[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 22]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 30446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING GEVORK ARZOUMANIAN A SURVIVOR OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2007

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Gevork Arzoumanian, 
a resident of Glendale, California and a survivor of the Armenian 
Genocide. Mr. Arzoumanian was born in 1907 in the village of Sulduz, 
modern day Naghadeh, northwest Iran, bordering the Republic of Turkey.
  The children's cries and the groans of the elderly still haunt Gevork 
today, 92 years after the atrocities. His lips quiver and his hands 
shake when he retells those bitter memories to his grandchildren.
  Once the Ottoman forces had begun their massacres and deportation of 
the area's Christian Armenians and Assyrians, Gevork's family marched 
toward the village of Rezaiye (Orumieh province) leaving behind their 
home and cotton farm. Along the way, Gevork witnessed the murders of 
his father (Arzooman), mother (Arpik), sisters (Asdghik and Satenik) 
and brother (Ashod). As a young boy, Gevork also witnessed the pillage 
of people's houses, the stealing of young girls and the horrible game 
of Ottoman Turkish soldiers throwing infants in the air and catching 
them with their swords. Those who survived the brutality ended up in 
the city of Hamadan, Iran and were divided into two groups; one would 
be headed to Beirut and the other to Tehran. Gevork was in the latter. 
He was taken to the St. George Church, temporarily cared for by an 
Armenian couple, who later sent him to the city of Babol by the Caspian 
Sea, where he was cared for by Mr. Garegin and Verjin Harotoonian. He 
later became a truck driver.
  Mr. Arzoumanian has lived through an incredibly difficult period in 
history. Nevertheless, he worked hard and persevered. In 1940, Gevork 
married Laura and had two children, a daughter, Marda and a son, Norik. 
Gevork is thankful that after all that happened to the Armenians at the 
turn of the 20th century, Armenia is now an independent country.
  I am proud to honor Gevork Arzoumanian of California's 29th 
Congressional District and I ask all Members of Congress to join me in 
paying tribute to this inspiring individual and honor all victims of 
the Armenian Genocide.

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