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Assyrian International News Agency
AINA (press release
Oct 8 2011
'One Cemetery is All We Have Left'
We are in the middle of July. Germany did not see the summer season
this year. "When did it ever?" can be asked. It is not like the summer
season in Mesopotamia. There is windy weather. It is at a point where
people are going to start heating their stoves again.
I am in a town in Germany near the border with Holland called Gronau.
For years I have conducted interviews with the elderly. If I am not
mistaken, today, I am interviewing the sixty-fifth person. I have
interviewed an Assyrian clergyman of the Syriac Orthodox Church,
Reverend Lahdo Kahya, five times previously. Today I came here to
interview him on a slightly different subject.
As I arrived, the priest's wife started talking immediately, "When we
were in the old country it was never like this. We knew when it was
winter or when it was summer. Here everything is mixed up. Look what
rain and wind did to my flowers in the garden."
I looked at the garden for a second. It is worth glancing at. It's a
well-cared-for garden which has colorful flowers. But upon closer
inspection, the roots are weak and easily breakable. I tried
readjusting some of them into place, but alas it was not possible.
Wind took half of the flowers and carried them off into the distance.
Reverend Lahdo came closer to me, feeling regretful.
"I would give the ten years that I have lived in this place for one
day in my country. It seems like we have been here for years. I wish
this never happened and we did not have to come here like wild birds,"
he lamented.
A voice was heard from inside, "The coffee is ready."
We go inside and while sipping on our coffee I set up the video camera
that I brought with me.
Then, I press the record button.
The priest informs, "Today, I will be telling you about a page from my
life. I will tell you about the 16 years I lived in Adiyaman."
"Life is full of coincidences. I, being a pastor, am also one of the
coincidences. The year is 1968 and none of my family members know that
I am going to be a priest because I made my decision on my own without
consulting them. After mentioning my decision to Metropolitan Mor
Hanna Dolabani, I realize that there is no way back. After that, my
relatives who heard this news were surprised. However, the decision
has been made and there was nothing left to do but for them to simply
congratulate me. "There was the need for a priest in Adiyaman. There
were the Orthodox churches of St. Peter and St Paul. In a very short
time I found myself in Adiyaman with my family. Here, there were a
total of 60 Christian families. From the 60, 40 of them were Armenian
and the rest were Assyrian. I served these people for 16 years without
any discrimination. I am not supposed to discriminate, because these
two nationalities were not discriminating against each other here. The
best time I had in my life was here, with these people. These people
were full of melancholy. In 1915 there were 700 Armenian and 100
Assyrian families living in Adiyaman.
They were living happily. They were the crafters of this place. Turks,
Assyrians, Armenians and Alevis were living together as one, like
flowers in a garden. The migration of Turks to this area happened much
later. The Armenian cemetery that is 1600 years old is a witness to
this. In this cemetery are buried not only Armenians but also
Assyrians. There are no other nationalities in the world that share
there sadness and there happiness together like Armenians and
Assyrians in Adiyaman. Think about it, they lived together and they
were buried at the same cemetery. With no doubt, the common sadness
that was recently shared between them brought these two nationalities
much closer to each other. Armenians and Assyrians used to marry each
other and both sides would speak in Armenian. Many Assyrians had
Armenian names. As you see, I served as a priest in a place like this.
How could I have discriminated between these two peoples?
"Survivors from 1915 happened to have survived by hiding in Alevi
houses in small villages close by. They went through much pain. Some
mothers and fathers left their children there for short term periods.
However, many never came back retrieve their children; they were just
not able to. After many years passed, the children that were left in
the villages returned to the city in Adiyaman. There were villages
like Kahta, Narinca, Ulbis, Kafardis, Gerger, Venk, Haspiyas and many
more. The Muslims in these villages used to come to me secretly. Among
these people there are some that I remember like it was yesterday, for
example, Ali, Mehmet, Mustafa, Osman and more. They all used to come
and tell me their sad stories and what they went through. All of these
people were Armenian. All of them were Christians. Yes, they were
Muslim in the morning and Christian at night.
