[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 STORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR: HAGOP BOGHOSSIAN (BORN ASHARJIAN)

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 15, 2010

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to memorialize and record a 
courageous story of survival of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian 
Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulted 
in the death of 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children. As the 
U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthau documented at 
the time, it was a campaign of ``race extermination.''
  The campaign to annihilate the Armenian people failed, as illustrated 
by the proud Armenian nation and prosperous diaspora. It is difficult 
if not impossible to find an Armenian family not touched by the 
genocide, and while there are some survivors still with us, it is 
imperative that we record their stories. Through the Armenian Genocide 
Congressional Record Project, I hope to document the harrowing stories 
of the survivors in an effort to preserve their accounts and to help 
educate the Members of Congress now and in the future of the necessity 
of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
  Below is one of those stories:

Submitted by Harry Boghossian, an Armenian Genocide Survivor Descendant 
                  Who Resides in San Diego, California

       ``It is an honor to have this opportunity to express my 
     deepest appreciation to you for documenting my families' 
     genocide story.
       ``My father, Hagop Boghossian (born Hagop Asharjian), was a 
     remarkable man. He was born on May 20, 1910, in the city of 
     Dikranagerd, present day Diyarbakir, Turkey. His parents, 
     Boghos, and Ani, had three sons and three daughters: Yeznig, 
     Hagop, Antranig, Dickranouhi, Mena, and Vartouhi.
       ``My father always reminded me what happened to his family 
     in the days following April 24, 1915. He said to me: 'During 
     the massacre, the Turkish government took away my innocent, 
     beloved father and my older brother, and they never returned 
     home. They were murdered by the Turkish government. My 
     younger brother, Antranig, died of cold and hunger, and there 
     was no one around to bury him. My second oldest sister, Mena, 
     was married to a Turkish man by force, and she died of hunger 
     and cold, as well. All our luxury belongings: home, money, 
     jewelry, clothing and our historic homeland were taken away 
     by the Turks.'
       ``The surviving members of his family ended up in a refugee 
     camp and his mother worked hard for several years just so 
     they could stay alive. My father's mother was a beautiful 
     woman, and had offers to marry several Turkish and Armenian 
     men, but she refused to remarry.
       ``In 1922, my father's uncle, Anto, on his mother's side, 
     fortunately came from Israel, managed to find them, and 
     helped them to obtain their passports to immigrate to Israel. 
     On May 7, 1945, my parents, Hagop and Mary, got married. They 
     had three sons and one daughter: Paul, Peter, Harry and Ani. 
     In 1949 my father's mother Ani, passed away.
       ``In May 1966, my family moved to Los Angeles, California.
       ``My father's two older sisters passed away. Dikranouhi, in 
     1968 and Vartouhi, in 1985. He sometimes cries when he 
     remembers his lost family. I watched him cry and realized my 
     Dad's heart was hurting inside, and that he had experienced a 
     great deal of sadness, tragedy, depression, and loneliness.
       ``My father passed away on May 9, 1996. He always loved his 
     family and this country with all his heart. He was married 
     over 50 years and had six grandchildren.
       ``My maternal grandparents were also survivors of the 
     Armenian Genocide. During the massacre the Turks were going 
     to take away my grandfather, Toros Sivalzlian, to a death 
     march in the desert. Fortunately he was hidden behind the 
     door and the Turks did not see him, so they left. God saved 
     him and he escaped. He was 20 years old at that time and lost 
     his family. My grandmother Santoukht's brother was included 
     with all people that were marching, during the deportation by 
     the Turks. She started running after him while he was being 
     marched away. She didn't catch up to him. And never saw him 
     again. At the age of 10, she lost her parents/family and was 
     an orphan, and did not know or have any contact information 
     if her family were dead or alive. My grandparents met and 
     were married in Greece, had seven children, 24 grandchildren 
     and five great-grandchildren. They were marred over 63 years 
     and lived over 90 years.
       ``On April 29, 2009, I met with Senator Wyland and his 
     staff at the state capitol to testify in front of the chair 
     members in favor of the Genocide Awareness Act SB234. My 
     testimony was as follows:
       ```One of the greatest atrocities during the First World 
     War was the Armenian Genocide. The 1.5 million Armenians that 
     vanished from this planet that were annihilated by the 
     genocide deserve to be recognized throughout history along 
     with all Genocides. My father was an eyewitness to the 
     massacre. He was exposed to a terrible tragedy. It changed 
     his entire life. He saw bodies buried below the ground except 
     their head exposed to the sun. He saw men, women, and 
     children lying on the ground dead. Our former U.S. 
     Ambassador, Henry Morgenthau, documented the Armenian 
     Genocide. He put into print the experience he witnessed of 
     the Turkish government's immoral tactics to wipe out the 
     Armenian people, and rob the people of their land and 
     dignity. Mr. Ambassador had the willingness to record the 
     atrocities as a credible, U.S. government document, readily 
     available in the U.S. archives. This document serves as a 
     legitimate itemization of the Genocide. In so doing, he kept 
     the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide alive in the face of 
     today's Turkish government plot to cover up the truth and 
     deny that the Genocide ever existed. We must never live in 
     the denial of the truth. I urge the Senate Education 
     Committee to support and vote for the Genocide Awareness Act 
     SB 234 so the genocide is never repeated.'''
       ``I would like to thank you Congressman Adam Schiff, for 
     your generous support for supporting the Armenian Genocide.''

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