NEW MOVIE ON GENOCIDE VICTIMS’ DESCENDANTS FILMED IN USA
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.02.2010 17:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Monday March 1, 2010, Roger Hagopian, Documentary
Producer will present the topic "Destination Watertown – The Armenians
of Hood Rubber". In 1896 the Hood Rubber Company opened in Watertown,
Massachusetts, attracting Armenian immigrant laborers, refugees
from the Abdul Hamid Massacres in the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the
subsequent Genocide of 1915.
This film tells the stories and reflections of former employees of
Armenian descent, Watertown residents, and descendants of the Hood
family, interspersed with personal and historic photographs, archival
films, maps, documents, artifacts and images of the remnants of the
old factory, once the largest of its kind in the world, producing
rubber footwear and tires, among other products.
Workers recount life on the conveyer belt, piecework, exposure to
chemicals, and injuries in the workplace, yet considered themselves
fortunate to have a job. For East Watertown residents, Hood Rubber was
their neighborhood. They fondly remember the famous "sneaker test",
whereby the durability of the product was demonstrated through the
daily activities of local kids.
Most importantly, this factory, which closed in 1969, was the impetus
for the establishment of the Armenian community of Watertown. Written,
videotaped, and edited by Roger K. Hagopian, a recipient of the
Watertown Historical Commission’s Community Spirit Award from 2009.
Abdul Hamid II (1842 – 1918) Ottoman sultan, ruled in 1876-1909. He
declared Constitution in December, 1876, suspended it in February,
1878 and adopted despotic governing regime, known as zulum. He
cruelly suppressed national liberation movements of dependent nations,
especially the Armenian population. In June 1908, under pressure of
Young Turks and other oppositional parties, including Armenian ones,
he had to restore the constitution.
Discontent with Abdul Hamid’s despotic rule and resentment against
European intervention in the Balkans, however, led to the military
revolution of the Young Turks in 1908. After a short-lived reactionary
uprising (April 1909), Abdul Hamid was deposed, and his brother was
proclaimed sultan as Mehmed V.