(dramatic music) (flags whooshing) - [Narrator] Armenia, a land with a history spanning over 3,000 years, was historically nestled between mighty empires like the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Persians.

Armenia was once expansive, covering parts of present-day Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus.

Armenia thrived as a vital hub along the Silk Road, bridging east and west.

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, an event that shaped its identity and culture.

This deep-rooted faith is immortalized in the ancient monasteries and churches of Armenia.

- So when you go into these ancient Armenian monasteries and you pray in them, when you sing in them, when you're even lighting a candle or making the sign of the cross, I've seen people for the first times in their lives go to Armenia and actually make the sign of the cross for the first time, never been.

And it's a very moving experience for me.

- [Narrator] The Armenians, Indigenous to this land, including Artsakh, were the world's first known winemakers, a tradition stretching back millennia.

Discoveries like the oldest leather shoe over 5,000 years old found in an Armenian cave showcases their early craftsmanship.

Carpet making, another deeply embedded art form, highlights the nation's rich cultural tapestry.

The majestic Mount Ararat, believed to be the resting place of Noah's ark, looms large in the Armenian collective memory, symbolizing resilience and hope.

Mesrop Mashtots' creation of the Armenian alphabet in the fifth century was another pivotal moment, preserving the language and enabling a golden age of literature through centuries of upheaval.

Armenia's history is rich and multifaceted, marked by a geographical expanse, significant cultural achievements, and remarkable resilience from being contemporaries with mighty empires and serving as a key player on the Silk Road.

Also, adopting Christianity and creating a unique alphabet.

Armenia's story is one of innovation, endurance, cultural richness, and perseverance.

Caught between warring empires, the Armenians became subjects under Turkish rule, facing subjugation and institutional discrimination.

The 1453 Turkish conquering of Constantinople shifted the balance of power in the region, and also marked the start of a long period of foreign domination over Armenia.

Under Turkish rule, Armenians were heavily taxed, bearing burdens far more significant than those imposed on Turks and Kurds.

As the 19th century ended, the Armenians sought recognition and rights as citizens within the empire.

However, their aspirations were met with brutal repression.

The Hamidian massacres of the 1890s, orchestrated by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300,000 Armenians.

- [Granddaughter] In 1895, my grandfather was killed by the Turks, as was the custom of the Turkish government to find some fault with the Armenians, to kill and to plunder their homes in every 10 or 15 years.

(paper rasping) - [Narrator] The Armenians faced a severe challenge with the onset of the Armenian genocide in 1915, as the Ottoman Empire sought to systematically exterminate the Armenian population, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.

This genocide not only decimated the Armenian population, but also scattered survivors across the globe, forever altering the course of Armenian history and leaving an indelible mark on the collective memory of the Armenian people.

(melancholy music) (gentle brooding music) - My great-grandfather, Sarkis, ended up becoming a very prominent figure with the patriarchate in Constantinople and ended up becoming one of the first 200 who were killed on April 24th, 1915.

- My mother would never talk about it, never.

All we knew was that she didn't know her father until she came to this country and she never knew her mother.

- They tried not to talk about Bedelian.

They were trying to forget about her like, you know, she never said it would happen to her boys.

- It was an issue and a memory that I think was on purpose buried and kept from us.

- [Narrator] The Armenian population faced starvation as food supplies were intentionally cut off.

Women and children endured death marches, told they were being relocated only to be driven into the Syrian desert, where many succumbed to starvation, disease, and torture.

- "The soldiers came to each home and took out all the men and all boys of a certain age.

My grandmother, sensing something was terribly wrong, lied about her oldest son's age, and luckily they believed her.

Her husband was taken away and she watched helplessly with her oldest son, that was my father, about five or six years old, and her younger son and daughter.

She never saw her husband again, but learned from others that the soldiers took all the village men and boys up to the hills and shot and killed them.

The remaining women and children were then forced from their homes and marched out into the desert.

The soldiers were on horseback and very brutal.

This was truly a death march.

There was little food or water, and if you could not walk, you were shot immediately.

For the refugees, it became clear they were not being relocated.

They were in the midst of a genocide.

My grandmother described seeing hundreds of Armenian women and children bloodied and hacked to death, floating in the rivers they crossed."

- There were a count of 36 members of my father's family that were killed in some form or another and what have you.

