SAD-EYED OLD PEOPLE

AZG Armenian Daily #070, 20/04/2005

Armenian Genocide

Photo Action

The historical-documentary materials as well as hundreds of researches
have been ratified long ago. They speak of the true events of 1915. But
the most important are the memories and the pain the survivors of
the Genocide bear in their hearts. There are 600 Armenian survivors
of the Genocide that are living by our side, at present. Their names
are in the lists of the Genocide Museum in Yerevan.

This year Herbert Baghdasarian, head of Photolur agency, initiated a
photo action that carried out the photographers of the agency with
the assistance of Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Committee for
90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. They prepared three large
posters (7m by 3m) entitled “These Eyes Saw the Genocide.” The posters
bear the photos of 90 Genocide survivors from different regions of
Armenia but mainly from Yerevan. The oldest among the survivors is
Harutyun Gharibian who is 108.

The posters will be set up in Yerevan.

Meliq Baghdasarian, Mkhitar Khachatrian, Herbert Baghdasarian and
Hayk Badalian, the photographers, are the grandsons of the Genocide
survivors from Van and Sassoon.

This photo action is a unique glance on the most tragic period of
our history.

The majority of these people is living in extremely bad
conditions. Most of them live alone, socially insecure. When seeing the
photographers, most of the asked whether they have brought pensions
from them. It’s already been several months that these people that
are over 90 are deprived of their deserved pensions only because they
have no social cards.

By Melania Badalian