Speaking to One Another - The International Raoul Wallenberg ...

thing, but don’t tell this to anyone, it’s a secret»; it was only then my father found out that we had [picturesof] Andranik... she said, we had [pictures of] saints, and had shown him the pictures; these werevery pale, dim photographs of Andranik, I don’t know where she managed to get them... well, it is clearthat it was a great risk to mention Andranik’s name at that time, she told me how she had shown [thesephotos to my father], telling that this is our saint, Andranik...” (from the story of Hovhannes Mkrtchyan).After the monument to Andranik was built, the grandsons of the brother of Gevork Chaush, one of theleaders of Armenian resistance detachments, initiated the construction of home-museum of GevorkChaush in Ashnak village. 1 This story in many respects resembles the building and installment of monumentfor Andranik. The current museum was built in the place of one of the brother’s former cowsheds.From the story of the daughter-in-law of the family that built the museum, Tsovinar “my father-in-law’scowshed, we slaughtered the animals, demolished the building, then the brothers decided to built it togetherwith the help of some of our villagers. Some would bring cement, others worked as laborers orwould bring food for the workers. But mostly we built the house ourselves and currently maintain it. Although,there are many visitors to the museum we never received any assistance from the state. Theopposite was very often the case, they hindered it, prevented it: Construction of this building started in1960, and for fifteen years continually they had to struggle, without interruption, they were in constantturmoil, in constant struggle... Four brothers, with the help of the whole village... The person who builtthis building is buried inside of it, he was the Dean of the Mathematics [or] Physics Department of theUniversity, professor – Melkonyan Gevorg... At that time, who would risk it to mention the names of fidayees2 But this person was struggling with everyone; he completed this building, and died... on his funeralday the whole village came along with shovels and pickaxes to stop the police, because they werenot allowing them to bury him here (i.e. inside the museum- H. Kh.)... Up to this day I am not able to understand,why they (that is, the authorities - H.Kh.) had to interfere with this”.There were more local initiatives after the recognition of April 24 as the day of mourning for the genocidevictims and the building of the memorial in Yerevan. There were different approaches to this issue.On April 24, thousands of people accompanied by mourning music silently march through the alley ofvictims, reach eternal flame, lay flowers around the flame, take a moment of silence with their headsbowed down and leave through the exit in front giving place to others. Procession continues until midnightand whole next day. This is how this day is remembered in Yerevan City.The same types of processions are also taking place in different towns of the Republic which do not havespecial monuments for the victims of genocide. Villages populated by genocide survivors, where in fact1 Gevorg Chavush – Gevorg Aroyi Ghazaryan, born in 1870 in the Mktenk village of Sasoun. Armenian freedom fighter. MoushHe first fought in Arabo’s group. Participated in the battles for the defense of Sasoun in 1891-1894. Has been arrested manytimes (was kept in prisons of Bitlis, then Moush). Escaped from the prison and settled in Sasoun, participated in Sasoun’s defensein 1904. The battles organized by Chavush almost always were successful for the Armenian side. Died during Solukhbattle in 1907.2 Fidayee (haydook) is a volunteer freedom fighter.87