be sentenced to life. That is why I chose to come to Greece, to my homeland, even as a refugee ", says Giannis Vassilis Giailali.
"As you know, I am a descendant of those who 2.800 years ago came and founded all the cities in Pontus. And as a descendant of them (what an irony), 2.800 years later I come to my country, to my homeland, to Greece as a fugitive - as a refugee. "Because of the struggle I made in Turkey for the Pontic people, our people," he added.
Turkey and the persecutions
Yailali said the current practices of the Turkish government and the guilty historical legacy on which Turkey's persecution is based should not be ignored. These crimes can no longer be hidden.
Based on this guilty history, policies of slaughter, deportation, looting and rape by the Turkish regime are systematically implemented. All this marks the transfer of Ottoman practices to the Turkish Republic.
"For 150 years, this area has been Turkishized. At that time, the New Ottomans, the Islamists, sometimes the Unionists and sometimes the Kemalists who came out of the Unionists, all had the same goal. "They have never tried democratic practices," Yailali said.
"The Assyrians, the Armenians and my own people, about whom I later learned, were all victims of the Turkish state, as was the case with the Pontian Genocide. "These are obviously peoples who have nothing to do with the Turks and the beliefs of Sunni Islam."
"Giannis-Vassilis Giailali: Freedom for the peoples of Asia Minor"
He continues: "The continuing aggressive stance against Greece and Cyprus today is obvious and is taking place in the same context. What is happening today is the perpetuation of the 150-year-old policy of Turkification. They use all kinds of dirty mechanisms ".
The genocide of memory
Stressing that all neighboring states, all peoples and Europe must realize the racist, fascist, religious and Ottoman character of the Turkish state, Giannis Vassilis Giailali emphasizes:
"All countries and peoples must see this reality and act accordingly. Especially us Greeks, Greece, which suffered genocide from the ancestors of these Turks.
"Also, the Armenians and Armenia must reconsider their relations with the fascist Turkish state, but also their relations with the Kurds.
"His practice of ignoring genocides and massacres and continuing their lives when they happen not to be in Turkey's sights has gone irreversibly."
Relatives in Greece
Finally, for his relatives and the new life in Greece, Giannis - Vassilis Giailali points out:
"I want to look for relatives. I learned that some people from my village came to the area of Drama. I would love to meet them.
"I want to start a new life in Greece. At the same time, however, I will continue my struggle for the recognition of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus ".
Source: lelevose.gr