My Family, Surviving Genocide, Becoming Canadian

by Lorne Shirinian 

In the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923, more than one and a half million Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire were deported and murdered in the first modern genocide of the 20th century. My father, my mother, and my maternal uncle were orphan survivors of this Genocide. The story of their survival and passage to Canada where they became proud citizens is a very human adventure that took place at the time when Canada, a young nation itself, was maturing. Their history is an early example of how an ethnic minority contributed to Canadian society while maintaining their historical identities in the Armenian diaspora. This is the story of my family. 

Lorne Shirinian is a poet, a playwright, novelist, memoirist and literary scholar. He is the author of many books on literature in the Armenian diaspora. He is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the Royal Military College of Canada. He lives with his wife Neomi in Toronto where he is completing a new novel and a book of poetry.