MARIPOSA, Calif., May 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- In the early 20th century, Diana Agabeg Apcar wrote a collection of stories that revealed atrocities committed against Armenians. From the Book of One Thousand Tales: Stories of Armenia and Its People 1892 - 1922 (now available through AuthorHouse) reveals these incredible stories of a persecuted people and their courage and determination.
Although fictional, the tales are based on real events that happened during a dark time in world history. The horrors that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were largely ignored by the world, permitting the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire to cleanse Asia Minor of millions of Armenians. There is speculation that this global indifference made way for Hitler's Holocaust and Hideki Tojo imposing force on many races in the Pacific.
Apcar never set foot in her beloved homeland of Armenia, but One Thousand Tales reads as if she trod every inch and scrutinized every face. The stories came from the mouths of survivors, who spoke with Apcar after their arduous journey to Japan by way of the TransSiberian Railway and other primitive modes of transportation. With eloquence and vivid detail, she captured their joys, pain, and unwavering faith. The stories describe locations that still exist today, and a map of Asia Minor at the beginning of the book further helps readers to place these historic and tragic events.
Born in Rangoon, then British East India, now Yangon, Myanmar, Apcar lived her later years in Yokohama, Japan where she died in 1937. A keen businesswoman, she assisted her husband in a prosperous trade in Japan. She wrote 13 books, numerous pamphlets and papers that were widely read in her lifetime. She corresponded with many noted personalities in the academic, political and business world. Apcar served as Consul to the Republic of Armenia, making her the first woman to serve in a diplomatic capacity. This position enabled her to provide assistance to hundreds of refugees fleeing Turkish and Russian oppression, providing the stories for One Thousand Tales. The manuscript for this book was discovered among family papers by her granddaughter, Lucille Apcar, who realized the importance of sharing these stories with the world.
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