It has been labeled a «miracle». And it is. After half a century, persecuted Greeks returning to their place and a new generation of people being born, learning letters and replanting Greek seeds on a dead island, ranks among the historical feats.
The "miracle of Imvrou" after 8 years, however, since the first families began to return to their ancestral lands, it is in danger of becoming barren, as long as states and institutions show off Imbro as a "various bride", but without solving some vital problems yet.< /p>
This Easter, the presence of the Patriarch Bartholomew, after 10 years, in his hometown of Imbro for Easter and the visit of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, seemed to seal the "resurrection" in the most official way. of Hellenism on the island approximately 60 years after the persecutions of ‘64.
On the Turkish island of 9,000 inhabitants, in 2023 the Greek permanent residents now number 500, a record number, if one considers that for 6 decades the Greek population numbered a few dozen elderly people.
The Hellenism of Imvrou was revived by the families of Imvrian origin, who resettled from 2015 onwards, but it is currently facing serious political and economic issues. The Greek residents of the island and the students of the expatriate schools are sounding the alarm. If fundamental issues are not resolved, the presence of the Greek element will in a few years be under new… shrinking or even extinction.
Permanent residents without citizenship
One of the biggest problems they face right now the Greek Imbrios, is the regime under which they live and work on the island. Many of the family members who returned to the island have already lost their Turkish citizenship, as a result of which they are obliged to live on the island with short-term residence permits or, if they want to regain Turkish citizenship, especially the men, they are obliged to fulfill the military the obligations in the Turkish army, even though they have served it in Greece. Turkey has stopped recognizing military service in other NATO countries, except for men over 40 years of age, who are exempt.
Therefore, Greek permanent residents must either obtain a residence permit, or serve (men) in the army to obtain Turkish citizenship.
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The residence permit, the provision of which the Turkish authorities have not refused to date to citizens of Imbrian origin, is the solution preferred by most Greeks, however the lack of Turkish citizenship makes it difficult to get a job or open a private business on the island.
On the other hand, the reasons why the Greek Imbrians do not attempt to regain Turkish citizenship are either because they are unable to pay the amount of money requested for the purchase of military service in Turkey, or because they are not able to handle all the bureaucratic procedures required.
The issue of citizenship is a permanent problem, which unfortunately no (yet) interstate agreement has been undertaken to resolve and is one of the reasons that prevents the admission of young people or the continued stay of many Greek families on the island.
< p> The right to property
The survival and well-being of any population presupposes the right to property, just like for the repatriated Greek Imbrians.
From the decade of the ’60s, when almost most of the properties of the Greeks were expropriated with the aim of ostracizing them from the island, until today, the problem of settling their property issues is the biggest Gordian bond for the repatriates.
Indeed, with the dawn of the new century, from about the middle of the 2000s until its end, the then few Greeks of the island suffered the "total expropriation" of their properties, due to the complex Turkish law and in fact under the gaze and tolerance of the Greek state, although there were some interventions at the time, without however being properly listened to by the competent "centers".
"Where was he when the property encroachments took place during the “cadastre&rdquo? (including the registration of property titles in the land register)? Where were they when Ottoman titles and tax registers were not accepted except for overage eyewitnesses for the identification of the titles?», Imbrios who lost »in the Zula» say with complaint. their properties at that time.
The people of Imbro find it difficult to prove ownership of their ancestral properties because they often do not have neighbors or other witnesses to testify that they owned the claimed land for 20 years, as required by Law 2644 of 1934.
According to the report (2008) of the member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the process of registration in the Turkish land registry began in Imbro and Tenedo only in 1993, i.e. almost 60 years after the relevant law was issued, when most possible witnesses had either left the island or died.
But even those who managed to prove continuous possession of their property for a period of 20 years (use), their application was rejected by the authorities, when it was found that the property was not "used" at the time of submitting the claim – without of course taking into account the circumstances that forced most of the inhabitants to leave the island, so they would not be able to maintain or exploit their property.
In the early 2000s, this resulted in many of the few remaining Greek properties in Imbro being registered in the name of the Turkish state. The decision could of course be challenged in court, but the process is often slow and disproportionately expensive.
Even for those who have resorted to Turkish justice, statistics show that the vast majority of these decisions were wrong and detrimental. of property owners of Greek origin.
The new generation of Imbrios, who resettled in Imbro 8 years ago, has recently experienced another form of loss of their properties due to the inheritance law.
Non-Turkish nationals do have the right to inherit, but within one year, Turkish law states that they must sell/transfer their property to Turkish nationals, otherwise it must go to the Turkish state. Many properties of Greeks are now lost on the island in this way, as either the transfer time is short (1 year) or many properties are bought by relatives or Turkish nationals ‘deadline’, taking advantage of the will of the heir not to let his property fall in the state.
The issue has been brought to the attention of the Turkish state, but it has not yet been addressed.
The dying Greek education
The rebirth of Hellenism in Imbros it owes it primarily to the initiative of the Patriarch Bartholomew and to the granting of permission by the Erdogan government to reopen the Greek schools on the island, as well as to the support of the Greek state.
Today, all levels of education operate on the island, from kindergarten to high school, and from 3 students in 2013, when the first primary school opened in Agioi Theodorou, the village of the Patriarch, today the schools have 55 students.
