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- [Narrator] This
program was made possible
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by generous contributions
from the Bezikian family.
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Additional support was provided
by Dr. Noubar Ouzounian
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and the Chitjian Foundation
and viewers like you.
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- My grandmother experienced the genocide
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by her own eyes.
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She was in Moush in 1915, in July,
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when the Turkish soldiers shelled the city
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and destroyed her working field,
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destroyed her orphanage,
destroyed her clinic.
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- They come knock the
door and took us out,
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and we had to walk,
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and they took my father early.
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Only women and children left.
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- All beautiful girls were
victims of some kind, you know,
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rape or theft or kidnapping.
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My mother said that they would
use mud to rub on the faces
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of the beautiful women so they
wouldn't look so attractive.
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To try to look like they
had sores on their face,
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just to save them.
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- My mother would talk
about that all the time
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and she would say in Armenian,
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(speaking in foreign language)
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"Why did God do this?"
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And she lost her faith.
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(dramatic music)
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- [Narrator] "Orphans of the Genocide,"
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the story of hundreds of thousands
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of Armenian genocide orphans forgotten
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in the pages of history.
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(upbeat music)
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On June 26, 2010 close to 2,000
Canadian citizens gathered
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at the Cedarvale Park Community Center
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for the official unavailing of the plaque
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that designated the
Georgetown Boys Farmhouse
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as a historic and
protected municipal site.
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- Designated property
2010, Cedarvale Park.
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In 1923 Cedervale Farm was a site
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of Canada's first international
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humanitarian resettlement effort,
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rescuing orphans of the Armenian Genocide
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that later became United
Church Girl School,
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Heritage Halton Hills.
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(audience applauding)
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- At the most crucial
juncture of our history,
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Canada saved these children.
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This was not in fact a humanitarian action
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in the ordinary sense of the word.
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This was indeed a concrete expression
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of Canada's commitment to
justice and Human Rights.
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(dramatic music)
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- [Narrator] Justice and Human rights,
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two concepts or their
lack of etched the destiny
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of hundreds of thousands
of parentless children.
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Hundreds of thousands of
orphans, Armenian orphans,
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orphans of the genocide.
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The year was 1915, the place Anatolia,
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the persecutors were
the Ottoman Authorities
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and the target was the Ottoman citizens
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of Armenian ancestry.
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(somber music)
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Summer of 1915 marked the first waves
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of mass deportations that created scores
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of Armenian orphans.
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Within weeks, hundreds of thousands
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of Armenian citizens were uprooted
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from their ancestral villages
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and put in temporary concentration camps.
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- For the most part the men were gone,
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having either been killed at
the outset of the genocide
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or conscripted into labor battalions
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and were killed sometime later.
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Women and children were of
course organized into caravans,
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sent on the road towards Der
Zore for their relocation
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and en route they fell victim.
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Women were raped, their
goods, their money was stolen
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by their escorts or by
people along the way.
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(dramatic music)
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- [Narrator] Der Zore, a
desert, located northeast
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of present day Syria,
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known for its harsh
climactic characteristics,
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200 millimeters average yearly rainfall,
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scorching summer heat that
generates frequent droughts,
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bitter cold, sub-zero weather.
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Talaat Pasha, the Interior Minister,
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was well aware of the harsh
conditions of Der Zore.
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On July 6, 1914, during
a parliamentary debate,
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he refused to populate the area
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with Turkish Albanian refugees.
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About 10 months later,
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he gave the orders to
relocate the Armenian citizens
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from Ottoman Turkey to Der Zore.
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- Through each town or each city
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that the Armenians would
have passed through,
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local people, Kurds, Muslims, Turks, Arabs
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would have identified
pretty girls or young boys
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and would take them from the caravans
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and integrate them into
their own households,
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sometimes as wives, sometimes as servants.
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But they were taken as children
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and their families would
often go on to die.
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- [Narrator] Consequently, the banks
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of the Euphrates River is dotted
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with hundreds of mass graves.
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To this day human remains
can be easily found
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in shallow mass graves
and caves in Der Zore,
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El-Raqqa, Ras El Ain and
tens of other locations
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all the way up to central Anatolia.
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- My mother's story is really tragic.
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She went through the
whole thing in detail.
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They lost their home, they were on foot.
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They took with them only
what they could carry.
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No carts, no riding animals or anything.
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And they were driven from their
home in Govdoun, Sepastia,
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all the way across the Iraqi dessert
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to Ourfa
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and Mosul.
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And then during the trip they
were bare foot all the way,
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across the hot dessert sands.
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And her feet were slightly disformed
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because of that but not bad.
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On the way, of course,
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there were women and children and old men,
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who couldn't resist the Ottoman power see,
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and so they didn't
massacre them right away.
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My mother at the time was 15.
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Her sister was a little
younger and she was considered
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to be the most beautiful
girl in the village.
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At least that's what Murad Pasha said
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and he was from the same village.
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So they took a special care
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to make her look uglier than she was.
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But it didn't work, I
mean she died of illness,
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she died of disease on the way.
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My mother also lost her brother
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who was tormented by Arab children.
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They used to throw stones at them.
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And he died also on the way.
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And so did my mother's
mother, my grandmother.
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And she lost another sister
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who was taken in by friendly Arabs
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and after the war settled in Beirut.
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(dramatic music)
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- [Narrator] Dr. Jack Kevorkian,
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a former medical pathologist,
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who spent a good part of his
professional life entangled
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in legal battles with
the U.S. Supreme Court,
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protecting the rights
of the terminally ill
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to choose voluntary euthanasia,
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was the son of an
Armenian Genocide orphans.
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- This bothered me growing up.
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I didn't really have any
hatred for the Turks,
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my mother never showed outright hatred
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and she could talk even
with Turkish people
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without any kind of emotion
and I always admired that.
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My sister couldn't stand that.
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My younger sister was more
vengeful than my mother.
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My mother, I think, was wiser.
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But because of that,
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I can speak with Turks and not hate them,
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because they didn't do it,
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that was the Ottomans who did it,
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although that's the same people.
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- [Narrator] Although he
never thought of himself
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as an artist, Dr Kevorkian's
paintings reflect
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a profound sense of
distaste towards injustice.
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In this painting entitled
"1915 Genocide 1945,"
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using his own blood as red paint,
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he depicted the horrors of
the 1915 Armenian Genocide
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and The Jewish Holocaust of 1945.
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- I am a historian of the Holocaust
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and I think about what happened
to Jewish children caught
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in the net of Nazism and I
think too about what happened
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to Armenian children who were caught
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in the grip of this genocide.
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For me their experiences
are absolutely similar,
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far more similar than different.
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Both groups of children suffered
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irrevocable loss.
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Both groups of children
were targeted for reasons
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which they didn't understand
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and which indeed are not understandable.
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- No Armenian males
remained in Kayseri except
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for a few feeble elderly men
and boys under the age of 15.
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The able bodied mostly
intellectuals had been gathered,
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jailed and then slain
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in what came to be known
as Slaughter Valley.
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- [Narrator] 90 year old Mae Derderian,
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the author of "Vergeen,"
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based on the memoirs
of Vergeen Kalenderian,
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a close family friend who
was a genocide orphan.
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(gentle mournful music)
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Vergeen's story is a
testament to the plight
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of a typical teenaged
Armenian orphaned girl
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during the genocide.
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- Vergeen's father had died
before the deportation began,
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so it was just she and her mother.
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They started out from the city of Kayseri
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and joined other people
in their neighborhoods
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in other cities and
then took that journey,
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that awful journey,
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through the various villages
and cities southward
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and eventually ended up in Aleppo, Syria,
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but a lot went on in between.
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- [Narrator] While still
in the deportation route,
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a Bedouin horseman abducts Vergeen
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and drags her mother along.
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- When they got to where
the Bedouin's family was,
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I guess the decision was made
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that they were gonna kill the mother
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and keep the daughter.
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00:13:19,890 --> 00:13:21,360
And so the second day
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that she was there they
did indeed kill the mother
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00:13:25,900 --> 00:13:30,564
by drowning her and taking her clothes
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and giving it to Vergeen.
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So at the age of 13,
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she became an orphan in
the hands of the Bedouins.
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- [Narrator] Her captors
treat Vergeen as a slave,
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assigning her difficult house chores,
220
00:13:46,090 --> 00:13:48,281
while she endured abuse and rape,
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and living with the tribe's livestock.
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00:13:50,550 --> 00:13:52,850
A few months later, Vergeen is tattooed
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as an Arab Bedouin woman.
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- And she was interviewed on radio
225
00:13:57,650 --> 00:13:59,817
and the reporter said to her,
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00:13:59,817 --> 00:14:03,057
"Why do you have your
marks on your forehead
227
00:14:03,057 --> 00:14:06,670
"and your chin and your mouth?"
228
00:14:06,670 --> 00:14:11,057
And she said, "I," in
English, perfect English,
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00:14:11,057 --> 00:14:13,447
"I was captured by the Bedouins
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00:14:13,447 --> 00:14:15,590
"during the Armenian Genocide."
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00:14:15,590 --> 00:14:17,890
- [Narrator] Eventually
she manages to flee
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00:14:17,890 --> 00:14:20,230
and finds a job at a military hospital
233
00:14:20,230 --> 00:14:23,450
where she meets Nartouhy,
Mae Derdarian's mother.
234
00:14:23,450 --> 00:14:25,793
The two become lifelong friends.
235
00:14:26,730 --> 00:14:29,440
At the end of World War
I they move to Aleppo
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together with Nartouy's mother.
237
00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,550
Vergeen finds a teaching job
238
00:14:33,550 --> 00:14:38,263
at an orphanage housing 2,500
Armenian Genocide orphans.
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- Just outside of Aleppo,
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00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,860
these Armenian refugees
were living in tents.
241
00:14:44,860 --> 00:14:48,450
My mother and my grandmother
were in one tent.
242
00:14:48,450 --> 00:14:53,450
And right next to them
was a tent of children.
243
00:14:54,710 --> 00:14:57,690
Infants and toddlers, about 50 of them.
244
00:14:58,747 --> 00:15:01,710
(somber music)
245
00:15:01,710 --> 00:15:06,370
Crying, wailing, no one
to take care of them.
246
00:15:06,370 --> 00:15:10,070
My grandmother tried to
walk over to the tent
247
00:15:10,070 --> 00:15:13,320
and enter it to take
care of these children
248
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,193
and she was beaten badly by the gendarmes.
249
00:15:18,050 --> 00:15:23,050
Those kids died one by one
with no one looking after them.
250
00:15:25,730 --> 00:15:26,883
My mother used to,
251
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:31,693
it makes me cry,
252
00:15:33,470 --> 00:15:37,880
my mother would talk
about that all the time
253
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:42,151
and she would say, in Armenian,
254
00:15:42,151 --> 00:15:44,857
(speaking in foreign language)
255
00:15:44,857 --> 00:15:47,460
"Why did God do this"?
256
00:15:47,460 --> 00:15:48,933
And she lost her faith.
257
00:15:50,490 --> 00:15:54,760
It's pretty hard to
look at babies, infants
258
00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,810
without parents and toddlers
with no one to look after them.
259
00:15:58,810 --> 00:16:03,810
No one to give them water or
food, or change their diapers,
260
00:16:03,980 --> 00:16:08,853
and those children died
one by one, 50 orphans.
261
00:16:11,842 --> 00:16:12,840
(gentle music)
262
00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,170
- [Narrator] In 1921, Armen
Meghrouni of Milwaukee,
263
00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:19,070
the son of a family friend
from Vergeen's birthplace,
264
00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:22,430
arranged her immigration
to America as his fiancé,
265
00:16:22,430 --> 00:16:24,250
hoping to start a family with the woman
266
00:16:24,250 --> 00:16:27,100
he had fallen in love with as a young man.
267
00:16:27,100 --> 00:16:30,120
It was Vergeen's wish to
have her tattoos removed,
268
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:31,940
to rid herself once and for all
269
00:16:31,940 --> 00:16:34,350
of the constant reminders
of the horrific memories
270
00:16:34,350 --> 00:16:37,200
of her life as an
Armenian Genocide orphan.
271
00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,920
Her sons, Vahe and Victor
made it their mission
272
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:41,600
to grant their mother's wish
273
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,610
and were successful in finding
a medically safe solution
274
00:16:44,610 --> 00:16:46,580
to erase Vergeen's tattoos
275
00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:48,623
from her the forehead, lips and chin.
276
00:16:54,441 --> 00:16:59,441
(bright music)
(engine puttering)
277
00:17:03,870 --> 00:17:06,467
Sabiha Gokcen, the first
woman pilot in Turkey,
278
00:17:06,467 --> 00:17:09,530
was the adopted daughter
of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
279
00:17:09,530 --> 00:17:11,420
the first president of Turkey.
280
00:17:11,420 --> 00:17:13,950
To this day, Sabiha Gokcen remains
281
00:17:13,950 --> 00:17:17,300
as an iconic figure and a
symbol of Turkish womanhood
282
00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:19,680
who was not only the first female pilot,
283
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,578
but also the first female combat pilot.
284
00:17:22,578 --> 00:17:25,495
(engine puttering)
285
00:17:31,421 --> 00:17:35,460
One of Sabiha's missions was
the Dersim Operation of 1938,
286
00:17:35,460 --> 00:17:36,790
when her squadron was assigned
287
00:17:36,790 --> 00:17:39,790
to bomb the Kurdish
populated region of Dersim.
288
00:17:39,790 --> 00:17:43,250
This operation cost tens of
thousands of innocent lives.
289
00:17:43,250 --> 00:17:46,000
(dramatic music)
290
00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,640
During the Genocide of 1915,
291
00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,000
large numbers of Armenians took refuge
292
00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,954
in Dersim disguised as Kurds.
