PASSAGERS ARMENIENS DU TITANIC

KRIKORIAN Nichan (sauvé, canot #10)(originaire de Keghi)
LAHOWD Sarkis
MARDIROSSIAN Sarkis
SIRAYANIAN Arsen
VARTANIAN David (sauvé, canot#15) (âgé de 18 à 20 ans, originaire de Keghi)
ZAKARIAN Artin
ZAKARIAN Meguerdich

relevé par Guillaume Arabadjian (1998)

______________________________________________________________________________
The Standard (St-Catharines, Ontario Canada)
April 10, 2001

By DON FRASER
Standard Staff

For most of his life, St. Catharines' Neshan Krekorian bottled up awful memories about a doomed ocean liner.A very reserved man, he preferred not to speak or be reminded about the night of April 14 and 15, 1912. Only rarely would would he let his guard down.

In 1953, Krekorian saw the movie Titanic at a packed Centre Theatre in downtown St. Catharines and the stifled terror flooded back. Son-in-law Paul Solomonian, 76, remembered sneaking glances at him throughout the flick, gauging Krekorian's reaction. During a pivotal scene, his father-in-law froze at a screen iceberg."He suddenly sat firm, upright and never said a word after that. Not a word through the whole movie," said Solomonian, in an interview with the Krekorian family before the anniversary of the sinking.

The Armenian-Canadian Titanic survivor never slept that night.Krekorian, who died in 1978, had just been yanked back three decades to a disaster that shook the world.In its time, the "unsinkable" 882-foot White Star liner was the largest, most sophisticated, luxurious passenger ship on earth. She never completed her maiden voyage to New York City and 1,517 people died. Krekorian's reluctant memories are recounted by his children who are still alive and by the man himself, in several published stories.By every account, the Titanic's final two hours were pure hell.

It started with a muffled bang. Krekorian, 25, heard a crash at about 11:40 p.m. as water began seeping into the watertight compartments near the steerage area where third-class passengers were staying. He remembered the ship "scud back and tilt to one side.""In a minute there was chaos and confusion," said Krekorian in Alan Hustak's book Titanic: The Canadian Story. "Women rushed hither and thither and then the lights went out and we were all left in the dark. Everybody seemed to lose their heads and just stand about and shriek."The lights flickered back and steerage passengers relaxed a little. They slipped on their life jackets and Krekorian dressed warmly. As it turned out, some of the European and Middle Eastern immigrants in the lower sections may not have had a chance. By law, the steerage passengers were separated from others ? ostensibly to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Iron locks hindered their escape. Several locked doors had to be axed-open by Krekorian and others as they struggled to the outside decks. On deck, the scene was calm at first, but over the next two hours, things deteriorated. There weren't enough lifeboats to go around. Panic spread. Fathers and older males gave comforting words to their shrieking families, who were separated from them and shepherded to lifeboats. At one point, Krekorian saw two men in a deathgrip embrace on a lifeboat. They shortly went overboard and sunk beneath the surface. As the head of the ship nosed into the Atlantic, it was obvious the end was near. Crew members dealt harshly with male passengers trying to save themselves as the ship's band played on."He told me there was no law of the sea? of women and children first," said 74-year-old son George Krekorian."He saw some throwing women and children overboard because there wasn't enough space for everybody. "The crew were shooting men (who were) leaping into these boats."

Even teenagers weren't exempt. How Krekorian got into a raft isn't totally clear. One story, disputed by the family, suggested he stowed away on one of the boats. According to Titanic historians, testimony from surviving upper-class passengers and crew were often suspect and racially motivated. A stigma of being a male survivor also often followed those men who lived. A Brantford paper, for instance, propagated a myth Krekorian dressed like a woman to escape the Titanic (Armenian village men often wore kerchiefs and baggy trousers in cold weather).

