Syrian-Armenian repatriate George Barseghyan donated a pistol from 1887 to the Armenian Genocide museum-memorial that was used by his ancestors in 1920-1921 during the defensive battles in Ayntap (present-day Turkey). George Barseghyan told reporters that the battle lasted for 320 days and that the people from Ayntap not only got attention for their unity but also because they created a cannon named “Revenge” at one of their foundries. “The Barseghyan family left Van in the 1700s. They worked as gardeners in Ayntap. My ancestors had huge gardens. They even grew large quantities of pistachios and exported them to European markets,” George Barseghyan said.
He also said that after the battle in 1921, his father’s grandfather Grigor Barseghyan reached Syria and settled in Damascus. “The pistol belonged to him. This is our family pistol.” The Syrian-Armenian emphasized that it took a lot of effort to be able to bring the pistol across the Syrian border. The Armenian embassy in Syria helped in a process which took 4 years. Regarding the foundry in Ayntap, Barseghyan said that Grigor’s son created artillery shells there when he was 18 years old.
The Armenian Ministry of Diaspora helped in the process of donating the pistol. Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan told reporters that it’s not a coincidence that the Syrian-Armenian decided to donate the pistol to the Armenian Genocide memorial-museum. “This is a symbol of the strong will and readiness of the Armenian people.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
