very quick question

[Araxi]

Phew! Glad we got that settled! Thanks very much everyone

[Helen]

Araxi ....
Could you tell us more about your poem? Is it in Armenian,etc? And when it is finished will you post it here

[Araxi]

Hi Helen -

I'm afraid the poem is in English - I only know a few phrases in Armenian (and with the death of my father in October, all my Armenian-speaking relatives are dead, so I suppose those phrases will fade as well).

The poem is one of a series that I am writing about my grandparents and their escape from the massacre. This one is a sonnet, inspired by my grandmother showing me pictures of her family when I was little.

My grandmother was 17 in 1915, and all of her family were killed. I was always told that she went into hiding with a Greek family, and that was how she escaped, but now I wonder if that's true... surely the Greeks living in Eastern Turkey were persecuted as well? (my grandmother lived in Tokat).

Anyway, that is what I was told... in any case, she managed to leave Constantinople in 1921 with her husband and daughter, with many many photos of her family, and I don't really know what she did between 1915 and 1921, so I guess I will have to accept the story that she went into hiding with a Greek family.

When I was little, she used to show these photos to me, telling me who everyone was ("My father, your great grandfather Kevork", Your great-aunt Hosmig", "Your cousin twice removed, Boghos", etc) and after every single introduction, she'd repeat the same phrase: "Killed in Bloodbath". She'd been showing me these photos as long as I could remember (like from age 4 and earlier), and I thought she literally meant that Armenians used to bathe in blood. It wasn't until I was about 9 or 10 that I understood what she meant, before then I just thought that my ancestors had some gruesome habits.

I'm happy to post the current version here, but the imagery is a bit graphic in places, and I wouldn't want to cause offense (basically contrasting the images of Armenians killed in the massacre with the pictures of her family in happier times - that was why I chose the sonnet form for that poem, because of the "turn")

[Helen]

Araxi, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your father.
Your family's story (as many others) brings tears...Thanks for sharing.I think there is a thread on the forum about what our families went through. And as far as I know SoSarkissian is gathering any info, any picture about our families, genocide,etc...Next time when I am in Armenia I will try to make a video with my father telling our family story.My great granddad survived and died at his 109. But he lost his 16 year old son called Samson. And he was telling about massacres even before 1915. He would take his family, food, blankets and spend days and nights in the forests during massacres...
I am really amazed at our ancestors's spirit, courage, anything it is called..Your grandma lost her family but she managed to create her own quite soon.That is how we survived!

[SoSarkissian]

Araxi,

Whenever you are completely done with it, can you please forward it to [email protected], so I can do a relative artwork for it. Check www.genoposts.com to know what I'm talking about.

My job is to make sure all expressions related to the Armenian Genocide are heard worldwide. Whether its a graphical or written or any other format ...

[Araxi]

well, that was wildly popular never mind

[bell-the-cat]

Der Zor

D: as heard in daniel
E: as heard in ben
R: as heard in car

ZOR: as heard in zoro (neglecting the O)

You can find it written by T as Ter Zor because of the Eastern Armenian accent difference, but in both cases its read the same ...

Maybe there are pronounciation variations , but I have been there and I recall that it was pronounced "Dir" by the locals.

D: as heard in daniel
I: as heard in deer
R: as heard in car

[SoSarkissian]

I've been there more than 10 times, and I can assure you its Der and not Dir (probably a bad arabic accent made you hear it that way) .. anyhow, it doesn't matter as long as ZOR is there