Bursa Metropolitan Municipality is preparing to host a different event that will shed light on the socio-cultural history of the city. The experiences of the citizens who came to Bursa with the Lausanne Exchange, whose population was shaped by the intense migrations from different provinces of Anatolia, especially the Balkans and the Caucasus throughout history, will be brought to the present day with an artistic event.
The introductory meeting of the event, which will be held at Atatürk Congress and Culture Center on January 20-21, was held at Tayyare Cultural Center.
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, as well as Gemlik Cretan and Rumelian Turks Culture and Solidarity Association President Ahmet Çakmak, Istanbul Lausanne Exchanges Foundation Mudanya Representative Cumhur Akşam, Bursa Lausanne Exchanges Association President Ali Korkut, Mudanya Lausanne Exchanges Association President Hüseyin Türker, Crete and Yanyalılar Culture and Solidarity Association President Zehra Nur Biricik, Demirtaş Lausanne Exchanges Association President Hüseyin Çildem, Özcan Urtekin from İfem Sanat, Prusa Art President Ahmet Aydemir, Huriye Kara from Ayvalık Folklore Research Youth and Sports Club and Prusa Sanat General Manager. Art Director Akif Oktay attended.
A BIG TRAUMA
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş started his speech by reading verses from İhsan Tevfik's 'Thessaloniki Gaze', which is about the population exchange. Stating that the exchange is the name of a journey that is filled with painful stories that cannot be forgotten, Mayor Aktaş stated that the wound opened 100 years ago has still not healed and said, "Exchanged Turks carry the pain of their broken lives, lost memories and shattered family ties in their hearts as on the first day. This process, which included the forced exchange of Turks and Greeks after the 'population exchange agreement' signed between the Turkish and Greek states at the 1923 Lausanne Conference, went down in history as a tragedy that shattered the lives of thousands of people. "This painful agreement between the two states literally broke the deep-rooted ties of the past and dragged the Turkish and Greek people, who had lived together for years, into a heartbreaking separation and an unknown future," he said.
Stating that Bursa also embraces the immigrants who experienced this forced migration and provides them with all kinds of support to alleviate their pain, Mayor Aktaş said that Bursa is a home not only for the immigrants coming from Greece, but also for the compatriots who came to Anatolia from the Balkan geography.
Bursa Lausanne Exchanges Culture and Solidarity Association President Ali Korkut said that they organized extraordinary commemoration days by adding a different dimension to the great migration in memory of 100 years of pain and longing.
Prusa Art General Art Director Akif Oktay also stated that the exchange was not a choice, but a problematic migration. Pointing out that the exchange should never be confused with other migrations, Oktay said, “Many local events have been organized to date about the exchange. However, for the first time, exchange associations came together under one roof under the patronage of our Metropolitan Municipality and came together for this very important purpose. "We will have very nice events," he said.
The event at the Atatürk Congress and Culture Center will start with the exhibition called "witnesses of the exchanges" on Saturday, January 20, and continue with the population exchange folk songs. In the following hours, a "danced narrative from liberation to exchange" show will be held.
On Sunday, January 21, Prof. Dr. Kemal Arı, Prof. Dr. Barış Özdal and Assoc. Dr. With the participation of Kader Özlem, a talk on "two collars 1923" will be held, followed by a concert called "two collar melodies".
