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AURORA MARDIGANIAN: AN ARMENIAN HEROINE REMEMBERED
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/02/19/aurora-mardiganian-an-armenian-heroine-remembered/
By Contributor // February 19, 2014
Demoyan
ARLINGTON, Mass.--Starving, tortured, and enslaved, she endured
the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. One among tens of thousands,
at only 15 years old she survived to tell the story of her people
and ravished homeland to the civilized world. On March 8 at 3 p.m.,
in an illustrated lecture and presentation (in English), Dr. Hayk
Demoyan, the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
(Dzidzernagapert) in Yerevan, in light of newly discovered materials,
will share the story of Arshaluys Aurora Mardgianian.
Arshaluys Mardikian was born to an Armenian financier in 1901in the
ancient Armenian city of Chmshkadzag, named after the famous Byzantine
Emperor John Tzimisces. Scarred both physically and emotionally,
she mustered the courage and strength to persevere against all odds.
Changing her name to Aurora Mardiganian to conceal her real identity
and escape possible persecution by the Turks, she told her story and
gave interviews. American papers wrote articles on her heart-wrenching
odyssey; among them were the Life Magazine, New York American, and
Los Angeles Examiner of the Hearst family newspapers, including 14
chapters from Sun., Aug. 18 to Nov. 24, 1918.
Unlike many survivors of the Armenian Genocide, who suppressed their
memories, Aurora was among the first to tell her story. The Ravished
Armenia: the Christian Girl, Who Survived the Great Massacres, based
on the story of her life, was published in 1918. It served as a script
for the film "Auction of Souls" that was produced in 1919 and first
screened in London. Aurora not only shared her story with the world,
but also courageously took a role in the movie, and even agreed to
help promote the film at the expense of reliving the horrors of the
genocide. This took the toll on Aurora, and consumed her in the last
years of her life.
Hayk Demoyan was born and raised in Gyumri (formerly Leninakan),
Armenia. He studied history at the Yerevan State University (YSU)
from 1993-98, received his master's degree in 2001, and served in the
Caucasian Media Institute as a regional expert from 2003-04. Demoyan
represented the Armenian Ministry of Defense during the trials
(2004-2006) of slain Armenian army officer Gurgen Margarian in
Budapest, Hungary. In November 2006, by presidential decree, he was
appointed the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute,
a position that he holds to this day. In 2012, he received his
doctoral degree from the Institute of Oriental Studies and Institute
of History of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, with the
topic of "Karabagh Conflict and Turkey: A Historical-Comparative
Analysis." He is a member of the Yerevan City Council and since 2011
has served as secretary of the Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary
Commemoration Committee. Demoyan is the author of several books and
numerous articles on the Armenian Genocide, Turkish foreign policy,
and Turkish involvement in the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.
Aurora Mardiganian is the personification of the horrors of the
Armenian Genocide and what befell thousands of Armenian girls and
women, in particular. She is the symbol of survival, resilience, and
perseverance of a nation, triumphing over death and human evil. Her
story is the story of thousands of orphaned Armenian girls, upon
whose shoulders an entire nation was resurrected from the ashes of
the genocide.
The March 8 lecture is organized by the Armenian Cultural Foundation
(ACF) and co-sponsored by the National Armenian Association
for Armenian Research (NAASR) and Armenian International Women's
Association (AIWAI). It is in commemoration of Women's History Month
and International Women's Day. The event will take place at 3 p.m. at
ACF, 441 Mystic St., Arlington, Mass. It is open to the public;
a reception will follow. Newly released copies ofRavished Armenia,
published by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, will be available
for sale. For more details, call the ACF office at (781) 646-3090.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/02/19/aurora-mardiganian-an-armenian-heroine-remembered/
By Contributor // February 19, 2014
Demoyan
ARLINGTON, Mass.--Starving, tortured, and enslaved, she endured
the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. One among tens of thousands,
at only 15 years old she survived to tell the story of her people
and ravished homeland to the civilized world. On March 8 at 3 p.m.,
in an illustrated lecture and presentation (in English), Dr. Hayk
Demoyan, the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
(Dzidzernagapert) in Yerevan, in light of newly discovered materials,
will share the story of Arshaluys Aurora Mardgianian.
Arshaluys Mardikian was born to an Armenian financier in 1901in the
ancient Armenian city of Chmshkadzag, named after the famous Byzantine
Emperor John Tzimisces. Scarred both physically and emotionally,
she mustered the courage and strength to persevere against all odds.
Changing her name to Aurora Mardiganian to conceal her real identity
and escape possible persecution by the Turks, she told her story and
gave interviews. American papers wrote articles on her heart-wrenching
odyssey; among them were the Life Magazine, New York American, and
Los Angeles Examiner of the Hearst family newspapers, including 14
chapters from Sun., Aug. 18 to Nov. 24, 1918.
Unlike many survivors of the Armenian Genocide, who suppressed their
memories, Aurora was among the first to tell her story. The Ravished
Armenia: the Christian Girl, Who Survived the Great Massacres, based
on the story of her life, was published in 1918. It served as a script
for the film "Auction of Souls" that was produced in 1919 and first
screened in London. Aurora not only shared her story with the world,
but also courageously took a role in the movie, and even agreed to
help promote the film at the expense of reliving the horrors of the
genocide. This took the toll on Aurora, and consumed her in the last
years of her life.
Hayk Demoyan was born and raised in Gyumri (formerly Leninakan),
Armenia. He studied history at the Yerevan State University (YSU)
from 1993-98, received his master's degree in 2001, and served in the
Caucasian Media Institute as a regional expert from 2003-04. Demoyan
represented the Armenian Ministry of Defense during the trials
(2004-2006) of slain Armenian army officer Gurgen Margarian in
Budapest, Hungary. In November 2006, by presidential decree, he was
appointed the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute,
a position that he holds to this day. In 2012, he received his
doctoral degree from the Institute of Oriental Studies and Institute
of History of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, with the
topic of "Karabagh Conflict and Turkey: A Historical-Comparative
Analysis." He is a member of the Yerevan City Council and since 2011
has served as secretary of the Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary
Commemoration Committee. Demoyan is the author of several books and
numerous articles on the Armenian Genocide, Turkish foreign policy,
and Turkish involvement in the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.
Aurora Mardiganian is the personification of the horrors of the
Armenian Genocide and what befell thousands of Armenian girls and
women, in particular. She is the symbol of survival, resilience, and
perseverance of a nation, triumphing over death and human evil. Her
story is the story of thousands of orphaned Armenian girls, upon
whose shoulders an entire nation was resurrected from the ashes of
the genocide.
The March 8 lecture is organized by the Armenian Cultural Foundation
(ACF) and co-sponsored by the National Armenian Association
for Armenian Research (NAASR) and Armenian International Women's
Association (AIWAI). It is in commemoration of Women's History Month
and International Women's Day. The event will take place at 3 p.m. at
ACF, 441 Mystic St., Arlington, Mass. It is open to the public;
a reception will follow. Newly released copies ofRavished Armenia,
published by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, will be available
for sale. For more details, call the ACF office at (781) 646-3090.