“RESCUED OR GENOCIDED?” – THE TRANSFER AND ASSIMILATION OF CHILDREN DURING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

What is it about?

When appreciating the study of the theme of rescued Armenians during the Arme-nian Genocide according to international standards (“The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” the Yad Vashem approach of defining “Righteous among the Nations”), the conviction is that, as a rule, those “rescues” were a demonstration of genocidal actions. As was shown by examining the “rescue” stories related by both older people and children, promises of rescue frequently had no connection with the idea of humanitarianism in actuality. They were directly associated solely with profit or exploitation. In other words, the goal of the “rescuer” was making a profit from the “rescued person,” be it through a bribe, work without pay (as a maid, housekeeper, shepherd, etc.), robbery (after all, those being exiled took valuable with them such as sums of money, goods, clothing, etc.), sexual exploitation (rape), and in other ways. While the “rescuers” sometimes adopted children, it was a practice that, as a rule, resulted in them becoming Muslims, changing their names, and, either indirectly or by extension, being forcibly married to a Muslim.

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Why is it important?

The examples of “rescues” are testimonies to the truth that, in the processes of “rescuing” Armenians during the massacres and deportations of the Armenian Genocide, there were no qualitative differences in terms of the experiences incurred by the masses.

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