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nian_genocide/
“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying in historical accounts.
The truth is grim. Few people speak of the genocide of 1915 during
which Armenians perished at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
In fact, if it weren’t for Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s film
Ararat, fewer people would have even heard about it.
Ninety years after the first Armenians were rounded up; the bones of
the dead have long since been scattered to the winds — but their
memory lingers on in my family.
Like many Armenian-Canadians, I was a child when I first heard about
the genocide.
Over and over again, I was told about how my grandfather, Vartan
Nersessian, was the only survivor from his family.
But it wasn’t until my grandmother unearthed his long-lost memoirs and
I was able to read his own account that his story came to life.
As Armenians worldwide mark the 90th anniversary of the genocide there
will undoubtedly be renewed debate over whether it even happened.
For my family there is no debate. There is only my grandfather’s story
of survival.