293
00:17:59,954 --> 00:18:02,704
(dramatic music)
294
00:18:04,330 --> 00:18:07,800
A 2004 US State Department
report states, quote:
295
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,640
In February, the "Hurriyet"
newspaper's publication
296
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:12,640
of a report that Sabiha Gokcen,
297
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,180
an adopted daughter of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
298
00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:17,300
who was the country's first female pilot,
299
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:19,640
was of Armenian descent drew a number
300
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,200
of racist public statements, unquote.
301
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:23,800
The "Hurriyet" report was based
302
00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,970
on an article written in 2004
303
00:18:25,970 --> 00:18:27,960
by Hrant Dink and published
304
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,500
in the "Agos" Armenian
newspaper in Istanbul, Turkey.
305
00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:32,650
The article revealed
306
00:18:32,650 --> 00:18:35,583
that Sabiha Gokcen's real
name was Hatun Sebilisian,
307
00:18:36,610 --> 00:18:38,950
an Armenian orphan of the genocide
308
00:18:38,950 --> 00:18:42,360
and the daughter of Dirouhi
and Nerses Sebilisian
309
00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,040
whose father, Nerses, was
killed during the 1915 Genocide.
310
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,870
In 1925, while living in
an orphanage in Cibin,
311
00:18:50,870 --> 00:18:52,900
Hatun Sebilisian was adopted
312
00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:56,270
by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
President of Turkey.
313
00:18:56,270 --> 00:18:58,790
The publication of the
article created an uproar
314
00:18:58,790 --> 00:19:01,430
amongst government circles in Turkey.
315
00:19:01,430 --> 00:19:03,720
Journalist Hrant Dink
was labeled a traitor
316
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,200
for unveiling Sabiha Gokcen's secret
317
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,450
which was based on a
first account testimonial
318
00:19:08,450 --> 00:19:11,525
from Sabiha's niece, Huripsimeh Ghazaryan.
319
00:19:11,525 --> 00:19:14,108
(bright music)
320
00:19:16,410 --> 00:19:20,310
Sabiha's Armenian ancestry has
long been a common knowledge
321
00:19:20,310 --> 00:19:22,180
among the Armenians.
322
00:19:22,180 --> 00:19:25,210
This is an article,
published in August of 1970,
323
00:19:25,210 --> 00:19:28,060
in an Armenian magazine
discussing the secrets
324
00:19:28,060 --> 00:19:29,423
of Ataturk's daughter.
325
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:32,360
This, and similar articles penned
326
00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,290
by the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
327
00:19:34,290 --> 00:19:37,653
sparked a series of hate mail
and threats against his life.
328
00:19:39,130 --> 00:19:42,750
In 2007, Dink was assassinated
in Istanbul, Turkey
329
00:19:42,750 --> 00:19:45,020
when a gunman shot him in broad daylight
330
00:19:45,020 --> 00:19:47,210
in front of his office building.
331
00:19:47,210 --> 00:19:48,870
Dink's funeral procession united
332
00:19:48,870 --> 00:19:50,810
the Armenian and Turkish citizens
333
00:19:50,810 --> 00:19:53,310
in what is believed to be
one the largest funerals
334
00:19:53,310 --> 00:19:55,590
ever held in modern Turkey.
335
00:19:55,590 --> 00:19:58,830
At his funeral, 200,000 mourners marched
336
00:19:58,830 --> 00:20:01,457
in protest of the assassination, chanting,
337
00:20:01,457 --> 00:20:06,457
"We are all Armenians" and
"We are all Hrant Dink."
338
00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:09,690
In 2009, Turkey's second largest airport
339
00:20:09,690 --> 00:20:13,071
in Istanbul was named after Sabiha Gokcen.
340
00:20:13,071 --> 00:20:15,821
(engine roaring)
341
00:20:22,425 --> 00:20:25,008
(somber music)
342
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,200
The first waves of Ottoman atrocities
343
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,020
against the Armenians started
344
00:20:37,020 --> 00:20:40,460
before the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
345
00:20:40,460 --> 00:20:43,320
Ottoman Emperor, Abdul Hamid II,
346
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,670
34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire,
347
00:20:45,670 --> 00:20:48,900
ordered the massacres of tens
of thousands of Armenians,
348
00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:52,750
becoming known as the
infamous Red or Bloody Sultan.
349
00:20:52,750 --> 00:20:56,420
These atrocities, which
started as early as 1892
350
00:20:56,420 --> 00:20:59,050
and culminated in the massacres of Adana,
351
00:20:59,050 --> 00:21:03,333
left an estimated 50,000
Armenian orphans in Anatolia.
352
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,290
- [Narrator] In 1909, an orphan
353
00:21:39,290 --> 00:21:41,500
who survived the Adana massacres,
354
00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:43,200
found herself at the doorsteps
355
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,113
of the Hadjin Orphanage
wrapped in this dress.
356
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,280
In 1914, when the orphanage
was uprooted in haste,
357
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,520
sister Dorinda Bowman managed
to bring this dress with her
358
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,660
to all the way from Hadjin
to the United States.
359
00:21:58,660 --> 00:22:01,793
The dress retains it's
original dirt to this date.
360
00:22:05,170 --> 00:22:08,530
In 1908, two sisters,
Rose and Nora Lambert
361
00:22:08,530 --> 00:22:10,440
of the Mennonite Brethren Missionaries
362
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,170
took an arduous journey
from New York to Hadjin
363
00:22:13,170 --> 00:22:16,670
by way of Mersin, Turkey
and founded two orphanages,
364
00:22:16,670 --> 00:22:20,610
one in Hajin for girls and
one in Everek for boys.
365
00:22:20,610 --> 00:22:23,400
This mission, perched at
the hilltops of Hadjin,
366
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,470
housed 306 orphans
367
00:22:25,470 --> 00:22:30,040
that survived the Hamidian
massacres between 1894 and 1896.
368
00:22:31,570 --> 00:22:34,038
In her 1911 published memoirs,
369
00:22:34,038 --> 00:22:36,240
"Hadjin and the Armenian Massacres"
370
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,730
Rose Lambert reassures a group
of widow and orphan survivors
371
00:22:39,730 --> 00:22:42,417
of her sincere commitment
to their security.
372
00:22:42,417 --> 00:22:45,937
"If the blood of 20 thousand
innocent Armenians is shed
373
00:22:45,937 --> 00:22:47,717
"it will make very little difference
374
00:22:47,717 --> 00:22:50,247
"if the blood of one
American is mingled with it".
375
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:57,740
Later, during the Genocide
of 1915 through 1918,
376
00:22:57,740 --> 00:23:00,170
both orphanages were
torched down to rubbles
377
00:23:00,170 --> 00:23:01,860
by the Ottoman Turks.
378
00:23:01,860 --> 00:23:03,910
At least five American missionaries,
379
00:23:03,910 --> 00:23:06,573
including Reverend Henry
Maurer, lost their lives
380
00:23:06,573 --> 00:23:09,353
while caring for the
Armenian orphans of Hadjin.
381
00:23:22,266 --> 00:23:24,849
(bright music)
382
00:23:27,610 --> 00:23:31,423
- My name is Jussi Flemming
Bioern, my father was Armenian.
383
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,843
His name was Rafael Safarian.
384
00:23:37,420 --> 00:23:40,692
He was adopted by a Norwegian missionary,
385
00:23:40,692 --> 00:23:43,090
Bodil Katharina Biorn from Karagida.
386
00:23:43,090 --> 00:23:47,340
He was brought to Norway and he grew up.
387
00:23:47,340 --> 00:23:51,630
He later was taken down
388
00:23:51,630 --> 00:23:52,900
to the Middle East
389
00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:54,363
to live with my grandmother.
390
00:23:58,163 --> 00:23:58,996
- [Narrator] Bodil Biorn was
391
00:23:58,996 --> 00:24:00,870
a young Norwegian missionary nurse
392
00:24:00,870 --> 00:24:03,480
who came from a very affluent family.
393
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,380
In 1905, Bodil chose to
leave her posh life behind
394
00:24:07,380 --> 00:24:10,450
and dedicate her life
to the Armenian orphans.
395
00:24:10,450 --> 00:24:13,450
After serving in Constantinople,
present day Istanbul,
396
00:24:13,450 --> 00:24:16,800
and Marash in Western Armenia until 1907,
397
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,010
she requested to be transferred to Moush.
398
00:24:19,010 --> 00:24:24,010
- My grandmother experienced
the genocide by her own eyes.
399
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,220
She was in Moush in 1915, in July
400
00:24:28,220 --> 00:24:31,410
when the Turkish soldiers shelled the city
401
00:24:31,410 --> 00:24:35,770
and destroyed her working
field, destroyed her orphanage,
402
00:24:35,770 --> 00:24:38,963
destroyed her clinic and she had to flee.
403
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,970
She had to flee for her life
404
00:24:43,970 --> 00:24:46,760
and she lost her children
in the orphanage,
405
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:51,760
she lost the girls that she had
educated and helped so much.
406
00:24:56,060 --> 00:24:57,590
- [Narrator] Bodil Biorn
writes the following caption
407
00:24:57,590 --> 00:24:59,717
on the verso of this photo.
408
00:24:59,717 --> 00:25:02,777
"In this image, the teacher
Margarid Nalbanchian
409
00:25:02,777 --> 00:25:04,677
"and most of the 120 children
410
00:25:04,677 --> 00:25:07,997
"of the day school were murdered in 1915."
411
00:25:14,409 --> 00:25:17,190
(gentle music)
412
00:25:17,190 --> 00:25:21,330
In 1917 she adopts a 1
1/2-year-old Armenian orphan
413
00:25:21,330 --> 00:25:24,130
named Rafael Safaryan of Constantinople,
414
00:25:24,130 --> 00:25:26,090
and takes him back with her to Norway,
415
00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:28,760
where she raises funds
for orphan relief work
416
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,200
only to return to Armenia one year later
417
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,827
to serve in Alexandrapol,
Armenia, present day Gyumri.
418
00:25:35,940 --> 00:25:38,420
- There she rented a big house
419
00:25:38,420 --> 00:25:43,420
and started all over
again with a new orphanage
420
00:25:43,919 --> 00:25:48,640
this time for boys and she
opened a clinic, a public clinic.
421
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:50,120
She was a trained nurse.
422
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:54,140
She had experience as a doctor
even though she was not,
423
00:25:54,140 --> 00:25:56,650
but she had experience in surgery,
424
00:25:56,650 --> 00:26:00,543
in dental work, all what was necessary.
425
00:26:02,830 --> 00:26:06,760
- [Narrator] In 1922, Bodil
had to flee Armenia once more,
426
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,640
this time under pressure
from Soviet Authorities
427
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,700
and continue her orphan
relief work in Aleppo, Syria.
428
00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:16,760
99 years after Bodil Biorn's first visit
429
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,490
to historic Armenia, her
grandson Jussi Fleming Bioern,
430
00:26:20,490 --> 00:26:23,340
the son of the adopted
orphan Rafael Safaryan,
431
00:26:23,340 --> 00:26:26,897
produces a documentary
about Bodil Biorn's life.
432
00:26:26,897 --> 00:26:29,280
(woman speaking in foreign language)
433
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,530
- We traveled to Turkey, eastern Turkey,
434
00:26:33,530 --> 00:26:34,813
we traveled to Moush.
435
00:26:35,900 --> 00:26:40,810
We traveled to Armenia
and we traveled to Syria
436
00:26:40,810 --> 00:26:43,740
and shot the film in three parts.
437
00:26:43,740 --> 00:26:47,980
This was in 2006 and 2007.
438
00:26:47,980 --> 00:26:52,017
And used the rest of 2007
439
00:26:52,017 --> 00:26:57,017
and the spring of 2008 to
edit and make the film.
440
00:26:57,267 --> 00:26:59,850
(somber music)
441
00:27:05,938 --> 00:27:08,521
(gentle music)
442
00:27:10,430 --> 00:27:12,730
- [Narrator] Arshile Gorky,
considered a seminal figure
443
00:27:12,730 --> 00:27:16,190
in the abstract art movement
that transformed American art,
444
00:27:16,190 --> 00:27:19,440
was born Vosdanik Adoian near Lake Van.
445
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:24,010
On June 16, 1915, at the
height of the genocide, Gorky,
446
00:27:24,010 --> 00:27:27,450
along with his three sisters
and mother, Shushan Adoian,
447
00:27:27,450 --> 00:27:30,500
joined a death march
caravan heading north east
448
00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:32,480
for 150 miles.
449
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,130
30 days later, they arrived in Yerevan,
450
00:27:35,130 --> 00:27:37,830
present day Armenia's capital city.
451
00:27:37,830 --> 00:27:39,303
Soon after their arrival,
452
00:27:39,303 --> 00:27:42,693
Gorky's mother died of
starvation in his arms.
453
00:27:44,290 --> 00:27:47,550
- Arshile Gorky's a really
an interesting story
454
00:27:47,550 --> 00:27:50,790
in terms of having lost his mother
455
00:27:50,790 --> 00:27:55,790
and of what he became once
he came to the United States.
456
00:27:55,790 --> 00:28:00,790
He and his sisters, lead by
his mother fled the genocide.
457
00:28:02,130 --> 00:28:04,160
They fled to Van City for a while,
458
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,780
then they ended up in and around Yerevan.
459
00:28:07,780 --> 00:28:10,490
There was so little food
because of Turkish blockades
460
00:28:10,490 --> 00:28:12,780
of Armenia at the time,
461
00:28:12,780 --> 00:28:16,030
so many people were dying
of starvation and disease
462
00:28:16,030 --> 00:28:19,030
and his mother would give
463
00:28:19,030 --> 00:28:22,010
whatever food she could to the children,
464
00:28:22,010 --> 00:28:25,370
particularly to Gorky
because he was her only son.
