The Greek Embassy in Delhi is set to host an event on Monday to showcase the situation in Mariupol, Ukraine. The event will include a photographic exhibition and musical performances by ethnic Greeks who are Ukrainian nationals but have been living as refugees since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. The event is supported by the European Union mission in Delhi and EUNIC (EU National Institutes for Culture).
Mariupol, a city with a historic connection to Greece, has been at the frontline of the ongoing conflict. Pontic Greeks, the modern Greek indigenous people of the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, have made the city their home for centuries. Before the conflict, Greeks formed a significant minority in the city, coming just after Ukrainians and Russians in terms of ethnicity.
The event will feature photographs by Sergly Makarov, Alina Komarova, Victor Dedof, Lev Sandalov, Roman Harkusha, and Olena Sugak. It will also include musical performances by Nina Pelchak, Anatolii Bahdasar, and Liudmyla Dolher. Pelchak, a Ukrainian activist, is the president of the Greek Society of Kyiv and the deputy president of the Union of the Greek Community of Ukraine in Greece.
Bahdasar, who was born in Mariupol and is ethnically Greek, now lives as a refugee in Romania. He is a member of the Greek traditional folk song dance group “Sartan Gems” and has represented Ukraine in many events around the world. Dolher, born in Maloyanisol village in Donetsk, founded by ethnic Greeks in 1779, now lives in Cyprus. She is a singer and follower of Roumei culture and folk songs.
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Greek communities have been living in the area of Mariupol and the Azov Sea in the southeast of Ukraine since the 18th century. The communities have been preserving and developing their unique traditions, culture, music, and dialect, Roumeiki, within an independent Ukraine since 1991, where they have been peacefully coexisting with fellow Ukrainians.
In 1995, the Federation of Greek Communities of Ukraine was founded with 106 communities in 21 different areas all over Ukraine. The president of the federation has been Alexandra Protsenko-Pichagi.
Before the conflict, Mariupol was a city bearing a lot of Greek heritage landmarks. Following the siege of Mariupol in February 2022, the city turned into rubble. Many villages in the surrounding area suffered the same fate, and many Ukrainians in the region became refugees. The event aims to raise awareness of the plight of ethnic Greeks in Ukraine and to celebrate their culture and heritage. It will be a chance for the community to come together and show solidarity in the face of adversity.
