SPECIAL EDITION POST: Today commemorates the anniversary of the Armenian genocides that took place under the Ottoman Turks at the turn of the last century. My father-in-law is Armenian, and my wife and children are of Armenian descent. In our home, today is a day we remember someone who deeply impacted all of our lives – a woman who was one of the last living survivors of this great tragedy, and a hero to us all.
My wife’s Grandmother, Siranouche Husnian, was one of the last living survivors of the Armenian Death Marches through the Syrian Desert. She died at the age of 95, and was a great friend and mentor to me. At her graveside funeral, I recounted her sitting with me and teaching me powerful lessons about family, life, and hope.
Once, when her eyes were failing, she held my face close in her hands, and nose-to-nose told me how much she loved me. Etched in my memory, like her tender voice and her soft accent, is what she taught me about forgiveness.
Here, in brief, is her story.
Sweet Flower: An Armenian Woman Who Understood Forgiveness
“Thank you Lord Jesus, that you will be our hiding place, whatever happens.”
Corrie ten Boom
“Sweet flower” is what she told us her name means. Grandma also told us it was the name of an ancient Armenian princess. Grandma’s was named Siranouche. My wife’s middle name is Siranouche. My oldest daughter’s middle name is Siranouche. “Sweet flower.” So appropriate in each life it adorns.
As my children encircled her feet, Grandma would tell the old stories. On one occasion, I taped an hour of those stories, and the harder questions were asked. “Grandma,” queried my daughter, “How did your mommy and daddy die?” I interrupted, telling Grandma she didn’t need to answer that question if she didn’t want to. Her response was matter-of-fact. “They must know, honey. They must know such things.”
Who Remembers The Armenians?
At 95 years old, Siranouche was one of the last living survivors of the Armenian death marches under the Ottoman Turks at the turn of the 20th century. A mass genocide that the world ignored, Adolph Hitler is infamous for a statement made to a German commander: “Who remembers the Armenians; who will remember the Jews?”
Siranouche and her family lived in a small Armenian village called Orphah. She recalls the beauty that was once her family’s estate. “I remember playing among the fruit trees in the orchard,” she says with a smile. At 10, young Siranouche and her family were awakened in the middle of the night by Turkish soldiers. She, her mother and siblings stood and watched as the fathers and husbands were huddled into their small Armenian churches – which were then burned to the ground.
The Death March Through The Syrian Desert
She remembers the death marches through the Syrian Desert. How her mother would spread her skirt over her five children in the desert’s cool, night air to keep them warm as they slept. She remembers the Syrian women lining the march, hoping to help save some of the children by taking them as their own. Though the youngest died along the march, Siranouche’s mother (my wife’s great grandmother) gave away the rest of her children in one day – such a horrible joy for her – to know they might live, but that she would die soon, far away from her precious jewels.
Her new Syrian family treated her well, though she was a servant. One night, she had a dream. In her dream, Jesus came to her with outstretched arms. Using no words, she could see in his eyes that everything would be alright. From that point on, she knew she worshipped a different God than those around her, and she knew that someone was taking care of her.
A Boy She Recognized
My children are squirming, as children do, but still listening intently. One blessed day, she saw a boy she thought she recognized from her Armenian village across the street in her Syrian village. Though men and women were not to cross the street to each other by custom, she took her chances and ran across the road.
Not only was the boy indeed who she thought he was, but he knew where two of her brothers were! A connection was made by this newfound messenger, and an escape plan devised. One brother would feign illness, and request that his sister come to take care of him for a time. When they left the home, they would run for freedom, elusive and ethereal as it was.
An Escape By Train
The boys made their way to Siranouche’s home via the train, trying to hide the fact that they were Armenian (though the war was over, Armenians were still quite fearful for their lives). The conductor’s wife, a fellow Armenian, evoked a confession from them with her kindness, and after exchanging a few words with her husband, informed them that the train would stop behind the village where their sister was, and would wait for them to return.
Siranouche remembers the gratefulness she felt toward her Syrian family, yet more vividly remembers the wild rush of freedom that flooded her soul as they raced down the hill behind the village to their waiting chariot of steel.
A Family Reunited
Years passed, and Siranouche and her brothers, now in their twenties, received a letter and photo. “I’m your brother” the note said, “and I’m coming to you tomorrow.” Raised as a soldier in the Turkish army, their youngest surviving brother fell into their waiting arms and told them his story.
In a strange twist of events, they realized that while Siranouche was staying at an orphanage in Istanbul, she had actually met her youngest brother from afar! A small, white dog would frequent the fence of the orphanage to play with the smiling young girl. The dog’s young, male owner would stand at a distance and watch. That boy, that “Turkish boy,” was her youngest brother.
Unforgiveness Doesn’t Hurt Them: It Only Hurts Us
The stories continued, and miracle after miracle marking her journey to our living room flowed seamlessly from her memory. My children grew sleepy, but struggled to drink in all the details of Grandma’s fascinating story.
Finally, my eldest daughter asked a question she had been holding for far too long. “Do you forgive the Turks?” she exclaimed. The room was silent.
“Oh, honey, of course I do,” came Grandma’s answer. “We must forgive. Unforgiveness does not hurt them; it only hurts us.”
The Fragrance Of A Sweet Flower
Siranouche. “Sweet flower.” The perfume that came from Grandma changes my prayers daily. No longer do I expect God to show His presence by rescuing me from all that comes my way. Rather, I expect His highest gift – to be with us in our struggles, to comfort us through them, and to give us a legacy of faith worth passing on for generations. My children are learning how to pray as well.
And for them, Grandma’s story will shape the way they talk to God, and talk to the broken world He loves.
“I’ll run the course you lay out for me, if you’ll just show me how.”
From Psalm 119:32 in The Message
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Here is the story as I told it on Keep The Faith Radio.
Here is the New York Times article on the 100th Anniversary, and the original 1915 article they ran.
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Question: Are there any people in your life who have had a similar impact on you? Tell us about them.