Hi, I’m Yianni Kotsalidis, a double major in anthropology and animation. I became interested in sustainability by approaching it through the lens of my anthropological background and how it affects me. The case of Palestine is one that I can personally relate to very much because I am also from an ethnic group that faced genocide and whose perpetrators have never been held accountable to this day because of capitalistic business deals. My family is from a region called Pontus, it is currently located within northeastern Turkey, so actually not that far from Palestine either. We are what are called Pontic Greeks – a Greek ethnic group native to the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia/the Middle East. We have existed for about 3000 years, but today no one knows what we are or that we exist. Not only that, but being Greek and Middle Eastern simultaneously has weirdly become an oxymoron in many people’s heads despite thousands of years worth of history that would suggest otherwise. This is part of the reason why I admittedly avoid trying to explain my ethnic identity to people. I would hate for more people to have to go through this, which is why I try to do what I can to help the Palestinians, as well as all people undergoing genocide. Free Pontus and free Palestine!
A critique of the U.S. Military Industrial Complex and its impacts on Palestine and Western Asia.
