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  • The Exodus of Musa Dagh Armenians: From the Sanjak of Alexandretta t

    The Exodus of Musa Dagh Armenians: From the Sanjak of Alexandretta to
    Anjar, Lebanon
    by Vahram Shemmassian

    http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/12/02/the-exodus-of-musa-dagh-armenians-from-the-sanjak-of-alexandretta-to-anjar-lebanon/
    December 2, 2012

    The Sanjak of Alexandretta/Iskenderun was an autonomous province
    within Syria during the interwar years. Its inhabitants included a
    significant number of Armenian natives and refugees, among them the
    indigenous population of Musa Dagh near Antioch. A political crisis
    beginning in 1936 shook Sanjak society to its core, as winds of change
    from a French mandate to Turkish suzerainty increasingly caused panic.
    The turmoil grew to alarming proportions for the Arabs, Alawites, and
    Christians when a farcical `election' in the summer of 1938 installed
    a Turkish majority in the Sanjak's legislature. A year later Turkey
    annexed the area. This was the final straw that compelled the
    overwhelming majority of Armenians, among other groups, to seek refuge
    in other parts of Syria as well as Lebanon, refusing to live under
    Turkish rule.

    Vakif

    During the period between the summer of 1938 and the summer of 1939,
    socioeconomic life in Musa Dagh deteriorated rapidly. Exports and
    imports from and into the Sanjak were drastically reduced. Merchants
    conducting business with Aleppo were obliged to deposit with the Hatay
    government a sum equal to the value of their merchandise as
    collateral. After selling the goods the merchants had to convert the
    Syrian lira into the Turkish lira to be able to carry their money back
    into the Sanjak. The merchants were able to regain only 70 percent of
    the collateral they had deposited at the time of export, that is to
    say, the government kept 30 percent as tax on profits, in addition to
    customs fees. As a result, unemployment in Musa Dagh rose to 90
    percent. Construction was halted. Artisans sold their merchandize for
    25 percent less, and bought other necessities for 25 percent more.
    Poverty and misery became rampant.

    Beginning in late spring 1939, Turkish police posts were set up in and
    near the Armenian villages. There was also an attempt to establish
    Turkish Halkevleri(nationalistic people's houses, i.e., clubs) with
    the help of Armenian collaborators, described as `paid enthusiastic
    Kemalist propagandist agents.' They reported regularly on compatriots
    who remained opposed to the emergent Turkish regime, and even sent
    representatives to propagandize about the Sanjak (then called the
    Hatay Republic) among Musa Dagh expatriates in Aleppo, Damascus, and
    Beirut.

    When in April 1939 two French senators, who were also members of the
    French Mediterranean Committee opposed to the Sanjak's annexation to
    Turkey, visited Musa Dagh, they received an immense popular reception.
    After their departure, a number of Armenians were arrested. Serop
    Sherbetjian was sacked from his Musa Dagh governorship position.
    Tateos Babigian from Vakef replaced him as an appointee of the Turkish
    regime in Antioch.

    On June 30, 1939, the Armenian National Union (ANU) in Beirut sent
    High Commissioner Gabriel Puaux a letter signed by the political and
    religious leaders, including the Primate of the Aleppo Ardavazt
    Surmeyian. In it, they expressed with sadness the fact that efforts in
    Paris had failed to save the Sanjak; that the Armenians and especially
    those of Musa Dagh would be the biggest losers; that they wanted to
    live under French protection given Turkey's record of persecutions and
    massacres; that the Musa Daghians must be settled as a group in a
    mountainous area in Lebanon reminiscent of Musa Dagh and affording
    agricultural opportunities; and that France should assume the
    transportation expenses.

    Four days later, on July 4, Bishop Surmeiyan sent Puaux a letter,
    saying that since `the question of selling their [the Musa Daghians']
    houses is dead,' they should at least be allowed to carry their
    movable belongings. He similarly asked that the goods be inspected
    when packed in the villages rather than at the border customs to avoid
    long lines and undue delays, that laissez-passers be issued free of
    charge, and so on.

    When Col. Philibert Collet, the French officer in charge of the
    Armenians' exodus, heard rumors that the Musa Daghians were
    contemplating burning their homes before departure, he issued a call
    for them to leave their doors open and their homes and orchards
    intact. Those rumors proved unfounded.