465
00:28:25,370 --> 00:28:29,543
Eventually she basically starved to death.
466
00:28:29,543 --> 00:28:34,036
And the story in the family
is that she basically starved
467
00:28:34,036 --> 00:28:36,640
to death in his arms and eventually,
468
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:38,870
through the help of family friends,
469
00:28:38,870 --> 00:28:42,400
they made it to the United States in 1920.
470
00:28:43,366 --> 00:28:45,949
(gentle music)
471
00:28:50,150 --> 00:28:52,377
- [Narrator] One of the two
versions of Gorky's famous,
472
00:28:52,377 --> 00:28:55,330
"The Artist and His Mother"
is on permanent exhibit
473
00:28:55,330 --> 00:28:58,820
at the National Gallery
of Art in Washington D.C.
474
00:28:58,820 --> 00:29:00,800
The inspiration for both paintings was
475
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,850
the only photo Gorky had of himself
476
00:29:02,850 --> 00:29:07,120
and his mother taken just before
the start of the genocide.
477
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,360
- People actually stand
in front of that painting
478
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:14,360
and they weep, they weep, because
they get the emotionality,
479
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,410
they get what happened to Gorky,
480
00:29:17,410 --> 00:29:19,870
and they get what happened to her.
481
00:29:19,870 --> 00:29:24,760
And they see their mothers' face
482
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:29,080
who they lost in the genocide
maybe in that painting,
483
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,220
because he has spent so much time trying
484
00:29:33,220 --> 00:29:35,750
to get an overall sense of the mood
485
00:29:35,750 --> 00:29:39,170
or that kind of atmosphere
of that painting,
486
00:29:39,170 --> 00:29:43,610
without having created a
work that is so individual.
487
00:29:43,610 --> 00:29:46,010
It's a very Armenian looking face
488
00:29:46,010 --> 00:29:48,200
and, yes, it looks like his mother
489
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:51,260
but it also looks like
a lot of Armenian faces.
490
00:29:51,260 --> 00:29:54,490
Faces of Armenian women that you see
491
00:29:54,490 --> 00:29:56,600
in the pictures of the genocide.
492
00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:01,120
Old pictures of the way life
used to be in the old country.
493
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,740
And so I think that that's a huge thing
494
00:30:03,740 --> 00:30:05,713
that kind of resonates for people.
495
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,633
- An artist is like a blender.
496
00:30:11,050 --> 00:30:14,120
Everything that happens
to you as an artist,
497
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,750
as a human being goes into that blender.
498
00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:20,650
You read a fantastic book,
499
00:30:20,650 --> 00:30:23,030
you listen to some fascinating music,
500
00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:27,860
you fall in love and war goes in there
501
00:30:27,860 --> 00:30:30,460
and of course genocide, genocide.
502
00:30:30,460 --> 00:30:35,070
And so you process
everything, that blender works
503
00:30:35,070 --> 00:30:36,610
and you spew it out.
504
00:30:36,610 --> 00:30:40,940
In Gorky's case, in Gorky's
case it's fascinating,
505
00:30:40,940 --> 00:30:43,930
because his processor has worked so well
506
00:30:43,930 --> 00:30:46,950
that it's almost impossible to detect
507
00:30:46,950 --> 00:30:49,030
which is which, what's what.
508
00:30:49,030 --> 00:30:50,280
But it's there.
509
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,513
It's impossible that it won't be there.
510
00:30:55,616 --> 00:30:58,366
(dramatic music)
511
00:31:00,766 --> 00:31:02,720
- [Narrator] Harutune
Galents was four years old
512
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,440
when his affluent family
in Sepastia was deported
513
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,000
after the disappearance of his father.
514
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,460
Upon their arrival to relative
safety in Aleppo, Syria,
515
00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:13,230
his mother died of exhaustion
516
00:31:13,230 --> 00:31:16,336
sending the four brothers
into an orphanage.
517
00:31:16,336 --> 00:31:19,201
(man speaking in foreign language)
518
00:31:19,201 --> 00:31:20,880
- [Translator] Harutune Galents,
519
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,310
who's been through the journey
520
00:31:22,310 --> 00:31:26,680
of orphanhood and who was
a typical Armenian man,
521
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,220
who has gone through the
dreadful genocide was able
522
00:31:30,220 --> 00:31:33,250
to battle life through his art
523
00:31:33,250 --> 00:31:37,850
by affirming that I exist, we exist.
524
00:31:37,850 --> 00:31:39,810
- [Narrator] Harutune's
artistic talents were apparent
525
00:31:39,810 --> 00:31:42,040
from an early age in the orphanage.
526
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,520
Upon graduating from the orphanage school,
527
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:48,190
he settled in Beirut, Lebanon
where he excelled as an artist
528
00:31:48,190 --> 00:31:51,440
and in 1939 received the Medal of Merit
529
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,350
at the New York International Exhibition.
530
00:31:54,350 --> 00:31:58,700
In 1943, he married his
apprentice Armine Baronian,
531
00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:02,960
and in 1946 repatriated
to Armenia with his family
532
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,153
where he died at the peak
of his career in 1967.
533
00:32:07,812 --> 00:32:11,820
(man speaking in foreign language)
534
00:32:11,820 --> 00:32:14,270
- [Translator] Every time
he mentioned the genocide
535
00:32:14,270 --> 00:32:16,830
he would go to his room and weep,
536
00:32:16,830 --> 00:32:20,100
but he wouldn't discuss
it except with his family.
537
00:32:20,100 --> 00:32:23,500
He would talk about his
experiences during the genocide.
538
00:32:23,500 --> 00:32:25,600
How his mother rubbed their faces
539
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,030
with dirt to disguise them.
540
00:32:28,030 --> 00:32:31,140
How they witnessed the
killings on the track.
541
00:32:31,140 --> 00:32:34,460
How human bodies would float
in the river for weeks.
542
00:32:34,460 --> 00:32:36,950
He would tell us that in tears.
543
00:32:36,950 --> 00:32:40,950
But none of his paintings
depict the Armenian tragedy.
544
00:32:40,950 --> 00:32:44,493
The contrary, what they
do is celebrate life.
545
00:32:46,060 --> 00:32:47,230
- [Narrator] Although Galents' paintings
546
00:32:47,230 --> 00:32:49,270
have vibrant, cheerful colors,
547
00:32:49,270 --> 00:32:51,820
his melancholic portraits reflect eyes
548
00:32:51,820 --> 00:32:55,403
that resonate the despondence
of a tortured soul.
549
00:32:55,403 --> 00:32:57,986
(somber music)
550
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,110
(dramatic music)
551
00:33:11,550 --> 00:33:16,550
The fear in Nuvart's face,
the horror in Markarid's eyes,
552
00:33:16,750 --> 00:33:19,050
the destitute in their mother's vision
553
00:33:19,970 --> 00:33:23,123
and the hesitant grip
of her newborn child.
554
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,930
In 1899, after the murder of her husband
555
00:33:27,930 --> 00:33:32,130
during the Hamidian massacres
she walked nearly 100 miles
556
00:33:32,130 --> 00:33:33,960
from the town of Keghi to Harput
557
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,300
with her three fatherless children in tow
558
00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:38,373
and in search of food and shelter.
559
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,140
The 105 year old, Almas Boghossian,
560
00:33:46,140 --> 00:33:49,810
once an Armenian Genocide
orphan as Almas Avakian,
561
00:33:49,810 --> 00:33:52,860
now lives in Whitensville, Massachusetts.
562
00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:55,810
She was eight years old when
the Turkish soldiers evicted
563
00:33:55,810 --> 00:33:57,840
her family from their ancestral home,
564
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:00,920
to join thousands of
other Armenian refugees
565
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:02,970
in what became the starvation march
566
00:34:02,970 --> 00:34:04,393
to the desert of Der Zore.
567
00:34:05,410 --> 00:34:07,090
Almas is the only survivor
568
00:34:07,090 --> 00:34:09,673
of the Avakian Family of Harput province.
569
00:34:11,032 --> 00:34:12,283
- I remember but, well,
570
00:34:21,694 --> 00:34:23,315
they come knock the door
571
00:34:23,315 --> 00:34:27,823
and took us out and we had to walk.
572
00:34:30,220 --> 00:34:32,743
And they took my father early.
573
00:34:33,690 --> 00:34:36,933
Only women and children left.
574
00:34:39,860 --> 00:34:44,375
They killed them, my mother and my father
575
00:34:44,375 --> 00:34:46,803
and we walked and walked.
576
00:34:48,710 --> 00:34:49,860
Some of them dying.
577
00:34:49,860 --> 00:34:53,063
Kids were left alone, new born kids.
578
00:34:54,510 --> 00:34:57,877
It's awful, I don't want
to even remember them.
579
00:34:59,330 --> 00:35:01,100
- And as best as we can figure
580
00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:06,100
she really went most of the
way from Hussenig to Der Zore
581
00:35:07,540 --> 00:35:10,930
on foot with her family
582
00:35:10,930 --> 00:35:13,513
and she was the only
one them that survived.
583
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:19,610
Her younger sister died
very early along the way,
584
00:35:19,610 --> 00:35:23,980
along the route, roughly
following the Euphrates River.
585
00:35:23,980 --> 00:35:25,330
- [Narrator] The march to Der Zore passed
586
00:35:25,330 --> 00:35:27,870
through Ras El Ain, a major processing
587
00:35:27,870 --> 00:35:30,840
and annihilation center
for the Armenian deportees
588
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:32,740
along the deportation route.
589
00:35:32,740 --> 00:35:37,640
- She remembers going into a
store in Souare with her mother
590
00:35:38,670 --> 00:35:41,370
and she remembers the mother speaking
591
00:35:41,370 --> 00:35:43,580
to the Syrian owner of the store.
592
00:35:43,580 --> 00:35:45,440
They were speaking in Turkish
593
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:49,400
and that it was sort of
an excited conversation
594
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:51,053
and it went on for sometime.
595
00:35:52,390 --> 00:35:55,180
My grandmother became tired after a while
596
00:35:55,180 --> 00:35:57,110
and fell asleep in the store.
597
00:35:57,110 --> 00:35:59,630
What was happening was that my
great-grandmother was trying
598
00:35:59,630 --> 00:36:03,750
to convince the store owner
to adopt my grandmother.
599
00:36:03,750 --> 00:36:05,853
- I was in a Arabic house.
600
00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:10,593
They adopted me, they
were a very good family.
601
00:36:13,951 --> 00:36:17,950
They said whoever have Armenian kid,
602
00:36:17,950 --> 00:36:21,530
they should bring them
to government house.
603
00:36:21,530 --> 00:36:24,230
- The relief agencies were making a plea
604
00:36:24,230 --> 00:36:29,230
for Syrian families that
had adopted Armenian orphans
605
00:36:30,020 --> 00:36:33,373
to return those orphans
to the relief agencies.
606
00:36:35,190 --> 00:36:39,470
- They took us there and
that was my second home.
607
00:36:39,470 --> 00:36:42,900
You know I was small and little by little
608
00:36:42,900 --> 00:36:47,543
I started to love them and that's it.
609
00:36:48,545 --> 00:36:51,563
They brought us to the
orphanage in Aleppo Syria.
610
00:36:52,890 --> 00:36:57,430
- She remembers food was
scarce in the orphanage.
611
00:36:57,430 --> 00:37:01,570
And she would sometimes reserve her food.
612
00:37:01,570 --> 00:37:04,430
She would eat just enough so
that she wasn't hungry anymore
613
00:37:04,430 --> 00:37:07,193
and hide the rest of it in various places.
614
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:13,033
- We wake up in the morning,
we all sleeping one room.
615
00:37:14,050 --> 00:37:17,987
About 20, 30 little by little.
616
00:37:22,090 --> 00:37:26,793
They feed me so we not die.
617
00:37:26,793 --> 00:37:30,300
Starving, we were starving.
618
00:37:30,300 --> 00:37:33,803
Each one is very thin because no food.
619
00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:38,183
This much bread and soup, little.
620
00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:44,113
- One day while she was in the orphanage,
621
00:37:48,700 --> 00:37:51,490
she made contact through
the gate of the orphanage.
622
00:37:51,490 --> 00:37:54,680
There were other children
outside, street children
623
00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:56,720
and sometimes she was able to talk to them
624
00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:57,970
through the orphanage gates.
625
00:37:57,970 --> 00:38:00,460
She was on the inside,
they were on the outside
626
00:38:00,460 --> 00:38:02,970
and one of them was her older sister,
627
00:38:02,970 --> 00:38:05,710
whom she had not seen in several years,
628
00:38:05,710 --> 00:38:08,950
since the time of the deportation.
629
00:38:08,950 --> 00:38:11,270
She remembers passing some of the food
630
00:38:11,270 --> 00:38:13,480
out to her older sister
631
00:38:15,450 --> 00:38:18,740
and her older sister told her
632
00:38:19,870 --> 00:38:24,740
that the very day after
her mother gave her
633
00:38:25,830 --> 00:38:27,750
to be adopted by the store owner,
634
00:38:27,750 --> 00:38:29,453
the next day her mother died.
635
00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:32,540
- [Narrator] A few weeks
later, the street children,
636
00:38:32,540 --> 00:38:35,220
also known as the
roaming Armenian orphans,
637
00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:37,870
were no longer begging at
the gates of the orphanage.
638
00:38:37,870 --> 00:38:40,760
A rumor soon spread that
the Ottoman gendarmes,
639
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,880
annoyed by the children had
assembled and killed them all.
640
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:47,760
Among the disappeared was
Almas Avakian's older sister.
