After salutation, I offer my thanks to God that after great
dangers and tribulation we have reached the present time. God's
will be done. How can I describe the horrors in our city to
you? Can any pen or any language tell them? No, but I shall try
to write at least a very short description of them. But who knows
if this letter will reach you, because of the letters we write,
very few reach you, and very few of your letters reach us, since
the government has control of the mail, and it is the government
that persecutes us. Our age is a peculiar age. God look at our
misery and save us.
How happy were those who were martyred on Nov. 1, and have gone to
their reward. The atrocities which happened here on November 1, 2,
3, cannot be matched in the history of the civilized world. I do
not think they can be in that of heathen lands, where the people
are barbarous.
When I write these lines to you, I hardly know what I am writing;
the darkness of Egypt covers all around me. The former millionaires
in the city have nothing and are begging bread. Nov. 1 was a black
day for the Armenians. Many were separated from their loved ones,
even parents from their children. Many merchants and rich people
were so thoroughly plundered and stripped that they are literally
left naked and hungry, and numbers have been put to unspeakable
tortures by the Turks and Kurds. Nov. 1 was Friday; it was about
noon when the Mohammedans came out from their mosques. The native
Turks, the Kurds who were brought from outside, and the soldiers
all united, swords, pistols, guns, axes, and clubs in their hands,
fell upon the Armenians in the market place or business place,
cut them to pieces, and plundered what they had. If they had
been all killed by bullets it would have been a sudden death, and
easier. But they cut them to pieces bit by bit with their axes,
and made holes in the bodies with their swords.
When they were killing the Armenians, they were repeating the
following words, "Bring testimony to prophet Mohammed. Our Sultan
ordered us to kill these heathen dogs, the Armenians." The governor
of the city, and all other officials, with the commander of the
soldiers, during the time of the atrocities were sitting near
the great mosque, and while listening to the cries and screams of
the martyred Armenians, they were laughing and joking with great
pleasure, and ordering the soldiers to carry the most valuable
things to their houses.
After they had killed everybody, and plundered everything in the
business place, they turned to the residences where Armenians
lived, and began to burn and kill. Some of the soldiers went to
the tops of the minarets or high towers, and began to shoot the
Armenians from there. What a pitiful scene was the condition
of the Armenian ladies, who were running from house to house,
from street to street, and were shot dead, and their children
left orphans. During the three days' massacre 4,000 Armenians
were killed, and the burning of the houses and stores continued
twenty-four hours. From the gate of the mosque to the place
where they make saddles, and from the twin caravansary to the new
caravansary, from Sheik Uatad to Melik Ahmed, all the buildings,
1,400 stores, were burnt and turned to ashes. There are other
stores also which were not burnt, but everything was taken from
them. The stores where goldsmiths worked every article is taken
from.
When the Armenians go among the ruins to see if they can find
any article, they are forbidden; and if some one manages to
find anything, the Mohammedans take it from him, cursing him,
and calling him a heathen dog at the same time.
When we come to the residences near your house, from the house of
Darakji to the covered place of Sheytan aglou, all are destroyed;
from Alo-Pasha bath to the Jemil Pasha Palace, all destroyed. But
the church of the Patrees is not destroyed. St. Sarkis's church
was plundered and afterwards burned. Before the church was burnt,
they killed the priests, and unspeakable violations took place in
the church. In that quarter half of the population were killed,
and the other half, who survive, are naked, barefooted, hungry,
and are begging bread.
Now the government pretends to give bread to the hungry, but
nothing is given, and those who have a little give to the others
who have nothing; but after a few days nothing will be left to
eat. Thank the Lord, the Kurds went out of the city. But it is
twenty days now since the massacre took place, and nobody dares
to go out to the streets.
We have no stores, no money, nothing to eat. Though my personal
house was not robbed, but I have ten orphans whose fathers and
mothers were killed; I am taking care of them. We have a little;
we shall eat that, and see what the Lord will provide.
From the Rev. Dr. Tomy's house to the church of the Evangelical
people all the houses were burned. Hovhanness's loss is about
$1,000. Those who hid themselves in Konsol Khan and in the church
of the Patrees escaped death. But every one who escaped was left
hungry and thirsty from twelve to fifteen days in their places
of confinement, because they were afraid of going out.
All the suburban towns and villages were totally destroyed. In
Sevorag both the Armenian church and the Evangelical Armenian
church were destroyed, and only from fifty to one hundred persons
were left alive. The monastery of Argen was destroyed, and the
teachers and all the inmates were killed.
They burnt the church of Ali-Punar and killed the priest. From
that place only five or ten persons were left alive. Your brother
at Kitibel with all his family are killed, and both the churches
are burned. They forced the ministers to accept the Mohammedan
religion; on refusal all three were killed, the Rev. Abosh, the
Rev. Khidershap, and the priest. All who were left alive at Kitibel
are only about forty persons. Afram's brother Kisho with all his
family were killed. At Renjil nobody is left. At Kara Bash only
fifty persons are left alive. The village of Satou is entirely
out of existence. In all this province all the towns and villages
are destroyed, and the people are killed, except the village of
Haziro, which is not destroyed, and the reason is that a Turk,
Sevdim Beg, did not permit the Kurds and the Turks to destroy it.
What will become of us hereafter we do not know. We are still
in danger, but we trust first in God, then in such friends as
you. My personal damage is $5,000 and now is the time to show us
sympathy and help us.
If you cannot do it yourself personally, can you not tell the
people of the United States of America to help us and relieve
our suffering?
Sincerely yours,