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Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: Following the First World War, the government of Turkey, under the leadership of Gamel Ataturk, established a campaign of, which we in our modern usage call, ethnic cleansing. The goal of this government was "Turkey for the Turks." They set out to rid Turkey of non-Turkish ethnic groups which included the Armenians, Greeks (which included the Pontians, Ionians, and Kappadokians), and Assyrians. This campaign succeeded in eliminating, by means of death marches, massacre, murder -- genocide -- 1.5 million Armenians, 750,000 Assyrians, 360,000 Pontian Greeks. Many more survivors of this genocide went into exile in Syria, Russia, and some in the United States.Changing time and place, Thea Halo successfully tells the story of one individual who lived through and survived the uprooting of her family and people who were forced on a death march from their homes in the north of the country, eventually into Syria. This survivor, through a series of serendipitous events, wound up in New York City, finally safe from the persecutions of the Turkish leadership. She gave birth to 10 children, one of whom is the author of "Not Even My Name."Ms. Halo has accomplished one of the great values of life. She has honored her ancestors and kept their spirits and history alive. She has honored her mother Sano (Themia) even during her lifetime. Thea's mother, never forgot her family and her life in their Turkish home. Very quietly she would say their names over and over to herself. These memories are her treasure. Sano can have peace and pride that her story, and the stories of her people, have been added to the volumes of our human history. Honor is given, as well, to the tragedy and barbarity of Themia's early life and the success achieved by hard work, dedication and love given with the freedom and opportunity Sano found in her new life and home.Recently, during a book signing at a local Barnes & Noble, the senior Ms. Halo was asked why, after such pain and misery inflicted on her via the death march and the deprivation she suffered after her escape from the march she held no anger, no resentment, that could have damaged her later in her life Her response was that she believed in the beauty of life. That she never forgot her family. Although living in New York and raising a family with 10 children, was by no means easy she could pass on to her children her beliefin life's goodnessThea Halo has also claimed her own self. She now knows where her spirit comes from. She has publicly announced who she is and what she is founded on. Her life experience is one of the first generation New World Americans. Like many of us we have wondered w life was like in our parent's "old world" societies. What are we a continuity of? Thea has found these things for herself, and we as new Americans can learn from what she experiences in her found self. We learn that our New World experience is part of a continuity. Most importantly we learn that we don't have to make the same "old world" mistakes. We too can believe in the goodness of life, and making the most of the opportunities we create.I strongly recommend that this book be on one's priority reading list.
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Summary: WOW! God Bless Themia(SANO) and her courage to go on
Review: This book is incredible. Themia's life was filled with beauty and surrounded by love and happiness. Her beautiful and innocent life was drastically snatched from her at the tender age of 9. Thrust into exile by a military regime hell bent on cleansing Asia Minor of its indigenous Christian population. A race of people who had survived 2,000 years of wars and oppression could not survive the Butchery of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The loss of her entire family during the Genocide did not stop Themia from continuing. She lived only by the grace of God and raised 10 beautiful children....In the U.S. free from persecution from the Turkish government. This book is of the same caliber as the Dairy of Anne Frank. It should be required reading when teaching the history of the 20th century. Especially since the events that Themia suffered thru were the impetus for Hitler's campaign of Genocide. This is a very precious book and its significance is beyond comprehension. God has blessed us by protecting little Themia (SANO) and sharing with us her life story.
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Summary: A Book of Honor
Review: My name is Kyriaki and I am a Greek American living in Manhattan. "Not Even My Name" touched my heart, my mind, and my soul. I couldn't put the book down!!! I wanted to finish it so I could know all that happened but when I finally finished it I was devastated that there was no more to read!!! This book made me appreciate even more what I have. It made me appreciate even more my own parents and grandparents who lived during wartime Greece - WWII and the Civil War that followed. Most importantly this book honors those who lost their lives and those who experienced the tragedies in Asia Minor after WWI. Thea Halo has done a great honor to them!!! We cannot forget the past for if we do it is as though it has never happened.
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Summary: What a wonderful read!
