Zaruhi Ghazaryan was born in 1911 in Sasun. She passed away on December 16, 2014. 

In Sasun, according to Zaruhi, her family lived in a two-story house and owned about 200 sheep. Zaruhi and her mother escaped from Sasun to Syria in 1915, while her father was killed in the massacres. It was summer and they had to walk for three days, eating grass to survive. When Zaruhi and her mother reached Syria, they found their relatives and lived in Syria until 1947, when they came to Armenia. Zaruhi Ghazaryan had spent her last years with her son Mushegh’s family in the Vanashen village in the Ararat Region. She is outlived by two children, six grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. 

Varduhi Ghazaryan, 63, Zaruhi Ghazaryan’s daughter-in-law. Varduhi has spent the last several years taking care of her mother-in-law, who had escaped from Sasun during the Genocide. 

Varduhi and her grandson prepare a meal for Zaruhi Ghazaryan, who spent the last few months of her life bedbound.

Zaruhi Ghazaryan, 103, spent the last months bedbound and too frail to move. Ghazaryan passed away in her home on December 16, 2014.

Mushegh Ghazaryan, 68, son of Zaruhi, has difficulty moving due to an illness, and spends most of his time in bed. 

Wall decorations in Zaruhi Ghazaryan's home. 

Zaruhi Ghazaryan, 103, has tea in her bed. 

Varduhi Ghazaryan, 63, with her grandchild Hakob Ghazaryan, 7, in their home. 

Mushegh Ghazaryan, 68, Varduhi’s husband.  

Genocide survivor Zaruhi Ghazaryan, 103, bedbound during the last months of her life.

Photography by Diana Markosian and Karen Mirzoyan