Letter from the villages of Aghios Saranda to Venizelos in 1912: "Hurry up and liberate your unfortunate sons of the afflicted Epirus"

In 1912, hordes of Turkish-Albanian Liabidians attacked the Greek villages of Agioi Saranda for plunder. The inhabitants of the plain and coastal villages found refuge in Corfu, while the villages of Rize and the Livadia District followed the Lesinitsa-Tsamanta route.

From this historical event, the phrase "The Destruction of 12'" remained in the area.

Το βρετανικό υποβρύχιο από τον Β’ Παγκόσμιο που βρέθηκε πρόσφατα στο Ικάριο Πέλαγος (ΒΙΝΤΕΟ)

Being in the countryside, the residents of these villages wrote to the then Prime Minister of Greece, Eleftherios Venizelos, asking for his help.

In the letter preserved in the Venizelos Museum, their miserable situation is described. They call him father, asking him to turn his gaze towards his children. "Hurry to free your unfortunate sons of the sorrowful Epirus.»

To our Venerable Father Lord Eleftherios Venizelos, a pilgrim from Athens

Πρόφθασον ν’ απαλλλάξεις τους δυστυχείς υιούς σου της τεθλιμένης Ηπείρου τμήματος Σαγιάδος Γουμενίτσης και αγίων Τεσσαράκοντα. Αι οικίαι εκάησαν αι τροφαί και τα ενδύματα εσκυλεύθησαν, χιλιάδες γυναικοπαίδων μένουσι υπό τους βράχους και δάση άστεγοι και άσιτοι, μια μικρά επίδειξις του στόλου εις τα παράλια ήθελε απαλλάξη τα διασωθέντα χωρία εκ των εμπριστών Τούρκων, διότι οι τοιούτοι βλέποντες την θάλασσαν ελευθέραν απεθρασύνθησαν και έστρεψαν τα βλέμματά των προς τα χριστιανικά χωρία.

Your sorrowful children. Keramnitsi on October 22, 1912

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