When Armenian Genocide took place I was probably seventeen or eighteen. At that times, as there weren’t communication items like tv, radio we used to learn everything from our elders orally. But I witnessed two of events myself.
Event One
At that times there were nearly no police forces.at least in the East Anatolian region. Jandarma was responsible for security(if it can be said security).but when Armenian Genocide took place, a system like the one set up at recent times of Turgut zal Country Guardions (ky korucuları) was set. They were usually best for assassinations and secret agent. Now I’ll talk about the first event I witnessed:
There was a man called Zekar in our village Karaveliyan. Whose origin was Armenian. He had nobody without his wife X and his daughter Y. He was a reliable man and everybody used to like him. Villagers never minded his nationality and they saw him like themselves. He was ill for one year at that times. He was trying to deal with cancer, but nobody knew the illness, because we didn’t know even the name of that illness, neither did he. So there was no cure as it was forbidden for Armenians to go to city-center even living was forbidden for them. Especially at that times Armenian Genocide started actively and everywhere was full of Militia, I think it was June and all villagers were at high plateau. We were at the Sadun yaylası ( plateau ) on the way to Mano and Zekar was ill. For the fear of Militia Zekar’s wife made her husband’s bed under a rock which was nearly 200 metres far from plateau. Zekar was lying there so, and his wife used to change his bed according to the position of rock’s shadow, she could save him against burning sun-rays
It was about the end of Armenian Genocide most Armenian people were murdered in an extremely terrible way and some of them escaped even without knowing where to go. But nobody knew anything about Zekar because villagers didn’t say anything about him and they hid him and his family so they didn’t go anywhere. As he was ill he wouldnt’t go even ıf he wanted.
There was a spy whose name was Ali Seyfi in one of the central village of ewlik. He was also commander at Militia, one day however he had learnt Zekar was in village Karaveliyan. Then he soon gave the news to the jandarma. One day when the sun was about to set jandarma and Militia surrounded our high plateau which we used to go in summers, they gathered us at the middle of our plateau without discriminating men or women. There was a man about 45-50 at their head. With his direction we gathered and only children were in our small wood maden huts (km) we say in our language. Their chief talked to the children but as he didn’t know Kurdish language and children didn’t know Turkish, Ali Seyfi helped him and talked to children. After a short while they began to walk to Zekar’s place. But before that they had asked and we said they migrated. It’s called that ‘‘if you want to learn truth either ask a crazy or to a child.” They had already learned his place from children. Children in the front and Ali Seyfi following them they went through Zekar’s place we also walked, when they arrived the rock we were 20 metres far from them. We were surrounded by soldiers and if we had moved even a while they would have killed us. The chief went through Zekar, he said sth to Zekar and he despised him with his unbearable words for 20 minutes. Zekar was looking to the chief in silence with a fearful and innocent glance. Then he turned his gun to Zekar and placed it into Zekar’s mouth. We were shaken by the gunfire and Zekar’s brain was scattered to everywhere.then the chief took Zekar’s daughter (14) to a hut and he seducted her continually all night. That night nobody slept, we all were sitting at the square of our plateau, we all wished to be dead instead of listening this death silence. Now I’am 78 and I wish we all had interfered to the situation at that night, even it would have costed our lives. The other morning soldiers and Militia took Zekar’s wife and daughter with themselves, they left plateau, we wondered where would they go and we followed them. They went to Kadran Bridge which was 5 km far and and they met with another group of Armenian women and children taken by soldiers to there. They inserted those people on the bridge, all on the same line, they were trying to test with a single lead (bullet) how many people would die. There were nearly 40 or 50 women and children, three commanders, soldiers and Militia. It was a tremendous view, they tried again and again. A single bullet and a lot of dead people, especially women and children. After that terrible murder they left the corpses (dead bodies) there. If you wonder about Zekar we buried him under the rock he was killed. He is stil lying there but we didn’t shape it like a grave for the fear of to be tortured. Later we heard the women and children murdered on Kadran Bridge were buried but we don’t know to where. Let me talk about the second event:
Event Two
Again in our village, there was a young man called Seyfi. He was a very handsome and brave man. All the girls were trying to charm his attention but he fell in love with beautiful X who was Armenian origin. He married to her and their wedding ceremony was fascinating. After one year their son was born. They were so happy. Theirs was a legendary love. Their son was blonde and had blue eyes like his mother. Seyfi was unemployed and he has to earn their livelihood so he went to Erzurum as every year he did to keep herds. So he was a herdsman( sepherd) when he went his wife X and his son Yakup were living with his brother Kadir. Kadir was married and had three children. At that times Militia were wandering all villages and they were searching for Armenians. They were also warning villagers about to give them information if there was any Armenian. If they caught an Armenian they used to kill them after various torments and seductions.
At that times, one evening about sunset, Kadir says to X ‘‘nowadays everywhere is full of danger, especially for you, I want to take you somewhere secure for a few months, until the anger would diminish. I will do a hut for you at Gavun region and so nobody would find you.” X accepted. Kadir took X and Yakup her son. Kadir took an axe with him. X asked why did he took and he said he would do hut with that axe, in a very innocent way. Kadir, X and Yakup left village and went to Gavun region. It was a very high and rocky land. Kadir said X to sit on a stone and wait there, so he would do the hut from woods. She sat and took Yakup between her arms. After a while, it was night and there was only moonlight, Kadir raised the axe and got it down to beatiful X’s head. Her head was divided into two. Then he took Yakup (his nephew) and threw him away from a cliff. Then he came to home and he said he killed two Armenians. He thought he did well because they were non-muslim. At that times government was warning villagers especially by using their religious emotions. “you are muslims, Armenians are non-muslims, they don’t believe, you should kill them for God’s sake.” They persuaded a lot of people in that way. “God will take you to heaven if you do so.” And a lot of lies like that unrelated to Islam. Anyway, the other day we went to Gavun region, beautiful X was dead and we took Yakup he was on a tree, a branch sunk into his stomach. He was alive and in deep pains he died. It’s years since that event but I can’t forget woman’s scattered brain, head and child’s painful moments.
Another interesting and painful event, a man from our village comes from another village, on the way he meets some Armneian people escaping from Militia and soldiers. His name was Hasan who was a stupid. It’ s a shame for me to say my villager. He comes to village and says he killed Armenians in war. He says” I’ll go to heaven, God will forgive my sins because I killed them.” Later we learned they were families with children about 4-7, they were going through El-aziz( now Elazığ city) escaping from Militia. He should have been under the influence of government –policy. Later we learned nobody couraged to go to see those people’s dead bodies, so nobody buried them and they were eaten by eagles. |
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