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ONE FAMILY'S LONG JOURNEY TO U.S.
By Bob Kostoff
Niagara Falls Reporter (Niagara Falls, NY)
March 15, 2005
The long journey for Souren Aprahamian from war-ravaged Turkish
Armenia to safety and freedom in the United States was a long and
torturous one.
During the first mass exodus from their home village of Lezk,
Aprahamian's father died, leaving the youngster's mother to guide
the family safely through the dangers of World War I.
The family returned home in 1916. Their house was intact, but vandals
had found the hiding place of their stored valuables and everything
was gone. However, they had brought back with them a donkey and an ox,
and life in Lezk returned to fairly normal.
But it wasn't long until war intervened again and a second order to
evacuate the village was issued because the Russian army had left.
Aprahamian writes in his autobiography, "After almost two weeks of
tortuous, hellish suffering, we arrived in Shungavit, a town outside
Yerevan."
They barely settled down in a camp there, however, when word came that
the Russians had returned to occupy the Van region, making it safe
from the Turks. But, once again, the reprieve was not longlasting. The
Russian Bolshevik Revolution came in October 1917, and again Russian
troops left the Van and Lezk areas.
Fighting broke out in the region and yet another evacuation was ordered
for the populace, this one on March 21, 1918. After much hardship, the
caravan made it to the Kodol Valley near the Caucasus. A treacherous
bandit named Sumko, however, ran this region.
The caravan was moving through the valley on a balmy day when "the
silence was shattered and a hailstorm of bullets drenched us,"
as Aprahamian writes. The bandits had begun a terrible slaughter,
firing on the unprotected masses in the valley from the rim above.
Aprahamian and his family dove behind a huge boulder and then were
ordered to cross the river. They were able to make it across. Dodging
bullets, they climbed up the opposite side of the valley to relative
safety.
Thousands died in the onslaught, many from enemy fire and some who
drowned in the river crossing. Aprahamian writes, "Latecomers told
us that they had to walk over the bodies of the fallen."
At the village of Sarin Kaleh, the Turks caught up with the caravan.
Everyone dropped everything and ran for their lives. They made it to
Tazakand and the British army. There, trucks took them to the safety
of refugee camps.
They remained two years in the tent city. An Arab rebellion broke out
and the family once again was subjected to gunfire. The refugees were
moved to a camp on the Tigris River near Basra.
Aprahamian's older brother Nahabed, who was working in America, found
out his family was in a refugee camp and arranged to send $2,500 so
they could come to America.
The family arrived in Providence, R.I., on June 21, 1921, and settled
in the Detroit area. Aprahamian met his wife, Arminuhe Amirian,
during a trip to Niagara Falls in 1929. They were later married and
returned to the Detroit area. Aprahamian had two engineering degrees,
chemical and mechanical, and was also in the grocery business. His wife
died in 2002. Aprahamian, at age 98, still lives in the Detroit area.
Bob Kostoff has been reporting on the Niagara Frontier for four
decades. He is a recognized authority on local history and is the
author of several books. E-mail him at [email protected].
By Bob Kostoff
Niagara Falls Reporter (Niagara Falls, NY)
March 15, 2005
The long journey for Souren Aprahamian from war-ravaged Turkish
Armenia to safety and freedom in the United States was a long and
torturous one.
During the first mass exodus from their home village of Lezk,
Aprahamian's father died, leaving the youngster's mother to guide
the family safely through the dangers of World War I.
The family returned home in 1916. Their house was intact, but vandals
had found the hiding place of their stored valuables and everything
was gone. However, they had brought back with them a donkey and an ox,
and life in Lezk returned to fairly normal.
But it wasn't long until war intervened again and a second order to
evacuate the village was issued because the Russian army had left.
Aprahamian writes in his autobiography, "After almost two weeks of
tortuous, hellish suffering, we arrived in Shungavit, a town outside
Yerevan."
They barely settled down in a camp there, however, when word came that
the Russians had returned to occupy the Van region, making it safe
from the Turks. But, once again, the reprieve was not longlasting. The
Russian Bolshevik Revolution came in October 1917, and again Russian
troops left the Van and Lezk areas.
Fighting broke out in the region and yet another evacuation was ordered
for the populace, this one on March 21, 1918. After much hardship, the
caravan made it to the Kodol Valley near the Caucasus. A treacherous
bandit named Sumko, however, ran this region.
The caravan was moving through the valley on a balmy day when "the
silence was shattered and a hailstorm of bullets drenched us,"
as Aprahamian writes. The bandits had begun a terrible slaughter,
firing on the unprotected masses in the valley from the rim above.
Aprahamian and his family dove behind a huge boulder and then were
ordered to cross the river. They were able to make it across. Dodging
bullets, they climbed up the opposite side of the valley to relative
safety.
Thousands died in the onslaught, many from enemy fire and some who
drowned in the river crossing. Aprahamian writes, "Latecomers told
us that they had to walk over the bodies of the fallen."
At the village of Sarin Kaleh, the Turks caught up with the caravan.
Everyone dropped everything and ran for their lives. They made it to
Tazakand and the British army. There, trucks took them to the safety
of refugee camps.
They remained two years in the tent city. An Arab rebellion broke out
and the family once again was subjected to gunfire. The refugees were
moved to a camp on the Tigris River near Basra.
Aprahamian's older brother Nahabed, who was working in America, found
out his family was in a refugee camp and arranged to send $2,500 so
they could come to America.
The family arrived in Providence, R.I., on June 21, 1921, and settled
in the Detroit area. Aprahamian met his wife, Arminuhe Amirian,
during a trip to Niagara Falls in 1929. They were later married and
returned to the Detroit area. Aprahamian had two engineering degrees,
chemical and mechanical, and was also in the grocery business. His wife
died in 2002. Aprahamian, at age 98, still lives in the Detroit area.
Bob Kostoff has been reporting on the Niagara Frontier for four
decades. He is a recognized authority on local history and is the
author of several books. E-mail him at [email protected].
