Armenia and Her People; or, The Story of Armenia by an ArmenianFilian, George H.
History
Armenia and Her People; or, The Story of Armenia by an Armenian
Filian, George H.
Armenia; Armenian question
God is angry, and exceedingly angry to us. Perhaps he will hear
your prayers; pray for us, or else all of us shall perish. I can
never describe the horrible situation in which we are put.
Yours truly,
From Hadish Village, Armenia.
My Dear Friend:-- Dec. 2, 1895.
In great sorrow and in despair I am compelled to write to you a
few lines to inform you of our most miserable condition.
The Turks and Kurds came to our village, plundered everything we
had, killed more than 600 persons, violated the women and girls,
tortured the pregnant women, and now we who survive have nothing to
live on. Naked, hungry, cold, hopeless, we are crying bitterly. I
write these few lines; perhaps you can inform the Christian world
and they may help us and relieve our sufferings.
Yours truly,
There are many other cities, towns, and villages in Armenia, where
thousands of people were tortured and killed, their houses burned and
plundered, their children kidnapped, the women violated. But there
is no space to put all here in this book. I am sure the reader will
be satisfied with reading this long chapter of Armenian horrors,
and the letters on the atrocities from different reliable sources.
To sum up, during these frightful scenes in Armenia more than 100,000
Armenians were killed, and half a million left without food, homes,
or clothing; they are dying in heaps; and there is no hope of getting
any help from Armenia itself, even when the spring comes, for those who
would have supported them are killed, and most of the destitute are
women and children. Everything, even to clothes, is taken from them,
the head of the family is killed, and they are left hopeless and in
despair. How long can the Red Cross Society help them? How long can
the American people help them? Not very long; when spring comes they
will say, "We have done all we could for the Armenians; let them take
care of themselves." But will they stop to think how the Armenians can
take care of themselves? Have they oxen and horses to plough? No. Is
there any man left to support his wife and children? No. Suppose here
and there an Armenian is left (I mean in the country places, not in
the cities), dare he go out to his field and work? No. Were any of
those who plundered and killed punished? No. What guarantee can we
have, then, that those who survive will not be killed or plundered
in their turn? None. Will the European powers who signed the Berlin
Treaty give any assurance to the Armenians that they will be protected
hereafter? No. Is the Sultan a better man since the massacre? No. Are
the Turks and Kurds better people since the atrocities? No. They are
worse than ever before, because they have a freer hand, and all their
passions are roused to greater strength. Well, then, if these are
all facts, what is the use of feeding people a few weeks merely to
keep them alive for another massacre that will finish the rest of them?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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