The Immigration Agents Changed My Family Name – Not!

Mark Arslan

How many times have your heard that immigration agents at Ellis Island (New York) changed your Armenian family’s name when they arrived in this country? This is a prevailing narrative in popular culture, especially in movies and literature, not just for Diaspora Armenians in the United States and Canada, but for other ethnic groups, as well.

However, it is a myth. Armenian names often changed when they settled in America, but for different reasons altogether. Ellis Island, which opened in 1892, was one of many seaports for processing immigrants coming to the U.S. and Canada on passenger steamships in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They also arrived at ports like Halifax (Nova Scotia), St. John (New Brunswick), and Quebec City (Quebec) in Canada; in America, they docked in Providence (Rhode Island), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Boston (Massachusetts), and San Francisco (California) as well as many others. The majority of passengers did arrive at Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, One-Step Web Pages by Stephen P. Morse, FamilySearch, Ancestry and other organizations provide tools for searching passenger arrivals at various ports of arrival. The key resource for documenting passengers arriving at American ports is called a “ship manifest,” which is a form (designed according to the incoming country’s current immigration laws) that lists everyone being “delivered” to that port (more on this later).

The Politics of Genocide

Jonathan Kay

Spring is a season for black memories. April 24 marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide in 1915. April 27 was Yom HaShoah, a day for Holocaust remembrance. The Rwandan Genocide, in which Hutu extremists slaughtered 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, took place from April 7 to July 1994, a 100-day spasm of extermination that generated an average of 8,000 victims, or one whole Srebrenica massacre, every single day.

Christmas in Armenia: A Culinary Perspective

Lena Tachdjian

 

Christmas time for an Armenian family tends to be one of the biggest events of the year, with non-stop cooking and eating, your 100-plus “family” members visiting and pinching your cheeks endlessly, and of course the countless “genats” [կենաց] (toasts). Being one of the few kids who didn’t have to go to school on January 6 was also an added perk!

When I decided to extend my initial three-month stay in Armenia, my host-family told me it was great timing since I would, in a month, experience the local Armenian celebrations of both New Year’s and Christmas. They explained to me how it usually lasted from Dec. 31 to Jan. 11 or so, until the “Old New Year.” After hearing their descriptions of what usually happens on each day, I realized local Armenian traditions were similar to the ones back home—but on steroids. Some families would even go into debt as a result of the cost of celebrations. I told them that during this time, more than ever, not to treat me like a guest, but as a participant who would try to blend in and be an active member as much as possible. My host-sister agreed with a smile that made me a little nervous.

Leave Our Dead Alone!

Suleyman Guven

Who would have thought that one day the unclaimed dead buried for a century in Mount Hope Cemetery in Brantford, Ontario would capture Turkey’s attention. Everything started with the research of Bill Darfler.

Plans for "Turkish Plot" Put on Hold

Heather Ibbotson

A proposal to erect a plaque at Mount Hope cemetery is in limbo after it unleashed a storm of unexpected international controversy, says Mayor Chris Friel.

"There are so many aggressive and very angry groups, and accusations and absolute misunderstandings of the situation," that the plan is now "officially on hold," Friel said Thursday.

"We're backing away" until a response is received from the federal government and city council has an opportunity to review and discuss it, he said.

Friel said the plan had stirred up negative commentary "on an international level, far beyond what a municipality can handle."

Setting the Record Straight: An Exchange

Martha Skrypuch (July 2, 2013)

Dear Mr. Antourian,

I read with interest your article about the Ottoman WWI Internees from Brantford and would like to clarify some of the points you've made. I am indeed a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association. In addition to the five novels I have written about the Armenian Genocide and the Georgetown Boys, I have written books about the internment of Ukrainians in WWI (my grandfather was an internee and my book Silver Threads was the first commercial book to ever be written on this topic). I also have written about the Holodomor, and have received hate mail and death threats for doing so.
I do not shy away from difficult historical topics.

For the Benefit of the Turkish Ambassador: An Exchange

Marsha Skrypuch's Interest in the Topic
 

(June 16, 2013)

Marsha Skrypuch here, author of three novels set during the Armenian Genocide (The Hunger, Nobody's Child, Daughter of War), two chapter books about the Georgetown Boys (Aram's Choice and Call Me Aram) as well as author of two books set during the internment of Ukrainians in WWI (Silver Threads, Prisoners in the Promised Land).

My own Ukrainian grandfather was interned as an enemy alien in WWI and this topic is of deep interest to me.

For the Benefit of the Turkish Ambassador (Public Service Announcement)

"Keghart" (editorial)

 

On a cold night in late November 1914 police rounded up 100 Turkish immigrants living in Brantford, Ontario (56 miles west of Toronto). Most of the arrested were laborers in a local foundry. A few days later the 100 men were shipped off to a concentration camp in Kapuskasing (then called MacPherson), 520 miles north of Toronto. The Turkish immigrants spent most of the First World War in the Canadian gulag (average winter temperature -25C).

What was their crime?

Who's Winning the Lobby Wars?

Jirair Tutunjian

"BAKU, April 3—Deputy Chairman of the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament and chairman of the Canadian-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Friendship Group Barry Devolin will discuss the issue of adopting a resolution by the Canadian Parliament in connection with the Khojaly genocide in Baku. Devolin made his statement for [sic] journalists in Baku. A Canadian delegation began its visit to Azerbaijan today.

E. Mehdiyev, Trend."

From Parliament Hill in Ottawa to the University of Utah, to Texas, Iowa, and the Carolinas, the descendants of the Seljuks and the Ottomans are on the move. But unlike their yataghan-wielding ancestors, contemporary Seljuks and Ottomans (aka Turks and Azeris) are engaged in a PR war fueled by Ankara’s economic upsurge and Baku’s petrodollars.

Bumping up Against History

Maria Titizian

 

Autumn in Yerevan this year has been gloriously warm and sunny. Just a few days ago we were sitting at an outdoor café enjoying a hot cup of coffee by Republic Square. I was trying to vacate my mind of everything going on in my life when I happened to glance over and see a big beautiful old tree a few meters away. I had probably walked passed this tree a hundred times but had never taken the time to notice it. I have a weakness for trees without getting too political about them. Many years ago when we were living in Canada there was this magnificent old tree in a vacant lot behind our house. My Italian neighbor and I had promised ourselves that if ever this tree was in danger of being cut down we would go and chain ourselves to it to prevent its destruction. We came home from work one day to see that it was gone and in its place was a large hole and a sign from the city informing us that a church was to be built there. We were naturally upset about it but there wasn’t much we could do, it was gone. In retrospect I now realize that back then I gave up too easily on those issues that meant something to me. Living in Armenia has changed me and I believe or rather hope that I would have, at the very least, sent a letter of protest, albeit late, to city officials if I knew then what I know now…never give up on something of value.