I was twelve years old when the 1958 fratricide took place in the Armenian community of Lebanon. I particularly remember hearing the gruesome killing of a young theology student, whose name, I found out the other day, was Vartan Saghdejian (1936-1958), a Kessabtsi. His body was not recovered. Thus far, no one and no organization have offered an apology to the family members of those who were gunned down. The church has not offered a memorial service in their memory.
A few years ago, I came across a posting in the Facebook by Papken Boyadjian about this sad episode. It turned out that his father was killed when his mother was pregnant bearing him. Every August he posts about this sad event. I attached his brief biography he graciously sent me upon my asking to accompany my translation of his posting this year as well about 1958 fratricide, remembering the 67th anniversary of this sad episode. Vahe H Apelian.
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| the poster accompanying Papken Boyadjian's posting this year |
Papken Boyadjian’s brief bio
I was born on September 23, 1958 in Beirut, a month after my father's assassination. I received my primary education at the A.G.B.U. affiliated Yervant Demirjan and Hovakimian Manougian Educational Institution, specialized as an architect from the Yerevan Institute of Architecture and Design, worked in Lebanon and the Gulf countries, am married with two children, and currently live in Toronto, Canada.
Papken Boyadjian Facebook posting this year
It is August 26 again, the 67th anniversary of the fratricidal crimes of 1958, and again indifference. There still is no willingness by the perpetrators to apologize to the victims' parents, brothers and sisters, widows and orphans through the Church and political parties.
We, Armenians, have turned into a DEFEATED crowd. Indifferent to all the insults of foreigners towards us. We are convinced that we are a weak, unaccountable crowd, that we cannot be demanding, that we must remain slaves to foreigners. But… we are cruel to each other. What legacy will we leave to our descendants except the psychology of the defeated? How, with what face will we explain to them why your hands are soaked in blood with the Armenian blood shed in the fratricidal crimes? How can we explain that you prefer to bear the stigma of shame on your forehead than to realize the horror of what has happened, to regret, confess and repent? After all, in addition to the earthly, there is also a heavenly reckoning from which no one can escape.
Four of the five criminals of my father, who was a victim of the 1958 fratricide, served their sentence under different circumstances, one might say, in the most cruel way. I witnessed the struggle for life of the last of them on Bourj Hammoud Square. That criminal of my father, who had killed many other Armenians in 1958, had a very pitiful appearance. He was urinating under his pants. P art of his legs and arms were paralyzed, and he was trying to drag his stinking body.
Another of the criminals, who was also our neighbor's son, remained bedridden for months, suffering from cancer. Unable to bear his suffering, he begged to die a moment ago.
Such people should not die immediately, but rather pay a very heavy price for their crimes.
I am convinced that no one should go unpunished for the crimes they have committed. There is a heavenly justice that has avenged and will avenge all the innocent victims in a very cruel way. Let no one think that by burying their heads in the sand they will be free from giving an account, if not to the families of the martyrs, then certainly to their own conscience. Neither you, nor your descendants will have peace until they repent, are ashamed of being fratricides, confess their sins and ask for forgiveness.
The region will undergo fundamental changes, many countries will probably disappear or be divided. We Armenians are also being sold in this market. However, unfortunately, we are not ready to thwart the Armenicidal plans, since we are busy reminding each other.
Remember, ladies and gentlemen, you who are called to beleaders, ecclesiastical or secular. Put an end to the division of the nation, to the hatred that has reached enmity, unite and strengthen, so that we do not become a toy in the hands of our enemies and even friends.
67 years after the fratricidal plots of 1958 in Lebanon, nothing and no one has been forgotten. The parents and widows of the young martyrs may no longer be in this world, but their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends are still there. They will always wait and demand JUSTICE.
Yes, I remember and I will always remember and I will always demand it. THAT IS MY INALIENABLE RIGHT and that of orphans like me.
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