And we ended up without grandmothers or grandfathers who have no knowledge of them.

- [Narrator] Homes and properties were seized and countless children found themselves in orphanages run by missionaries.

There were harrowing accounts of massacres and deportations.

The road to the Syrian desert became the corridor of death, where survivors recounted stories of rape, mutilation, and mass executions.

Babies were ripped from their mother's wombs, families torn apart, and entire communities eradicated.

(gentle brooding music) - The little kids, which my mother was one of them, was on a mule, and the older kids are walking.

They were ambushed by Kurds.

The mule that my mother was riding on was shot from under her, and she had the wherewithal at the age of five to grab onto a tree, the branch of a tree, and from there she was taken by one of the older girls to rejoin the group.

And I always think of that, that as a little girl, she had almost the foresight, the fortitude, really cling to life versus falling off the mule and crying and giving up.

- When you ended up in an orphanage, they trained you for three trades, shoemaker, tailor, and barber.

For barbers, they have a scissor and they have 1,000 orphans or whatever there were, they only have one pair of scissors.

- In Aleppo, of course, there was no food, very little food, so my grandmother put the two of them in an orphanage because she knew they would be fed.

- They crossed the Euphrates River to get to the orphanage.

This is what I hear from my mother.

She said there were so many bodies in the Euphrates you could almost walk across without getting wet.

- [Narrator] In response to this human tragedy, international aid efforts emerged.

The Near East Relief Organization launched one of the first large-scale humanitarian campaigns with public figures like child actor Jackie Coogan raising millions of dollars.

The effort provided crucial support but could not fully alleviate the immense suffering.

Armenian legionnaires volunteered to fight alongside the allies in World War I, hoping to secure a homeland in return, but found their hopes dashed as the allies reneged on their commitments.

- A group of people tried eliminating them from the planet, an entire race of people.

You know, you think about, you say it casually, you know, being this far removed from it.

If it were up to that group of people, none of us would be here, we wouldn't exist.

I mean, that's powerful stuff.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] The Armenian was different.

He or she had witnessed a horrific genocide where over one half of the entire Armenian population were either massacred or marched off into the Syrian deserts to die.

During the post-World War I Wilsonian period, they also lost their country.

Most of those arriving in Rhode Island came neither as families nor with husbands or wives.

They had lost everything, including fathers and mothers, spouses, siblings, and even their own children.

Their valued possessions consisted only of their native language.

They carried few, if any, personal items or had any heirlooms or tangible possessions.

All had a conviction to grasp and hold onto their Armenian identity while making a home in a new country.

- The survivors of the genocide basically came to communities in which they knew others that were here already and therefore came and were accepted, or were brought in by Armenian organizations that would host them until they got their lives set.

As you know, most of them came through New York, and once in New York, they then dispersed, in our case, mainly to Worcester, Whitinsville, Watertown, and Providence.

- [Narrator] These resilient souls settled in places like Smith Hill, South Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls, weaving themselves into the very fabric of the industrial boom.

They began as humble laborers, but their sheer grit and determination saw them climb the ladder of success.

By 1934, 27 jewelry businesses operated by Armenians dotted the Rhode Island landscape.

- I feel that my heritage gave me a solid background to succeed in this world.

You know what it is?

The word "tenacity."

- [Narrator] In South Providence alone, over 60 Armenian-owned businesses flourished over the years.

With the Armenian's love of food, over 200 businesses in Rhode Island were centered around the growing, making, and selling of food.

The Armenian Spa or Market was often the central meeting place in many Rhode Island communities.

The very heart of Rhode Island's Armenian communities are the churches, Sts.

Sahag and Mesrob Apostolic Armenian Church, Sts.

Vartanantz Apostolic Armenian Church, and the Armenian Evangelical Church.

These institutions did more than preserve religious traditions.

They became centers of education and community life.

Imagine church sanctuaries filled with the melodies of Armenian hymns, children learning their ancestral language, the practice still cherished by many third and fourth-generation descendants today.

- You know, without our faith, I don't believe we'd be together as a people, clearly.

You know, that is our strength, that is.

And so whenever we want to see a community strengthened, then we have to start first and foremost with the faith because it's carried us through centuries and centuries of persecution and conflict.

- [Narrator] In addition, compatriotic organizations contributed to the bond that held the communities together by holding picnics, fundraisers, and other events.

