16.02.2016


The Armenian child in this photo was found in desert. Being deprived of care and elementary living conditions, over two years he lived in the desert far from people; eating only grass and different plants. When he was found, he had become extremely savage, which is obvious from his face expression and posture. The photos were taken in Aleppo, in 1920-1921, by Helen Mari Jerhard- a worker of “American Near East Relief” organization, who took care of the child later on.
In the years of Armenian Genocide thousands of Armenian children became orphans; losing their parents and relatives on deportation roads. Some of them escaped from the Turkish massacres and settled down in abandoned places; forests and caves, far from people and civilization. These defenceless and careless children, who had witnesses the brutal murder of their parents, had been living with animals imitating their behaviours, avoiding to communicate with people. Some of those children had lost the abilities of speaking and walking like human, acquiring features typical to wild animals. Relief activities to rescue the remaining Armenian fragments were carried out by Armenian associations, Churches and foreign Relief Organizations, which started to gather thousands of Armenian children orphaned as a result of the Genocide, among them sometimes real “mowglies” could appear.

“When I arrived here in Van, all the houses were full of Armenians’ corpses. The Turks had brutally slaughtered them… Some of them were found and immediately killed other had died of hunger and diseases. Some Armenians are now hiding in jungles and caves; lot of savaged children among them, whose parents were killed. Recently, my orderlies had seen such a child, and tried to catch him, but in vain. He had been completely naked, noticing people he had hide himself as beast, so it was impossible to find him. The local commandant has collected a squad of Armenian soldiers to climb the mountains and find savaged children. Some of them were found and handed to the commandant. I have seen them… it was terrible; swollen bellies, just skin and bones… savaged to an extent, so that if you laid your hand they can bite it like a beast”.

Christina Semina
Sister of charity in Caucasian front
Van, 1915


The source of the photo collection of AGBU