TRACING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEK REFUGEES IN NAOUSSA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENT.

Thursday 5 June 2025

A historical itinerary through the neighborhoods where refugees from Pontus, the rest of Asia Minor, and Thrace settled and lived in Naoussa during the first half of the 20th century.

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, a historical walk through the refugee neighbourhoods took place, guided and historically documented by Dr. Antonia Charisi. This is yet another joint initiative by the Friends of the Naoussa Historical Archive and the Euxine Club of Pontians of Naoussa, which is part of a series of events honoring the memory of the thousands of Pontians who perished in the Genocide, as well as the other Greeks from Asia Minor and Thrace who were also persecuted and eventually arrived in waves in Naoussa before and after the Treaty of Lausanne. During the walk, Dr. Charisi unfolded the history of  the refugees who settled and led their lives in our city: the first, largely spontaneous or entirely local efforts to care for, feed, and accommodate them, the formidable task of their systematic replacement, the disputes related to the construction of the refugee settlement in upper town, their gradual integration into the society of Naoussa, and the rescue of the library of the  Greek Tuition Center of Argyroupolis. The itinenary through the streets of the settlement, the small homes that housed the dreams of refugee families, and the 5th  Elementary School, where most of them learned to read and write formed an indicative, but well-documented outline of the life and struggles of the first and second generation of refugees in Naoussa. The last stop outside the family home of Mrs. L. Valsamidou was very moving. The house originally belonged to a Muslim woman from the city before being sold to the refugee family from Chele who arrived in Naoussa. The Friends of the Naoussa Historical Archive and the Euxine Club of Pontians of Naoussa would like to thank all the participants, but above all Dr. A. Harisi for this wonderful tour and the important reconstruction of our collective memory.