Hovhannes Kouyoumdjian, The History of 79 N.E.R. Orphans —
View Full Document

Location

Beirut, Lebanon

Year

1921

Item Detail

Mersine (Mersin), December 1921: Hovhannes Kouyoumdjian shepherded 79 orphaned Armenian boys onto the last free steamer to Syria, past French sentries and on to a new Near East Relief orphanage at Antilyas (Antelias).

Context

Hovhannes Kouyoumdjian, an Armenian relief worker with Near East Relief, wrote this two-page account at Antilyas (Antelias, Lebanon) in 1922. He had accompanied 79 orphaned boys evacuated from Tarsus through the port of Mersine (Mersin) in late December 1921, when the French withdrawal from Cilicia drove the region's Armenian survivors of the Armenian Genocide onto the last free steamers to Syria.

Kouyoumdjian recounts mixing the boys in with another group of orphans to pass the French military guards, the overcrowded voyage shared with 1,600 other refugees, and the children's prayer in Beirut harbor on the night of December 29. He set down their own words about facing a future without parents and a home. Typed in his own English, the document preserves an Armenian voice from inside the relief effort and the boys' account of their own evacuation.

View in the Digital Archive

  • Holding Institution

    Rockefeller Archive Center

  • External Link
    https://dimes.rockarch.org/collections/Ahi2i3M7wcFTbQuXZgxDib

  • Attribution

    Nellie Miller Mann Series (Series 14), Near East Foundation Records (FA406), Rockefeller Archive Center. Courtesy of David Mann.

  • Rights

    Some materials may be protected by U.S. copyright law. Materials are presented for non-commercial research and educational use under fair use. Uses beyond fair use may require permission from the copyright owner. Responsibility for rights determination and compliance rests with the user.

  • Notes

    Signed "Hovhannes Kouyoumdjian," dated "Antilyas, 7-3-22" (ambiguous — March 7 or July 3, 1922). Opens by referencing an earlier account of the same 79 orphans written by NER worker Byron Noone. Names the NER staff who arranged the boarding at Mersine: Byron Noone, Miss Webb, and Mr. Khamkian. On arrival, Mr. McAfee, Managing Director of the NER Committee for the Syria and Aleppo District, placed the boys in a new orphanage.

  • Document Contents

    Kouyoumdjian recounts the despair of orphans separated from foster families, his negotiation with the captain to feed an additional 1,600 refugees crowded onto the steamer, and the orphans’ nighttime conversation in Beirut harbor on December 29 about whether NER would still care for them after they landed.

Hovhannes Kouyoumdjian, The History of 79 N.E.R. Orphans —