1998_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 1998

              6
Hye Sharzhoom-20th Anniversary
October 1998
Memoirs of a Genocide Survivor
The following is a continuation in a series of student essays to be
published by Hye Sharzhoom. If you have an essay about any aspect of
A rmenian life or culture that you would like to publish in Hye Sharzhoom,
please contact Dr. Kaprielian in Social Science Room 216 or call her at
278-6493 or the Armenian Studies Program office at 278-2669.
By Chad Kirkorian
Staff Writer
Last semester I interviewed Richard Ashton, an Armenian Geno
cide survivor, for a term-paper on the Genocide. While interview
ing Mr. Ashton I realized how much I have missed by not
discussing the Genocide with other survivors, especially relatives, who
lived through the horrific years of bloodshed. There are few survivors
left, and I as a student of history believe that we should develop
relationships with these survivors who can offer us more than any type of
information we
may find within
a textbook. The
following is an
excerpt of my
interview with
Mr. Ashton:
In February of 1915,
Jevdet Bey was
appointed governor of Van,
and demanded
4,000 Armenian
men for military
conscription.
The Armenian
community was
determined not
to provide
Jevdet with a
pretext for violence, and therefore offered 400'
men along with £	
a military exemption tax-payment. Jevdet determined the offer was unacceptable, and
government terror began to break out in the countryside. Richard Ashton,
a six-year old child during the Van resistance (1915), was living in the
small seaport town of Avantz. In April, the majority of the Armenian male
population of Avantz was murdered, and throughout the Van province
55,000 Armenians were put to death. Many Armenians in Van expected
an attack from the Turks, therefore, a small resistance group took
precautionary action fortifying the city prior to assault.
According to Ashton, "The Armenians had formed a defense
perimeter around Van consisting of two to three foot high stones. The
Armenians would lie down flat on the ground, and shoot at the edge ofthe
stone, so they were only one-tenth of a target to the Turkish soldiers."
Since it was illegal by government decree for non-Moslems to possess
arms, the Armenians of Van were outmatched by Turkish firepower.
"The Armenian resistance of Van, recalls Ashton, consisted of 150 rifles
and 300 pistols against ten to twelve thousand Turkish soldiers with 24
cannons. The Turks would blast our buildings, and we would patch one
up and then the other. We were getting nowhere, so we tunneled under the
Turkish barracks and dynamited them. It was all the Armenians could
do." Armenians resisted the initial Turkish assault and organized a
makeshift system of government to run the city. They held out until the
Russian army arrived and forced the Turks to retreat. Ashton acknowledges that, "When the Russian army arrived at Van the exuberance was
beyond reason." However, the Russian army was experiencing enormous
CASPIAN
SEA
The Genocide (1915-1922)
bloodshed on the'European front, and the Russian government decided to
abandon its Turkish offensive in order to save materials and men. Ashton
recalls the Russian commander's explanation, "We have received orders
from Moscow to return to mother Russia., .and we suggest that you
Armenians leave too, because any main buildings, food supplies, or
equipment we cannot take, were going to burn."
The threat of another Turkish attack, following the Russian withdrawal, forced many Armenians to leave the city of Van. The destination
of these refugees was a relief camp near Erevan, which was organized by
a relief organization. Although the main route to Erevan covered a
distance of 163 miles, the road was subject to constant attack by Turks in
search of Armenians, their property, and possessions. Therefore, the
Armenians traveled west around Lake Van beyond the Caucasus Mountains and then turned back southeast through Tiflis before reaching
Erevan.
According to Ashton, there was a scarcity of water along the 300
mile detour to Erevan. One day a woman approached him and his brother
to use their tea
kettle in order to
fetch water
from a nearby
spring she had
found. In desperate need of
water, Ashton
and his brother
fell out of line
and waited for
the woman to
return. Although the
woman never
reappeared,
Ashton admits,
"She saved our
life. The next
noon we came
upon a scene
where the Turks
had attacked
about seventy
people, who had
their throats cut and their heads bashed from the butt ot a gun. They had
been the people we fell out of line from."
There were 30,000 Armenians situated in the refugee camp, which
was located three miles from Etchmiadzin. However, an outbreak of
cholera caused up to 300 deaths a day. Ashton's words tell of this tragedy:
"They brought in the sick, and if they were going to die they would leave
the stretchers outside and take into the barracks only those who could
recover... for a while they buried them individually then they opened up
a pit and threw in 200 to 300 bodies and covered it up." Ashton witnessed
five of his family members succumb to disease in a total of eight days in
these horrendous conditions. Aside from disease, the impoverished living
conditions within the camp left many Armenians in despair. A wagon
would come by once a day and ladle out soup to only those individuals
who possessed their own plate or pan. Refugees lined up in makeshift
dwellings. Ashton and his brother left the camp and walked to Baku in an
attempt to survive.