641
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,460
- [Bruce] She remembers it
was a difficult life there.
642
00:38:51,445 --> 00:38:55,200
They taught the orphans
to do various tasks.
643
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:56,930
They would have to help
out in the orphanage.
644
00:38:56,930 --> 00:38:59,910
Some of them, like my
grandmother, were taught
645
00:38:59,910 --> 00:39:03,003
how to make Armenian lace.
646
00:39:03,890 --> 00:39:07,503
- I learned this in orphanage.
647
00:39:07,503 --> 00:39:11,780
This is made by sewing needle.
648
00:39:11,780 --> 00:39:15,313
Not crochet, sewing needle.
649
00:39:18,110 --> 00:39:20,340
- That's something that my
grandmother has remembered
650
00:39:20,340 --> 00:39:21,250
all of her life.
651
00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:24,450
She has made very beautiful Armenian lace
652
00:39:25,630 --> 00:39:28,750
and a few years ago taught my daughter,
653
00:39:28,750 --> 00:39:31,040
her great-granddaughter,
how to do the lace.
654
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:34,413
So now my daughter knows
how to do that very well.
655
00:39:35,299 --> 00:39:37,882
(bright music)
656
00:39:40,620 --> 00:39:43,440
- [Narrator] In 1920,
Almas Avakian's aunt,
657
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:44,800
living in Massachusetts,
658
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:47,320
discovers that Almas was still alive
659
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,120
and immediately claims her
from the Aleppo orphanage
660
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,910
and pays for her passage to America.
661
00:39:52,910 --> 00:39:56,340
- My aunt had seven children.
662
00:39:56,340 --> 00:39:58,783
Her husband made $25.
663
00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:01,730
And she bring me here.
664
00:40:01,730 --> 00:40:05,713
That cost them perhaps, three,
$400 for me to come here.
665
00:40:07,672 --> 00:40:10,183
And later she married me.
666
00:40:11,539 --> 00:40:12,853
And then I had my children.
667
00:40:15,463 --> 00:40:18,503
And that's life, that's life.
668
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,170
- [Narrator] Almas Bogossian is considered
669
00:40:22,170 --> 00:40:24,940
to be one of the lucky
Armenian Genocide orphans
670
00:40:24,940 --> 00:40:28,890
who survived the horrors and
atrocities of the genocide.
671
00:40:28,890 --> 00:40:32,570
Living in America, 5,000 miles
away from her ancestral home
672
00:40:32,570 --> 00:40:34,840
of Western Armenia where
she was driven out of,
673
00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:38,340
Almas started a family
and raised three children
674
00:40:38,340 --> 00:40:41,670
who went on to complete
post graduate education.
675
00:40:41,670 --> 00:40:43,910
She lived to enjoy her eight grandchildren
676
00:40:43,910 --> 00:40:46,613
who made her a proud
great grandmother of six.
677
00:40:52,458 --> 00:40:55,290
(gentle music)
678
00:40:55,290 --> 00:40:58,830
- The number of orphans was so large,
679
00:40:58,830 --> 00:41:01,530
that they would become really the basis
680
00:41:01,530 --> 00:41:03,030
of the new Armenian society
681
00:41:03,030 --> 00:41:06,380
in places like Aleppo and in Beirut.
682
00:41:06,380 --> 00:41:09,230
Armenian relief was an
incredibly important aspect
683
00:41:09,230 --> 00:41:14,006
of America's relationship
with the Middle East
684
00:41:14,006 --> 00:41:15,890
and entire organizations,
685
00:41:15,890 --> 00:41:17,140
Near East Relief being
the most important one,
686
00:41:17,140 --> 00:41:20,070
but also the International Red Cross,
687
00:41:20,070 --> 00:41:23,260
that Americans were at the forefront
688
00:41:23,260 --> 00:41:27,413
of providing relief to
Armenian victims of genocide.
689
00:41:28,730 --> 00:41:30,400
- [Narrator] Robert Elliot Wirt Junior,
690
00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,840
a U.S. Special Forces Green
Beret who has served his country
691
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:35,090
in Central America,
692
00:41:35,090 --> 00:41:37,860
is the great, grandson of
congregational minister,
693
00:41:37,860 --> 00:41:41,110
Loyal Lincoln Wirt who
started a worldwide campaign
694
00:41:41,110 --> 00:41:42,910
for Near East Relief fundraisers
695
00:41:42,910 --> 00:41:46,660
for genocide stricken
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
696
00:41:46,660 --> 00:41:48,650
- At the end of the First World War,
697
00:41:48,650 --> 00:41:52,520
Loyal had been a captain
in the American Red Cross
698
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:57,520
in the European theater and
he came back to America,
699
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,820
was recruited by Dr. Barton
700
00:41:59,820 --> 00:42:02,300
of the Congregational Mission there,
701
00:42:02,300 --> 00:42:07,180
to head up a relief effort to Turkey,
702
00:42:07,180 --> 00:42:12,070
which was being gathered
under the auspices
703
00:42:12,070 --> 00:42:15,290
of Near East Relief, which
is a church relief group
704
00:42:15,290 --> 00:42:18,270
that was set up and was
chartered and authorized
705
00:42:18,270 --> 00:42:21,110
by the U.S. Congress at about that time,
706
00:42:21,110 --> 00:42:23,053
under Woodrow Wilson.
707
00:42:24,070 --> 00:42:25,930
- [Narrator] Loyal Lincoln
Wirt was commissioned
708
00:42:25,930 --> 00:42:28,260
to lead the first shipment
of relief supplies
709
00:42:28,260 --> 00:42:30,470
from New York to Constantinople, Turkey
710
00:42:30,470 --> 00:42:32,840
aboard the vessel SS Pensacola.
711
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:37,650
The 10,000 ton vessel set
sail on January 25, 1919,
712
00:42:37,650 --> 00:42:39,860
carrying 100 automobiles,
713
00:42:39,860 --> 00:42:42,870
scores of necessary relief
equipment and supplies
714
00:42:42,870 --> 00:42:46,030
and a group of 48 American volunteers.
715
00:42:46,030 --> 00:42:47,800
Loyal's mission marked the beginning
716
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,383
of Near East Relief's herculean task.
717
00:42:52,030 --> 00:42:54,690
- They built, according to Loyal,
718
00:42:54,690 --> 00:42:59,690
approximately 212 orphanages
from Istanbul to Aleppo
719
00:43:00,290 --> 00:43:01,363
down in Syria.
720
00:43:02,922 --> 00:43:05,172
And these were operated
for a number of years
721
00:43:06,070 --> 00:43:10,160
until the children
eventually gathered together
722
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:14,410
approximately according
to again Loyal's writings,
723
00:43:14,410 --> 00:43:17,090
approximately 200,000 children,
724
00:43:17,090 --> 00:43:20,210
the Armenian orphans
which were left behind
725
00:43:20,210 --> 00:43:23,030
after their parents were had been murdered
726
00:43:23,030 --> 00:43:25,490
by the Ottoman Turks, during the war.
727
00:43:25,490 --> 00:43:29,886
And they were fed, clothed, educated
728
00:43:29,886 --> 00:43:34,080
and all of these locations that
the Near East Relief set up
729
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:37,240
for the Armenian orphanages,
730
00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:40,500
were under the protection
of the U.S. government,
731
00:43:40,500 --> 00:43:43,360
and it didn't really take apparently,
732
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:44,540
the posting of the troops,
733
00:43:44,540 --> 00:43:48,930
just the flying of the flag
that the Turks would leave
734
00:43:48,930 --> 00:43:53,000
these locations alone and
leave the Armenian orphans
735
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,373
to their salvation in the orphanages.
736
00:43:56,370 --> 00:43:59,190
- [Narrator] In his memoirs,
the "World is my Parish,"
737
00:43:59,190 --> 00:44:01,230
Loyal writes how he witnessed the arrest
738
00:44:01,230 --> 00:44:03,940
of Ismael Hakki Bey in Karahisar
739
00:44:03,940 --> 00:44:07,137
while transporting Armenian
refugees to Aleppo.
740
00:44:07,137 --> 00:44:10,357
- "Ismael Bey was the Turkish
Director of Deportations
741
00:44:10,357 --> 00:44:13,417
"at Aleppo, before the city
was captured by the British.
742
00:44:13,417 --> 00:44:16,977
"Before their arrival he
fled into the interior.
743
00:44:16,977 --> 00:44:19,227
"The regimental interpreter
was standing near him
744
00:44:19,227 --> 00:44:22,447
"and I asked him what
the crowd was saying.
745
00:44:22,447 --> 00:44:23,777
"He replied that their language
746
00:44:23,777 --> 00:44:26,333
"was more forcible than elegant,
747
00:44:27,197 --> 00:44:31,287
"but not more so than the
old scoundrel deserved.
748
00:44:31,287 --> 00:44:33,297
"One was crying, 'Look at me, look at me,
749
00:44:33,297 --> 00:44:34,917
"'you have not forgotten me,
750
00:44:34,917 --> 00:44:38,757
"'I am the man who paid you
600 pound sterling at Mersin,
751
00:44:38,757 --> 00:44:40,047
"'you promised me exemption
752
00:44:40,047 --> 00:44:41,987
"'and then you deported me to the desert.'
753
00:44:41,987 --> 00:44:46,257
"Another shouted, 'You
called yourself protector.
754
00:44:46,257 --> 00:44:49,117
"'You said pay me and I will
save you and we believed you.
755
00:44:49,117 --> 00:44:49,950
"'We paid you plenty
756
00:44:49,950 --> 00:44:52,837
"'then you sent 40,000
of us to the desert.
757
00:44:52,837 --> 00:44:55,997
"'Most of us died of
disease and starvation.
758
00:44:55,997 --> 00:44:57,977
"Still others heaped maledictions
759
00:44:57,977 --> 00:44:59,853
"on the prisoners in the head.
760
00:45:01,168 --> 00:45:03,067
"'You sent 300 orphans to a train,
761
00:45:03,067 --> 00:45:05,467
"'saying they were going
to a happy orphanage.
762
00:45:05,467 --> 00:45:09,083
"'Then you set fire to that
train and the children perished.
763
00:45:10,077 --> 00:45:11,687
"'You though you left no witness
764
00:45:11,687 --> 00:45:15,047
"'but I escaped to accuse you.'
765
00:45:15,047 --> 00:45:18,417
"Ismael Hakki Bey had a fair trial,
766
00:45:18,417 --> 00:45:20,827
"but the evidence against
him was overwhelming.
767
00:45:20,827 --> 00:45:23,497
"The verdict was execution by hanging.
768
00:45:23,497 --> 00:45:27,400
"But as a military officer
he was privileged to be shot.
769
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,150
(dramatic music)
770
00:45:32,292 --> 00:45:34,875
(bright music)
771
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,300
- [Narrator] Child star
actor, Jackie Coogan,
772
00:45:39,300 --> 00:45:40,310
who played an orphan
773
00:45:40,310 --> 00:45:44,160
in Charlie Chaplin's 1921
silent movie "The Kid,"
774
00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:47,520
was commissioned by the American
Near East Relief Foundation
775
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:51,190
in 1924 to embarked on
what became to be known
776
00:45:51,190 --> 00:45:52,930
as the the World's first celebrity
777
00:45:52,930 --> 00:45:55,810
humanitarian fundraising campaign.
778
00:45:55,810 --> 00:45:58,800
Coogan's fundraiser for the
Armenian Genocide orphans
779
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,710
was endorsed by the dairy
product giant Nestle
780
00:46:01,710 --> 00:46:06,200
and raised $1 million for
providing necessary food supplies.
781
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:09,840
In this rare film, Jackie
Coogan visits Detroit, Michigan
782
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,010
as one of his stops for his fundraiser
783
00:46:12,010 --> 00:46:15,210
and eventually in October of 1924 travels
784
00:46:15,210 --> 00:46:18,190
across the Atlantic to deliver
the humanitarian shipment
785
00:46:18,190 --> 00:46:21,260
to Armenian and Greek orphans in Athens.
786
00:46:21,260 --> 00:46:24,733
Jackie Coogan was honored by
His Holiness Pope Pius XI,
787
00:46:25,573 --> 00:46:30,150
who in 1922 had saved 400
Armenian Genocide orphan girls
788
00:46:30,150 --> 00:46:32,970
from Constantinople bringing them safety
789
00:46:32,970 --> 00:46:35,893
to the city of Castel Gandolfo in Rome.
790
00:46:37,690 --> 00:46:40,440
During a 1923 visit to Jerusalem,
791
00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:44,140
Emperor Hailee Selassie of
Ethiopia was so very impressed
792
00:46:44,140 --> 00:46:46,380
by the performance of a brass band
793
00:46:46,380 --> 00:46:47,430
that when he was informed
794
00:46:47,430 --> 00:46:48,630
that its members were orphans
795
00:46:48,630 --> 00:46:51,899
of the Armenian Massacres,
he offered to adopt them all
796
00:46:51,899 --> 00:46:55,560
and brought them back
with him to Addis Ababa.
797
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:57,680
Soon, the 40 Armenian orphans formed
798
00:46:57,680 --> 00:46:59,940
the Imperial Band of Ethiopia.
799
00:46:59,940 --> 00:47:01,950
And their conductor, Kevork Nalbandian,
800
00:47:01,950 --> 00:47:04,563
composed the Ethiopian National anthem.
801
00:47:06,490 --> 00:47:09,840
In 1931, at the emperor's coronation,
802
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:12,930
the brass band refused to
play the Turkish Anthem
803
00:47:12,930 --> 00:47:15,287
as the Turkish delegation arrived.
804
00:47:15,287 --> 00:47:19,120
"They killed our fathers how
can we play their anthem?"
805
00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:20,928
the band members reasoned.
