Mikel Housep Martirossian -The mission of

Dhaka’s last Armenian

Michael Joseph Martin is guarded about his exact age and reluctant to accept he will be the
last in a long line of Armenians to make a major contribution to the history of Bangladesh.

Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, was once home to thousands of migrants from the former
Soviet republic who grew to dominate the city’s trade and business life.

But Martin, aged in his 70s, is now the only one left.

“When I die, maybe one of my three daughters will fly in from Canada to keep our presence
here alive,” Martin said hopefully, speaking broken Bengali with a thick accent. “Or perhaps
other Armenians will come from somewhere else.”

Martin came to Dhaka in 1942 during World War II, following in the footsteps of his father
who had settled in the region decades earlier.

They joined an Armenian community in Bangladesh dating back to the 16th century, but now
Martin worries about who will look after the large Armenian church in the city’s old quarter.

“This is a blessed place and God won’t leave it unprotected and uncared for,” he said of the
Church of Holy Resurrection, which was built in 1781 in the Armanitola, or Armenian
district.

Martin — whose full name is Mikel Housep Martirossian — looks after the church and its
graveyard where 400 of his countrymen are buried, including his wife who died three years
ago.

When their children, all Bangladeshi passport-holders, left the country along, Martin became
the sole remaining Armenian here. He now lives alone in an enormous mansion in the church
grounds.

“When I walk, sometimes I feel spirits moving around. These are the spirits of my ancestors.
They were noble men and women, now resting in peace,” said Martin, who is stooped and
frail but retains a detailed knowledge of the Armenian history in Dhaka.
Marble tombstones display family names such as Sarkies, Manook and Aratoon from a time
when Armenians were Dhaka’s wealthiest merchants with palatial homes who traded jute,
spices, indigo and leather.

Among the dead are M. David Alexander, the biggest jute trader of the late 19th century, and
Nicholas Peter Poghose who set up Bangladesh’s first private school in the 1830s and died in
1876.

Martin, himself a former trader, said the Armenians, persecuted by Turks and Persians, were
embraced in what is now Bangladesh first by the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries and
then by the British colonial empire.

Fluent in Persian — the court language of the Mughals and the first half of the British empire
in India — Armenians were commonly lawyers, merchants and officials holding senior public
positions.

They were also devout Christians who built some of the most beautiful churches in the Indian
subcontinent.

“Their numbers fluctuated with the prospects in trading in Dhaka,” said Muntasir Mamun, a
historian at Dhaka University.

“Sometimes there were several thousand Armenians trading in the Bengal region. They were
always an important community in Dhaka and dominated the country’s trading. They were the
who’s who in town. They celebrated all their religious festivals with pomp and style.”

The decline came gradually after the British left India and the subcontinent was partitioned in
1947 with Dhaka becoming the capital of East Pakistan and then of Bangladesh after it gained
independence in 1971.

These days, the Armenian Church holds only occasional services on important dates in the
Orthodox Christian calendar, with a Catholic priest from a nearby seminary coming in to lead
prayers at Christmas.

Martin said the once-busy social scene came to a halt after the last Orthodox priest left in the
late 1960s, but he is determined to ensure the church’s legacy endures.

“Every Sunday was a day of festival for us. Almost every Armenian would attend the service,
no matter how big he was in social position. The church was the centre of all activities,” he
said.

“I’ve seen bad days before, but we always bounced back. I am sure Armenians will come
back here for trade and business. I will then rest in peace beside my wife.”

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

And more from BBC

Friday, 10 January, 2003, 15:30 GMT
The mission of Dhaka’s last Armenian
The church is a quiet haven in the noisy metropolis
Alastair Lawson
BBC Bangladesh correspondent

Once a thriving community in South Asia, the number of Armenians has dwindled to such an
extent that in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka only one man remains.He is known by his
Anglicised name of Michael Joseph Martin.

When Mr Martin, 73, dies, it will not only mark the end of an era, but
will throw into doubt the future of one of Dhaka’s most beautiful
Whatever happens, I’m
churches. determined not to let this
church go to rack and ruin
Nestling in one of the busiest parts of Old Dhaka, Armenian Street
used to be a thriving business area, but its Armenian community has Michael Joseph Martin
vanished.

Little evidence remains of its presence, even though centuries ago Armenians were at the
heart of Bengal’s jute and leather trade.

Chronicle

But one prominent Armenian landmark does remain.

It is an 18th century church, described by visitors who explore it as a haven amid the traffic
chaos and crowded streets outside.

Yet its future is uncertain.

The caretaker Mr Martin, whose Armenian name is Mikel Housep Martirossian, lovingly
preserves the building against the ravages of the weather and pollution.

He keeps the centuries-old births, deaths and marriages register and

looks after the ancient tombstones that chronicle the history of the Mr Martin tends the
Armenian community in Bengal. tombstones that chronicle
Armenian life
But when Mr Martin dies, there will be no more Armenians to look after the church.

”Whatever happens I’m determined not to let this church go to rack and ruin,” he says.

”I may be the last resident Armenian in Bangladesh, but I will do everything in my power to
ensure that an Armenian from abroad takes over the job I have been doing. Otherwise
centuries of tradition will be disappear overnight.”

Pirate deaths

The church’s graveyard is like a giant history book, chronicling the history of the Armenian
people in the region.
Armenians – like Bengalis – are renowned for their love of trading.
Mr Martin tries to
They are believed to have arrived in the region in the 12th century. counter the ravages of
weather and pollution
”This person died on the high seas, they were killed by pirates,” says Mr Martin, pointing at
two gravestones that carry carvings of a skull and crossbones.

”They were Armenians and their bodies were brought and buried over here in 1783.”

Pointing at another gravestone he says: ”This man’s father married into the British royal
family, and he did the same thing. They had money and power, and were also the biggest jute
merchants in the country.

”But that couldn’t stop their children from dying of diphtheria. In the 18th century even minor
royals couldn’t save the lives of the children.”

Busy location

The interior of the church is looking a little the worse for wear after numerous robberies, but
the central attractions – portraits of the Crucifixion and the Last Supper – remain.

They are believed to have been done by a prominent European artist.

The church may be rooted in history, but it is located in one of the I may be the last
busiest parts of the city. resident Armenian in
Bangladesh, but I will do
everything in my power to
Roads nearby are so crowded that services cannot be held during the
ensure an Armenian from
working week because the multi-denominational expatriate abroad takes over the job
congregation would never get there on time.
Michael Martin
But even if it is no longer possible to hold regular services, Mr Martin
says the future of this valuable piece of history will be secured.

Until someone is found among the Armenian community abroad, he says he will carry on as
caretaker.

”While most Armenians have left Bangladesh, as the last to remain it’s my mission in life to
make sure this relic from a bygone age will not be allowed to disappear.”