Zabel Yesayan honored with walkway in Paris
Famous Istanbul-based Armenian writer and publicist Zabel Yesayan, who was one of the witnesses and documenters of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, has been honored by having a walkway named after her in Paris.
Yesayan's memory was revived on the International Women's Day, Friday, as a section of the Republican street running through Tlimsen and Spinoza streets in the French capital was renamed after her. The opening ceremony was attended by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Ambassador of Armenia to France Vigen Chitechyan.
Anne Hidalgo, who also shared some images on her Twitter today, had announced about intention to open the walkway after Yesayan last year during President Sargsyan's visit to France.
To note, Zabel Yesayan (1878-1943) is recognized today as one of the greatest writers in Western Armenian literature. From her earliest years until her tragic death, Yesayan championed social justice and women's rights. She authored several novels, short stories, newspaper articles, and an eyewitness account of the aftermath of the 1909 massacres of the Armenians in Adana.
Yesayan was the only woman on the list of Armenian intellectuals targeted for arrest and deportation by the Ottoman Young Turk government on April 24, 1915. She was able to evade arrest and flee to Bulgaria and then to the Caucasus, where she worked with refugees documenting their eyewitness accounts of atrocities that had taken place during the Armenian Genocide.
Yesayan appeared on Stalin's "black list" In 1938, was arrested for anti-Soviet propaganda and died in unknown circumstances during her time in prison.