ABSTRACT
Moses Zakarian was born in the village of Khachaluys, which means the "light of the cross." Each time we hear something in Armenian that has religious connotations, it is a reminder of how deeply their religion, their identity as Christians, has permeated the Armenian psyche. Many Armenian men emigrated with the purpose of making money in America, sending it back to the homeland, and eventually amassing enough capital to send for their families or perhaps return to the homeland with enough cash to buy property or set up a business. Most Armenians understood that one had a higher chance of survival outside one's home country. Armenians were also subject to periodic massacres akin to the pogroms against the Jews in Russia. Generally when Armenians filed grievances over such actions, they were ignored by the central government that included quite a large number of reactionary officials who aligned with local administrators.
