ISSN 1829-4618

THE CILICIAN ARMENIANS IN THE USA AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIVE ARMENIAN CRADLE

By: Knarik Avakian, Institute of History of NAS RA

The Cilician Armenians have emigrated to the USA for individual, educational, economic, political, cultural, religious and other reasons. The emigration (mainly of bachelors: students, tradesmen, artisans, farmers and workers), which, at the beginning bore a temporary character and was prompted by educational and economic reasons, was subsequently transformed into a mass deportation following the periodic massacres (1894-1896, 1909) and the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire. It involved Armenians from their Homeland, including Cilicia, deprived of the prospects of a safe economic, political, cultural and religious life.
During the First World War and the following years, which were disastrous for the Armenian people, the Cilician Armenians, together with the rest of the Armenian community of the US uniting all their intra-communal (intellectual, financial, public and party) resources, supported the cherished enterprises aiming at the defense, liberation and rehabilitation of the native cradle and its people by diplomatic, political, military and human means.

Download
pdf (8.08 MB)