Review: This incredible story is worthy of the shelf of any serious library. How moving it was to read about Thea embarking on a journey with her Mom to trace her roots back to that mysterious land, Asia Minor. Her superb knowledge of the land of her ancestors and its peoples is astounding. She makes it strikingly and shockingly clear why the oppressive Turkish government eliminated so many of her ancestors. The reader is also given a vivid picture of her journey as she describes many Greek customs, dishes, and clothing. This is a wonderful story, free of any partisanship, honoring her mother's tragic experiences. The book is invaluable for those who are not very familiar with the region or its history. What an interesting and turbulent time period has been captured through a child's eyes. It is written with so much feeling and honesty. That such experience has been conveyed through a book is a great tribute to the author and her mother.
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Summary: Heartwrenching
Review: This book is going on my list as one of my favorites. Theas descriptions of the suffering of her mother and family touched me deeply. After losing her family Sano went on to live life to the fullest, devoting herself to her children and husband. Sano is a remarkable woman and a real inspiration.
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Summary: An important story
Review: I am so grateful to author Thea Halo for putting down in words the tragedy that her mother endured as a young child in Asia Minor. My grandmother's own childhood was shattered by similar events, when she fled from the Ottoman Army as they burned her home town to the ground. I'd listened to her horrific tales of survival my whole life countered with the denial of the Turkish government. When genocide is 'swept under the carpet', it's just a matter of time before the same tragic history repeats itself.
Now Ms. Halo has enabled the reader to truly grasp the scale of this tragedy by interspersing Themia's sad personal story with her very thorough research.
I found this book to be haunting, yet inspiring.
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Summary: More than a piece of history, it is an inspiration.
Review: A little girl's life is shattered when an evil of grand scale took place. One of the first massacres of the century; a holocaust denied by the perpetrators even today. Sano was caught in that whirlpool of madness that took everything away from her. Her family, her childhood, her land and way of life, even her name. Hardship, loneliness and unkind people tormented a child that should be living the carefree life among her family. For a long time, all she had on this earth was the clothes she was wearing and her will to survive in an cruel and strange world. Something that should be an inspiration to us all. Now stop for a moment and consider that she was one of the lucky ones for she lived to tell her story.
The book can be divided into two parts, the survival in the old country and the new life in America. Even when her husband appeared and took her to America, it was still not a walk in the park. Raising a large family with little money through the depression was a difficult time not unknown to many American people. At times I wished this book was in the fiction section because knowing that all this really happened, I often felt a lump coming to my throat. When you think that life is unkind to you, please, read this book and understand how difficult it can really be. But it is not simply an account of murder and hardship. You will be inspired by Sano's struggle to survive and her will to be someone in this world.
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Summary: Genocide is not a happy subject, but...
Review: Almost unknown in the all-too-common annals of the tragic history of genocide is the annihilation of Greeks who had lived for 3000 years in the mountains near the Black Sea. After WWI, the entire population of one village, including 10yo Sano Halo, was forced on a one-year death march to Syria. Sano became separated from her family and even lost her name when she was purchased by a man three times her age. Eventually she and the man, by then a married couple, moved to NY, and there Sano raised 10 children, including the author.
A tale of resilience and grace, lacking the anger and regret so often found in such survivor stories.
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Summary: A searing story, well written
Review: A courageous story of a loving daughter writing the memoirs of her mother's early tragic life in Turkey, under the leadership of Gamel Ataturk. ...BR> What is so amazing about this sad story, is that Thea Halo does not ask for pity for her mother. She just tells it the way her mother told it to her, almost like a mother handing down a valued recipe. Ms. Halo described talking to a young Turkish boy of 14, comparing modern Turks living in Bulgaria who were expelled, to what the Turkish Government did to the Greeks and Armenian Nationals in the past..."without emotion---more with the objectivity of a journalist..." The incredulous young boy denied it and exclaimed that it never happened. Ms. Halo answered, "It did happen. They just didn't teach you about it in school. But it's important that you know your country's history." To me, this story could be about any country's inhumanity to humans. What is important is that it is told. Thea Halo does it intelligently and with sensitivity. A beautiful, well-written book. I strongly urge everyone to read it. You won't be sorry.
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Summary: Quite a biased book..
Review: This material in front of me is quite biased.There are no historical data, proofs but rather "memories"..It is quite a read for its story line..But not its "facts".Just four question is enough: Why were the Greek soldiers on the soils of Turkey after World War I had finished? What was their their purpose in trying to invade Asia Minor? Can it be Megali Idea? And what can be the consequences if you attack to someone's homeland?
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