08 December 2004

New book by Dr. Nora Arissian / Damascus

AZAD-HYE (8 December 2004): In November 2004 the latest book of Dr. Nora Arissian was published by "Al Zakira" Printing House in Lebanon under the title: "Echoes of the Armenian Genocide in the Syrian Press (1877-1930)".

The book, which is one of the first publications dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide (coincides next year 1915-2005), is the result of the young author's incessant research in the Syrian archives, including the press (specifically the period 1877-1930), an important and almost unexplored source for Genocide documentation.

The Syrians witnessed the Ottoman atrocities and the sufferings that befall on both the Armenian and the local Arab population. This fact had led the researcher to examine more than 30 Syrian political publications, collecting and analyzing relevant information.

Many Syrian writers, journalists and columnists have found it imperative to describe those atrocious events, the last episodes of which occurred on Syrian itself (Der Ez-zor, Margada, Maskana and other places evoke awful feelings among the Armenians).

This book is a logical continuation of another book by the same author published in the year 2002 and carried the title: "The atrocities of the Armenians in the Syrian mind. The position of the Syrian Intellectuals toward the Armenian genocide".

The official Syrian periodicals of the time, such as "Al Asima", "Alef Baa" and "Al Muktabas" (all issued in the capital Damascus) had hosted hundred of articles concerning the Armenians: details of the massacres, the deportations and the eventual settlement in the main cities of the country.

There are revealing articles describing how Armenians were tortured during their deportation trail to the Syrian wasteland. It is worth mentioning that the local Arab population protected the unlucky refugees and tried to save as many souls as they could, by offering shelter and means of survival.

Dr. Arissian notes that the Syrian periodicals did not hesitate to name what was happening as "Genocide" (as early as 1916), besides other expressions such as "extermination", "uprooting of the race", "annihilation", etc.

To purchase a copy of this valuable book you can contact the author directly at narissian@namag.com or our website (e-mail: hrach@emirates.net.ae).

Below are the main headings of the chapters:

Introduction
Part I
The massacres of the Armenians in the Syrian periodicals (1877-1915)
1- The Syrian periodicals and the Armenians
2- The condition of the Armenians, their deportation and statistics
3- The position of the Syrians toward the Armenians and the Turkism policy executed against them
4- The echoes of the deportation and the massacres of the Armenians in the Syrian Diaspora press (Brazil and France)

Part II
The explanation of Armenian genocide in the Syrian periodicals (1915-1930)
1- The ways of torture, the reasons and the results of the genocide
2- Description of the Armenians deportation, massacres and statistic
3- The massacres of the Armenians in the Syrian Diaspora press
4- The settlement of the deported Armenians in Syria and the position of the Syrians toward them

Conclusion

Bibliography of the articles

Texts of some articles

List of the studied Syrian periodicals

Dr. Nora Arissian has visited Abu Dhabi in April 2004, during which she lectured on the subject of the Armenian Genocide in front of the Armenian audience in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

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