Ishtartv.com - greekherald.com.au
10 / 08 / 2026
Assyrians around the world marked
Martyrs Day last weekend with church services and commemorative events for the
Assyrian victims of genocide, particularly across the 20th and
21st centuries.
The Sydney-based The Young
Assyrians and the Assyrian National Council –
Australia showcased scholarly talent amongst the Australian Assyrian and
Australian Hellenic communities, supported by Federal and NSW Member of
Parliaments, local councillors and the Armenian National Committee of
Australia.
The Keynote Address at both the
Assyrian Genocide Lecture and ‘When the Chain of Generations was Broken’
Photographic Exhibition (Friday, August 7) and the official Commemoration at
the Assyrian Genocide Memorial in Smithfield, NSW (Sunday, August 9) were
delivered by Melbourne’s Dr Themistokles Kritikakos.
Speaking about ‘Intergeneration
Trauma and Connection with the Anzacs’, Dr Kritikakos drew on his research into
Assyrian, Armenian and Hellenic Genocide recognition in 21st century
Australia in presenting a series of his findings.
Dr Kritikakos’ central message
was simple: the combined efforts of the Australian Assyrian, Australian
Armenian and Australian Hellenic communities have brought academic, political
and social recognition within Australian society of the triple genocides of
1914-1924.
Combining seamlessly with Dr
Kritikakos’ address, Dr Michelle Shamoell presented on ‘The Intergenerational
Trauma of Genocide and the Healing Process’. Dr Shamoell focused on how trauma
is transmitted across generations and ways people deal with this trauma.
Alongside Dr Kritikakos at
the official Commemoration at the Assyrian Genocide Memorial was Dr Panayiotis
Diamadis. A nearly 30-year veteran of the struggle for Assyrian, Armenian and
Hellenic Genocide recognition in Australia, Dr Diamadis focused on the
strategic role of education.
As of January 2027, Year 9 and
Year 10 students in NSW will be engaging with Australian civic action and
humanitarian relief during World War One and its aftermath. This includes the
efforts to save our ancestors from the genocidal designs of the Ottoman Empire
and its successor state.
As Dr Diamadis stated: “It is
impossible to understand Australian civic action and humanitarian relief
without looking at the policies and events which created the need for this
relief… These are Australian stories as much as they are Assyrian ones.”
Adding to the strong Hellenic
presence at the events was the Pontoxeniteas NSW Association represented by
President Maria Anthony and Past President Helen Macris.
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