- The big excitement every year would be the picnics, and because a lot of Armenians didn't have cars, the buses would line up on Douglas Avenue to take everybody to Bargainian's farm or Bell's Farm or wherever the picnics were being held.

- When I was growing up, Husenig Grove in Rehoboth was really in the country.

It seemed to be a long way away, surrounded totally by woods.

And there would be the shish kebab and the pilaf, and then there would be the Armenian dancing.

And so you would get up and dance, but there were quite a few people that were there.

It was the thing.

- The cultural part was great.

You know, we had all the food and we had the music, and we had the picnics and the bazaar.

- But the food was... That was a keeper.

Everybody, (laughs) everybody learned to cook, and I'm fortunate that I did learn how to cook many Armenian dishes, and now I'm teaching my own children.

- [Narrator] Education was another pillar of Armenian heritage.

- One thing that we didn't have a decision on, we all had to go to college.

That wasn't a question.

They didn't ask us what we wanted to do when we grew up.

"You're going to college," that's it.

- Martha, my mother, who was very gifted with languages and a very intense lover of school.

And she graduated classical high school at the age of 16 and was received a full scholarship to Brown University, which she graduated.

After that, she was tapped by the United States government.

She was in the Civilian Signal Corps during World War II, and she was a code breaker for the government.

- The fact that two of the brothers in the family went to college in the '30s was a big deal.

And, you know, education was important to them.

- [Narrator] Despite the deep scars of the genocide and the hardships of starting anew, the Armenian community in Rhode Island thrived.

These people weren't just survivors, they were warriors of life, building a legacy, brick by brick, memory by memory.

(dramatic music) (gentle upbeat music) The Armenian community story is one of sheer resilience of a people determined to carve out a future while honoring their past.

A critical mission for the community was raising awareness of the Armenian genocide through education.

- In the year 2000, then State Senator Aram Garabedian introduced legislation in the Rhode Island Senate that would require the development of a curriculum to teach about the Armenian genocide in the state of Rhode Island.

Esther Kalajian and I held the first symposium on genocide education for educators in the state of Rhode Island at Rhode Island College in 2005.

Working as a coalition, we were able to make it happen.

We were able to enact this legislation.

Thanks again to Senator Garabedian's support on the floor.

We have Representative Kazarian and Senator Tikoian, and both of them have been extremely supportive.

That legislation passed in 2016, which required the teaching of genocide and Holocaust in our schools.

And then in 2021, the governor signed legislation and formed the state commission.

- [Narrator] Philanthropy has been a cornerstone of the Armenian legacy in Rhode Island.

Families like the Hanoians, Egavians, Paul Kazarian, Jack Lelegian, Adam Garabedian, and Edward Avedisian continued to support their communities through generous donations and active involvement in various causes.

Military service was always deeply respected.

Armenians in Rhode Island showed exceptional dedication with individuals like Harry Kazarian, who was one of the most decorated Marines of World War II.

The personal stories of Armenian families in Rhode Island reveal their struggles and triumphs, seeing how they balanced their Armenian identity with their American lives.

They continued contributing to the state's development while preserving their unique cultural heritage.

- I was born at the height of the Depression, but we were always reminded that we were Armenians, we should be proud and industrious.

I'm very proud of them, and I'm only sorry, frankly, that I cannot talk to them to find out more about their childhood and to say what we never said to one another because there was never really time.

- You know, the teachers would say, "Where do you come?"

"I heard you say you come from Armenia."

"They say, no, that's Turkey."

I said, "No, I come from Armenia."

- You know, those days were probably terrible days for those people.

Somehow, they got, they got by, raised families, lived their lives, put food on the table.

- First time I brought back soil, and the first thing I did is I went to the cemetery and I sprinkled it on my parents' grave, and in my mind, I'm saying my parents are buried under their earth now.

(gentle solemn music) - [Narrator] Contemporary challenges include assimilation, unaddressed generational trauma, marginal support and acknowledgement from world powers, especially as it relates to geographic incursions and denials of continuous genocide by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

(gentle solemn music) - Why is talking about slavery important?

Why is talking about the Jewish Holocaust important?

If you deny history, then you dishonor the people that are affected by that.

- I was living 27 years, and was a Garen Bagdasarian, and overnight I became the Armenian who need to be killed.