"I mentioned it a few minutes ago. Back then, people who used to be
crafters were usually Armenian or Assyrian. Very few of these people
were able to survive the genocide because of their talents.
"I cannot remember its original name but it was right in the middle of
the city, an Armenian monastery, called Merdivenli Kilise (Church with
Stairs). It is still there. However, they did not leave any survivors
to go to the monastery. They destroyed them all. Along with sweeping
everyone, they destroyed their churches too. One day someone came to
me saying they wanted to build a big house on a flat territory and
showed me some stones that he found from that land which had Armenian
writing on it. I went to check it and realized that once there was an
Armenian church here. Now they have built a castle atop of that land.
However, Armenians do not live in this castle, others do.
"It has been argued that Armenians were temporarily going to migrate
but this is not true. Because in 1915, 300 Balkan fugitive families
came to live a week later instead of Armenians and Assyrians who were
supposed to migrate. Everything was planned out. Fugitives who
migrated seized a great number of goods and properties in a very short
time. Today, these people are known as the fugitives in Adiyaman. For
example, there was a fugitive Kerem around this area.
"I lived here from 1968 till 1985. Later I moved to Germany with my
family because of the way Turkey's situation was going and also
because of the increasing number of threats I was receiving."
"Why were you being threatened?" I asked.
"You know, the church I was serving in was also being used as a
therapy center. The number of people who pretended to be Muslim in the
morning and Christian at night was not little in this area and lives
of these people were full of dramas. They used to come to me to tell
me about their sad stories and used to pray. Among these people there
was an elderly woman named Emine, may she rest in peace. Emine was the
nicest person in the world. Every year she would come from Malatya to
Adiyaman to visit her married daughter. She used to stay here for two
weeks. Every time she came, she would tell a lie to her daughter and
her uncle saying that she is going to the bazaar to buy candy for the
children. But she would just come to our church. She would apologize
to us and would ask to be left alone for a moment. Then she would
kneel down in the middle of the church and would cry as loud as she
could. We used to listen to her exclamation from far away. God forbid
others live the pain of what Emine was going through. We would have
cried with her too. Our hearts would also break into pieces with her.
Emine used to hide her real name, Ani, and hide her long life-story
about the way she was lying to her daughter and uncle and coming to
the church.
"The individuals who used to also come to us were named Ali, Osman,
Mustafa and Haci amongst others. Their real names though were Markus,
Hayganus, Sarkis, Artin and Barsawmo.
"They would come from Malatya, Maras, Urfa and Antep. Here they used
to pray and to share their memories and stories. They were all sad
memories; ones that were very heavy for a person to carry -- so heavy
that their hearts were not able to bare the pain. I used to baptize
these people one by one, group by group. I remember just in one night
I baptized 72 people non-stop.
"Of course, the things done by me were heard about. I was receiving
threatening letters and the number of threats was increasing. Some
officers with good intentions would warn me to be careful. There were
really nice officers around too. I was not scared. However I had
children growing up at the time and I was getting scared for them. On
top of this I left the city that I loved the most, Adiyaman and moved
to Germany.
"In 16 years of my life in Adiyaman, I had baptized total of 742
people who were Muslim in the morning and Christian at night. Most of
these people were Armenian. They had lives based on lies. The ones who
were Muslim and went to the mosque even though they did not want to.
"Later in time, they also began to move to Germany like us. Some live
in Koln and Bochult which is close by. Armenians who live here are now
Christian day and night. I still go to Bochult and serve them as a
religious man.
"I know saying it is easy but let me tell you this: there could have
been 742 novels written and 742 films made with the stories of these
people. My God, why all this pain? I still cannot believe it. Why
destroy the lives of so many people? Why make so many people go
through so much pain? That country would have been enough for all of
us. That city was the world's most beautiful city and that geography
was the world's most beautiful geography. And today, all we have left
there is one cemetery."
