"No, no, I didn't know him. He lost his mind around 1917 because of the tragedy of the Armenians"

This quote by Alan Hovhaness is describing the tragedy of the Armenians, which took place in the early 20th century. The Armenians were a minority ethnic team in the Ottoman Empire, and also in 1915, the Ottoman federal government started a campaign of mass expulsion and extermination of the Armenians. This project led to the death of over 1 million Armenians, and also is thought about to be one of the very first contemporary genocides. The quote suggests that the catastrophe of the Armenians had a profound result on somebody, triggering them to lose their mind in 1917. This could be taken a metaphor for the mental injury that the Armenians experienced, as well as how it impacted them both emotionally and mentally. It might also be taken a discourse on the long lasting impacts of the misfortune, and also how it still resonates in today day.