Legendary Pontian Sano Halo Passes
Legendary Pontian Greek Sano Halo, passed away yesterday at the age of 105.
Halo was the subject of her daughter Thea's highly acclaimed family story, Not Even My Name. The book centers around the Greek genocide in Asia Minor and offers an account of the plight of the Varitimidou and Halo families. Sano and Thea Halo finally acquired Greek citizenship in 2009; a lifetime goal of the two women.
The Pan-Pontian Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada described the worldly Greek as, "...she was an outstanding figure, a living legend of the fighting spirit and courage, a woman with vision and faith...Sano Halo showed the whole world the major national issue of the genocide of the Greeks in Pontus and Asia Minor and that of the Christian nations in the falling Ottoman Empire as well, through her personal testimony of her individual suffering in her homeland, Pontus, 90 years ago".
The Pan-Pontian Federation added, "Sano Halo was undisputively a legendary figure of Hellenism of great importance to the Greek diaspora. The ruthless advance of the hands of time treated the Grandmother of the Pontus with great respect, knowing her presence and her message could help a global consciousness learn respect for the human existence and its ideals".