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ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL IMPACTS LOCAL RESIDENT
Plainville Citizen
April 2 2015
1 Comments
Published: April 2, 2015
By Ken Liebeskind , The Plainville Citizen
The 100th year anniversary of the Armenian genocide, which took the
lives of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire between 1915
and 1923, is being celebrated this month with a ceremony at the state
capitol on April 25. One of the attendees will be Harry Terdjanian, a
New Britain resident whose family survived the genocide and immigrated
to the area in 1975. Terdjanian, who owns AutoMaster in Southington,
spoke with the Citizen about the genocide and his family's experience.
Citizen: Give us a history lesson on the Armenian genocide.
Terdjanian: It's a tragic story that most people are unfamiliar with,
although there are large Armenian communities that teach it in their
school systems and four Armenian churches in Connecticut and two in
New Britain, including the Armenian Apostolic Church where I worship.
In 1915-1923 the Turkish government decided to eliminate Armenians.
Half of Armenia was controlled by communist Russia and half by the
Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Turks were losing their grip and through
genocide tried to eliminate the Armenians. It was the first genocide
of the 20th century and the Holocaust was a blueprint of the Armenian
genocide. 1.5 million Armenians were killed over an eight year period.
The genocide was sponsored by the Turkish government. The Turkish
Army slaughtered women, children, the elderly and innocent unarmed
citizens. Victims were drowned and marched into the Syrian desert
without food and water. Their property was confiscated and they were
stripped of their rights. The government renamed towns and villages
with Turkish names.
Citizen: Turkey doesn't admit it was responsible for a genocide.
Terdjanian: Not many criminals are willing to admit to their doings,
you have to bring them to justice. There was overwhelming evidence
that genocide had taken place as it was unfolding. Henry Morgenthau,
the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire was an eye witness who wrote
books about the genocide and with his help money was sent for relief
efforts. It was the first large scale relief effort by the U.S.
Citizen: Tell us about your family's experience during the genocide
period.
Terdjanian: I was born in Turkish occupied Armenia. We lived with the
consequences of the genocide. We were the minority with little rights
and were not allowed to have our own Christian name. Every Armenian
name ends with "ian" and we weren't allowed to have that. I was born
in 1968 but things hadn't changed since the genocide with unfair
conditions. We survived the genocide but we were treated as infidels
like they wanted to finish the job. We were clearly a minority and
they made us feel humiliated, the government and the people at the
local and state level. We looked in 20 countries to find a home and
found one in the U.S. with fortune and luck. We settled in Connecticut
in 1975 and became citizens. We're thankful for the country we can
call home. I came with my parents, brother, sister and grandmother.
All still live in the area except my grandmother. I wanted to secure
justice for her but she didn't see it. The perpetrators were never
brought to justice although the three leaders of the genocide were
convicted by a world court.
The event at the state capitol begins at 11 a.m. on April 25. The
Armenian flag will be flown outside the capitol on April 24, which is
the 100th anniversary of the genocide which began on April 24, 1915
when the Turkish government placed 200 Armenian community leaders
under arrest in Constantinople. A reception will follow the program
with Chris Bohjalian, the acclaimed author who wrote "The Sandcastle
Girls," a novel about the Armenian genocide, as the keynote speaker.
http://www.plainvillecitizen.com/news/allnews/7104679-129/armenian-genocide-centennial-impacts-local-resident.html
Plainville Citizen
April 2 2015
1 Comments
Published: April 2, 2015
By Ken Liebeskind , The Plainville Citizen
The 100th year anniversary of the Armenian genocide, which took the
lives of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire between 1915
and 1923, is being celebrated this month with a ceremony at the state
capitol on April 25. One of the attendees will be Harry Terdjanian, a
New Britain resident whose family survived the genocide and immigrated
to the area in 1975. Terdjanian, who owns AutoMaster in Southington,
spoke with the Citizen about the genocide and his family's experience.
Citizen: Give us a history lesson on the Armenian genocide.
Terdjanian: It's a tragic story that most people are unfamiliar with,
although there are large Armenian communities that teach it in their
school systems and four Armenian churches in Connecticut and two in
New Britain, including the Armenian Apostolic Church where I worship.
In 1915-1923 the Turkish government decided to eliminate Armenians.
Half of Armenia was controlled by communist Russia and half by the
Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Turks were losing their grip and through
genocide tried to eliminate the Armenians. It was the first genocide
of the 20th century and the Holocaust was a blueprint of the Armenian
genocide. 1.5 million Armenians were killed over an eight year period.
The genocide was sponsored by the Turkish government. The Turkish
Army slaughtered women, children, the elderly and innocent unarmed
citizens. Victims were drowned and marched into the Syrian desert
without food and water. Their property was confiscated and they were
stripped of their rights. The government renamed towns and villages
with Turkish names.
Citizen: Turkey doesn't admit it was responsible for a genocide.
Terdjanian: Not many criminals are willing to admit to their doings,
you have to bring them to justice. There was overwhelming evidence
that genocide had taken place as it was unfolding. Henry Morgenthau,
the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire was an eye witness who wrote
books about the genocide and with his help money was sent for relief
efforts. It was the first large scale relief effort by the U.S.
Citizen: Tell us about your family's experience during the genocide
period.
Terdjanian: I was born in Turkish occupied Armenia. We lived with the
consequences of the genocide. We were the minority with little rights
and were not allowed to have our own Christian name. Every Armenian
name ends with "ian" and we weren't allowed to have that. I was born
in 1968 but things hadn't changed since the genocide with unfair
conditions. We survived the genocide but we were treated as infidels
like they wanted to finish the job. We were clearly a minority and
they made us feel humiliated, the government and the people at the
local and state level. We looked in 20 countries to find a home and
found one in the U.S. with fortune and luck. We settled in Connecticut
in 1975 and became citizens. We're thankful for the country we can
call home. I came with my parents, brother, sister and grandmother.
All still live in the area except my grandmother. I wanted to secure
justice for her but she didn't see it. The perpetrators were never
brought to justice although the three leaders of the genocide were
convicted by a world court.
The event at the state capitol begins at 11 a.m. on April 25. The
Armenian flag will be flown outside the capitol on April 24, which is
the 100th anniversary of the genocide which began on April 24, 1915
when the Turkish government placed 200 Armenian community leaders
under arrest in Constantinople. A reception will follow the program
with Chris Bohjalian, the acclaimed author who wrote "The Sandcastle
Girls," a novel about the Armenian genocide, as the keynote speaker.
http://www.plainvillecitizen.com/news/allnews/7104679-129/armenian-genocide-centennial-impacts-local-resident.html