Long-lost Cousins Discover Family Connection After a Century Apart

College is a time of discovery and finding yourself, but Anna Aintablian never imagined that she would find even more. At Liberty University, Aintablian would find a long-lost cousin and a missing piece of her family—finally reunited after three generations. 

“Liberty needs to know how God has been in action,” Aintablian said.

The full story begins three generations ago, during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the unrest of World War I. Many families, among them the Der-Torrossians, fled Armenia to escape the death marches to Syria, mass executions and forced Islamization of women and children.

Sara Der-Torrossian was forever separated from her brother Garabed, who chose to take a boat out of the country. Sara and Garabed Der-Torrossian would go on to have their own families in Syria and Argentina. 

A hundred years passed, and Aintablian, a descendant of Sara, was living in Rochester, New York. As a junior in high school, she knew she wanted to study engineering in a Christian environment, so she decided to apply to Liberty.  

Sabri Sirabonian, a descendant of Garabed, was born in Argentina and moved to Brazil when she was 9. Then, at age 18, she moved to the United States on her own with dreams of pursuing a career in biomedical science. Sirabonian was accepted into Liberty and arrived in 2018. Sirabonian also began working on campus as a Spanish tutor. 

“I always wanted to be a doctor since I was little,” Sirabonian said. “So, I applied for Liberty’s medical school, and I got in. I could not see myself as anything other than a doctor.”

The two cousins first met while Sirabonian was performing her job as an MC for an event for international students. Sirabonian was wearing the Armenian flag around her shoulders while giving a speech about how much her heritage meant to her. After Aintablian spotted her from across the academic lawn, the two exchanged numbers and bonded over their shared heritage, not knowing just how shared it was. 

Eight months into their friendship, Aintablian’s mother came to visit the girls. Sirabonian shared her family’s story, and Aintablian’s mother, Sara Aintablian, recognized one of the names. After a bit of research and making phone calls to relatives, Aintablian realized they were cousins. 

Aintablian had found her grandmother Sara’s long-lost brother’s family at Liberty University. Elated, the reconnected family hosted virtual family reunions via Zoom during the pandemic, attended graduation parties and even created a group chat for all of the cousins. 

While the girls had already felt like family before learning about their shared ancestry, their revelation solidified the connection. Despite the family’s tragic history—the Der-Torrossian siblings were never reunited during their time on earth—the family is confident that the siblings are together again in heaven. 

To this the day, the Turkish government denies the historical atrocity of the Armenian Genocide, claiming that it cannot be labeled as a “genocide.” In the ripples of tragedy, however, the descendants of the Der-Torrossian siblings celebrated a family reunion that had been a century in the making.

Cassidy Burton is a Feature Writer.