A reading of Serop Sherbetjian memoire “History of Armenians in Swed” was organized by “Pakin” Literary Magazine on Wednesday 13th April 2011 at 7:00pm, at the editorial offices of “Pakin.”
Seta Krikorian, the Associate Editor of “Pakin” welcomed the attendees and said that the book casts a bright spotlight on the details of the partisan wars of Mousa Dagh, as well as on the liberation struggles of the Armenians in Mousa Dagh. She explained that the accounts narrated in the memoire unfold with the precision of a documentary.
Afterwards, Yesayi Havatian, the editor of the book, briefly presented the book and appraised it.
Talking about its content, Havatian mentioned that the book features the history of the Armenians in Mousa Dagh from the beginning until 1939. The book is comprised of 32 volumes which could be divided into these sections: a) The section is dedicated to the villages of Mousa Dagh, their geographical positioning and their formation, b) When the Armenian political parties came to Mousa Dagh what were the activities they undertook and the main features of their work, c) The heroic battle of Mousa Dagh, its preparation and the detailed story, d) The immigration of the people of Mousa Dagh; four years at Port Sayid, 1925-1929, e) The return of the Armenians of Mousa Dagh to their ancestral villages and life in those 20 years, f) The families of Mousa Dagh; who they were, village by village and detailed information about them (data on their history and origins, numbers, etc.)
Talking about the value this book represents, Mr. Havatian stated that Mousa Dagh is a national wealth and one of its treasures is this narration. “With its information, details, numerical data, and diversity, this book is worth a treasure to the Armenians and especially to the Armenians from Mousa Dagh,” said the lecturer. He added that Sherbetjian has carried out a vast amount of research to base his book on. He affirmed that this volume is valuable with its information and historical proofing, stressing the fact that it is the encyclopedia of the Armenians of Mousa Dagh.
Towards the end of the event, the attendees had the opportunity to direct their questions to the lecturer.