Genocide Survivor: The Life of Juan Kouyoundjian ~ Hardback ~ Juan Kouyoundjian

Juan Kouyoundjian traces his life from an idyllic early childhood in a rural Armenian village through a period of intense suffering and hardship as the Armenian Genocide unfolded. He saw his father taken away as a prisoner and shortly thereafter he, his step-mother, and his sister were deported along with the other Armenians in the village. At age 9, he became a slave to a Turkish family. When the War ended he became free and spent the next four years in present day Turkey striving to "become a man." He escaped Istanbul shortly before the Turkish nationalists took control of the country and went first to France and then to Argentina. There he made a successful life for himself, after first dealing with his exploitation as a poor immigrant. His last years were spent going back and forth between Argentina and the United States where two of his daughters lived. Juan Kouyoundjian was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey that took place during World War I. He lived a full life that began as the son of a prosperous Armenian family, descended into slavery to a Turkish family, progressed to freedom following the War, immigrated to Argentina where he struggled to create a fortune and establish a family, and then joined two of his children in the United States, where he died in 1976. Deprived of formal education, he spoke several languages and developed a love for literature and education. He was not a gifted writer but his intellectual capacity, exceptional common sense and dedication to hard work enabled him to become a successful businessman in Argentina. He used the fruits of his success to insure the education of his children. He believed education and knowledge were the source of strength and power.