The Dritsas Family Story
The Persecution from Asia Minor, by the Turks.
By Maria Dritsas
My name is Maria Dritsas. My parents’ names were Christos and Dimitra Hombis. They didn’t like their surname so later on they changed it to Hombopoulos. My mother’s maiden name was at first Kouki, but later on she changed it, as well, to Koukides. My father and my mother both came from Phokes of Asia Minor.
In 1922, they suffered a lot from the Turks. Some were killed by them, others were taken prisoners and others were forced to abandon their homes. They forced the poor people to walk up in the mountains and down the plains, without food or water. My mother told us this, because she was one of the people who was forced in this trek. When they were thirsty they used to put mud in their mouths, for refreshment. They walked for two and a half months. Her mother was with her. She told us that thousands of people set out for this trek, but unfortunately only a few arrived at a hospital, where they took them.
Half an hour before they arrived to the hospital, they killed my grandmother as well. When my mother saw her mother on the ground, writhing in blood, she cried bitterly and didn’t want to abandon her. Fortunately and thank God for that, a cousin of hers saw her and pulled her away. He carried her on his shoulders and joined the others. After a little while they arrived at the hospital but she (my mother) had suffered a lot and was very tired. Her toes were in a very bad condition. A doctor, who saw her at the hospital, suggested that they should be cut-off completely. Another doctor saw her and he said to put them in kerosene, hoping to save them. Fortunately, he succeeded, the toes were saved and it wasn’t necessary to cut them. My mother was then 12 years old. She stayed in hospital for two years, where she washed the patients’ clothes. She then found out that they were going to let them free to leave and she was overjoyed. She embarked on a ship and they took her to Mytilene. They put an announcement on the radio, in order to communicate and trace lost members of the family and relatives.
My mother had another four brothers and a sister. Fortunately, her three brothers had joined the army at Patra, before the catastrophe. Her sister and one of her brothers lost their lives in Asia Minor. Her cousin, who helped her run away from the place where they killed her mother, was killed too. So after a while, my mother found her brothers and on that day they had a double joy, because one of her brothers was getting married. You can’t imagine how happy they were.
This is my mother’s story.
My father was the only child in his family. Unfortunately he had lost his mother when he was very young, two-three years old, and he lived with his grandmother. My father, was a bit unruly when he was very little and his grandmother was very strict so, sometimes, as he told us, she could punish him and not let him have any food. He grew up with a lot of hardships and when he was 20 he was also chased by the Turks. They chased him, shooting at him in order to kill him, but he use to hide himself in old storerooms and thank God he was saved and he got on a ship and disembarked in Patra. Some years later, he found my mother, whom he knew before and they got married.
This is my father’s story
My aunty, Maria Koukides, use to tell us that she knew a couple, who were very good Christians. The wife, before the persecution, saw in her dream, a man who told her to leave their homes as soon as possible, because the Turks will come and kill them. He told her to embark a certain ship, which would be at a certain place. They followed the instructions, they left and they were saved.