By Sabri Atman
Assyrian Genocide Research Center
Sabri Atman is the founder and director of the Assyrian Genocide
Research Center.
http://www.aina.org/news/20111008144101.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
AINA (press release
Oct 8 2011
'One Cemetery is All We Have Left'
We are in the middle of July. Germany did not see the summer season
this year. "When did it ever?" can be asked. It is not like the summer
season in Mesopotamia. There is windy weather. It is at a point where
people are going to start heating their stoves again.
I am in a town in Germany near the border with Holland called Gronau.
For years I have conducted interviews with the elderly. If I am not
mistaken, today, I am interviewing the sixty-fifth person. I have
interviewed an Assyrian clergyman of the Syriac Orthodox Church,
Reverend Lahdo Kahya, five times previously. Today I came here to
interview him on a slightly different subject.
As I arrived, the priest's wife started talking immediately, "When we
were in the old country it was never like this. We knew when it was
winter or when it was summer. Here everything is mixed up. Look what
rain and wind did to my flowers in the garden."
I looked at the garden for a second. It is worth glancing at. It's a
well-cared-for garden which has colorful flowers. But upon closer
inspection, the roots are weak and easily breakable. I tried
readjusting some of them into place, but alas it was not possible.
Wind took half of the flowers and carried them off into the distance.
Reverend Lahdo came closer to me, feeling regretful.
"I would give the ten years that I have lived in this place for one
day in my country. It seems like we have been here for years. I wish
this never happened and we did not have to come here like wild birds,"
he lamented.
A voice was heard from inside, "The coffee is ready."
We go inside and while sipping on our coffee I set up the video camera
that I brought with me.
Then, I press the record button.
The priest informs, "Today, I will be telling you about a page from my
life. I will tell you about the 16 years I lived in Adiyaman."
"Life is full of coincidences. I, being a pastor, am also one of the
coincidences. The year is 1968 and none of my family members know that
I am going to be a priest because I made my decision on my own without
consulting them. After mentioning my decision to Metropolitan Mor
Hanna Dolabani, I realize that there is no way back. After that, my
relatives who heard this news were surprised. However, the decision
has been made and there was nothing left to do but for them to simply
congratulate me. "There was the need for a priest in Adiyaman. There
were the Orthodox churches of St. Peter and St Paul. In a very short
time I found myself in Adiyaman with my family. Here, there were a
total of 60 Christian families. From the 60, 40 of them were Armenian
and the rest were Assyrian. I served these people for 16 years without
any discrimination. I am not supposed to discriminate, because these
two nationalities were not discriminating against each other here. The
best time I had in my life was here, with these people. These people
were full of melancholy. In 1915 there were 700 Armenian and 100
Assyrian families living in Adiyaman.
They were living happily. They were the crafters of this place. Turks,
Assyrians, Armenians and Alevis were living together as one, like
flowers in a garden. The migration of Turks to this area happened much
later. The Armenian cemetery that is 1600 years old is a witness to
this. In this cemetery are buried not only Armenians but also
Assyrians. There are no other nationalities in the world that share
there sadness and there happiness together like Armenians and
Assyrians in Adiyaman. Think about it, they lived together and they
were buried at the same cemetery. With no doubt, the common sadness
that was recently shared between them brought these two nationalities
much closer to each other. Armenians and Assyrians used to marry each
other and both sides would speak in Armenian. Many Assyrians had
Armenian names. As you see, I served as a priest in a place like this.
How could I have discriminated between these two peoples?
"Survivors from 1915 happened to have survived by hiding in Alevi
houses in small villages close by. They went through much pain. Some
mothers and fathers left their children there for short term periods.
However, many never came back retrieve their children; they were just
not able to. After many years passed, the children that were left in
the villages returned to the city in Adiyaman. There were villages
like Kahta, Narinca, Ulbis, Kafardis, Gerger, Venk, Haspiyas and many
more. The Muslims in these villages used to come to me secretly. Among
these people there are some that I remember like it was yesterday, for
example, Ali, Mehmet, Mustafa, Osman and more. They all used to come
and tell me their sad stories and what they went through. All of these
people were Armenian. All of them were Christians. Yes, they were
Muslim in the morning and Christian at night.
