Belongings: People and Possessions in the Armenian Repatriations, 1945–49

Abstract

The term 'nerkaght'-in-migration-is also used to describe this process. Armenian repatriates were drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. 5 Ninety percent of those who registered to repatriate in Syria and Lebanon in 1946 were said to be 'needy', unable to repatriate without financial support. 6 The better off, in contrast, were able plan and provision carefully, and the contents of their cases reflected their hopes, fears and expectations. In France, Jean Der Sarkissian watched as his family's savings disappeared into wooden crates. They packed sixteen cases, mostly with practical items, such as his mother's sewing machine and his bicycle. That they also packed 'emergency' provisions such as a twenty-five liter carton of sugar, 'just in case' is suggestive of underlying uncertainties regarding their future. 7 Life in the Soviet homeland did not go smoothly for the Der Sarkissian family, nor for thousands of others. Far from the bountiful land promised in propaganda, repatriates were faced with poor housing, shortages, poverty and isolation. They were also subject to the political repressions of the late-Stalin period, repatriates were also among the 12,000 Armenians targeted in deportations in the South Caucasus during operation Volna in 1949. 8 Given these circumstances, many chose to leave as soon as the Soviet authorities permitted, following the death of Stalin. 9 In the short 5