The Georgetown Boys

georgetown

A moving experience in Georgetown Ontario with Armenian students bussed in from all over. As I sat on a picnic table and watched these very young children playing in the trees and chasing after each other with shouts of joy I couldn’t help but think of those first orphaned little boys who came in 1923, in what became known as Canada’s Noble Experiment — ie — Canada’s first international relief effort.

 

Georgetown 25 April 2015-page-001

 

Thousands of children had been orphaned during the Armenian Genocide. By 1923, many had taken refuge in Corfu, in caves, on beaches, in old abandoned barracks.

Armenian orphans Feb.23

109 boys got a chance to start a new life in Canada. They left behind grandmothers and sisters and younger brothers, but they never forgot who they were.

Aram's Choice
Cover image by Muriel Wood for Aram’s Choice by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

It was heartening to see hundreds of Armenian Canadian children and their families coming together in Georgetown today, to remember those first little boys, and more importantly, to remember those who didn’t survive. One hundred years ago the Turkish government tried to obliterate Armenians, their culture, their blood. They killed 1.5 million Armenians, but the nation and memory lives and thrives worldwide.

It was an honour to be one of the speakers at this commemorative event. I will never forget.

april25

 

 

Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.