THIS MAN AND OTHERS: The Personal Memoirs of Samuel H. Zorian

The Personal Memoirs of Samuel H. Zorian In 1977, an Armenian gentleman, born in Manchester but then resident in London, visited the Oriental Institute in Oxford. He introduced himself as Deran Rushton, and he had with him a manuscript, written in Armenian by his father, Samuel, recording his imprisonment in Amida (Diyarbakir) city gaol in 1893-1896.  Samuel Zorian's chronicle of his experience in a Turkish gaol and daring escape, is a very human and gripping tale. It begins with a description of his arrest by Turkish police, that verges on hilarity, but foreshadows one of the major atrocities of our century, the massacre of Armenians by the Turks in 1915-1921. However, Samuel's account shows ordinary Turks and Kurds suffering as much as the Armenians, and is an inspiration of hope to read how he was helped in his ordeal by the kindness of fellow Turkish prisoners and a Kurdish warder.    Miran & Azniv Essefian Charitable Trust (1996)