    Collet similarly instructed Khat Achabahian, prelate of the Sanjak
    Armenians, to form special committees to determine the number of
    persons and livestock, and the weight of movable belongings that would
    be transported. The Musa Dagh survey revealed the following results:
    1,272 families or 7,888 persons, 3,232 animals, and 781 tons of
    luggage. These figures were later adjusted at the Ras al-Basit
    encampment as follows: 1,204 families (68 families less), 5,125
    persons (2,763 persons less), approximately 1,850 tons of goods
    (nearly 2.5 times more than the initial amount). The reasons for these
    changes will be discussed in a more comprehensive study.



    Those who stayed behind

    Not all Armenians elected to leave Musa Dagh. Such cases numbered 68
    families or 384 persons, constituting about 6 percent of Musa Dagh's
    total population. The breakdown was as follows: 4 families/12 persons
    in Bitias; 1 family/8 persons in Haji Habibli; 4 families/28 persons
    in Yoghunoluk; 4 families/27 persons in Kheder Beg; 3 families/15
    persons in Kabusiye; 11 families/64 persons in Zeituniye in the nearby
    plain of Svedia; and 41 families/232 persons in Vakef. Most of these
    families lived together as a group in Vakef. Presently Vakef is
    showcased as the sole Armenian village left in Turkey.

    They stayed behind for several reasons. To begin with, these Armenians
    believed that they could live peacefully and harmoniously in
    republican Turkey (intense Turkish propaganda aided in shaping this
    favorable opinion). Second, it was emotionally and psychologically
    difficult for them to abandon their ancestral lands (this torment
    certainly applied to those who elected to depart, as well). Third,
    they entertained the false hope that they would be able to acquire the
    fixed properties abandoned by those who left. Fourth, they belonged to
    a political faction - mainly members and sympathizers of the Social
    Democrat Hnchakian Party - that had failed to break the Armenian
    Revolutionary Federation's (ARF) hold on the governance of Musa Dagh
    during the interwar years. Therefore, by staying they would be able to
    rid themselves of the ARF's dominance. That being said, most others
    with similar anti-ARF sentiments still decided to leave the area.



    The exodus

    The exodus from Musa Dagh took place from July 15-20, 1939. The goods
    were shipped by boat to Ras al-Basit, between Kesab and Latakia; the
    women, children, and the elderly rode trucks and buses, and the men
    walked, some of them accompanying the animals. Turkish soldiers
    manning border checkpoints inspected the goods strictly in search of
    weapons, especially. Some Turkish civilians attacked the caravans and
    stole about 340 animals, killed 4 pigs, and took 330 Syrian liras.
    Turkish gendarmes succeeded in retrieving just 63 animals, and only a
    fraction of the money.

    When the refugees arrived at the Armenian enclave of Kesab, the locals
    welcomed them with open arms by offering food, water, and tan (yogurt
    juice). Then, at Qastal Muaf, en route to Ras al-Basit, they were
    vaccinated against typhoid.



    The camp at Ras al-Basit

    The first batch of refugees arrived at Ras al-Basit on July 18 and
    camped in the open, as no shelter was available. As the rest began to
    join them, they congregated in groups according to their villages.
    Families built sheds with branches and whatever materials they could
    muster, and hoisted the French flags on them. They made water sources
    in the immediate vicinity operational with pumps, and opened ditches
    just 50 meters away from the camp to be used as restrooms. This
    unsanitary arrangement attracted `millions' of flies, which caused
    serious health problems. The women cooked food outdoors, while the men
    herded the animals and opened makeshift stores. People commuted to
    Latakia to purchase necessities. The French government paid 25 Syrian
    liras per adult and 10 liras per child under the age of 10 beginning
    on Aug. 7.

    Social life resumed to some degree. The various denominations in each
    village-grouping worshipped in their respective `churches.' The
    political parties held their own meetings. Some voluntary associations
    likewise tried to keep a semblance of normalcy. For example, the
    annual meeting of the Union of Former Légion Arménienne Combatants
    took place on Aug. 24 in the presence of 173 members. An executive
    committee was elected unanimously. A report of activities read
    revealed the type and amount of donations that the Union had received
    beginning in the second half of 1938 from the Syrian Armenian Relief
    Cross in Aleppo (one box of medicines), and Union affiliates in France
    (1,600 FF) and the United States ($240).

