Η Ικαρία ως τόπος εξορίας την περίοδο του Εμφυλίου Πολέμου (1947-1948). Η χρήση της φωτογραφίας ως ιστορικό τεκμήριο

Abstract

From the Roman years, Ikaria has been a place of exile for people who, in their own way, opposed each political power. So, during the period of the Greek civil war, Ikaria welcomed about 15,000 "dissident" citizens, almost twice as many as the then permanent population of the island. The tactics followed on this island differed from the other places of exile, no concentration camps were set up as in Makronisos, but the state imposed houses that were not inhabited. In this way, locals and exiles were forced to coexist, on the one hand, the Icarians to open their homes and on the other the exiles to assimilate into the social life of the island. They created groups, organized their household, their "chamber", their sustenance and above all their spirit. They left indelible marks in Ikaria either material or spiritual, they made roads and watermills, they learned letters and foreign languages to children. These people turned their faith into the struggle, a belief that fascism tried to "bend", a source of culture and education. So the Icarians met with the exiles and set up a mess of political and cultural beliefs in the place they were actually sent to "bury" their ideals. Leaving the exiles from the island beyond the material and spiritual footprints they left behind left us pictures and descriptions of that period. These images immortalize these people in their simple daily moments, show us the special relationship they built with the locals and their self-organization on the island. Generally through this collection of photographer Malachias Christos we understand that exile is not depicted as in the written testimonies and memories of the exiles. We know that exile means "punishment" for political perceptions and ideologies, but the photographs do not imply this. For this reason, what we have to ask is the reason these photographs were taken, and if they themselves can capture the truth of that period on a piece of paper. Therefore, to accept the photograph as a historical presumption, we must first be historically literate and secondly critically reflecting