806
00:47:20,928 --> 00:47:23,511
(somber music)
807
00:47:25,942 --> 00:47:28,692
(dramatic music)
808
00:47:40,070 --> 00:47:43,080
One of the largest Armenian
Orphan relief initiatives
809
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:45,952
launched by the American
Near East Relief Foundation,
810
00:47:45,952 --> 00:47:47,190
was the management
811
00:47:47,190 --> 00:47:49,900
of the world's largest
genocide orphan relief
812
00:47:49,900 --> 00:47:51,770
in the city of Alexandrapole,
813
00:47:51,770 --> 00:47:55,130
modern day city of Gyumri, in Armenia.
814
00:47:55,130 --> 00:47:57,210
- Alexandrapole was the place
815
00:47:57,210 --> 00:48:00,870
for mass concentration of orphanages.
816
00:48:00,870 --> 00:48:04,050
That's why the main three orphanages
817
00:48:04,050 --> 00:48:08,573
in Alexandrapole were
called Orphan Cities.
818
00:48:24,830 --> 00:48:26,000
- [Narrator] One of the orphanages
819
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:30,000
in Alexandrapole was housed
in 75 such stone buildings,
820
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,463
once used as Russian Imperial barracks.
821
00:48:36,810 --> 00:48:38,430
About 90 years ago,
822
00:48:38,430 --> 00:48:41,470
thousands of Armenian orphans
assembled in this field,
823
00:48:41,470 --> 00:48:43,463
for their daily exercise routine.
824
00:48:44,607 --> 00:48:47,607
(children shouting)
825
00:48:54,100 --> 00:48:57,600
22,000 Armenian orphans
were cared for by American,
826
00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:00,913
European and Armenian relief
workers in Alexandrapole.
827
00:49:08,680 --> 00:49:12,440
- We have hundreds of photos shot
828
00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:15,170
by Near East Relief personnel showing
829
00:49:15,170 --> 00:49:17,100
what kind of humanitarian activity,
830
00:49:17,100 --> 00:49:19,820
orphan care activities were organized
831
00:49:19,820 --> 00:49:23,163
in Alexandrapole, in 1920's.
832
00:49:24,050 --> 00:49:26,304
- [Narrator] The orphanage
had its own hospital operated
833
00:49:26,304 --> 00:49:30,050
by trained medical staff with
scores of medical doctors
834
00:49:30,050 --> 00:49:33,350
and nurses providing
professional patient care.
835
00:49:33,350 --> 00:49:35,580
They even had their own ambulatory system
836
00:49:35,580 --> 00:49:38,050
for patient transportation.
837
00:49:38,050 --> 00:49:40,190
In addition to academic education,
838
00:49:40,190 --> 00:49:41,950
the Armenian children were trained
839
00:49:41,950 --> 00:49:44,435
in the arts, crafts and trades.
840
00:49:44,435 --> 00:49:45,720
(bright music)
841
00:49:45,720 --> 00:49:48,864
(hammer tapping)
842
00:49:48,864 --> 00:49:52,150
(wood scraping)
843
00:49:52,150 --> 00:49:54,230
The orphanage had its own musical bands
844
00:49:54,230 --> 00:49:57,450
and organized concerts as
well as theatrical groups
845
00:49:57,450 --> 00:49:59,340
that put on performances.
846
00:49:59,340 --> 00:50:01,560
While older girls helped
out in the kitchen
847
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:03,580
and attended embroidery classes,
848
00:50:03,580 --> 00:50:05,230
the boys learned about gardening,
849
00:50:05,230 --> 00:50:07,900
shoemaking and auto-mechanics.
850
00:50:07,900 --> 00:50:10,470
One of the children, a 14-year-old orphan,
851
00:50:10,470 --> 00:50:13,423
built a small automobile
that really operated.
852
00:50:14,490 --> 00:50:16,760
Both, boys and girls were taught to knit
853
00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:20,270
their own winter stockings for
the harsh Caucasian weather.
854
00:50:20,270 --> 00:50:22,800
They were also taught to
mend their own clothing,
855
00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:24,903
but still found time for play.
856
00:50:26,490 --> 00:50:29,493
Even the nurses took respite
from their hectic schedule.
857
00:50:30,830 --> 00:50:34,900
In 1920, Vahan Cheraz, a
native of Constantinople,
858
00:50:34,900 --> 00:50:37,010
founded the first Armenian athletic
859
00:50:37,010 --> 00:50:40,050
and scouting organization
in Alexandrapole.
860
00:50:40,050 --> 00:50:43,310
The group organized soccer
teams, athletics programs,
861
00:50:43,310 --> 00:50:47,440
and many other sports competitions
involving the orphans.
862
00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:49,230
All necessary measures were taken
863
00:50:49,230 --> 00:50:52,820
to make the Armenian Genocide
orphans feel at home.
864
00:50:52,820 --> 00:50:55,863
They were provided toys,
allowed to have pets,
865
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,113
they even had an outdoor hair salon.
866
00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:03,093
And were showered with
motherly love and care.
867
00:51:09,770 --> 00:51:11,640
Alexandrapole was the capital
868
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,070
of Shirak Province in Armenia.
869
00:51:14,070 --> 00:51:16,900
The Governor, Garo Sassouni
was very instrumental
870
00:51:16,900 --> 00:51:20,300
in the Armenian Genocide
orphan relief efforts.
871
00:51:20,300 --> 00:51:25,300
- My father, along with
other duties was able
872
00:51:26,590 --> 00:51:31,590
to save many orphans
873
00:51:31,630 --> 00:51:34,020
by paying Kurds
874
00:51:35,222 --> 00:51:38,670
delivering the orphans
to their organization.
875
00:51:38,670 --> 00:51:43,670
That's where you will
find a group of orphans
876
00:51:46,240 --> 00:51:49,240
with my mother Leyola Sassouni,
877
00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:52,520
doing some physical exercises
878
00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:54,893
on one of the hills of Khunous.
879
00:51:55,990 --> 00:51:58,330
- [Narrator] Garo Sassouni's
wife, Leyola Sassouni,
880
00:51:58,330 --> 00:52:00,560
a graduate of the American Robert College
881
00:52:00,560 --> 00:52:03,910
in Constantinople served as
the administrative translator
882
00:52:03,910 --> 00:52:06,510
for Near East Relief in Alexandrapole.
883
00:52:06,510 --> 00:52:09,230
- My father was also instrumental
884
00:52:09,230 --> 00:52:14,190
in bringing large
885
00:52:15,840 --> 00:52:18,650
segment of the population
886
00:52:18,650 --> 00:52:21,650
of Daron, Van, Erzunga and Alashgerd
887
00:52:23,300 --> 00:52:25,570
to Eastern Armenia
888
00:52:25,570 --> 00:52:30,160
and many orphans were walking
889
00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:35,160
with about 100,000 or some
say about 300,000 population
890
00:52:36,240 --> 00:52:39,720
from that region to Eastern Armenia
891
00:52:39,720 --> 00:52:43,363
and primarily through Alexandrapole.
892
00:52:44,340 --> 00:52:46,110
- [Narrator] Later,
the Sassuni's continued
893
00:52:46,110 --> 00:52:47,330
their orphan relief efforts
894
00:52:47,330 --> 00:52:50,280
in Aleppo, Syria and Beirut, Lebanon.
895
00:52:50,280 --> 00:52:53,520
Today, one of the chapter of
the Armenian Relief Society,
896
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:55,540
based in Watertown, Massachusetts,
897
00:52:55,540 --> 00:52:57,453
is named after Leyola Sassouni.
898
00:52:58,720 --> 00:53:00,263
- The rescue movement was an attempt
899
00:53:00,263 --> 00:53:04,860
to locate, find and
retrieve these young people,
900
00:53:04,860 --> 00:53:07,840
who now in many cases had
gone through adolescence
901
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:10,270
and were adults, who wanted to be found
902
00:53:10,270 --> 00:53:13,483
and wanted to come back
to the Armenian community.
903
00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:16,230
It wasn't just that
international organizations
904
00:53:16,230 --> 00:53:17,650
that did this of course,
905
00:53:17,650 --> 00:53:19,700
the first and most important
rescues were affected
906
00:53:19,700 --> 00:53:21,720
by Armenians themselves.
907
00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:25,220
- [Narrator] The AGBU, Armenian
General Benevolent Union,
908
00:53:25,220 --> 00:53:28,190
established in 1906 in Cairo, Egypt
909
00:53:28,190 --> 00:53:31,200
and the ARS, Armenian Relief Society,
910
00:53:31,200 --> 00:53:34,290
at times referred to as
the Armenian Red Cross,
911
00:53:34,290 --> 00:53:38,300
established in New York, in
1910, played a momentous role
912
00:53:38,300 --> 00:53:41,230
in locating and rescuing Armenian orphans
913
00:53:41,230 --> 00:53:44,410
including those who were
forcefully converted into Muslims,
914
00:53:44,410 --> 00:53:47,100
or roaming aimlessly
in the Syrian dessert,
915
00:53:47,100 --> 00:53:49,010
and still others who were adopted
916
00:53:49,010 --> 00:53:51,220
by friendly Muslim families.
917
00:53:51,220 --> 00:53:54,126
Both organizations were instrumental
918
00:53:54,126 --> 00:53:55,140
in providing the genocide orphans
919
00:53:55,140 --> 00:53:58,640
with desperately needed physical,
mental and spiritual care
920
00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:01,930
by starting soup kitchens,
clinics, kindergartens,
921
00:54:01,930 --> 00:54:04,963
workshops, skill centers
and Bible schools.
922
00:54:05,900 --> 00:54:09,000
Armenian organizations and
church groups collaborated
923
00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:11,130
in administering scores of orphanages
924
00:54:11,130 --> 00:54:14,950
in Constantinople, Eastern
Anatolia, Jerusalem,
925
00:54:14,950 --> 00:54:18,610
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and
many other locations,
926
00:54:18,610 --> 00:54:21,120
with financial assistance
from United States,
927
00:54:21,120 --> 00:54:24,393
Europe and as far as Australia and Japan.
928
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:11,640
- [Narrator] Mampre and Myriam Shirinian,
929
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:12,473
who look like
930
00:55:12,473 --> 00:55:14,670
an average hard-working
Canadian immigrant couple
931
00:55:14,670 --> 00:55:17,480
in this photo, were in
fact two Armenian orphans
932
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:20,170
of the genocide, who
met and started a family
933
00:55:20,170 --> 00:55:23,720
thousands of miles away from
their ancestral homeland.
934
00:55:23,720 --> 00:55:25,690
Mampre was a Georgetown boy
935
00:55:25,690 --> 00:55:27,783
and Myriam was a Georgetown girl.
936
00:55:28,630 --> 00:55:32,653
- The Georgetown Boys
endeavor was very important.
937
00:55:33,690 --> 00:55:36,290
The Armenian Relief Association of Canada
938
00:55:36,290 --> 00:55:41,290
raised public funds and
these funds were raised
939
00:55:42,030 --> 00:55:44,750
for the Armenian children.
940
00:55:44,750 --> 00:55:48,340
The purpose was to bring
these children to Canada,
941
00:55:48,340 --> 00:55:53,340
to settle them on a farm home school
942
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:58,460
in Ontario, and to
maintain those children,
943
00:55:58,460 --> 00:56:01,442
each of those children, for five years.
944
00:56:01,442 --> 00:56:04,025
(gentle music)
945
00:56:06,938 --> 00:56:09,160
- [Narrator] In 1924,
Mampre Shirinian was brought
946
00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:10,820
to Georgetown Boys Farmhouse
947
00:56:10,820 --> 00:56:13,000
in Cedervale, Ontario, Canada,
948
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:16,730
by the efforts of the Armenian
Relief Association of Canada.
949
00:56:16,730 --> 00:56:21,730
- He remembers his
father who was taken away
950
00:56:21,830 --> 00:56:26,120
in a labor battalion and killed,
951
00:56:26,120 --> 00:56:27,903
before the genocide started.
952
00:56:28,804 --> 00:56:30,810
- [Narrator] Miryam Mazmanian
from Harput, Turkey,
953
00:56:30,810 --> 00:56:34,310
orphaned at the age of two and
her brother were also brought
954
00:56:34,310 --> 00:56:36,473
to Canada by way of Corfu, Greece.
955
00:56:37,340 --> 00:56:41,050
- She remembers the day that
her brother came running to her
956
00:56:41,050 --> 00:56:45,360
as she was playing in the
yard outside her home.
957
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:46,937
Grabbed her by the hand
and pulled and said,
958
00:56:46,937 --> 00:56:48,567
"Run, the soldiers are coming."
959
00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:52,010
She never saw home or parents again.
960
00:56:52,010 --> 00:56:54,630
My dad told me a recollection
961
00:56:54,630 --> 00:56:58,160
of when he was on the deportations.
962
00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:02,720
He remembers, his brother, Kevork,
963
00:57:02,720 --> 00:57:06,510
after whom I'm named, dying of pneumonia.
964
00:57:06,510 --> 00:57:10,363
- And my father having lost everybody,
965
00:57:11,920 --> 00:57:14,100
moved from family to family
966
00:57:14,100 --> 00:57:17,630
and he would join with other orphaned boys
967
00:57:17,630 --> 00:57:19,820
when they'd pass through a town.
968
00:57:19,820 --> 00:57:21,180
And one trick they would have,
969
00:57:21,180 --> 00:57:23,610
they'd do go to the local granary
970
00:57:23,610 --> 00:57:25,740
and they would pretend to get in a fight,
971
00:57:25,740 --> 00:57:28,540
and they would throw each
other on the grain pile
972
00:57:28,540 --> 00:57:30,610
and stuff their pockets full of grain
973
00:57:30,610 --> 00:57:32,440
that they would take back to the mother
974
00:57:32,440 --> 00:57:34,010
who was looking after them
975
00:57:34,010 --> 00:57:38,080
and this would allow her to
make some food or some bread.
