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ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS IN QUEENS TELL THEIR HARROWING STORIES
By Anna Russell
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 6:00 AM
FLUSHING EVENT LEADS UP TO MASS DEMONSTRATION IN TIMES SQUARE
Aznir Guiragossian, 101, spoke about her harrowing experiences during
the Armenian genocide during a discussion on Sunday at the New York
Armenian Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50
remaining survivors in the U.S. reside.
Joe Marino for New York Daily News
Aznir Guiragossian, 101, spoke about her harrowing experiences during
the Armenian genocide during a discussion on Sunday at the New York
Armenian Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50
remaining survivors in the U.S. reside.
Dennis Papazian, a writer and scholar on the Armenian genocide,
spoke during a discussion on Sunday at the New York Armenian Home in
Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining survivors
in the U.S. reside.
Joe Marino for New York Daily News
Dennis Papazian, a writer and scholar on the Armenian genocide,
spoke during a discussion on Sunday at the New York Armenian Home in
Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining survivors
in the U.S. reside.
Some of the last remaining witnesses of the Armenian genocide
gathered to tell their stories recently at the New York Armenian
Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining
survivors in the U.S. reside.
"We want to put a human face on the Armenian genocide, to show that
real people are involved," said Dennis Papazian, an organizer of
Sunday's event and founder of the Armenian Research Center at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Some of the speakers, between the ages of 99 and 102, struggled with
memory loss as they recounted their experiences - so much so that
organizers said that this may be the event's last year.
"It's very sad. We will just have to find different ways to do it,"
said organizer Hirant Gulian.
The gathering was part of the lead up to the 97th anniversary of the
massacre, which will be commemorated, as in past years, with a mass
demonstration in Times Square on April 22.
Papazian said supporters want recognition from the Republic of Turkey
for the events of 1915 to 1916, during which some 1.5 million Armenians
are believed to have been killed.
Seated before a small group at the Armenian Home, Charlette Kechejian,
99, recalled fleeing through the desert to escape persecution.
"We walked miles and miles. We never knew when it was going to end.
I was only eight years old," said Kechejian, who arrived in New York
with her mother when she was 10. She later finished high school in
the U.S. and had three children, all of whom she was able to send
to college.
Perouze Kalousdinian, 102, also reached into her memory to describe
the events that changed her life.
"They took everything from us," she said. "All the men they took away -
they killed them. Only women and children left."
Kalousdinian worked as a seamstress after arriving in New York. She
was wearing blue trousers she had sewn herself.
The survivors, though sometimes struggling to recall events, were often
emotional as they spoke. One speaker broke into tears while another
became increasingly agitated. Gulian, while acknowledging this may
be the last time these survivors speak, maintained the importance of
the event.
"It is for the remembrance," he said, "If we remember events like this,
hopefully we will prevent them from happening again."
Read
more:http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/armenian-genocide-survivors-queen
s-harrowing-stories-article-1.1052154#ixzz1qV0s3aq0
From: Baghdasarian
By Anna Russell
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 6:00 AM
FLUSHING EVENT LEADS UP TO MASS DEMONSTRATION IN TIMES SQUARE
Aznir Guiragossian, 101, spoke about her harrowing experiences during
the Armenian genocide during a discussion on Sunday at the New York
Armenian Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50
remaining survivors in the U.S. reside.
Joe Marino for New York Daily News
Aznir Guiragossian, 101, spoke about her harrowing experiences during
the Armenian genocide during a discussion on Sunday at the New York
Armenian Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50
remaining survivors in the U.S. reside.
Dennis Papazian, a writer and scholar on the Armenian genocide,
spoke during a discussion on Sunday at the New York Armenian Home in
Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining survivors
in the U.S. reside.
Joe Marino for New York Daily News
Dennis Papazian, a writer and scholar on the Armenian genocide,
spoke during a discussion on Sunday at the New York Armenian Home in
Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining survivors
in the U.S. reside.
Some of the last remaining witnesses of the Armenian genocide
gathered to tell their stories recently at the New York Armenian
Home in Flushing, where four of less than an estimated 50 remaining
survivors in the U.S. reside.
"We want to put a human face on the Armenian genocide, to show that
real people are involved," said Dennis Papazian, an organizer of
Sunday's event and founder of the Armenian Research Center at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Some of the speakers, between the ages of 99 and 102, struggled with
memory loss as they recounted their experiences - so much so that
organizers said that this may be the event's last year.
"It's very sad. We will just have to find different ways to do it,"
said organizer Hirant Gulian.
The gathering was part of the lead up to the 97th anniversary of the
massacre, which will be commemorated, as in past years, with a mass
demonstration in Times Square on April 22.
Papazian said supporters want recognition from the Republic of Turkey
for the events of 1915 to 1916, during which some 1.5 million Armenians
are believed to have been killed.
Seated before a small group at the Armenian Home, Charlette Kechejian,
99, recalled fleeing through the desert to escape persecution.
"We walked miles and miles. We never knew when it was going to end.
I was only eight years old," said Kechejian, who arrived in New York
with her mother when she was 10. She later finished high school in
the U.S. and had three children, all of whom she was able to send
to college.
Perouze Kalousdinian, 102, also reached into her memory to describe
the events that changed her life.
"They took everything from us," she said. "All the men they took away -
they killed them. Only women and children left."
Kalousdinian worked as a seamstress after arriving in New York. She
was wearing blue trousers she had sewn herself.
The survivors, though sometimes struggling to recall events, were often
emotional as they spoke. One speaker broke into tears while another
became increasingly agitated. Gulian, while acknowledging this may
be the last time these survivors speak, maintained the importance of
the event.
"It is for the remembrance," he said, "If we remember events like this,
hopefully we will prevent them from happening again."
Read
more:http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/armenian-genocide-survivors-queen
s-harrowing-stories-article-1.1052154#ixzz1qV0s3aq0
From: Baghdasarian