Arnie’s Pick
May, 2018
The Hundred Year Walk
Dawn Anahid MacKeen
Investigative journalist MacKeen was born and educated to write this epic tale of the early twentieth century genocide of over a million Armenians by the Turkish government. World War One, then known as the “Great War” started with the assassination of members of a royal family and quickly grew into a widespread inferno.
Author MacKeen grew up hearing bits of her grandfather’s life in pre-World War One Turkey and his remarkable survival through the mass deportations and his fortunate escape. Grandfather Stepan only attended school through the seventh grade, but he was keenly observant and wrote detailed journals of his experiences.
Dawn’s mother had implored her for years to investigate and write the story. Thinking that it would take her two years, Dawn finally relented to her mother’s frequent requests and set about researching and writing. The “two year” project took Dawn ten years in order to learn the journal’s Armenian language and to travel to the described Turkish and Syrian sites.
To this day, various Turkish governments have denied that the Armenian genocide ever occurred. Over a million Armenians “disappeared into the desert.” Really?
Author MacKeen used her grandfather’s journals to guide herself through modern day Turkey and northern Syria in order to more fully understand and appreciate the perils of her grandfather’s odyssey. Even in the twenty first century, as an American and as a woman she was viewed with great suspicion in many locations.
Mackeen’s book alternates back and forth between Grandfather Stephan’s 20th century contemporary account and her 21st century narration of her journey to the sites described by her grandfather. It is a unusual tale of the first genocide of the 20th century. Some believe that Hitler knew about it and used it as a guide in the Nazi persecution of Jews, Gypsies, and other minorities.
This tale is one of strength and luck, and sometimes extraordinary kindness. The journals, archives, travels, and meetings with survivors and their families provided the pieces of this quilt that author Dawn Anahid MacKeen has stitched together so skillfully. As Americans, immigrants all, learning about our roots tells us who we are and who we aspire to be.