976
00:57:38,080 --> 00:57:41,580
- A group of Turkish soldiers
saw him begging for food,
977
00:57:41,580 --> 00:57:45,080
recognized him as an
Armenian and called him over
978
00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:46,580
and said they'll give him food
979
00:57:47,853 --> 00:57:49,954
if he let them circumcise him
980
00:57:49,954 --> 00:57:53,260
and convert him into Muslim on the spot.
981
00:57:53,260 --> 00:57:56,460
- [Narrator] In 1936,
Mampre, a Georgetown boy
982
00:57:56,460 --> 00:57:59,030
and Miryam, a Georgetown girl get married
983
00:57:59,030 --> 00:58:02,000
and settle in Ontario,
Canada, start a business,
984
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:04,020
raise two sons Lorne and George,
985
00:58:04,020 --> 00:58:06,984
who both excelled as academicians.
986
00:58:06,984 --> 00:58:09,567
(gentle music)
987
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:15,950
Sarkis Sarkissian was
another Georgetown boy
988
00:58:15,950 --> 00:58:20,350
who lost his parents in
1915 in Harput at age two.
989
00:58:20,350 --> 00:58:24,150
His grandmother took custody
of Sarkis and his sister Nuver,
990
00:58:24,150 --> 00:58:26,220
but as her health began to fail
991
00:58:26,220 --> 00:58:29,100
she turned the children
over to an orphanage.
992
00:58:29,100 --> 00:58:32,310
- His grandmother put him and his sister
993
00:58:32,310 --> 00:58:34,763
in an orphanage in Adana,
994
00:58:35,730 --> 00:58:40,730
and they stayed there
for two to three years,
995
00:58:41,084 --> 00:58:44,960
then they were taken
to the island of Cyprus
996
00:58:44,960 --> 00:58:48,120
to another orphanage and they were there
997
00:58:48,120 --> 00:58:49,990
for another two years,
998
00:58:49,990 --> 00:58:54,880
and then they were shipped
to the Greek Island of Corfu.
999
00:58:54,880 --> 00:58:56,880
- [Narrator] Eventually
Sarkis was separated
1000
00:58:56,880 --> 00:58:59,420
from his sister, Nuver,
and taken to Canada
1001
00:58:59,420 --> 00:59:01,670
as a Georgetown boy where he excelled
1002
00:59:01,670 --> 00:59:03,740
in agricultural husbandry.
1003
00:59:03,740 --> 00:59:05,923
- It's probably be this field right here,
1004
00:59:06,850 --> 00:59:10,770
was all wet and marshy.
1005
00:59:10,770 --> 00:59:15,180
And they gave the boys each a plot,
1006
00:59:15,180 --> 00:59:18,800
and they had to tile
drain this, this land.
1007
00:59:18,800 --> 00:59:20,610
I'm sure if you dug down,
1008
00:59:20,610 --> 00:59:22,860
you'd probably find the
tiles are still here.
1009
00:59:23,840 --> 00:59:27,070
Each boy had to dig a
certain amount of trench,
1010
00:59:27,070 --> 00:59:31,000
to put the tiles in to drain this field
1011
00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:34,018
and each had a plot where
they could grow a garden.
1012
00:59:34,018 --> 00:59:36,860
(gentle music)
1013
00:59:36,860 --> 00:59:38,540
- [Narrator] Upon leaving Georgetown,
1014
00:59:38,540 --> 00:59:40,520
Sarkis started a farming business,
1015
00:59:40,520 --> 00:59:42,173
and after meeting Ann Popiel,
1016
00:59:42,173 --> 00:59:45,560
a Canadian of Ukrainian
descent, started a family.
1017
00:59:45,560 --> 00:59:49,600
In 1938, Sarkis received
word that his sister Nuver,
1018
00:59:49,600 --> 00:59:52,750
the only family relation
was alive and well,
1019
00:59:52,750 --> 00:59:55,710
and employed as a nurse at
the Scot Mission Hospital
1020
00:59:55,710 --> 00:59:57,750
in Tiberias, Palestine.
1021
00:59:57,750 --> 01:00:00,190
Sarkis contacts Nuver immediately
1022
01:00:00,190 --> 01:00:02,440
and soon she joins him in Canada.
1023
01:00:02,440 --> 01:00:04,060
- After letters and going
1024
01:00:04,060 --> 01:00:07,110
through different political
channels and all that stuff,
1025
01:00:07,110 --> 01:00:10,253
he finally got her
permission to come to Canada.
1026
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:15,110
And I can remember what we used
to be called Multon Airport
1027
01:00:15,110 --> 01:00:18,970
and she came in on this big Tristar,
1028
01:00:18,970 --> 01:00:23,130
motor driven airplane
and she got off the plane
1029
01:00:23,130 --> 01:00:25,533
and well it was a very,
1030
01:00:33,285 --> 01:00:35,170
(sobbing)
1031
01:00:35,170 --> 01:00:38,410
sorry, but a very emotional reunion.
1032
01:00:43,180 --> 01:00:44,860
- [Narrator] After settling in Toronto,
1033
01:00:44,860 --> 01:00:49,690
Nuver met and married Levon
Vassoyan another Georgetown boy.
1034
01:00:49,690 --> 01:00:54,120
- I can remember going to her wedding
1035
01:00:54,120 --> 01:00:59,120
and another one of the Georgetown
boys was their best man
1036
01:01:00,230 --> 01:01:03,293
and his name was Mampre Shirinian.
1037
01:01:05,140 --> 01:01:10,140
- There was a moment in Georgetown
1038
01:01:10,350 --> 01:01:15,350
when the zeal to make the
young orphans Canadians rapidly
1039
01:01:17,170 --> 01:01:18,963
perhaps went a little too far.
1040
01:01:19,970 --> 01:01:24,970
- So when the Armenian
Relief Association of Canada
1041
01:01:25,500 --> 01:01:27,760
changed the names of those children,
1042
01:01:27,760 --> 01:01:31,773
anglicized them in the
name of their sponsors,
1043
01:01:33,846 --> 01:01:36,330
that was the connection.
1044
01:01:36,330 --> 01:01:40,490
The sponsors had given
certain amounts of money
1045
01:01:40,490 --> 01:01:42,790
and were gonna continue that kind of money
1046
01:01:42,790 --> 01:01:45,030
for these children and
it was at that point
1047
01:01:45,030 --> 01:01:49,100
that the children objected to
having their names changed,
1048
01:01:49,100 --> 01:01:51,980
because that was the only thing
1049
01:01:51,980 --> 01:01:54,930
they came with was their names.
1050
01:01:54,930 --> 01:01:59,930
- So they told the boys,
they had a meeting and said,
1051
01:02:00,377 --> 01:02:01,880
"We're gonna change your names,"
1052
01:02:01,880 --> 01:02:04,200
and they even drew a list of
what their names would be.
1053
01:02:04,200 --> 01:02:07,170
For example, my father Mampre Shirinian,
1054
01:02:07,170 --> 01:02:10,420
they said he was going to be Paul Oliver
1055
01:02:10,420 --> 01:02:12,960
and my father shook his head
1056
01:02:12,960 --> 01:02:15,660
and there was no rhyme or reason
1057
01:02:15,660 --> 01:02:19,620
to why it should be Paul Oliver
and they were similar cases.
1058
01:02:19,620 --> 01:02:22,860
The boys in effect revolted.
1059
01:02:22,860 --> 01:02:27,500
- And all these young
boys gathered together
1060
01:02:27,500 --> 01:02:30,480
and made a delegation to the
leadership of the orphanage
1061
01:02:31,650 --> 01:02:33,320
and they begged to be able
1062
01:02:33,320 --> 01:02:35,403
to keep their original Armenian names.
1063
01:02:36,850 --> 01:02:38,960
They did not want to appear ungrateful
1064
01:02:38,960 --> 01:02:42,130
but, they said these names
have no meaning to us.
1065
01:02:42,130 --> 01:02:44,020
But we've lost our mothers,
1066
01:02:44,020 --> 01:02:46,343
our fathers and friends and home.
1067
01:02:48,298 --> 01:02:52,087
Please let us keep our Armenian names.
1068
01:02:52,087 --> 01:02:56,660
- And in this way the
administrators relented
1069
01:02:56,660 --> 01:02:59,230
and the boys were allowed
to keep their names.
1070
01:02:59,230 --> 01:03:02,263
A memory of their parents
they never saw again.
1071
01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:07,330
- I have mixed emotions of sadness,
1072
01:03:07,330 --> 01:03:10,740
because the Georgetown Boys
Farm had to be established
1073
01:03:10,740 --> 01:03:15,477
and was established to look
after 109 orphans of boys
1074
01:03:15,477 --> 01:03:19,240
and 29 orphan girls that
had to come to a new land,
1075
01:03:19,240 --> 01:03:22,140
who knew nothing about the
language or the culture,
1076
01:03:22,140 --> 01:03:24,890
but were put in the
position that they were in.
1077
01:03:24,890 --> 01:03:28,470
But I have mixed emotions
of celebration today,
1078
01:03:28,470 --> 01:03:30,050
because they were survivors
1079
01:03:30,050 --> 01:03:33,170
and this picture right
here in front of all of us,
1080
01:03:33,170 --> 01:03:35,940
in any future printings of a dictionary
1081
01:03:35,940 --> 01:03:37,800
besides the word survivor,
1082
01:03:37,800 --> 01:03:39,690
every dictionary should have a picture
1083
01:03:39,690 --> 01:03:41,329
of the Georgetown Boys.
1084
01:03:41,329 --> 01:03:46,329
(audience applauding)
(somber music)
1085
01:03:49,620 --> 01:03:52,080
- [Narrator] On June 27, 2011,
1086
01:03:52,080 --> 01:03:54,120
the provincial plaque
was erected at the site
1087
01:03:54,120 --> 01:03:56,060
by the Ontario Heritage Trust,
1088
01:03:56,060 --> 01:03:57,960
further immortalizing the memory
1089
01:03:57,960 --> 01:04:01,480
of the 109 Armenian
Genocide orphans rescued
1090
01:04:01,480 --> 01:04:04,320
by the Canadian relief
efforts marking this
1091
01:04:04,320 --> 01:04:07,583
as Canada's first ever humanitarian
undertaking of its kind.
1092
01:04:17,403 --> 01:04:20,153
(dramatic music)
1093
01:04:22,740 --> 01:04:25,550
A recently uncovered
authentic Ottoman document,
1094
01:04:25,550 --> 01:04:28,700
issued on August 30, 1915,
1095
01:04:28,700 --> 01:04:31,300
dispatched by the
Ottoman Interior Ministry
1096
01:04:31,300 --> 01:04:34,620
to the vice governor of
Ankara, reads as follows:
1097
01:04:34,620 --> 01:04:36,740
The existence of Armenian children
1098
01:04:36,740 --> 01:04:39,630
in official institutions
is not appropriate.
1099
01:04:39,630 --> 01:04:41,860
Therefore, the remaining
ones should be divided
1100
01:04:41,860 --> 01:04:43,490
among Islamic villages.
1101
01:04:43,490 --> 01:04:45,453
Signed Interior Minister, Talat.
1102
01:04:47,070 --> 01:04:48,570
According to another document,
1103
01:04:48,570 --> 01:04:52,840
issued on September 22,
1915, dispatched in Ankara,
1104
01:04:52,840 --> 01:04:55,473
and signed by deputy governor Atef,
1105
01:04:55,473 --> 01:04:59,420
1,426 Armenian children were ordered
1106
01:04:59,420 --> 01:05:02,290
to be absorbed by Islamic Institutions.
1107
01:05:02,290 --> 01:05:07,100
- 1,450 orphans in Ankara,
today's capital of Turkey,
1108
01:05:07,100 --> 01:05:08,810
back, right after the genocide,
1109
01:05:08,810 --> 01:05:11,310
according to Ottoman documents written
1110
01:05:11,310 --> 01:05:16,150
by Turkish government officials,
that we have access to now.
1111
01:05:16,150 --> 01:05:18,050
According to those documents,
1112
01:05:18,050 --> 01:05:22,760
those 1,450 Armenian kids,
young kids, were taken
1113
01:05:22,760 --> 01:05:24,290
and then distributed,
1114
01:05:24,290 --> 01:05:27,290
sent over to various Islamic institutions
1115
01:05:27,290 --> 01:05:30,000
the document says and
as a result of course
1116
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:32,070
when little, young kids are taken over
1117
01:05:32,070 --> 01:05:33,490
by Islamic institutions,
1118
01:05:33,490 --> 01:05:36,100
they are raised as Muslims, as Turks.
1119
01:05:36,100 --> 01:05:38,650
If you send an Armenian kids
to an Islamic institution,
1120
01:05:38,650 --> 01:05:40,400
obviously the intent is to Islamize them,
1121
01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:42,910
so you also prove not only the act
1122
01:05:42,910 --> 01:05:44,490
but you prove the intent of the act,
1123
01:05:44,490 --> 01:05:47,050
the objective, the end result
1124
01:05:47,050 --> 01:05:50,110
of the act is to Islamize them.
1125
01:05:50,110 --> 01:05:54,510
- Under all international
human rights laws,
1126
01:05:54,510 --> 01:05:56,623
which of course are frequently not obeyed,
1127
01:05:57,820 --> 01:06:01,370
to take a person out of their community
1128
01:06:01,370 --> 01:06:04,840
and turn them into
another person is a crime
1129
01:06:04,840 --> 01:06:07,227
against humanity and is
in deed an act of genocide
1130
01:06:07,227 --> 01:06:11,090
and the United Nations'
documentation clearly shows that.
