Between 1909 and 1938, an estimated 10,000 Armenian refugees settled in Argentina, and Arshag Shorjian was one of them.
He is 102 years old now, but still remembers "those dark days" of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks along with the "death marches", the orphanage in Lebanon and the long journey to his adopted country, Argentina.
Arshag was born in the once heavily Armenian populated south central Turkish town of Hadjin in 1898 but moved with his parents to neighboring Adana in 1903 only to find himself caught up in an anti-Armenian onslaught—the Adana Massacres of 1909.
"I was a little boy then, but I can never forget that day. They came into our house and killed my grandfather and uncle. I was very small and was able to hide under a pile of firewood," he said in an emotional interview at the Armenian home for the elderly in Buenos Aires where he moved in July 2000, a few months before his 102nd birthday.
"The few of us who survived were protected by some of our Turkish neighbors but the situation deteriorated again with the start of the second wave of massacres in 1914," he said.
This time it was the forced deportation, the long march to the Turkish port of Mersin and the journey on a French boat to Beirut, Lebanon and finally to an orphanage in the coastal Lebanese city of Jounieh.
There, he lived for five years, learning not only Arabic, but also how to make shoes, a profession which eventually helped him find employment after arriving in Argentina to join his uncle in 1926.
He remained single all his life and continued to work until the age of 100, a unique birthday which was marked by a special reception in his honor by the social security department of the Buenos Aires municipal authorities.
"I had never had a birthday like that. I would have continued working but the pay was not good," he said. Arshag is still healthy, does not wear glasses and walks briskly.
"I might get back to work if I find a well-paying job. I made orthopedic shoes all my life, and I'm still very good at my profession," he said.
Arshag's story and journey out of his ancestral home and life in Argentina is not unique. It is the story of almost all the Armenians who sought refuge in Argentina after the First World War.
But why Argentina.
The Armenian presence in Argentina may date back to a lot longer than the early 1900's, but there never was an organized entity. Others had come over the decades, like the Hungarian-born Janos (Juan) Czetz, or Juan Czetzian who was of Armenian ancestry. Czetz organized the National Military College of Argentina in 1869 and lived in Buenos Aires until his death in 1904.
The influx into Argentina was the result of a longstanding government policy which had opened the country's doors to foreign immigration well before the Armenians arrived.
Since its declaration of independence in 1810, all Argentinean governments had not only encouraged immigration, but viewed the process as vital for national development and progress.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries hundreds of thousands of European farmers and agricultural workers moved to Argentina.
According to available statistics, an estimated five million people emigrated from Europe to Argentina between 1824 and 1924.
In 1914 nearly 80 percent of Argentina's population were foreigners. It was a time of deep economic troubles, and nearly 20 percent of the population of Buenos Aires alone were unemployed.
Like Arshag Shorjian, the majority of Armenians who arrived in Argentina in the early 1900's were unskilled laborers, farmers, artisans, shoe makers, tailors and goldsmiths.
According to official statistics compiled by the local authorities based on the passenger lists of ships that docked at Buenos Aires, only six Armenians arrived in Argentina in 1900.
In 1901, only two arrived and again only two others in 1902. No Armenians arrived in 1903 and 1904, but the number gradually started increasing, until there were 2221 Armenians in 1923.
But these figures have always been disputed by the Armenian organizations of the era, which put the number of compatriots at much higher because many of those new arrivals were classified by the local authorities as Turks, given the fact that they were coming from what was then the Ottoman Empire.
Over the years, and especially the period that followed the 1915 Genocide, more Armenian refugees continued to flow into Argentina, and by 1943, some 20,000 Armenians had already settled there, mostly in Buenos Aires, a figure which was boosted again after the Second World War with new arrivals from several European countries.
Community estimates now place the number of Armenians in Argentina between 80,000 and 100,000, including an estimated 5,000 new immigrants from Armenia in the past few years.
Life was not easy for the early arrivals.
The best many of them could do was open tiny stalls outside their homes, selling whatever they could find. Some began repairing shoes or selling vegetables on street corners. They worked as butchers, tailors, blacksmiths and weavers.