Ashton finally found abetter life when his eldestbrother, who had
been shipped to the United States in order to evade the Turkish draft, went
back to Erevan in search of his family. In 1916, Ashton's eldest brother
proceeded to the refugee camp, and received word that two young boys
had traveled to Baku a few days earlier. Eventually, Ashton was reunited
with his brother and taken back to the United States. Richard Ashton now
resides in Fresno and has Worked hard in order to create a prosperous life
for himself in America.
HYE SHARZHOOM, Cont
from Page 1
A small number of people had suddenly thrust the Armenian Question into full view once again. This
activity coincided with the growing awareness of Fresno State students of their culture and history.
Most Armenian students at Fresno
State then had grand-parents and
great-grarid-parents who were from
historical Western Armenia, the
locus of the Genocide. They became interested in oral history and
in learning more about their own
identity.
Armenia in 1979 was still
behind the Iron Curtain, in the Soviet Union. Very few people visited there..Some dreamt of the day
i Armenia would be indepen-
, but this was a far off dream.
No one could have predicted the
events of 1988-1991 which resulted
in the independence of a second
Republic of Armenia. And yet those
students thought about these issues,
about Armenia, her past, present,
and future.
Hye Sharzhoom did not start
in a vacuum. There was already an
Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno State, directed by Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, offering
classes for students to learn about
their culture and heritage. The Program provided much information
to students to learn more about their
culture and history. This educational base combined with the energy and interest of the students led
to the formation of Hye Sharzhoom.
And  so  students  Mark
Malkasian, Bill Erysian, Bryan
Bedrosian, Dale Tatoian, Mark
Najarian, and others started a newspaper, a small step, which over the
years developed into a voice which
today reaches an international audience of more than 6,000 readers,
as wellas the students oh the Fresno
State campus. Hye Sharzhoom has
remained the authentic voice of the
Armenian students.       '
What remains for' Hye
Sharzhoom1} Has everything that
needs to have been said, been said?
Are students interested any longer
in expressing themselves about the
issues'which'affect 'them' today?
There is still-much to be said. New
generations of students are adding
to the Hye Sharzhoom tradition.
They are bringing fresh perspec
tives and new energy and as long as
there are students on campus who
take an interest in the world, Hye
Sharzhoom will Continue in its mission.
Hye Sharzhoom is the oldest continuously published Armenian student newspaper in the
United States. It has, and will continue to stimulate and intellectually engage future generations. Hye
Sharzhoom provides an avenue for
involvement that students will
continue to take advantage of in the
coming years.
A new generation of students will lead Hye Sharzhoom into
the twentieth century. They will
have the responsibility to continue
the tradition. We will all look forward to their words.
Hye Sharzhoom
Staff
Following are the names of
the dozens of students who
served on the staff of Hye
Sharzhoom throughout the
years.
We congratulate their efforts
and dedication in putting together this great newspaper.
We will publish the remaining names of staff in future
issues of the 20th Anniversary Hye Sharzhoom.
Vol. 1, No. 1
April 16-24,1979
Editors: Mark Malkasian,
Mark Najarian
Staff: Bryan Bedrosian, Dale
Tatoian, Barlow Der
Mugrdechian, Patty Torosian
Advisor: Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian
Vol. 2, No. 1
November 2,1979
Editors: Mark Malkasian, Bill
Erysianjj Mark Najarian
Staff: Dick Ashjian, Warren
Paboojian, Maro Kechejian,
Barlow Der Mugrdechian,
Bryan Bedrosian, Bill
Sahatdjian
Advisor: Dr Dickran
Kouymjian
Vol. 2, No. 2
January 11,1980
Editors: Mark Malkasian, Bill
Erysian
Staff: Dick Ashjian, Warren
Paboojian, Barlow Der
Mugrdechian, Bryan
Bedrosian, Bill
Sahatdjian,Varoujan Der
Simonian, Alan Atamian,
Marx Arax
Ad. Manager: Janalee
Gazarian
Advisor: Dr Dickran
Kouymjian, Allan Jendian
Vol. 2, No. 3
April 1980
Editors: Mark Mark
Malkasian, Bill Erysian
Staff: Barlow Der
Mugrdechian, Warren
Paboojian, Bryan Bedrosian,
Cindy Avakian, Flora
Tchaderjian, Mark Najarian,
Mark Arax, Maral
Tchaderjian, Bill Sahatdjian
Ad Manager: Jim Malkasian
Advisor: Dr Dickran
Kouymjian
Vol. 2, No. 4
June 1980
Editors: Bill Erysian, Mark
Malkasian
Staff: Barlow Der
Mugrdechian, Bryan
Bedrosian, Cindy Avakian,
Karekin Setian, Mark Arax
Production: Bill Erysian
Ad. Manager: Jim Malkasian
Advisors: Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian, Allan Jendian