1131
01:06:11,090 --> 01:06:15,200
- Taking away Armenian
children from families
1132
01:06:15,200 --> 01:06:18,480
and putting them either in orphanages
1133
01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:22,510
or within Turkish families
and to assimilate them
1134
01:06:22,510 --> 01:06:25,020
into Islamic culture,
into Turkish culture,
1135
01:06:25,020 --> 01:06:26,870
was a very structural element
1136
01:06:26,870 --> 01:06:31,870
and very important part
of the genocidal process.
1137
01:06:32,160 --> 01:06:35,593
- What was happening was that, in effect,
1138
01:06:37,400 --> 01:06:42,400
the Turkish authorities
were changing the identity
1139
01:06:42,490 --> 01:06:46,330
of Armenian children, who
either had lost their parents
1140
01:06:46,330 --> 01:06:49,430
or whose parents were actually
killed in the genocide
1141
01:06:49,430 --> 01:06:54,430
and these children were effectively
being turned into Turks.
1142
01:06:55,520 --> 01:06:59,450
- Now they were in this
very hostile environment
1143
01:06:59,450 --> 01:07:01,750
in the Turkish orphanages,
1144
01:07:01,750 --> 01:07:06,750
orphanages set up specially for
collecting Armenian children
1145
01:07:07,250 --> 01:07:08,910
and Turkifying them.
1146
01:07:08,910 --> 01:07:10,420
And putting them through
1147
01:07:10,420 --> 01:07:13,530
a very strict regime of Turkification.
1148
01:07:13,530 --> 01:07:16,630
- Where they were, as
was standard practice
1149
01:07:16,630 --> 01:07:18,370
in the Ottoman orphanages at that time,
1150
01:07:18,370 --> 01:07:22,140
if you were a Christian
boy, you were circumcised
1151
01:07:22,140 --> 01:07:23,330
and given a Muslim name.
1152
01:07:23,330 --> 01:07:24,530
If you were an Armenian girl,
1153
01:07:24,530 --> 01:07:26,550
your name would have been
changed to a Muslim name.
1154
01:07:26,550 --> 01:07:29,990
- And they forced them to become Muslim,
1155
01:07:29,990 --> 01:07:32,640
they were not allowed to speak Armenian.
1156
01:07:32,640 --> 01:07:35,300
They were often beaten,
sometimes to death,
1157
01:07:35,300 --> 01:07:38,380
if they dared to maintained
their Armenian identity.
1158
01:07:38,380 --> 01:07:43,223
- Armenian children between
age five, six until 13,
1159
01:07:44,320 --> 01:07:47,170
gave them a wonderful opportunity,
1160
01:07:47,170 --> 01:07:50,920
because this was the age
group that they thought
1161
01:07:50,920 --> 01:07:54,290
they could assimilate them easily
1162
01:07:54,290 --> 01:07:57,610
and then make them Turks.
1163
01:07:57,610 --> 01:08:02,610
- They strove to adopt themselves
to this new environment,
1164
01:08:03,180 --> 01:08:06,890
but they weren't able to,
because whatever they cherished,
1165
01:08:06,890 --> 01:08:09,410
their language, they heritage,
1166
01:08:09,410 --> 01:08:13,690
even small children was robbed out of them
1167
01:08:13,690 --> 01:08:18,340
and a new thing, something
new was imposed on them.
1168
01:08:18,340 --> 01:08:20,680
- Ottoman authorities started
1169
01:08:20,680 --> 01:08:24,600
to implement these policies way before
1170
01:08:24,600 --> 01:08:28,213
they organized the actual
deportations and killings.
1171
01:08:29,290 --> 01:08:31,600
They calculated that some
1172
01:08:31,600 --> 01:08:36,300
of the Armenian children would remain,
1173
01:08:36,300 --> 01:08:40,020
they won't be sent with their parents
1174
01:08:40,020 --> 01:08:43,630
and certain preparations were made
1175
01:08:43,630 --> 01:08:48,630
to keep these Armenian children
either in form of orphanages
1176
01:08:49,110 --> 01:08:53,930
or in form of distributing
them into Muslim families.
1177
01:08:53,930 --> 01:08:57,900
- We know that in Turkey
itself, what is today Turkey,
1178
01:08:57,900 --> 01:09:02,770
there were orphanages opened
for Turkish, and Kurdish,
1179
01:09:02,770 --> 01:09:05,210
in other words for Muslim orphans,
1180
01:09:05,210 --> 01:09:08,790
and as the genocide was unfolding,
1181
01:09:08,790 --> 01:09:11,860
the Turks also gathered Armenian orphans
1182
01:09:11,860 --> 01:09:15,580
and placed them in
those Muslim orphanages,
1183
01:09:15,580 --> 01:09:19,170
and when you look at their
statement after the war,
1184
01:09:19,170 --> 01:09:21,640
when certain parts of
Anatolia were occupied
1185
01:09:21,640 --> 01:09:25,170
by the Allied Forces,
the Turks began to say
1186
01:09:25,170 --> 01:09:30,170
that their mission was to
shelter those Armenian orphans,
1187
01:09:30,830 --> 01:09:33,170
they did not differentiate
1188
01:09:33,170 --> 01:09:36,660
between an Armenian or a
Christian and a Muslim.
1189
01:09:36,660 --> 01:09:39,590
- And when League of
Nations observers would go
1190
01:09:39,590 --> 01:09:41,140
and visit those orphanages,
1191
01:09:41,140 --> 01:09:45,203
they would see list, long lists
of names of Armenian kids,
1192
01:09:46,320 --> 01:09:48,533
Armenian children's names, Assadour, Hagop
1193
01:09:49,772 --> 01:09:50,650
that've been crossed out
1194
01:09:50,650 --> 01:09:53,723
and then replaced with Muslim names.
1195
01:09:54,821 --> 01:09:57,118
And so they understood that there was
1196
01:09:57,118 --> 01:10:00,170
a concerted, official,
governmental process
1197
01:10:00,170 --> 01:10:04,130
to change Armenian children
into Muslim Turkish children.
1198
01:10:04,130 --> 01:10:06,880
(dramatic music)
1199
01:10:09,250 --> 01:10:10,160
- [Narrator] The result of one
1200
01:10:10,160 --> 01:10:12,920
of those concerted official
governmental processes
1201
01:10:12,920 --> 01:10:15,790
was the creation of Antoura
Orphanage spearheaded
1202
01:10:15,790 --> 01:10:19,473
by the commander of the 4th
Ottoman Army, Ahmad Jemal Pasha.
1203
01:10:20,540 --> 01:10:22,610
- What Jemal Pasha was doing, in effect,
1204
01:10:22,610 --> 01:10:26,280
was killing the children's identity
1205
01:10:26,280 --> 01:10:27,900
by turning them into Turks.
1206
01:10:27,900 --> 01:10:32,900
Taking away their culture, their
religion, their very names.
1207
01:10:33,260 --> 01:10:35,543
They were ceasing to exist as Armenians.
1208
01:10:36,860 --> 01:10:38,570
Probably not as cheap as killing them,
1209
01:10:38,570 --> 01:10:41,900
but mass killing in a place like Lebanon,
1210
01:10:41,900 --> 01:10:43,250
where it was a little bit more public
1211
01:10:43,250 --> 01:10:44,800
would have been more difficult.
1212
01:10:45,880 --> 01:10:47,650
- [Narrator] Antoura, a small town nestled
1213
01:10:47,650 --> 01:10:50,640
between the cornucopia of
the mediterranean turquoise
1214
01:10:50,640 --> 01:10:53,560
and the verdant pine
forests of Mount Lebanon was
1215
01:10:53,560 --> 01:10:56,880
once home to 1,000
Armenian Genocide orphans
1216
01:10:56,880 --> 01:10:58,593
destined for Turkification.
1217
01:10:59,766 --> 01:11:02,860
Missak Kelechian, a silicon
valley electrical engineer,
1218
01:11:02,860 --> 01:11:06,220
conducted thorough primary
and secondary research
1219
01:11:06,220 --> 01:11:08,430
and was able to conclude
that the building,
1220
01:11:08,430 --> 01:11:11,840
currently used by the Antoura
Lazarite College in Lebanon
1221
01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:13,810
was once under the Ottoman rule
1222
01:11:13,810 --> 01:11:16,763
and a Turkification center
for Armenian orphans.
1223
01:11:18,160 --> 01:11:21,570
- According to Antoura
French College Archives,
1224
01:11:21,570 --> 01:11:24,200
there were 1,200 orphans.
1225
01:11:24,200 --> 01:11:27,980
200 of them being Kurds and Turks
1226
01:11:27,980 --> 01:11:31,000
and the rest, Armenian children.
1227
01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:33,883
There ages between three to 14 years old.
1228
01:11:34,955 --> 01:11:36,517
[Narrator] In March of 2010,
1229
01:11:36,517 --> 01:11:38,720
"The Independent"
publishes an article penned
1230
01:11:38,720 --> 01:11:41,560
by the Award winning British
journalist, Robert Fisk
1231
01:11:41,560 --> 01:11:45,570
under the title of "Living
Proof of the Armenian Genocide."
1232
01:11:45,570 --> 01:11:48,270
In that article, Mr. Fisk provides details
1233
01:11:48,270 --> 01:11:50,028
of Mr. Kelechian's findings.
1234
01:11:50,028 --> 01:11:52,410
He describes how Mr. Kelechian was able
1235
01:11:52,410 --> 01:11:56,140
to trace a photo in a rare
Book called, "Lions of Marash"
1236
01:11:56,140 --> 01:11:59,283
written by a Near East
Relief officer, Stanley Kerr.
1237
01:12:00,640 --> 01:12:04,360
- This was the key
element for my research,
1238
01:12:04,360 --> 01:12:07,580
because I looked for the
French College of Antoura
1239
01:12:07,580 --> 01:12:11,590
in Lebanon and I did
find the main entrance
1240
01:12:11,590 --> 01:12:14,040
and I was able to stand exactly
1241
01:12:14,040 --> 01:12:17,093
at the same spot where Jemal Pasha stood.
1242
01:12:18,620 --> 01:12:21,310
And it was an amazing discovery
1243
01:12:21,310 --> 01:12:25,400
to find the exact location where in 1916,
1244
01:12:25,400 --> 01:12:29,030
Commander of the Fourth
Army in Syria, Jemal Pasha
1245
01:12:29,030 --> 01:12:31,960
with Halideh Edib, the
director of the college
1246
01:12:31,960 --> 01:12:34,310
were standing side by side.
1247
01:12:34,310 --> 01:12:39,240
And here I am standing at
the same exact position.
1248
01:12:39,240 --> 01:12:43,600
- What Missak did is, he found a location
1249
01:12:43,600 --> 01:12:45,327
and he found documents
and he found photographs
1250
01:12:45,327 --> 01:12:46,630
and he put them all together.
1251
01:12:46,630 --> 01:12:49,363
So it became a real, a live issue.
1252
01:12:50,880 --> 01:12:54,910
You know, what was so
significant about it is that,
1253
01:12:54,910 --> 01:12:57,060
you could talk to people who knew
1254
01:12:57,060 --> 01:12:59,420
where corpses of children were buried.
1255
01:12:59,420 --> 01:13:01,950
You could actually go to the
place where they were buried.
1256
01:13:01,950 --> 01:13:04,450
You could see the church behind them.
1257
01:13:04,450 --> 01:13:07,490
You could the place
where the Turks insisted
1258
01:13:07,490 --> 01:13:10,420
that Mouazin called the morning prayer
1259
01:13:10,420 --> 01:13:14,593
after Islamicizing the
Christian college at Antoura.
1260
01:13:16,230 --> 01:13:17,230
- [Narrator] According to journals
1261
01:13:17,230 --> 01:13:20,670
of the Lazarite fathers found
at the Antoura orphanage,
1262
01:13:20,670 --> 01:13:22,430
the Turkification process called
1263
01:13:22,430 --> 01:13:25,510
for all male orphans to be circumcised.
1264
01:13:25,510 --> 01:13:27,950
All the orphans were
taught the Turkish language
1265
01:13:27,950 --> 01:13:29,940
and cultural values in an effort
1266
01:13:29,940 --> 01:13:32,483
to strip them of their
true cultural identity.
1267
01:13:35,700 --> 01:13:38,673
- Here again, we see a
picture right at the entrance.
1268
01:13:39,920 --> 01:13:44,920
With lots of Turkish flags,
all the Turkish dignitaries,
1269
01:13:45,460 --> 01:13:47,590
with Halideh Edib in the middle
1270
01:13:47,590 --> 01:13:50,890
and Fowzi Bey on her left hand side.
1271
01:13:50,890 --> 01:13:53,850
We also see flowers in
front of the children,
1272
01:13:53,850 --> 01:13:56,850
trying to portray that this orphanage
1273
01:13:56,850 --> 01:13:59,343
was an excellent orphanage.
1274
01:14:00,330 --> 01:14:04,260
As you can see, both sides of the picture,
1275
01:14:04,260 --> 01:14:06,280
there are those arched windows
1276
01:14:07,410 --> 01:14:11,013
and right in the middle we can read 1898.
1277
01:14:16,550 --> 01:14:20,740
And here it is today, the same spot,
1278
01:14:20,740 --> 01:14:24,890
with the same windows
and the entrance door
1279
01:14:24,890 --> 01:14:28,433
with the 1898 right on top of the arch.
1280
01:14:30,270 --> 01:14:31,850
- [Narrator] Halideh Edib Adivar,
1281
01:14:31,850 --> 01:14:34,530
one the most prominent
women of the Ottoman era,
1282
01:14:34,530 --> 01:14:35,780
was appointed the directress
1283
01:14:35,780 --> 01:14:37,883
of the orphanage by Jemal Pasha.
