April 1915: the Ottoman Government deported virtually all the Greeks living in the Gallipoli peninsular
-Greek Genocide Resource Center
In April 1915, the Ottoman Government deported virtually all the Greeks living in the #Gallipoli peninsular, including Madytos, Krithia, Neohori, Boulayir etc to the interior of Turkey, to Balikesir situated over 200km away and other places via (Panderma) Bandirma. The Metropolitan of Gallipoli, Konstantinos Koidakis was well informed of the suffering of his flock and said the following on the 1st of July 1915:
“Close to the Panderma Railway Staton the deaths of the refugees occur daily, and according to my information many die in the interior of the country. The refugees who arrive at Panderma Railway Station, exhausted through hunger and thirst, are often abandoned two or three nights without shelter, and when the trains who are to transport them to the interior are ready, they are kicked into the wagons in asphyxiating numbers. A child only six months old was crushed in the arms of its mother. Holding the dead child, the unfortunate mother tried to bring it back to life, while uttering the most terrible laments. The spectacle was heartrending. When the train started, the poor woman, in a terrible anguish, was obliged to part with her baby by throwing it out of the door.”