"I mentioned it a few minutes ago. Back then, people who used to be
crafters were usually Armenian or Assyrian. Very few of these people
were able to survive the genocide because of their talents.
"I cannot remember its original name but it was right in the middle of
the city, an Armenian monastery, called Merdivenli Kilise (Church with
Stairs). It is still there. However, they did not leave any survivors
to go to the monastery. They destroyed them all. Along with sweeping
everyone, they destroyed their churches too. One day someone came to
me saying they wanted to build a big house on a flat territory and
showed me some stones that he found from that land which had Armenian
writing on it. I went to check it and realized that once there was an
Armenian church here. Now they have built a castle atop of that land.
However, Armenians do not live in this castle, others do.
"It has been argued that Armenians were temporarily going to migrate
but this is not true. Because in 1915, 300 Balkan fugitive families
came to live a week later instead of Armenians and Assyrians who were
supposed to migrate. Everything was planned out. Fugitives who
migrated seized a great number of goods and properties in a very short
time. Today, these people are known as the fugitives in Adiyaman. For
example, there was a fugitive Kerem around this area.
"I lived here from 1968 till 1985. Later I moved to Germany with my
family because of the way Turkey's situation was going and also
because of the increasing number of threats I was receiving."
"Why were you being threatened?" I asked.
"You know, the church I was serving in was also being used as a
therapy center. The number of people who pretended to be Muslim in the
morning and Christian at night was not little in this area and lives
of these people were full of dramas. They used to come to me to tell
me about their sad stories and used to pray. Among these people there
was an elderly woman named Emine, may she rest in peace. Emine was the
nicest person in the world. Every year she would come from Malatya to
Adiyaman to visit her married daughter. She used to stay here for two
weeks. Every time she came, she would tell a lie to her daughter and
her uncle saying that she is going to the bazaar to buy candy for the
children. But she would just come to our church. She would apologize
to us and would ask to be left alone for a moment. Then she would
kneel down in the middle of the church and would cry as loud as she
could. We used to listen to her exclamation from far away. God forbid
others live the pain of what Emine was going through. We would have
cried with her too. Our hearts would also break into pieces with her.
Emine used to hide her real name, Ani, and hide her long life-story
about the way she was lying to her daughter and uncle and coming to
the church.
"The individuals who used to also come to us were named Ali, Osman,
Mustafa and Haci amongst others. Their real names though were Markus,
Hayganus, Sarkis, Artin and Barsawmo.
"They would come from Malatya, Maras, Urfa and Antep. Here they used
to pray and to share their memories and stories. They were all sad
memories; ones that were very heavy for a person to carry -- so heavy
that their hearts were not able to bare the pain. I used to baptize
these people one by one, group by group. I remember just in one night
I baptized 72 people non-stop.
"Of course, the things done by me were heard about. I was receiving
threatening letters and the number of threats was increasing. Some
officers with good intentions would warn me to be careful. There were
really nice officers around too. I was not scared. However I had
children growing up at the time and I was getting scared for them. On
top of this I left the city that I loved the most, Adiyaman and moved
to Germany.
"In 16 years of my life in Adiyaman, I had baptized total of 742
people who were Muslim in the morning and Christian at night. Most of
these people were Armenian. They had lives based on lies. The ones who
were Muslim and went to the mosque even though they did not want to.
"Later in time, they also began to move to Germany like us. Some live
in Koln and Bochult which is close by. Armenians who live here are now
Christian day and night. I still go to Bochult and serve them as a
religious man.
"I know saying it is easy but let me tell you this: there could have
been 742 novels written and 742 films made with the stories of these
people. My God, why all this pain? I still cannot believe it. Why
destroy the lives of so many people? Why make so many people go
through so much pain? That country would have been enough for all of
us. That city was the world's most beautiful city and that geography
was the world's most beautiful geography. And today, all we have left
there is one cemetery."
By Sabri Atman
Assyrian Genocide Research Center
Sabri Atman is the founder and director of the Assyrian Genocide
Research Center.
http://www.aina.org/news/20111008144101.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress