An Armenian Genocide Survivor Speaks (1 of 3)

This is the extraordinary testimony of the late Hagop H. Asadourian (1903-2003) recorded on April 24, 2003 in New York City on the occasion of the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He was 100 years old at the time.

Born in the village of Chomaklou in eastern Turkey, Hagop Asadourian was deported along with the rest of his village in 1918, but found refuge in an AGBU orphanage in Aleppo, Syria. He settled in the U.S. in 1920, where he became a successful businessman, singer, and author of poetry and fiction, including his novel, "The Grandchildren of Hovagim," which describes his childhood experiences.

The event featured here, at which Mr. Asadourian was an honored guest, was presented by the Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI) at the Cooper Union. Introducing Mr. Asadourian is NAI founder and director, Nareg Hartounian. The evening included performances by leading Armenian musicians and an exhibition of artists and photographers to commemorate the genocide through the spirit of art and cultural rebirth. This clip is excerpted from the DVD "Truth", which documents the event.

For more information about Mr. Asadourian's life and work, please visit www.naregatsi.org/Asadourian/

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• armenian
• genocide
• documentary
• armenia
• film
• april
• 24

[Gregory10000000000]

Let the world know about the Armenian Genocide! Long Live Armenia!

[Hairenakitz]

Memories of all 1,500.000+1 lives forever.

God Bless Armenians.

[KaiserWilhelmIV]

@macofdeath Those people were collaborators with the enemy, the fathers are the ones who abandoned them to fight for Russia and lost. The penalty for turning against your own country in times of war is death at least. Also, they moved to the desert once they were discovered that they fought for the enemy. What happened is they failed at trying to start their own independent Armenia and failed and paid the cost.

[macofdeath]

Try to find a copy of the book, From Dardanelles to Palestine. A true story of five battle fronts of Turkey and her allies and a harem romance by Sarkis Torossian. He was an Armenian hero at Gallipoli on the Turkish side and was betrayed by the Turks-infact found his fiance dying in the desert in Syria. He also ran with Lawrence of Arabia and ended up in the U.S. Rare book, and a truly tragic story.

[macofdeath]

@KaiserWilhelmIV So is that why there are the bones of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the desert of Der-ez-Zor, Syria, or however it is properly spelled, as has been documented on video? You do understand that the majority of the dead were the women and children, because most of the fighting age men had been drafted to fight for Turkey, had their weapons taken and then were also slaughtered in the "work battalions?" I'm just trying to understand how someone couldn't see the evil of this.

[KaiserWilhelmIV]

@macofdeath yes they were Ottomans and actively aiding the Russians. IN times of war you don't fucking fight against your nation. They mostly died when they ran to the hills where it was colder. That time was not fucking time for "lets create fucking Armenian nation while we are Ottoman citizens bullshit" Consider how many Armenians die from Parliament lights each year and compare this "genocide"

[macofdeath]

@KaiserWilhelmIV So the women and children were "starting problems?" How can you be proud of the murder rape torture and starvation of so many women and children that their bones still litter the desert in Iraq and Syria today?

[peyotemania]

@womensrightslolz1

YEA RIGHT...turkey also says that armenians killed turks...so does greeks killed turks...

turks ruled balkans for more then 400 years...in turkey many people are roots from balkans...and where are the people there now ? where r the mosques there ? they murderd and deported them....like we did to you....truth is this...everybody did to everybody...just armenians are cry beybi...IF YOU ARE SO BIG NATION, CREATE AGAIN...LIKE TURKS DID...

[KaiserWilhelmIV]

Their was no Genocide. Nothing but a bunch of Armenians who lived in Turkey and started problems when Russia was at war with Ottomans and these idiots sided with the enemy. Now they pretend to use this event to collect money 100 years latter like some Jew trying to get back old Nazi loot. This so called Genocide is nothing but getting thrown out of Ottoman Empire in the winter and not realizing to start a beer putsch in the winter was a bad idea.