When my grandparents emigrated to America, they were hoping to find a nation where they could live without fear. Many of their relatives were murdered by a Turk government bent on their destruction. Although genocide was a word that had not been coined yet, genocide became the answer for Turks wishing to expand their lands and abscond with the wealth Armenians had worked assiduously to earn. As a result, many Armenians fled to other countries. Sadly, more than half of the Armenian people unable to escape and were deliberately killed. Their bones and skulls still can be found ossifying in the sun serving as gruesome reminders of what humans are capable of doing when the world is not watching.
Formerly a part of the Soviet Union, Armenia remains a gutsy, rugged land embroidered with verdant valleys, majestic mountains, and rich top-soil. Unfortunately, in the late 1800’s, it became the focus of brutal and wide-spread massacres. Like my grandparents, many Armenians were forced to flee for their lives with only the clothes on their backs. Some Armenians fled to Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Bulgaria, Egypt, etc. However, a great number came to America.
Many Armenians had heard world-wide rumors spreading about this new country of mostly immigrants where one could be free of fear. A country that embraced a new conceptual philosophy called Democracy. After fighting for their own freedom and throwing off the cloak of colonialism, America was ready to try something different. Democracy became a new national experiment—a nation for the people, by the people, and of the people.
These Armenians who emigrated without much, entered a country with a foreign language, yet they were ready to work and try their best. Most Armenians held tightly to their cultural traditions and religious beliefs, yet they were ready to try something different. Together, Armenians fight to gain recognition of a genocide that was mostly ignored by the international community.
Of course, every immigrant group has its own cultural story and historical background. I hope this introduction serves as a gateway to my website where you can learn much more about this unique area of the world and learn about a people who survived the first modern genocide.
