A conference titled “The 1964 Expulsions and the Istanbul Greeks on Its 60th Anniversary” took place at the Fener Maraşlı School in collaboration with istos publishing and the Hrant Dink Foundation on November 20, 2024. The conference featured three panels and included two film screenings.

Following a decision made in 1964, Greek nationals residing in Istanbul were deported within a few weeks. Tens of thousands of Istanbul Greek Orthodox, some who held Turkish citizenship, forcibly removed from the city where they were born and raised, a place that had shaped their identities. Throughout the conference, the 1964 expulsions were examined from various perspectives, with contributions from academics, researchers, and witnesses who personally experienced this deportation.

Delivering the welcoming speech, Bartholomew I, Greek Patriarch of Istanbul, spoke about the devastation caused by the deportations within the Greek community, emphasizing that those deported continue to long for Istanbul. Following him, İlay Romain Örs, a faculty member at the American College of Greece and one of the conference organizers, delivered an opening speech detailing the history, causes, and consequences of the 1964 Greek expulsions. She noted that among the discriminatory policies applied to minorities throughout the Republic era, this deportation decision was significant due to the large-scale migration it triggered.

In the first panel, titled “The 1964 Deportations: Conceptual Discussions” and chaired by Ayhan Aktar, Hakan Yücel and Süheyla Yıldız explored how young people remember the deportation, drawing on their field research. Ioannis Grigoriadis investigated the role of the Cyprus issue in the deportations, whilst Nikos Uzunoğlu addressed the question of the properties that the deportees were forced to leave behind. The panel’s final speaker, Rıdvan Akar, emphasized the anti-minority policies of the governments of that period, focusing specifically on two reports.
Afterwards, the film We Will Meet Again: The 1964 Memory of Imbros prepared by journalist Melike Çapan, was screened. The documentary addresses the impact of the 1964 expulsions on the Greeks of Imbros through witness testimonies.

In the second panel, chaired by Seçkin Erdi, new approaches and trends in the study of expulsions were discussed by Yorgos Katsanos, George Mavroudis, Elif Kevser Özer, and Buket Cengiz.

The final panel of the conference, titled “Testimonies and Memories from the 1964 Deportations,” was chaired by Manolis Kostidis. In this panel, individuals who personally experienced the 1964 deportations shared their stories and memories for the first time, highlighting the devastating impact of the deportation on people’s lives.
At the conclusion of the conference, the 2004 film Politiki Kouzina [A Touch of Spice], directed by Tassos Boulmetis, was screened. This film, which did not have a theatrical release in Turkey, portrays the experiences of a family subjected to the 1964 expulsions.

Panel 1 has been supported by the Hrant Dink Foundation within the scope of the Minority Rights Academy project funded by the European Union.