But within a few years, and as their numbers grew from a few thousand to tens of thousands, the Armenians began to get organized.
Between 1911 and 1938, the foundations of what is today's Armenian community were started with the establishment of the Armenian General Benevolent Union on May 7, 1911, its primary objective to helping the fledgling community.
According to the hand-written minutes of AGBU's inaugural meeting, one of the first things on its agenda was to start special Spanish language classes for the new immigrants.
As the community began taking shape, the emphasis on education, church and culture grew. It was a time to recreate their principal community organizations, mainly based on those in existence in their places of origin.
The first Armenian priest, Father Baghdasar Barasatian arrived in January 1912, and a few months later the AGBU held a special fund-raiser to help the clergyman.
The event, a dinner in Father Barasatian's honor, raised 66 Pesos.
The political organization of the community began with the establishment of the Argentinean branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the Tashnag Party) in 1912, followed by the Armenian Democratic Liberal (Ramgavar), and the Armenian Social Democrat (Huntchag) parties along with regional societies, or the compatriot unions, like the Union of Hadjin Residents which was founded in 1915, and a similar organization for the Armenians from Marash in 1924 and Aintab in 1929.
In 1924, the first three Armenian "schools" were opened, but they were all located in either church halls, a community center or a private home. It was not until 1927 that the first two school buildings were established.
Today, there are seven Armenian schools in Argentina with a total enrollment of approximately 2,200 students.
If community life and education were primary objectives of the early Armenians, the need to have their own churches was not far behind.
In 1922 a group of Armenians got together and purchased a lot on Acevedo Street with the purpose of building not just a church but also a community center.
Acevedo Street
has since been named Armenia Street where the main Armenian church of Buenos Aires, St. Gregory the Illuminator, is now located along with two Armenian schools, two cultural and community centers, and other Armenian institutions.
As the second generation of Armenians began taking shape, education became the password for the children of many of the early immigrant families. Starting from the early 1930's Armenians began graduating from institutions of higher learning with degrees in medicine and law.
Ms. Angel Himitian-Gulesserian became the community's first midwife in 1932. Angel and Onnig Torz became the first doctors to graduate from the University of Buenos Aires followed by Nicolas Hermes and Miguel Seripian who finished medical school in 1943.
With the birth of a new professional class, the face of the community changed.
The Armenians were no longer the poor refugees. Integration was in full swing and the image of the community was no longer that of the street vendor or unskilled worker.
Today, the Armenian community is fully integrated and deeply involved in every sector of Argentina's economic and social life but still maintains its strong national and ethnic identity.
"The Armenians of this country are the product of a generation which paid a high price to keep its identity and that in itself has kept us unique. Our collective memory has not faded," Shorjian told me as I left him.
But a new element has recently entered the Armenian scene.
Argentina may not be a favorite destination for the vast majority of Armenians leaving their homeland, but thousands have settled in the greater Buenos Aires area in recent years with the hope of a better future for themselves and their children.
Unlike the early generation of Armenians, the newcomers remain somewhat removed from the rest of the community.
"Argentina was the only country that gave us a visa," said Gagik Vardanian, a 40-year-old painter who came to Buenos Aires two years ago.
"I had to leave Armenia because the cultural and artistic life was in a rapid decline. I could not sell my paintings. I had no choice," he said.
Vardanian, like the estimated 5,000 others from Armenia now living in Argentina, is facing an uphill struggle. He also feels a "little isolated" from the already established community.
"Sometimes I feel like I am not exactly welcome here. We don't want to be a burden on the community, but we feel pushed aside," he said.
This feeling is shared by many other new immigrants who often keep to themselves and rarely mix with the community.
"We would be a lot more welcome if we were just visitors. It is different as refugees—as new immigrants. My children could not get an education if not for the AGBU which has given them a scholarship to attend the Marie Manoogian School," he said.
"We are facing two problems—integration within the Armenian community and integration within the Argentinean society. It will take time, but like the early Armenians, we will get there," he said.
