NEVER AGAIN: FAMILY’S STORIES RECALL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

MPR News, Minnesota
April 2 2015

People & Places Dan Olson · Apr 2, 2015

Bedros Keljik escaped his homeland amid a rising tide of Turkish
nationalism. He managed to save his parents and most — but not all —
of his siblings from what would become the Armenian genocide.

He found his way to St. Paul in 1899 where he and a partner opened
a rug store downtown at 4th and Market streets near Rice Park.

More than a century later, the business thrives in south Minneapolis
in a shop run by his grandson Mark. Even in prosperity, though, the
family has never lost sight of what Bedros and other Armenians endured.

April marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. As many as
1.5 million perished at the hands of Turkish forces. To commemorate,
the Keljiks are sharing some of their family’s stories. That
includes one about a French captain who told police that his boat
was essentially French soil, a declaration that saved Bedros and
his brother.

Bedros later lectured widely on what was happening in his homeland
to sound the alarm. Mark hopes remembering atrocities from a century
ago will help avert future genocide.

Click here < > to
hear more from the Keljik family.