The headline in a post-disaster story read "Armenian Who Dressed in Women's Clothes to Get Off Titanic." In that interview, Krekorian denied he'd worn ladies clothes to save his skin. According family members and reliable accounts, he used a rope to leap into lifeboat No. 10, which was being lowered portside just before 1:10 a.m."Nobody noticed him in there, he was very lucky," said daughter Alice Solomonian, 75. "'He didn't say anything. "After rowing a safe distance from the undertow caused by the sinking liner, several women and children may have been plucked from the water and into the boat. No. 10 carried about 32 passengers, less than half its rated capacity. Meanwhile, up to 1,500 remaining on the ship jammed themselves onto the fan tail deck. The dying ship split in two and went under at 2:10 a.m., amid growling explosions from the ship's boilers. In the distance, Krekorian and others heard the groans and screams of hundreds of men, women and children splashing in the icy brine. About 30 minutes later, there was no noise. A few hours in the dark, the crewman rowing No. 10 succumbed from exposure. He was rolled overboard and Krekorian took the oars. "I was young and strong and I could row well," Krekorian recalled in a 1977 Standard article shortly before his death. "We all said prayers. In the morning I remember all there was were sky and ocean [sic]. "After about six hours, they were rescued by the Cunard line passenger steamer Carpathia. Krekorian was among over 700 who finally finished the last leg to New York City. He spent weeks there recovering from severe pneumonia.

Ironically, Krekorian, a Christian Armenian, had only recently fled a nightmare thousands of miles away.

The Turkish army had entered Armenian areas and was massacring them. Krekorian's father wanted him out of the country, fearing he would be killed or drafted into the Turkish army and then killed. He escaped Keghi, Turkey,and took trains to Cherbourg, France, then Southampton. He set sail from England on the Titanic on April 10. (Another account has him boarding at Le Havre, France).

Krekorian, who was single and didn't speak English, left with five Armenians. They were headed to Brantford, Ontario, where a community of Armenians lived. Three never made it to greener shores, one stayed back in the United States. About 33 Ontario-bound passengers died in the disaster ? 82 Canada-bound passengers in total. Afterwards, Krekorian and surviving steerage passengers were handed new clothes and 25 dollars from the Red Cross. White Star Lines gave him a ticket to Brantford and ten dollars. Some time later, he recalled arriving alone at the Brantford train station in the early morning. He was moved by the joyous sounds of children playing at the station. They were speaking Armenian. When he asked for an Armenian acquaintance there, the children took Krekorian to the home. He settled and lived in Brantford for a few years. He relocated to St. Catharines in 1918, eventually marrying wife Persape there when he was 38. Krekorian worked at McKinnon Industries Ltd., a foundry eventually bought by General Motors. He and Persape raised three children in their Carlton Street home, including Angeline Asadourian, 69. All are alive and living in the city.

Krekorian was also a founding member of the Armenian St. Gregory Church in St. Catharines and became a cultural leader of the city's growing Armenian community.

But his Titanic experience haunted him to his death. He was mortified of water. Paul recalled finally convincing him to view the whirling waters of Welland Canal's Lock 1. Krekorian died at the age of 92, his wife in 1985. The family has since grown to include many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, most of whom live in Niagara.

From one classic Titanic picture to another, the family conversation steers to the James Cameron blockbuster film, also called Titanic. It's a romanticized account of a tragedy Krekorian siblings say bears little resemblance to the animal terror of the sinking. But the event is fast losing living legacies who can attest to the truth. The last Canadian survivor, Bertha Watt, was 12 when the Titanic went down. She died in 1992. There are four survivors left in the world ? none would remember that night, according to Titanic author Hustak. Krekorian's legacy,however, will always be about a new life that followed an ocean of dying. The family focused on a moment that defined their post-Titanic experience in Canada. It was shortly after Neshan's funeral. By this time, two brothers had joined the St. Catharines brood. While everybody left after the service ended, brother Mac remained. He strolled deliberately through Queenston Streets lush Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Alice tagged along, concerned by his forlorn behaviour. Mac approached his brother's fresh gravesite and she heard emotional words tumble out.

"Thank you for bringing us to this lovely country," said Mac."I will never forget you."

Page Principale - Home Page 1

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws