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The Independent
February 28, 1920
If they were good enough to fight and die for us when we needed their
help so sorely, are they not good enough to be given some crumbs from
our plenty?
Since the beginning of the war, the Turkish Armenians have been largely
refugees. A simple, agricultural people, they have been exiled from their
farms and deprived of all opportunity to support themselves. Now, more
than a year after the armistice, they are still living the life of nomads,
able to continue alive only by virtue of American philanthropy. If ever
unmerited suffering called for succor the plight of the Armenians should
be heeded now. A few months more and it may be relief will come too
late for those myriads whom only we can save.
Let the American slogan now become-Serve Armenians for a little while
longer with life's necessities that they may be preserved for the day of
national freedom and rebirth, which no people more truly and greatly
deserves.
More than 2,000,000 persons were deported. The system was about the
same everywhere. The Armenians, men, women and children, would be
assembled in the marketplace. Then the able-bodied men would be
marched off and killed by being shot or clubbed in cold blood at some
spot which did not necessitate the trouble of burial.
Next the women would be sorted out. Agents of the Turk officers picked
the youngest and fairest for their masters' harems. Next the civil officials
had their pick, and then the remainder either were sold for one medjidi-a
silver coin valued at about 80 cents-or were driven forth to be seized by
the lower class Turks and Kurds.
HAREMS??
"I have really found it impossible to sit down and dictate a letter
quietly. So I have instructed Andonian to take my diary and
copy it with some elaborations of his own. Of course this
relieves me of all responsibility for any error."
1915)
Comments
Interesting. But you don't think that somewhere in these
reports was the element of war time propaganda? Morgenthau
The fact remains that there is not a single Ottoman government document in
existence that discusses, plans or commands the execution of these "orders".
The definition of genocide has to be made very elastic to make the
accusation credible in this case and there is reliance on propaganda of
dubious provenance and eighty years old and liberal use of repugnant racial
stereotypes in lieu of facts. The only fact that is certain is that this war was
genocidal in its impact for all the people of Anatolia. No other theatre of war
experience casualties of this magnitude not just amongst soldiers but civilians
as well. It is complicated by the fact that the distinction between regular and
irregular troops and civilians did not exist.
'I wish,' Talaat now said, 'That you would get the American
Life Insurance Companies to send us a complete list of
Armenian policy holders. They are practically all dead now
and have left no heirs to collect the money. It of course all
escheats to the state. The Government is beneficiary now.
Will you do so?
This was almost too much, and I lost my temper. 'You will
get no such list from me,' I said, and I got up and left him.
(By the way, it also didn't hurt for the unethical Mr.
Morgenthau to drop the name of an insurance firm [Equitable]
he happened to be on the Board of Directors of... a free plug
never hurts, especially in what was sure to be a sensationally
popular book.)
Oh, Henry!
It's one thing when a racist makes offensive statements... not that
it wouldn't be terrible, but while one's lip curls in disgust
somehow one could understand such people; they can't help
themselves, having been mentally deranged. This is why it's hard
to hate Armenians in their web sites.
One can not help but wonder how many of the young Armenians
who turned to the terrorist assassinations of Turkish officials (and
bystanders) in tl1e 1970's and early 1980's, were influenced by
reading Ambassador Morgenthau's Story?
"You are very foolish to try to play such tricks on us," I said. "Don't
you know that I am going to write a book? If you go on behaving
this way, I shall put you in as the villain."
Now here is the great irony. It hasn't come true yet, but one day,
it inevitably will. It inevitably will, because as George Schreiner
said, "Ultimately truth will prevail."
Far from Bedri Bey's being the villain of his book, Ambassador
Morgenthau will one day emerge as the villain of his book.
ADDITIONAL READING
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