    A Central Relief Committee approved by the French and Vicar General
    Bedros Sarajian of the Catholicosate of Cilicia at Antelias, Lebanon,
    managed all refugee affairs. The Armenian General Benevolent Union
    (AGBU) Central Executive in Paris cooperated by forming an
    Extraordinary Central Fundraising Committee on July 21. In turn, the
    Harach (meaning `forward,' in Armenian) newspaper in Paris made its
    front pages available to publish the lists of donors from Europe and
    North Africa. Compatriots from the United States likewise contributed.

    Due to the unsanitary living conditions, disease increased to an
    alarming degree, afflicting children especially. Torrential rains from
    Aug. 22-24 soaked the campers and exacerbated the situation. Collet
    sent 12 tents to shelter the children. A French military doctor
    established a six-bed infirmary. An Armenian pharmacist from Aleppo
    donated 100 Syrian liras worth of medicines. A maternity with 20 beds
    was also opened in Latakia with a midwife sent by the Syrian Armenian
    Relief Cross; by Aug. 30, some 180 sick and elderly people were
    admitted. A French military health inspector, upon visiting Ras
    al-Basit, ordered the transfer of some 60 sick children together with
    their mothers to Beirut to be placed under the care of the Armenian
    National Union (ANU). The government-run trade school building was
    placed under the ANU's disposal, with its chair and Lebanese Armenian
    Relief Cross representative, Dr. Onnig Gergerian, managing it.



    In search of a final settlement site

    The Turkish government asked the French to refrain from installing the
    Armenians near the Syrian-Turkish border. The French obliged, and
    initially considered four possible sites in Lebanon: (1) in the
    mountains overlooking Tripoli, especially around the villages of Sir
    and Bakhune; (2) in the district of Hermel, along the Orontes River;
    (3) in the west of Baalbek, around the villages of Shemestar, Hadith,
    and Budaye; (4) in south Lebanon, in the foothills of Hermon, between
    the cities of Marjayun and Rashaya. Hermel was regarded as the most
    suitable, not only because of the available land, but also because the
    Armenians `would constitute a moderating element and a factor of
    appeasement, in a corner which troubles, permanently, the dissentions
    between Christians and non-Christians.' For various reasons, however,
    none of these places were selected.

    The High Commission ultimately negotiated with a retired Turkish
    military officer named Rushdi Hoja Tuma, who owned a 1,540 hectare
    domain at a place called Anjar in the Bekaa valley. Although Rushdi
    Bey asked for 10 million FF, he was willing to accept, out of
    `patriotic sentiments,' an `important reduction' if the Turkish
    government asked him to. The land was purchased at a reduced price.



    To Anjar

    The relocation from Ras al-Basit to Anjar took place from Sept. 3-16.
    The refugees were sent to Tripoli by ship, and then to Riyaq by train,
    where they received food, fruit, and refreshments from a local
    Armenian reception team. From Riyaq, they were transported aboard
    trucks to their final destination of Anjar. This was a rocky and
    thorny terrain with no dwellings whatsoever. Because the refugees
    received an inadequate number of tents (accommodating 12 people each),
    ordinary linen was additionally distributed for the uprooted to make
    their own shelters. As in Ras al-Basit, here, too, the population
    stuck together in compact groups according to their villages of
    origin. Given the inhospitable geographical milieu, scores fell ill
    and/or died. With the cold winter fast approaching, some 1,778 women
    and children were dispersed among 14 villages and towns in the general
    vicinity and housed in vacant buildings or among Christian families
    with accommodation possibilities. The men in turn stayed at Anjar to
    construct stone dwellings that the French had planned. The original
    project would give each family a house comprised of 2 rooms, a
    kitchen, and a restroom on a 400 sq. meter lot. But as France entered
    World War II, and with its finances earmarked for that effort, the
    original plan was reduced to a single room with an outdoor restroom.
    Each adult male received an addition parcel of land for farming. By
    spring 1940, the Armenians occupied their new houses. The three
    religious communities (Apostolic, Evangelical, and Catholic) in turn
    received specific plots within the village for their churches and
    schools. A new life in a new country thus began to take shape for the
    Armenians from Musa Dagh.

    Today Anjar is a beautiful 73-year-old thriving town with all kinds of
    community facilities and businesses. Yet, given the political turmoil
    in the Middle East, its future status and that of the Armenian
    communities in the region as a whole remain tenuous at best.

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