Mediamax presents 100 Seconds project devoted to Armenian Genocide Centennial. The project is based on testimonies of Genocide survivors published by the National Archive of Armenia.

Sergey Parkhomenko is a prominent Russian journalist. He was editor-in-chief of Itogi and Vokrug Sveta magazines. Today he is heading Dissernet and Last Address projects.

For 100 seconds project Sergey Parkhomenko reads an extract from Armenian Genocide survivor Father Hambardzum Harutyunian testimony.

National Archives of Armenia

Collection of Documents

Testimony of survivor Father Hambardzum Harutyunian on the deportation and massacre of the population of the village of Varduk in Derjan district of Karin province

[1916]

Turks learned that I was in the village. The head of police threatened the Kurd agha who gave me shelter that his house would be burnt if he didn’t hand me over. The same day the Kurd hid me; they searched the house but couldn’t find me. They searched for me several times but in vain.

Several women and boys found shelter there along with me. They wrote again to the head of police, and this time he summoned the Kurd who gave us shelter and threatened that if he searched this time and found us he would put the whole house to the sword. The Kurd became desperate and asked us to leave but we refused knowing that leaving him would mean death for us.

We asked him to let us open a hole from under the stable manger to the hayloft, which was completely full of straw. We stayed in that straw for eight days. He was sending food three times a day. Then the Russian army advanced and we were saved.

Producer: Ara Tadevosyan

Filming: Anna Aleshkovskaya

Post Production: Tumo LLC

The source of Father Hambardzum Harutyunian’s testimony: National Archives of Armenia, Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey, 1915, Testimony of survivors, Collection of documents, Yerevan-2013.

VivaCell-MTS is the general partner of 100 seconds project.