American Armenians strive fervently to preserve their cultural heritage

PanARMENIAN.Net - Many immigrant groups in the United States strive mightily to preserve their cultural heritage, but few do so as fervently as Armenian Americans who escaped the attempted annihilation of their people.

Haig Merian - a POW during World War II who became displaced, wandered through Europe, and ended up in the Boston area with a new wife and a new life - embodied the Armenian story.

Mr. Merian was a champion of Armenian culture through his church and also organized dancing and singing groups that kept the old ways alive. The Newton Highlands resident died Feb. 1 at his home, following a period of declining health. He was 92.

His story was similar to many postwar accounts. Homeless and devoid of family, he made it to Ellis Island in New York to begin life anew.

He reflected the strong desire of Armenian-Americans to keep alive a culture that has survived numerous attempts to bring about its extinction.

“Armenia has always been at the crossroads of different cultures and different empires, whether it be the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Persians, or Arabs,” said Father Antranig Baljian, pastor of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown.

The Turkish Ottoman Empire made several attempts to wipe out the native population, most famously through a period of Genocide from 1915 until about 1922, Baljian said, Boston.com reports.

Mr. Merian was born in Tzovinar, Armenia, attended the University of Yerevan, and taught elementary school until he was drafted by the Soviet Army. He served as a captain during World War II and spent three years in a German POW camp before being liberated. After wandering France and Belgium, suffering from starvation and typhoid fever, Mr. Merian was taken in by an Armenian family in Belgium. He learned the rudiments of rug weaving there and pursued the trade after he entered the United States in 1946.