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
They went to his younger brother, the present Sultan,
and told him his brother Murad was insane. "He makes Christian dogs
equal to Mussulmen; he will ruin the country; you must become Sultan to
save the Turkish Empire." This suited Abdul Aziz exactly; he headed a
revolt, deposed his good brother, dissolved the parliament, imprisoned
Murad in the palace where his uncle was assassinated, and since then
has been carrying the country to destruction. He is a perfect devil
in all respects. A devil can take the guise of an angel, and the
Sultan has the cunning to make himself appear a perfect gentleman,
a benevolent and humane person. The devil can cheat most people,
and so can the Sultan, all but the native Christians in Turkey,
to whom he shows his horns, and hoofs, and tail.
The nauseous praise of the Sultan from travelers and ministers reminds
me of a Turkish brigand named Guro, who infested Asia Minor a quarter
of a century ago. He robbed year after year all travelers who had
anything worth taking; but when he met tramps he gave them money,
and even a roasted lamb to eat now and then. The tramps all praised
him; he was a benevolent, humane, kind-hearted man; they had never
seen anything cruel or dishonest about him. So the Sultan robs the
Armenians, and uses their money to feast the American ministers and
decorate their wives. Oh, but the Sultan sent money to the sufferers
from famine in the Western States of America; so generous of him! I am
glad to say the money was refused. All Americans who praise the Sultan
are like the tramps and the brigand. They are either ignorant or in
effect bribed. And then there is the affectation of impartiality,
so easy a cover for ignorance, coldness, and laziness. You must say
some good things about a scoundrel, and some ill ones about a saint,
or you will be considered a partisan. You must not tell even the
truth, if the truth is all on one side. If the Sultan massacres all
the Christians in Turkey, why, there are two sides to the question;
perhaps the Christians were not agreeable people, and if so, you cannot
wonder he has them exterminated by sword, and fire, and torture, and
rape; it is really the only way he could get rid of them. And then,
he is king, and has a right to do what he pleases with his own; nobody
has any business to interfere. Of course a President could not order
three millions of people put to death by letting loose all the savage
Indians of the West on them to do as they pleased with them, for the
sake of making them worship the Big Manitou; but a Sultan--that is
different, even though a Kurd is exactly as bad as an Indian, and
an Indian's knife does not cut throats any more effectively, nor an
Indian's tortures inflict more unnamable horrors of suffering, nor an
Indian's torch burn houses any better, nor an Indian's beastly lust
defile women any worse. Are all the writers, then, who have praised
him ignorant or silly? Yes; the Sultan's deeds, proved by countless
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account