Database of Eyewitness Testimony

[Hovik]

Great site for eyewitness testimony!

http://ermeni.org/turkce/vkayutyunner.php?tp=ea&lng=eng

[Yavrum]

Very interesting site of first-hand survivor accounts. I read them with interest. I have several tapes that my mom taped of my grandmother recounting her and her families' (including my mother) exodus from Aintab. Since she spoke Turkish, I had to have a Turkish translator translate it for me. (I was born in the States and do not speak Turkish) But she didn't understand many of the Armenian words or the names of the towns. I still have other tapes, so if anyone knows who can help me get them translated, I would be willing to pay a nominal fee. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out just where they sent my mother's family from Aintab.

Grandmother says (according to the translator) - first & second group were sent to Hami - can anyone tell me exactly where that is? Later she talks about having to go to Hami also.

The third group went to Harran - again - I need to find out where that is. If I understand right, it's about 10 miles from the Syrian border, but I can't find it on a map. It sounds as if they were then forced to go on the road to Harran as well. She says they pitched tents and it took them 4 to 5 months to get there from Aintab.

Later, they were put on a cargo train and got to Damascus.

I want to try and map out their travels, but need a good map that would show all the little villages, streams, mountains, etc., and the names of that time period.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much.

[bell-the-cat]

Invaluable.

Thank you.

It's strange recognising the names of obcure little places that probably only I has ever been to in recent years, places like "Prkhous" (Phrhus, now called Ovakishla) and "Dspni" (Zipni, now called Varli).

[bell-the-cat]

I think this might be something similar, only in sound. (Haven't actually listened to any of it yet, though )

http://armeniandrama.org/oralhistories.php

[Yavrum]

I went to the site, but it seems to me it's a play or something that you actually have to go to and watch? I didn't see anything where you could listen to it online. I wish. The Boston area, that's where my grandfather's family landed and pretty much stayed there.

[bell-the-cat]

I went to the site, but it seems to me it's a play or something that you actually have to go to and watch? I didn't see anything where you could listen to it online. I wish. The Boston area, that's where my grandfather's family landed and pretty much stayed there.

Are you on the right page? Click on the links and the mp3 file should start to play. The sound quality of some are a bit strange though. Actually, after listening to some of them, I doubt that they have much value without a lot of interpretation and background information. For example - listening to no 13, which is talking about events in Aintep there is no indication given of the date of the events. But from what I already know they will be from the post-ww1 period. And I know enough to know that some of the stuff he says is inaccurate (which is to be expected), for example he talks about the Turks going to massacre the Armenians "when the British troops leave" - but actually it was French troops who were in Aintep.
And the interviewers seem to be rather ignorant of the events and exert no control over the flow of the interview.

[Yavrum]

Are you on the right page? Click on the links and the mp3 file should start to play. The sound quality of some are a bit strange though. Actually, after listening to some of them, I doubt that they have much value without a lot of interpretation and background information. For example - listening to no 13, which is talking about events in Aintep there is no indication given of the date of the events. But from what I already know they will be from the post-ww1 period. And I know enough to know that some of the stuff he says is inaccurate (which is to be expected), for example he talks about the Turks going to massacre the Armenians "when the British troops leave" - but actually it was French troops who were in Aintep.
And the interviewers seem to be rather ignorant of the events and exert no control over the flow of the interview.

Eww - this is frustrating. I see the page with the info about the oral interviews, but I can't find any link, there is nothing to click on that takes me to the interviews. I clicked on everything there is to click on just about. Maybe it's my browser settings? IDK - I'm not that tech savvy. Oh well.

According to my grandmother's interview, well this was around 1918-1920, there were both British and Turkish troops there. She said the British took care of them, but the French didn't and no one wanted the French there. Hmm...sound familiar? Anyway, thanks for trying.

[bell-the-cat]

Eww - this is frustrating. I see the page with the info about the oral interviews, but I can't find any link, there is nothing to click on that takes me to the interviews. I clicked on everything there is to click on just about. Maybe it's my browser settings? IDK - I'm not that tech savvy. Oh well.

According to my grandmother's interview, well this was around 1918-1920, there were both British and Turkish troops there. She said the British took care of them, but the French didn't and no one wanted the French there. Hmm...sound familiar? Anyway, thanks for trying.

Erm ... nobody is quite that technically unsavy I hope ... but you do know that you have to scroll down the page to see the links which are below all the little photos! You are seeing only half the page if you don't do this. Scroll down not using the main browser scrollbar but using the second bar that is inside the actual page.

[bell-the-cat]

NB - the page is done using javascript rather than html - maybe your browser security setting is too high. Are you getting a yellow bar at the top of the page if you are using Explorer?

[Yavrum]

Erm ... nobody is quite that technically unsavy I hope ... but you do know that you have to scroll down the page to see the links which are below all the little photos! You are seeing only half the page if you don't do this. Scroll down not using the main browser scrollbar but using the second bar that is inside the actual page.

Aha! That's what it was, I was using the wrong bar to scroll down with. What a dummy. I'll listen to them now - thanks.