And how you want to live peacefully with Azerbaijan nowadays?

It will take another generation or two generation if you want to live peacefully.

So right now, Artsakh in the big dangers, big, big danger.

- You know, all these years, all the centuries since the genocide, we still can't get people to understand what the heck is in our psyche because of the horrible things that happened to us.

- And yet as much success as our generation has had, you know, in America, when you look at what's happening over there right now, it's like, here we go again.

You know, it's sad what's in Artsakh and this blockade which is happening right now.

I mean, it's really sad to think that those people are going through not the same thing that happened, you know, in 1915 and so forth, but I mean, they're just.... They're landlocked, they get no supplies.

- My feelings about Artsakh, it's another genocide.

This is exactly what has happened back in 1915.

We're all talking about that we are all victim from a genocide.

We raising our children with that mindset.

It's time to make a change.

(gentle solemn music) - I'm State Senator David Tikoian, a proud Armenian American.

I also serve as the majority whip in the Rhode Island State Senate.

I'm the grandson of genocide survivors, Garabed and Tarviz Topalian.

My father, Peter Bedros Tikoian, was the catalyst for the Armenian Martyrs' Memorial right here in Providence, Rhode Island.

- We've gone through a lot over the years, you know, persecuted, oppressed, and we've persevered through all of this.

We were well-educated people, even though we were conquered, and I'm grateful for the Armenian heritage that we were able to have and the culture that we will have, and thank goodness for the survivors that came here, particularly my grandmother and my grandfather.

Without them, I wouldn't have this wonderful life.

- My name is Katherine Kazarian.

I am a state representative in Rhode Island for House District 63 that represents East Providence and Pawtucket.

I also serve as the majority whip in the House of Representatives, and I am so proud to serve in this building and to serve my community.

Every day when I walk in, I think about the Armenian community that raised me here in Rhode Island, and I think about my ancestors that came to this country in search for a better life for all of us, and I'm so grateful to be here.

- [Narrator] Today, being Armenian means embracing a rich cultural heritage and living by values of perseverance and determination.

It means finding strength in faith and community, honoring the past while building a future that preserves their unique identity.

- We have two cultures.

We have the Armenian culture and the American culture, and I think about how lucky I am that I have both.

We kind of see the world in a greater totality.

You know, it's hard to understand why the West doesn't look at the Middle East and the Caucasus in a different way than it does, but at least we can look at it and we can look at the richness of it and how much we have come with that, how rich it's made us that we have a broader, a broader sense of things.

- [Relative] Wherever you go, whoever you meet that is Armenian, you just feel an instant bond to.

Like there's a connection that you really can't describe to anybody else.

- People want to preserve their heritage as we are trying to do in AHARI, because it's a part, I guess, of our genes, it's just how we're made up.

And I still, I'm proud to be an Armenian, very, very proud.

I think it gave a resiliency, a sense of belonging.

Growing up, one thing we did learn was that if someone was Armenian, they were family.

- I think everyone knows that we're survivors and we're very resilient, so certainly that, but also I think our love of education, art, culture, those things are important to us in general, and I value those as well, so I think I would want people to know that about Armenians.

- I love being Armenian because it's such a rich, beautiful culture.

The food is unparalleled.

The people are so special, and it gives me such a deep sense of community, especially here in Rhode Island.

- It's my generation's responsibility, it's our job to teach those kids and to encourage them to continue on these journeys as we did, but I don't want to make it sound like a job as a burden.

It has to be a privilege.

It has to be a form of pride, almost, for our culture.

And it's a way of showing respect almost for our Armenian heritage and to our generations in the past that, see we're still here and we're still continuing these programs to encourage youth to learn the language, to learn the history, to learn about the culture, the agriculture, everything.

- So I think that's really what separates us as Armenians is looking back at our history and how that shaped us and made us who we are today.

- You know, we're all in this together.

We're all family, and you know, just like Saroyan said, "When one Armenian meets another, there's a certain bond there that I know does not exist with other nationalities."

And it's a special, really a special feeling.

- Oh, goodness, there are stories, but they're good.

You know, they're comforting.

It's like each story is a hug.

(gentle spirited music) And if you can think of it that way, then we had a good life.

(gentle spirited music) (gentle spirited music continues)