Museum of refugee memory at Skala Loutron

E.Petridou
The fieldtrip to Skala Loutron aims to provide participants with the
opportunity to experience narratives about the past that unfold in a small
refugee village.
Skala Loutron is a small village of 300 inhabitants on the bay of Jera, a 15min drive from Mytilini. The village started as a refugee settlement in 1922
when a few of the thousands of refugees that fled from Asia Minor to the
coast of Lesvos inhabited the old storehouses and the two abandoned
olive oil press installations, that were the only constructions in the area at
the time. Until 1930, 25 two-room houses were constructed at Skala
Loutron by the Greek state and were given to refugee families.
Nowadays, Skala Loutron lives in the shadow of the bigger village of
Loutra. Its inhabitants hope to receive more political recognition and
economic support by emphasizing the importance of their historical
origins. Through a local association that organizes cultural events, they
seek to keep historical memories alive. The Museum of Refugee Memory
forms part of this wider project.
The Museum is housed in the building that used to serve as the local
school. When the school was closed, the local association transformed it
into a museum of refugee heirlooms, i.e. of things from Asia Minor which
were of great emotional value and were donated by the descendents of
refugee families. During our visit to the Museum of Refugee Memories, we
will discuss the role of museums in the representation of knowledge, i.e.
the poetics and politics of museum representation. What kind of stories do
objects tell by the way they are exhibited? Are there different ways to talk
about the past? And what is their political significance? What is a museum,
after all?
The visit at Skala Loutron also includes the screening of a National
Geographic documentary about the Asia Minor events of 1922.