Apr 12 2023 5 mins
Welcome Medz Mama Esgouhi Hajian!
In this episode, we hear about Medz Mama Esgouhi's life journey, through an interview between her granddaughter Anoush and great-grandson Sevan!
Meet my great-grandmother Anna (Khimatian) Mahdesian Derderian and my grandmother Esgouhi (Mahdesian) Hajian. Anna married Bedros Mahdesian, and they had four children, with Esgouhi as their second born. My medz mama Esgouhi was born in the village of Palou Baghin, Kharpet* Province, Turkey, in 1906. She was just sixteen years old when this picture was taken on Rue Cannebiere 18, Marseilles, France.
Together, Anna and Esgouhi survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, which was perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government. After fleeing to Marseilles, they lived there for seven months before finally making passage to the United States. They settled in Providence, Rhode Island, and began a new chapter of their lives.
Unfortunately, Turkey still denies the Armenian Genocide, which is a crime against humanity that must be acknowledged and remembered.
*Palou had been part of Dirarbekir/Dikranagerd (Tigran the Great). During the 19th century, boundaries were reorganized, and Palou joins Kharpet, current day Elizag, Turkey.
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