1284
01:14:38,940 --> 01:14:41,610
- Halideh Edib narrates
in her autobiography
1285
01:14:41,610 --> 01:14:46,610
printed in 1926, that sometimes,
in the middle of the meals,
1286
01:14:48,230 --> 01:14:51,490
when the children seamed happiest,
1287
01:14:51,490 --> 01:14:55,353
one of the little ones
would suddenly begin to cry.
1288
01:14:56,504 --> 01:15:01,504
It was a screeching, cutting
cry, which lasted for hours,
1289
01:15:01,700 --> 01:15:05,283
no doubt caused by some
association with their home.
1290
01:15:06,120 --> 01:15:10,330
Also, that one felt that these children,
1291
01:15:10,330 --> 01:15:14,590
whatever happened would
carry something cripple,
1292
01:15:14,590 --> 01:15:17,050
something mutilated in them.
1293
01:16:05,747 --> 01:16:08,780
(dramatic music)
1294
01:16:08,780 --> 01:16:10,130
- [Narrator] Old archives found
1295
01:16:10,130 --> 01:16:13,760
in the library of Antoura
College including photos,
1296
01:16:13,760 --> 01:16:17,520
handwritten documents and
memorabilia prompted Mr Kelechian
1297
01:16:17,520 --> 01:16:19,247
to yet another discovery,
1298
01:16:19,247 --> 01:16:21,177
"The Memoirs of Karnig Panian,"
1299
01:16:22,100 --> 01:16:25,010
one of the orphans at
the Antoura Orphanage.
1300
01:16:25,010 --> 01:16:27,090
- You see you can either kill a people
1301
01:16:27,090 --> 01:16:29,200
or you can totally take
away their identity
1302
01:16:29,200 --> 01:16:30,320
and inject them with a new one,
1303
01:16:30,320 --> 01:16:32,770
which was what happening in Antoura.
1304
01:16:32,770 --> 01:16:34,140
And effectively you have killed them,
1305
01:16:34,140 --> 01:16:35,100
'cause you've killed their race,
1306
01:16:35,100 --> 01:16:36,780
you've killed their religion,
you've killed their culture,
1307
01:16:36,780 --> 01:16:38,790
you've killed their name.
1308
01:16:38,790 --> 01:16:42,680
Of course, the children were
treated so badly in Antoura
1309
01:16:42,680 --> 01:16:45,160
that some of them died there.
1310
01:16:45,160 --> 01:16:50,160
We know from actual survivors' accounts
1311
01:16:50,250 --> 01:16:51,700
that some of the children were going
1312
01:16:51,700 --> 01:16:55,170
and actually trying to grind up the bones
1313
01:16:55,170 --> 01:16:58,550
of other dead children who had
died in the forest of hunger
1314
01:16:58,550 --> 01:17:02,300
and eat what was left of the
bones to try to stay alive.
1315
01:17:02,300 --> 01:17:04,150
Almost a form of cannibalism.
1316
01:17:04,150 --> 01:17:05,400
That shows what happened.
1317
01:17:06,450 --> 01:17:07,283
- [Narrator] Karnig Panian,
1318
01:17:07,283 --> 01:17:11,560
orphan number 551 was renamed Mahmoud.
1319
01:17:11,560 --> 01:17:15,123
He arrived at Antoura in 1916 at age six.
1320
01:17:16,203 --> 01:17:18,533
- When we were little, my sister and I,
1321
01:17:20,020 --> 01:17:25,000
during dinner or lunch time,
when we didn't finish our food,
1322
01:17:26,550 --> 01:17:30,217
my father used to say,
1323
01:17:30,217 --> 01:17:32,447
"God will be unhappy with you,
1324
01:17:32,447 --> 01:17:36,267
"when I was a little
boy, in the orphanage,
1325
01:17:36,267 --> 01:17:41,040
"there were days when I
was obliged to grind bones
1326
01:17:43,187 --> 01:17:48,187
"and eat bones in order to survive.
1327
01:17:48,357 --> 01:17:50,077
"Sometimes grass."
1328
01:17:50,990 --> 01:17:55,990
And he said, "I didn't know if
these bones were animal bones
1329
01:17:57,667 --> 01:18:02,663
"or the bones of my fellow orphans,
1330
01:18:03,537 --> 01:18:08,537
"because those who
perished in that orphanage,
1331
01:18:08,737 --> 01:18:11,457
"they were thrown in a pit
1332
01:18:11,457 --> 01:18:16,457
"and at night animals used
to come and eat their flesh."
1333
01:18:26,847 --> 01:18:29,430
(somber music)
1334
01:18:32,330 --> 01:18:35,090
- [Narrator] In his
memoirs, Mr. Panian writes:
1335
01:18:35,090 --> 01:18:38,480
At every sunset in the
presence of over 1,000 orphans,
1336
01:18:38,480 --> 01:18:40,817
when the Turkish flag was lowered,
1337
01:18:40,817 --> 01:18:44,060
"Long Live General Pasha," was recited.
1338
01:18:44,060 --> 01:18:46,143
That was the first part of the ceremony.
1339
01:18:48,400 --> 01:18:53,140
- And after that it was time
for punishing the children
1340
01:18:53,140 --> 01:18:54,423
for what they've done.
1341
01:18:55,400 --> 01:18:58,500
Which was daring to speak Armenian
1342
01:18:58,500 --> 01:19:01,010
or making any Christian references,
1343
01:19:01,010 --> 01:19:05,530
say by crossing their heart
or stealing food to eat.
1344
01:19:05,530 --> 01:19:08,613
And all these acts were
punishable by falakha.
1345
01:19:10,240 --> 01:19:13,760
Falakha, which a Turkish
Ottoman way of punishment
1346
01:19:13,760 --> 01:19:17,530
by hitting the soles of
the punished individual
1347
01:19:17,530 --> 01:19:20,173
using an iron rod or a stick.
1348
01:19:21,560 --> 01:19:24,510
They tied the feet of
the victim to a stick,
1349
01:19:24,510 --> 01:19:27,630
which was held up by two individuals
1350
01:19:27,630 --> 01:19:31,700
and the third one would
strike the soles of the victim
1351
01:19:31,700 --> 01:19:35,593
using an iron rod to inflict maximum pain.
1352
01:19:36,870 --> 01:19:40,880
In this case the victims were children
1353
01:19:40,880 --> 01:19:45,880
aged three, four, five,
and sometimes 10 years old,
1354
01:19:46,480 --> 01:19:51,480
who would call for their dead
mothers in unbearable pain.
1355
01:19:51,720 --> 01:19:54,303
(somber music)
1356
01:19:58,580 --> 01:20:00,990
- [Narrator] Out of the
1,000 Armenian children
1357
01:20:00,990 --> 01:20:04,630
at Antoura Orphanage, only 456 survived.
1358
01:20:04,630 --> 01:20:06,100
Hundreds died as a result
1359
01:20:06,100 --> 01:20:08,430
of deplorable conditions at the orphanage.
1360
01:20:08,430 --> 01:20:11,200
The remains of over 300
orphans were discovered
1361
01:20:11,200 --> 01:20:14,730
in 1993 when the Lazarite
fathers began construction
1362
01:20:14,730 --> 01:20:16,280
for new classrooms.
1363
01:20:16,280 --> 01:20:18,560
The remains found in the
foundation of the college,
1364
01:20:18,560 --> 01:20:20,680
were moved to a mass grave on the grounds
1365
01:20:20,680 --> 01:20:24,503
of the college cemetery,
unmarked, carrying no epitaph.
1366
01:20:38,208 --> 01:20:40,958
(dramatic music)
1367
01:21:08,240 --> 01:21:10,820
In September of 2010, through the efforts
1368
01:21:10,820 --> 01:21:12,090
of the KOHAR Ensemble
1369
01:21:12,090 --> 01:21:15,050
and its benefactor the
Khatchadourian family,
1370
01:21:15,050 --> 01:21:18,210
a special monument was erected
at the Antoura cemetery
1371
01:21:18,210 --> 01:21:20,893
in memory of the 300 Armenian orphans.
1372
01:21:21,853 --> 01:21:24,620
The monument is topped by a
replica of the crown donned
1373
01:21:24,620 --> 01:21:27,063
by the last Armenian King Levon V.
1374
01:21:28,380 --> 01:21:29,830
Underneath the crown lies
1375
01:21:29,830 --> 01:21:33,673
the Cilician Armenian coat
of Arms, the roaring lion.
1376
01:21:33,673 --> 01:21:37,020
It represents a symbolic
posthumous inauguration,
1377
01:21:37,020 --> 01:21:40,000
honoring the 300 Armenian Genocide orphans
1378
01:21:40,000 --> 01:21:41,563
as Armenian kings.
1379
01:21:45,920 --> 01:21:49,240
Nearly 2,000 community members
and dignitaries gathered
1380
01:21:49,240 --> 01:21:51,010
for the inauguration of the site
1381
01:21:51,010 --> 01:21:54,533
to pay respect to the souls
of the 300 Armenian orphans.
1382
01:21:55,380 --> 01:21:56,890
A special requiem service,
1383
01:21:56,890 --> 01:21:59,250
officiated the opening
of the monument followed
1384
01:21:59,250 --> 01:22:01,810
by a special performance
of Armenian liturgy
1385
01:22:01,810 --> 01:22:04,190
by KOHAR ensemble under the direction
1386
01:22:04,190 --> 01:22:06,683
of Maestro Sebouh Apkarian.
1387
01:22:06,683 --> 01:22:09,380
(singing in foreign language)
1388
01:22:09,380 --> 01:22:12,896
Today, the Antoura Monument
is a pilgrimage site visited
1389
01:22:12,896 --> 01:22:15,370
by thousands who travel
from around the world
1390
01:22:15,370 --> 01:22:17,160
to come and honor the memory
1391
01:22:17,160 --> 01:22:20,190
of the orphaned Armenian
children of Antoura.
1392
01:22:20,190 --> 01:22:24,060
They come to touch their epitaph
and to feel their sorrow,
1393
01:22:24,060 --> 01:22:26,610
giving voice to the
silenced crime committed
1394
01:22:26,610 --> 01:22:31,117
nearly 100 years ago and
still left unrecognized.
1395
01:26:01,396 --> 01:26:04,003
(gentle music)
1396
01:26:04,003 --> 01:26:07,630
- [Narrator] The next day, April 24, 2011,
1397
01:26:07,630 --> 01:26:11,280
marked the 96th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide,
1398
01:26:11,280 --> 01:26:13,790
the 20th century's most documented,
1399
01:26:13,790 --> 01:26:16,873
least recognized ethnic
cleansing campaign.
1400
01:26:21,300 --> 01:26:23,370
Descendants of hundreds of thousands
1401
01:26:23,370 --> 01:26:27,020
of Armenian Genocide orphans
from around the world arrive
1402
01:26:27,020 --> 01:26:30,060
at Dzidzernagapert, at
Armenia's capital city
1403
01:26:30,060 --> 01:26:32,970
of Yerevan to commemorate the darkest day
1404
01:26:32,970 --> 01:26:35,793
of the Armenian reality and world history.
1405
01:26:37,290 --> 01:26:41,210
Nearly 100 years later,
with 21 world governments
1406
01:26:41,210 --> 01:26:46,110
and 43 U.S. states having
recognized the Armenian Genocide,
1407
01:26:46,110 --> 01:26:48,910
the memory of the 1 1/2 million victims
1408
01:26:48,910 --> 01:26:51,050
is simultaneously commemorated
1409
01:26:51,050 --> 01:26:53,293
around the globe on April 24th.
1410
01:26:54,490 --> 01:26:57,140
The largest Armenian
Genocide monument built
1411
01:26:57,140 --> 01:27:01,270
on the 50th anniversary
of the genocide, in 1965,
1412
01:27:01,270 --> 01:27:04,700
with 12 massive pylons rising as reminders
1413
01:27:04,700 --> 01:27:07,350
of the 12 Armenian provinces obliterated
1414
01:27:07,350 --> 01:27:10,840
overshadows the eternal flame at its core.
1415
01:27:10,840 --> 01:27:13,470
The Citadel of Swallows named for the bird
1416
01:27:13,470 --> 01:27:17,420
that always returns to its
nest even if it is destroyed,
1417
01:27:17,420 --> 01:27:21,190
keeps alive the memory of 1.5 million
1418
01:27:21,190 --> 01:27:24,230
as massive crowds gather
for a collective prayer
1419
01:27:24,230 --> 01:27:26,090
around the eternal flame,
1420
01:27:26,090 --> 01:27:30,610
representing perhaps countless
candles lit worldwide.
1421
01:27:30,610 --> 01:27:32,760
As mourners climb into the monument,
1422
01:27:32,760 --> 01:27:35,900
steep stairs force them
to bow their heads.
1423
01:27:35,900 --> 01:27:38,120
And as they depart, a second monument,
1424
01:27:38,120 --> 01:27:40,580
a shaft rising high into the sky,
1425
01:27:40,580 --> 01:27:43,870
symbolizes the rebirth of a nation
1426
01:27:43,870 --> 01:27:47,252
from the ashes of annihilation.
1427
01:27:47,252 --> 01:27:50,002
(dramatic music)
1428
01:31:01,160 --> 01:31:02,940
- [Narrator] This
program was made possible
1429
01:31:02,940 --> 01:31:06,303
by generous contributions
from the Bezikian Family.
1430
01:31:07,240 --> 01:31:11,440
Additional support was provided
by Dr. Noubar Ouzounian,
1431
01:31:11,440 --> 01:31:14,967
the Chitjian Foundation
and viewers like you.
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