The Simon and Hripsime Cihanyan Story

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The Simon and Hripsime story was not as violent and depressing as the other stories. Simon was a well educated man from Zara, Sivas, Turkey. Because of his education, he and his wife, Hripsime, were able to survive. They were not part of the deportation and execution as the rest of the Armenians. However, Simon knew what was happening to the Armenians. Before the decision of not sending him, he had saw bloody experiences in the circle of his hometown when all the Armenians were being pulled together. He was given the option to go to Syria or stay in Zara and plaster walls. He chosed to stay in Zara. They were holding some relatives of Hripsime and Simon: two sisters, a brother, and his mother. They were living without concern until a knock of two Armenian refugees knocked on their door. Simon made a small home for them( a cow-shed). Some time had passed before the Gendarmes came and found the refugees. The same Gendarmes took Simon and his family out of their home for holding "a prisoner." They were force to walk to Malatya. On that long journey, Simon mother had died because she could not walk really good, so she collapse. The Gendarmes did not stop to bury her; they threw her over a cliff. A Muslim bought Simon and Hripsime, and the Muslims accepted them into their home. The family was once again separated: not knowing what happened to Hripsime's brother and sisters. Simon and Hripsime moved back to their hometown. Simon and Hripsime, in many years later, learned that Hripsime's brother and sisters were living in Canada. This story was sad but it was not as depressing as the other stories.

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