With the assistance of the Greek state, dozens of families (estimated at around 200 people), were persuaded to come from Greece and settle together with their children in Imbro, on the condition that they will attend the newly established expatriate schools on the island and in return they will have the right to take exams for Greek universities on more favorable terms (only 1 course – the report).
Graduate degrees not recognized in Greece
However , the non-recognition of the high school diplomas of Greek citizenship (and only) high school students from Greece is a deterrent for them to finish their studies in the schools of Imvros.
This is a long-standing issue (also for the Greek graduates of the Istanbul schools), which, despite the promises of the Greek Ministers of Education who visit expatriate schools in Turkey every year, does not yet gather the necessary political will to resolve it.
An issue as simple in its solution as the delayed permission to be given every September (it is given after weeks to months) to the transferees, as they are called, i.e. those appointed by the Greek state, teachers/professors to enter the classroom and to teach, basically for bureaucratic and/or political reasons, depriving students of hundreds of hours of lessons.
Scramble for school funding
The equipment, stationery, the salaries of Greek teachers/professors, the operation and maintenance of schools is the other big open wound that prevents the ‘cotita’ of Hellenism in Imbro to evolve.
The schools show serious shortages, primarily in teaching staff, as many teachers do not wish to serve on an island so far away and with a difficult ferry connection, while at the same time it becomes particularly difficult to find financial resources for their operation.
The Turkish state, apart from the teachers it pays, does not provide any other financial support to Greek schools, unlike Greece, which fully funds minority schools in Thrace.
Essentially, the schools of Imvrou are maintained by the Educational and Cultural Association of Imvrou. This is the responsible body, which pays the teachers/professors and all the maintenance costs, such as school buses, petrol, coal, stationery etc. But in recent years the board has found it incredibly difficult to secure permanent funding, despite the appeals to every private and public body – mainly – in Greece.
Recently, there have been discussions about whether the Greek communities in Istanbul, which enjoy greater prosperity, could provide a stable fund of "aid" (sent individually only) for the maintenance and operation of the expatriate schools of Imbro, however strong objections are raised by many expatriates of the City.
Primary school without a teacher
A key deprivation faced by education in Imbro is in the primary school in Agioi Theodorou. The school with 19 young students does not have the second teacher it needs, even though a substitute teacher from Greece has been appointed for a year. The Turkish Ministry of Education does not approve – for unknown reasons – the appointment of the Greek teacher, as a result of which the primary school is underperforming and the students do not complete their lessons.
According to our interlocutors on the island, the non-appointment of this particular teacher has been blocked for… political reasons, a consequence of the current situation experienced by Greek-Turkish relations.
The island of isolation
The island of isolation
The island of isolation
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The absence of a direct ferry connection between Imbros and Tenedos is a serious obstacle for maintaining and developing ties between the two islands that are united by a common national and cultural destiny.
The largest however, what is lacking is the complete connection of the two islands with Greek ports on nearby islands of the north-eastern Aegean.
Imbros has a customs building in the port of Ugurlu (Libonia), which could well be used to open an international connection.
Both the Greek and Turkish communities of the islands agree on the usefulness of a direct connection with Greek port, however, according to Turkish officials on the island, Greek authorities have so far refused to allow its establishment, citing Schengen problems, although Schengen rules have not prevented the creation of other coastal shipping connections between Greek and Turkish ports.
The main reason probably lies in the unsustainability of such a ferry connection, as residents say, as well as an air connection with mainland Turkey.
The barren… future< /p>
All the above issues have now made the interest in resettling new families from Greece to Imbro to be dramatically limited, almost at the birth of a miracle.
Only 8 years have passed since the "experiment" of the repatriation of the Greeks, and the bitterest rejection that Imbros may experience is from her own children, who, when they finish high school and succeed in the universities of Greece, show – although it is still too early to draw conclusions until they finish their studies – reluctant to return to Imbro, in the absence of motivation for professional development.
"Fireworks" the Dendias visit – Need support from everywhere
The key to success undoubtedly lies in the political will of Greece and Turkey, if both countries manage to avoid anchoring in outdated concepts such as “reciprocity”, “vindictiveness”, “hostility”, and “level of Greek-Turkish relations”. ; etc.
The visits of Greek politicians, in the past even the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leave the Greek residents of Imbros almost indifferent. The recent visit of Nikos Dendias on Good Friday to the island was described as a "firework" by many Imbrians, who saw it as a "mainly pre-election promotion next to the acrimonious Greeks".
"Everyone comes but their agendas are different. If I tell you how many have come so far and what has happened so far… Nothing! “Everyone does their part with a few words,” complain the Greeks of Imbro. "Two photos and hello. What should each minister do, tell us what? Since elections will be held shortly, we don't even know if he will be a minister.
However, agents of the island, with whom the Greek Foreign Minister spoke, stated that he showed interest in sending him some further information in order to consider whether things can be progressed. It remains to be seen if the visit of Nikos Dendias was not one of the others…
The Greeks of Imbro look forward to the support of the Greek state, more than the Turkish state, as well as any institution , including the Patriarchate House, which pioneered the creation of the "miracle".
The resurrection of Hellenism in Imbro was, is and will be a "miracle", which Athens, Fanari, and even Ankara surpassed themselves. He can't stop, however, at the… applause. There is a pressing need for even greater input from any institution, or retrenchment is just around the corner.
