Shelby Neighbors

November 16, 2016

UWRT 1103
Children in the Armenian genocide
In 1915, leaders of the Turkish government set in motion a plan to wipe out all of the
Armenians that lived in the Ottoman Empire. They thought the Armenians were traitors
during World War I, and this is what led to the removal of the race. Reports say that about
2 million Armenians were massacred, and this includes women and young children (Adalian,
Roubon Paul). These events led to what is now called the Armenian genocide.
During the Armenian genocide, the children went through some very horrible experiences
that scarred them for life if they survived. Children suffered in many ways including being
burned alive, drowned, died of lack of food or water, or died from diseases. If the children
were not killed, they were forced to change their religion to Islam. Just them witnessing their
family being murdered was enough trauma for them already, but they were put through
agonizing pain as well.
Before the genocide, there were around 700 children in one of the orphanages, and after
the genocide, only 13 of them were left (Dadrian, V.). All of the other children perished due
to the genocide. That is just a glimpse of how many children were killed. The children that
did survive were forced to convert to Islam. If they refused they would have to go through a
brutal whipping of the soles of their feet with a stiff rod. Over 300 children were brought to
an orphanage is Trebizong because their parents were being taken away from them ("Report
on the Treatment of Armenian Children in Trebizond). Some of these children were very
young babies, too. A lot of the parents would leave their kids on the side of the road because

there wasnt a way to take care of them anymore. They would give their kid money or
jewelry so they would at least have something other than the clothes on their backs, but when
they were transported, the authorities took all of their belongings from them so they were left
with nothing. Children, by far, were the most vulnerable of the deportees. A numerous
amount of them were killed, but the others, after watching their loved ones getting murdered,
were put into Turkish and Muslim homes where they couldnt grieve, went through harsh
labor, and were forced to change their religion. Many of the younger children who went
through this eventually forgot their identity as time went on.
The Armenians had to go through death marches to the Syrian desert, which lasted many
months. Around 75% of them perished during these marches, most of them were children and
elderly, and the others were raped and tortured ("Armenians in Turkey 1915-1918").
Frequently, the marchers were stripped naked and forced to walk in the scorching sun until
they dropped dead. People who stopped to rest were shot. Those who survived the march
would arrive at the desert only to be killed upon arrival or to somehow survive until a way to
escape the empire was found.
The most common ways children were tortured and killed was by mass burnings,
drownings, poisoning, and disease. The authorities favored mass burnings because it was the
easiest method of disposing the women and children. This happened mostly in Bitlis
province. Another place where they would burn children is Deir Zor. They would gather the
orphans into a large orphanage building, where they were doused with petrol and torched to
death. This method was also implemented in Kharpert and Diarbekir. Children would also be
drowned in the Euphrates River in the area of Deir Zor. It is said that over 2,000 orphans
were carried to the banks with their hands and feet bound and were thrown into the river

(Dadrian, V.). Some of the authorities took pleasure in the sight of the drama of drowning.
Another method they would use for drowning is putting the kids in boats and throwing them
overboard into the Dead Sea. Around 50,000 people were killed in this sea. Turkish
physicians would poison many of the kids. In Kharpert, about 500 children were poisoned
through the local doctors that the authorities hired (Dadrian, V.). Infants who were brought to
the citys Red Crescent Hospital were poisoned, and those who refused were taken to the
Dead Sea to be drowned. A man named Dr. Saib caused many childrens deaths by injected
them with morphine to make them overdose, and if this wasnt the case, they were taken to
school buildings to kill them with toxic gas. Others were injected with the blood of typhoid
fever patients.
There was a survivor named Sam Kadorian that was only 7 or 8 at the time of this
genocide. He remembers how the Turkish authorities went around grabbing boys from 5 to
10 years old, including himself, and taking them to the Euphrates River. They threw all of the
boys in a pile on the sand of the river and started stabbing all of them, but only one sword hit
grazed his cheek. The only reason he lived is because he didnt cry out or make a scene, and
the authorities thought all of the boys were dead. He was later reunited with his grandmother.
Another survivor who was only 8 years old at the time said that they would eat the grass and
pick grains out of animal waste so they could fry them to eat (Kinosian, Janet).
This is only some of the things that the children had to go through. Many, if not all, of the
survivors suffered from PTSD, which caused nightmares, constant fear and worry, hyperalertness to surroundings, and even flashbacks of this tragedy. If some of the survivors were
young enough, they also would suffer from not remembering who they used to be. No child
should ever have to go through this type of pain and suffering.

Works cited
Adalian, Roubon Paul. "Armenian Genocide." Armenian Genocide. Armenian National Institute,
n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.armenian-genocide.org/genocide.html>.
"Armenian Genocide." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide#Mass_burnings>.
"Armenians in Turkey 1915-1918." The History Place. The History Place, n.d. Web. 1 Nov.
2016. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/armenians.htm>.
Couretas, John. "The Orphans of Antoura - Remembering the Armenian Genocide | The Stream."
The Stream. Acton Institute, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <https://stream.org/orphans-ofantoura-remembering-armenian-genocide/>.
Dadrian, V. "Armenian Children Victims of Genocide." Genocide Museum | The Armenian
Genocide Museum-institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.genocidemuseum.am/eng/online_exhibition_3.php>.
Kinosian, Janet. "Witness to Fire: Survivors of the Armenian Genocide." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 May 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-kinosian/witness-to-fire-survivors_b_190882.html>.
Manuk-Khaloyan, Armen. "'Rescued and Safe'" Academia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
<http://www.academia.edu/2425274/_Rescued_and_Safe_Armenian_Orphans_and_the_Experie
nce_of_Genocide_Center_for_Armenian_Rememberance_Occasional_Paper>.
"Report on the Treatment of Armenian Children in Trebizond, July 20, 1915." Report on the
Treatment of Armenian Children in Trebizond, July 20, 1915. Armenian National Institute, n.d.
Web. 1 Nov. 2016. http://www.armenian-genocide.org/us-7-20-15-text.html.